Simplify the code building lists of spans, no output change intended.

[mandoc.git] / mandoc_char.7

diff --git a/mandoc_char.7 b/mandoc_char.7
index a372b3e91dfcbf69b2c3980b7f0d03f57ecd8b5f..eb9e65acfc860982c45c8f7f05abfe130aee2182 100644 (file)
--- a/mandoc_char.7
+++ b/mandoc_char.7
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
-.\"    $Id: mandoc_char.7,v 1.67 2017/06/14 20:57:07 schwarze Exp $
+.\"    $Id: mandoc_char.7,v 1.78 2020/10/31 11:45:16 schwarze Exp $

 .\"
 .\" Copyright (c) 2003 Jason McIntyre <jmc@openbsd.org>
 .\" Copyright (c) 2009, 2010, 2011 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
 .\"
 .\" Copyright (c) 2003 Jason McIntyre <jmc@openbsd.org>
 .\" Copyright (c) 2009, 2010, 2011 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>

-.\" Copyright (c) 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 Ingo Schwarze <schwarze@openbsd.org>
+.\" Copyright (c) 2011,2013,2015,2017-2020 Ingo Schwarze <schwarze@openbsd.org>

 .\"
 .\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
 .\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
 .\"
 .\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
 .\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above


@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 .\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
 .\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
 .\"
 .\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
 .\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
 .\"

-.Dd $Mdocdate: June 14 2017 $
+.Dd $Mdocdate: October 31 2020 $

 .Dt MANDOC_CHAR 7
 .Os
 .Sh NAME
 .Dt MANDOC_CHAR 7
 .Os
 .Sh NAME


@@ -35,23 +35,37 @@ documents.
 .Pp
 The rendering depends on the
 .Xr mandoc 1
 .Pp
 The rendering depends on the
 .Xr mandoc 1

-output mode; in ASCII output, most characters are completely
-unintelligible.
-For that reason, using any of the special characters documented here,
-except those discussed in the
+output mode; it can be inspected by calling
+.Xr man 1
+on the
+.Nm
+manual page with different
+.Fl T
+arguments.
+In ASCII output, the rendering of some characters may be hard
+to interpret for the reader.
+Many are rendered as descriptive strings like
+.Qq <integral> ,
+.Qq <degree> ,
+or
+.Qq <Gamma> ,
+which may look ugly, and many are replaced by similar ASCII characters.
+In particular, accented characters are usually shown without the accent.
+For that reason, try to avoid using any of the special characters
+documented here except those discussed in the

 .Sx DESCRIPTION ,
 .Sx DESCRIPTION ,

-is strongly discouraged; they are supported merely for backwards
-compatibility with existing documents.
+unless they are essential for explaining the subject matter at hand,
+for example when documenting complicated mathematical functions.

 .Pp
 In particular, in English manual pages, do not use special-character
 escape sequences to represent national language characters in author
 names; instead, provide ASCII transcriptions of the names.
 .Ss Dashes and Hyphens
 In typography there are different types of dashes of various width:
 .Pp
 In particular, in English manual pages, do not use special-character
 escape sequences to represent national language characters in author
 names; instead, provide ASCII transcriptions of the names.
 .Ss Dashes and Hyphens
 In typography there are different types of dashes of various width:

-the hyphen (-),
-the minus sign (\(mi),
+the hyphen (\(hy),

 the en-dash (\(en),
 the en-dash (\(en),

-and the em-dash (\(em).
+the em-dash (\(em),
+and the mathematical minus sign (\(mi).

 .Pp
 Hyphens are used for adjectives;
 to separate the two parts of a compound word;
 .Pp
 Hyphens are used for adjectives;
 to separate the two parts of a compound word;


@@ -62,6 +76,42 @@ blue-eyed
 lorry-driver
 .Ed
 .Pp
 lorry-driver
 .Ed
 .Pp

+The en-dash is used to separate the two elements of a range,
+or can be used the same way as an em-dash.
+It should be written as
+.Sq \e(en :
+.Bd -unfilled -offset indent
+pp. 95\e(en97.
+Go away \e(en or else!
+.Ed
+.Pp
+The em-dash can be used to show an interruption
+or can be used the same way as colons, semi-colons, or parentheses.
+It should be written as
+.Sq \e(em :
+.Bd -unfilled -offset indent
+Three things \e(em apples, oranges, and bananas.
+This is not that \e(em rather, this is that.
+.Ed
+.Pp
+In
+.Xr roff 7
+documents, the minus sign is normally written as
+.Sq \e- .
+In manual pages, some style guides recommend to also use
+.Sq \e-
+if an ASCII 0x2d
+.Dq hyphen-minus
+output glyph that can be copied and pasted is desired in output modes
+supporting it, for example in
+.Fl T Cm utf8
+and
+.Fl T Cm html .
+But currently, no practically relevant manual page formatter requires
+that subtlety, so in manual pages, it is sufficient to write plain
+.Sq -
+to represent hyphen, minus, and hyphen-minus.
+.Pp

 If a word on a text input line contains a hyphen, a formatter may decide
 to insert an output line break after the hyphen if that helps filling
 the current output line, but the whole word would overflow the line.
 If a word on a text input line contains a hyphen, a formatter may decide
 to insert an output line break after the hyphen if that helps filling
 the current output line, but the whole word would overflow the line.


@@ -85,37 +135,6 @@ Such automatic hyphenation is not supported by
 .Xr mandoc 1 ,
 which only breaks the line at whitespace, and inside words only
 after existing hyphens.
 .Xr mandoc 1 ,
 which only breaks the line at whitespace, and inside words only
 after existing hyphens.

-.Pp
-The mathematical minus sign is used for negative numbers or subtraction.
-It should be written as
-.Sq \e(mi :
-.Bd -unfilled -offset indent
-a = 3 \e(mi 1;
-b = \e(mi2;
-.Ed
-.Pp
-The en-dash is used to separate the two elements of a range,
-or can be used the same way as an em-dash.
-It should be written as
-.Sq \e(en :
-.Bd -unfilled -offset indent
-pp. 95\e(en97.
-Go away \e(en or else!
-.Ed
-.Pp
-The em-dash can be used to show an interruption
-or can be used the same way as colons, semi-colons, or parentheses.
-It should be written as
-.Sq \e(em :
-.Bd -unfilled -offset indent
-Three things \e(em apples, oranges, and bananas.
-This is not that \e(em rather, this is that.
-.Ed
-.Pp
-Note:
-hyphens, minus signs, and en-dashes look identical under normal ASCII output.
-Other formats, such as PostScript, render them correctly,
-with differing widths.

 .Ss Spaces
 To separate words in normal text, for indenting and alignment
 in literal context, and when none of the following special cases apply,
 .Ss Spaces
 To separate words in normal text, for indenting and alignment
 in literal context, and when none of the following special cases apply,


@@ -242,16 +261,18 @@ subsection of the
 .Xr roff 7
 manual.
 .Pp
 .Xr roff 7
 manual.
 .Pp

-Spacing:
+Spaces, non-breaking unless stated otherwise:

 .Bl -column "Input" "Description" -offset indent -compact
 .It Em Input Ta Em Description
 .Bl -column "Input" "Description" -offset indent -compact
 .It Em Input Ta Em Description

-.It Sq \e\ \& Ta unpaddable non-breaking space
-.It \e\(ti   Ta paddable non-breaking space
-.It \e0      Ta unpaddable, breaking digit-width space
+.It Sq \e\ \& Ta unpaddable space
+.It \e\(ti   Ta paddable space
+.It \e0      Ta digit-width space

 .It \e|      Ta one-sixth \e(em narrow space, zero width in nroff mode
 .It \e^      Ta one-twelfth \e(em half-narrow space, zero width in nroff
 .It \e&      Ta zero-width space
 .It \e|      Ta one-sixth \e(em narrow space, zero width in nroff mode
 .It \e^      Ta one-twelfth \e(em half-narrow space, zero width in nroff
 .It \e&      Ta zero-width space

+.It \e)      Ta zero-width space transparent to end-of-sentence detection

 .It \e%      Ta zero-width space allowing hyphenation
 .It \e%      Ta zero-width space allowing hyphenation

+.It \e:      Ta zero-width space allowing line break

 .El
 .Pp
 Lines:
 .El
 .Pp
 Lines:


@@ -319,8 +340,8 @@ Quotes:
 .It \e(rq    Ta \(rq        Ta right double-quote
 .It \e(oq    Ta \(oq        Ta left single-quote
 .It \e(cq    Ta \(cq        Ta right single-quote
 .It \e(rq    Ta \(rq        Ta right double-quote
 .It \e(oq    Ta \(oq        Ta left single-quote
 .It \e(cq    Ta \(cq        Ta right single-quote

-.It \e(aq    Ta \(aq        Ta apostrophe quote (text)
-.It \e(dq    Ta \(dq        Ta double quote (text)
+.It \e(aq    Ta \(aq        Ta apostrophe quote (ASCII character)
+.It \e(dq    Ta \(dq        Ta double quote (ASCII character)

 .It \e(Fo    Ta \(Fo        Ta left guillemet
 .It \e(Fc    Ta \(Fc        Ta right guillemet
 .It \e(fo    Ta \(fo        Ta left single guillemet
 .It \e(Fo    Ta \(Fo        Ta left guillemet
 .It \e(Fc    Ta \(Fc        Ta right guillemet
 .It \e(fo    Ta \(fo        Ta left single guillemet


@@ -336,7 +357,7 @@ Brackets:
 .It \e(rC    Ta \(rC        Ta right brace
 .It \e(la    Ta \(la        Ta left angle
 .It \e(ra    Ta \(ra        Ta right angle
 .It \e(rC    Ta \(rC        Ta right brace
 .It \e(la    Ta \(la        Ta left angle
 .It \e(ra    Ta \(ra        Ta right angle

-.It \e(bv    Ta \(bv        Ta brace extension
+.It \e(bv    Ta \(bv        Ta brace extension (special font)

 .It \e[braceex] Ta \[braceex] Ta brace extension
 .It \e[bracketlefttp] Ta \[bracketlefttp] Ta top-left hooked bracket
 .It \e[bracketleftbt] Ta \[bracketleftbt] Ta bottom-left hooked bracket
 .It \e[braceex] Ta \[braceex] Ta brace extension
 .It \e[bracketlefttp] Ta \[bracketlefttp] Ta top-left hooked bracket
 .It \e[bracketleftbt] Ta \[bracketleftbt] Ta bottom-left hooked bracket


@@ -389,8 +410,8 @@ Logical:
 .It Em Input Ta Em Rendered Ta Em Description
 .It \e(AN    Ta \(AN        Ta logical and
 .It \e(OR    Ta \(OR        Ta logical or
 .It Em Input Ta Em Rendered Ta Em Description
 .It \e(AN    Ta \(AN        Ta logical and
 .It \e(OR    Ta \(OR        Ta logical or

-.It \e(no    Ta \(no        Ta logical not
-.It \e[tno]  Ta \[tno]      Ta logical not (text)
+.It \e[tno]  Ta \[tno]      Ta logical not (text font)
+.It \e(no    Ta \(no        Ta logical not (special font)

 .It \e(te    Ta \(te        Ta existential quantifier
 .It \e(fa    Ta \(fa        Ta universal quantifier
 .It \e(st    Ta \(st        Ta such that
 .It \e(te    Ta \(te        Ta existential quantifier
 .It \e(fa    Ta \(fa        Ta universal quantifier
 .It \e(st    Ta \(st        Ta such that


@@ -402,19 +423,20 @@ Logical:
 Mathematical:
 .Bl -column "xxcoproductxx" "Rendered" "Description" -offset indent -compact
 .It Em Input Ta Em Rendered Ta Em Description
 Mathematical:
 .Bl -column "xxcoproductxx" "Rendered" "Description" -offset indent -compact
 .It Em Input Ta Em Rendered Ta Em Description

-.It \e(pl    Ta \(pl        Ta plus
-.It \e(mi    Ta \(mi        Ta minus
-.It \e-      Ta \-          Ta minus (text)
+.It \e-      Ta \-          Ta minus (text font)
+.It \e(mi    Ta \(mi        Ta minus (special font)
+.It +        Ta +           Ta plus (text font)
+.It \e(pl    Ta \(pl        Ta plus (special font)

 .It \e(-+    Ta \(-+        Ta minus-plus
 .It \e(-+    Ta \(-+        Ta minus-plus

-.It \e(+-    Ta \(+-        Ta plus-minus
-.It \e[t+-]  Ta \[t+-]      Ta plus-minus (text)
+.It \e[t+-]  Ta \[t+-]      Ta plus-minus (text font)
+.It \e(+-    Ta \(+-        Ta plus-minus (special font)

 .It \e(pc    Ta \(pc        Ta center-dot
 .It \e(pc    Ta \(pc        Ta center-dot

-.It \e(mu    Ta \(mu        Ta multiply
-.It \e[tmu]  Ta \[tmu]      Ta multiply (text)
+.It \e[tmu]  Ta \[tmu]      Ta multiply (text font)
+.It \e(mu    Ta \(mu        Ta multiply (special font)

 .It \e(c*    Ta \(c*        Ta circle-multiply
 .It \e(c+    Ta \(c+        Ta circle-plus
 .It \e(c*    Ta \(c*        Ta circle-multiply
 .It \e(c+    Ta \(c+        Ta circle-plus

-.It \e(di    Ta \(di        Ta divide
-.It \e[tdi]  Ta \[tdi]      Ta divide (text)
+.It \e[tdi]  Ta \[tdi]      Ta divide (text font)
+.It \e(di    Ta \(di        Ta divide (special font)

 .It \e(f/    Ta \(f/        Ta fraction
 .It \e(**    Ta \(**        Ta asterisk
 .It \e(<=    Ta \(<=        Ta less-than-equal
 .It \e(f/    Ta \(f/        Ta fraction
 .It \e(**    Ta \(**        Ta asterisk
 .It \e(<=    Ta \(<=        Ta less-than-equal


@@ -511,8 +533,8 @@ Accents:
 .It \e(ao    Ta \(ao        Ta ring
 .It \e(a\(ti Ta \(a~        Ta tilde
 .It \e(ho    Ta \(ho        Ta ogonek
 .It \e(ao    Ta \(ao        Ta ring
 .It \e(a\(ti Ta \(a~        Ta tilde
 .It \e(ho    Ta \(ho        Ta ogonek

-.It \e(ha    Ta \(ha        Ta hat (text)
-.It \e(ti    Ta \(ti        Ta tilde (text)
+.It \e(ha    Ta \(ha        Ta hat (ASCII character)
+.It \e(ti    Ta \(ti        Ta tilde (ASCII character)

 .El
 .Pp
 Accented letters:
 .El
 .Pp
 Accented letters:


@@ -523,11 +545,13 @@ Accented letters:
 .It \e(\(aqI Ta \('I        Ta acute I
 .It \e(\(aqO Ta \('O        Ta acute O
 .It \e(\(aqU Ta \('U        Ta acute U
 .It \e(\(aqI Ta \('I        Ta acute I
 .It \e(\(aqO Ta \('O        Ta acute O
 .It \e(\(aqU Ta \('U        Ta acute U

+.It \e(\(aqY Ta \('Y        Ta acute Y

 .It \e(\(aqa Ta \('a        Ta acute a
 .It \e(\(aqe Ta \('e        Ta acute e
 .It \e(\(aqi Ta \('i        Ta acute i
 .It \e(\(aqo Ta \('o        Ta acute o
 .It \e(\(aqu Ta \('u        Ta acute u
 .It \e(\(aqa Ta \('a        Ta acute a
 .It \e(\(aqe Ta \('e        Ta acute e
 .It \e(\(aqi Ta \('i        Ta acute i
 .It \e(\(aqo Ta \('o        Ta acute o
 .It \e(\(aqu Ta \('u        Ta acute u

+.It \e(\(aqy Ta \('y        Ta acute y

 .It \e(\(gaA Ta \(`A        Ta grave A
 .It \e(\(gaE Ta \(`E        Ta grave E
 .It \e(\(gaI Ta \(`I        Ta grave I
 .It \e(\(gaA Ta \(`A        Ta grave A
 .It \e(\(gaE Ta \(`E        Ta grave E
 .It \e(\(gaI Ta \(`I        Ta grave I


@@ -685,11 +709,6 @@ Their syntax is similar to special characters, using
 and
 .Sq \e*[N]
 .Pq N-character .
 and
 .Sq \e*[N]
 .Pq N-character .

-For details, see the
-.Em Predefined Strings
-subsection of the
-.Xr roff 7
-manual.

 .Bl -column "Input" "Rendered" "Description" -offset indent
 .It Em Input Ta Em Rendered Ta Em Description
 .It \e*(Ba   Ta \*(Ba       Ta vertical bar
 .Bl -column "Input" "Rendered" "Description" -offset indent
 .It Em Input Ta Em Rendered Ta Em Description
 .It \e*(Ba   Ta \*(Ba       Ta vertical bar


@@ -741,14 +760,16 @@ For backward compatibility with existing manuals,
 .Xr mandoc 1
 also supports the
 .Pp
 .Xr mandoc 1
 also supports the
 .Pp

-.Dl \eN\(aq Ns Ar number Ns \(aq
+.Dl \eN\(aq Ns Ar number Ns \(aq and \e[ Ns Cm char Ns Ar number ]

 .Pp
 .Pp

-escape sequence, inserting the character
+escape sequences, inserting the character

 .Ar number
 from the current character set into the output.
 Of course, this is inherently non-portable and is already marked
 .Ar number
 from the current character set into the output.
 Of course, this is inherently non-portable and is already marked

-as deprecated in the Heirloom roff manual.
-For example, do not use \eN\(aq34\(aq, use \e(dq, or even the plain
+as deprecated in the Heirloom roff manual;
+on top of that, the second form is a GNU extension.
+For example, do not use \eN\(aq34\(aq or \e[char34], use \e(dq,
+or even the plain

 .Sq \(dq
 character where possible.
 .Sh COMPATIBILITY
 .Sq \(dq
 character where possible.
 .Sh COMPATIBILITY