-.\" $Id: mdoc.7,v 1.110 2010/05/26 10:39:35 kristaps Exp $
+.\" $Id: mdoc.7,v 1.123 2010/06/07 11:14:13 kristaps Exp $
.\"
.\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
.\"
.\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
.\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
.\"
-.Dd $Mdocdate: May 26 2010 $
+.Dd $Mdocdate: June 7 2010 $
.Dt MDOC 7
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Pp
An
.Nm
-document follows simple rules: lines beginning with the control
+document follows simple rules: lines beginning with the control
character
.Sq \.
are parsed for macros. Other lines are interpreted within the scope of
A numerical representation 3, 2, or 1 (bold, italic, and Roman,
respectively) may be used instead.
A text decoration is valid within
-the current font scope only: if a macro opens a font scope alongside
+the current font scope only: if a macro opens a font scope alongside
its own scope, such as
.Sx \&Bf
.Cm \&Sy ,
followed by
.Sx \&Nd .
.Pp
-Following that, convention dictates specifying at least the SYNOPSIS and
-DESCRIPTION sections, although this varies between manual sections.
+Following that, convention dictates specifying at least the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+and
+.Em DESCRIPTION
+sections, although this varies between manual sections.
.Pp
The following is a well-formed skeleton
.Nm
\&.Dd $\&Mdocdate$
\&.Dt mdoc 7
\&.Os
-\&.
\&.Sh NAME
\&.Nm foo
\&.Nd a description goes here
\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2, 3, & 9 only.
\&.\e\*q .Sh LIBRARY
-\&.
\&.Sh SYNOPSIS
\&.Nm foo
\&.Op Fl options
\&.Ar
-\&.
\&.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
\&.Nm
Manuals not in these sections generally don't need a
.Em SYNOPSIS .
.Pp
-See
-.Sx \&Op ,
+Some macros are displayed differently in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section, particularly
+.Sx \&Nm ,
.Sx \&Cd ,
+.Sx \&Fd ,
.Sx \&Fn ,
-.Sx \&Ft ,
+.Sx \&Fo ,
+.Sx \&In ,
+.Sx \&Vt ,
and
-.Sx \&Vt .
+.Sx \&Ft .
+All of these macros are output on their own line. If two such
+dissimilar macros are pair-wise invoked (except for
+.Sx \&Ft
+before
+.Sx \&Fo
+or
+.Sx \&Fn ) ,
+they are separated by a vertical space, unless in the case of
+.Sx \&Fo ,
+.Sx \&Fn ,
+and
+.Sx \&Ft ,
+which are always separated by vertical space.
.It Em DESCRIPTION
This expands upon the brief, one-line description in
.Em NAME .
These dictate the width of columns either as
.Sx Scaling Widths
or literal text.
-List entry bodies must be left empty.
-Column bodies have the following syntax:
-.Pp
-.D1 .It col1 <TAB> ... coln
-.D1 .It col1 Ta ... coln
-.D1 .It col1 <TAB> col2 Ta coln
-.Pp
-where columns may be separated by tabs, the literal string
-.Qq Ta ,
-or a mixture of both.
-These are equivalent except that quoted sections propogate over tabs,
-for example,
-.Pp
-.D1 .It \(dqcol1 ; <TAB> col2 ;\(dq ;
-.Pp
-will preserve the semicolon whitespace except for the last.
+If the initial macro of a
+.Fl column
+list is not an
+.Sx \&It ,
+an
+.Sx \&It
+context spanning each line is implied until an
+.Sx \&It
+line macro is encountered, at which point list bodies are interpreted as
+described in the
+.Sx \&It
+documentation.
.It Fl dash
A list offset by a dash (hyphen).
The head of list entries must be empty.
.Fl width
argument.
.El
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&It .
.Ss \&Bo
Begins a block enclosed by square brackets.
Does not have any head arguments.
and
.Sx \&Dl .
.Ss \&Db
+Start a debugging context.
+This macro is parsed, but generally ignored.
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Db Cm on | off
.Ss \&Dc
Closes a
.Sx \&Do
This is the mandatory first macro of any
.Nm
manual.
-Its calling syntax is as follows:
+Its syntax is as follows:
.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&Dd Cm date
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Dd Cm date
.Pp
The
.Cm date
This is the mandatory second macro of any
.Nm
file.
-Its calling syntax is as follows:
-.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&Dt Cm title section Op Cm volume | arch
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Bd -ragged -offset indent
+.Pf \. Sx \&Dt
+.Oo
+.Cm title
+.Oo
+.Cm section
+.Op Cm volume | arch
+.Oc
+.Oc
+.Ed
.Pp
Its arguments are as follows:
.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset Ds
.It Cm title
-The document's title (name).
-This should be capitalised and is required.
+The document's title (name), defaulting to
+.Qq UNKNOWN
+if unspecified.
+It should be capitalised.
.It Cm section
The manual section.
This may be one of
or
.Ar paper
.Pq paper .
-It is also required and should correspond to the manual's filename
-suffix.
+It should correspond to the manual's filename suffix and defaults to
+.Qq 1
+if unspecified.
.It Cm volume
This overrides the volume inferred from
.Ar section .
.D1 \&.Dt FOO 1
.D1 \&.Dt FOO 4 KM
.D1 \&.Dt FOO 9 i386
-.D1 \&.Dt FOO 9 KM i386
.Pp
See also
.Sx \&Dd
.Ss \&Ef
.Ss \&Ek
.Ss \&El
+Ends a list context started by
+.Sx \&Bl .
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&Bl
+and
+.Sx \&It .
.Ss \&Em
Denotes text that should be emphasised.
Note that this is a presentation term and should not be used for
.Sx \&Nm
is provided.
.Ss \&Fa
+Function argument.
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Bd -ragged -offset indent
+.Pf \. Sx \&Fa
+.Op Cm argtype
+.Cm argname
+.Ed
+.Pp
+This may be invoked for names with or without the corresponding type.
+It is also used to specify the field name of a structure.
+Most often, the
+.Sx \&Fa
+macro is used in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+within
+.Sx \&Fo
+section when documenting multi-line function prototypes.
+If invoked with multiple arguments, the arguments are separated by a
+comma.
+Furthermore, if the following macro is another
+.Sx \&Fa ,
+the last argument will also have a trailing comma.
+.Pp
+Examples:
+.D1 \&.Fa \(dqconst char *p\(dq
+.D1 \&.Fa \(dqint a\(dq \(dqint b\(dq \(dqint c\(dq
+.D1 \&.Fa foo
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&Fo .
.Ss \&Fc
.Ss \&Fd
+Historically used to document include files.
+This usage has been deprecated in favour of
+.Sx \&In .
+Do not use this macro.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE
+and
+.Sx \&In .
.Ss \&Fl
Command-line flag.
Used when listing arguments to command-line utilities.
See also
.Sx \&Cm .
.Ss \&Fn
+A function name.
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Bd -ragged -offset indent
+.Pf \. Ns Sx \&Fn
+.Op Cm functype
+.Cm funcname
+.Op Oo Cm argtype Oc Cm argname
+.Ed
+.Pp
+Function arguments are surrounded in parenthesis and
+are delimited by commas.
+If no arguments are specified, blank parenthesis are output.
+.Pp
+Examples:
+.D1 \&.Fn "int funcname" "int arg0" "int arg1"
+.D1 \&.Fn funcname "int arg0"
+.D1 \&.Fn funcname arg0
+.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
+\&.Ft functype
+\&.Fn funcname
+.Ed
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE
+and
+.Sx \&Ft .
.Ss \&Fo
-.Ss \&Fr
+Begin a function block.
+This is a multi-line version of
+.Sx \&Fn .
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Fo Cm funcname
+.Pp
+Invocations usually occur in the following context:
+.Bd -ragged -offset indent
+.Pf \. Sx \&Ft Cm functype
+.br
+.Pf \. Sx \&Fo Cm funcname
+.br
+.Pf \. Sx \&Fa Oo Cm argtype Oc Cm argname
+.br
+\.\.\.
+.br
+.Pf \. Sx \&Fc
+.Ed
+.Pp
+A
+.Sx \&Fo
+scope is closed by
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE ,
+.Sx \&Fa ,
+.Sx \&Fc ,
+and
.Ss \&Ft
+A function type.
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Ft Cm functype
+.Pp
+Examples:
+.D1 \&.Ft int
+.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
+\&.Ft functype
+\&.Fn funcname
+.Ed
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE ,
+.Sx \&Fn ,
+and
+.Sx \&Fo .
.Ss \&Fx
Format the FreeBSD version provided as an argument, or a default value
if no argument is provided.
.Ss \&Hf
.Ss \&Ic
.Ss \&In
+An
+.Qq include
+file.
+In the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section (only if invoked as the line macro), the first argument is
+preceded by
+.Qq #include ,
+the arguments is enclosed in angled braces.
+.Pp
+Examples:
+.D1 \&.In sys/types
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE .
.Ss \&It
+A list item.
+The syntax of this macro depends on the list type.
+.Pp
+Lists
+of type
+.Fl hang ,
+.Fl ohang ,
+.Fl inset ,
+and
+.Fl diag
+have the following syntax:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&It Cm args
+.Pp
+Lists of type
+.Fl bullet ,
+.Fl dash ,
+.Fl enum ,
+.Fl hyphen
+and
+.Fl item
+have the following syntax:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&It
+.Pp
+with subsequent lines interpreted within the scope of the
+.Sx \&It
+until either a closing
+.Sx \&El
+or another
+.Sx \&It .
+.Pp
+The
+.Fl tag
+list has the following syntax:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&It Op Cm args
+.Pp
+Subsequent lines are interpreted as with
+.Fl bullet
+and family.
+The line arguments correspond to the list's left-hand side; body
+arguments correspond to the list's contents.
+.Pp
+The
+.Fl column
+list is the most complicated.
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&It Op Cm args
+.Pp
+The
+.Cm args
+are phrases, a mix of macros and text corresponding to a line column,
+delimited by tabs or the special
+.Sq \&Ta
+pseudo-macro.
+Lines subsequent the
+.Sx \&It
+are interpreted within the scope of the last phrase.
+Calling the pseudo-macro
+.Sq \&Ta
+will open a new phrase scope (this must occur on a macro line to be
+interpreted as a macro). Note that the tab phrase delimiter may only be
+used within the
+.Sx \&It
+line itself.
+Subsequent this, only the
+.Sq \&Ta
+pseudo-macro may be used to delimit phrases.
+Furthermore, note that quoted sections propogate over tab-delimited
+phrases on an
+.Sx \&It ,
+for example,
+.Pp
+.D1 .It \(dqcol1 ; <TAB> col2 ;\(dq \&;
+.Pp
+will preserve the semicolon whitespace except for the last.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&Bl .
.Ss \&Lb
Specify a library.
-The calling syntax is as follows:
+The syntax is as follows:
.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&Lb Cm library
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Lb Cm library
.Pp
The
.Cm library
.Ss \&Li
.Ss \&Lk
Format a hyperlink.
-The calling syntax is as follows:
+Its syntax is as follows:
.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&Lk Cm uri Op Cm name
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Lk Cm uri Op Cm name
.Pp
Examples:
.D1 \&.Lk http://bsd.lv "The BSD.lv Project"
.Ss \&Lp
.Ss \&Ms
.Ss \&Mt
+Format a
+.Qq mailto:
+hyperlink.
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Mt Cm address
+.Pp
+Examples:
+.D1 \&.Mt discuss@manpages.bsd.lv
.Ss \&Nd
.Ss \&Nm
.Ss \&No
This is the mandatory third macro of
any
.Nm
-file. Its calling syntax is as follows:
+file.
+Its syntax is as follows:
.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&Os Op Cm system
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Os Op Cm system
.Pp
The optional
.Cm system
.Sx \&%Q ,
.Sx \&%R ,
.Sx \&%T ,
+.Sx \&%U ,
and
.Sx \&%V
child macros (at least one must be specified).
.Ss \&Va
.Ss \&Vt
A variable type.
-This is also used for indicating global variables in the SYNOPSIS
+This is also used for indicating global variables in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
section, in which case a variable name is also specified.
Note that it accepts
.Sx Block partial-implicit
-syntax when invoked as the first macro in the SYNOPSIS section, else it
-accepts ordinary
+syntax when invoked as the first macro in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section, else it accepts ordinary
.Sx In-line
syntax.
.Pp
.Pp
Examples:
.D1 \&.Vt unsigned char
-.D1 \&.Vt extern const char * const sys_signame[] ;
+.D1 \&.Vt extern const char * const sys_signame[] \&;
.Pp
See also
-.Sx \&Ft
+.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE
and
.Sx \&Va .
.Ss \&Xc
.Ss \&Xr
Link to another manual
.Pq Qq cross-reference .
-Its calling syntax is
+Its syntax is as follows:
.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&Xr Cm name section
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Xr Cm name section
.Pp
The
.Cm name
.Pp
Examples:
.D1 \&.Xr mandoc 1
-.D1 \&.Xr mandoc 1 ;
+.D1 \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&;
.D1 \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&Ns s behaviour
.Ss \&br
.Ss \&sp
.Pp
.Bl -dash -compact
.It
+groff behaves inconsistently when encountering
+.Pf non- Sx \&Fa
+children of
+.Sx \&Fo
+regarding spacing between arguments.
+In mandoc, this is not the case: each argument is consistently followed
+by a single space and the trailing
+.Sq \&)
+suppresses prior spacing.
+.It
+groff behaves inconsistently when encountering
+.Sx \&Ft
+and
+.Sx \&Fn
+in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS :
+at times newline(s) are suppressed dependong on whether a prior
+.Sx \&Fn
+has been invoked.
+In mandoc, this is not the case.
+See
+.Sx \&Ft
+and
+.Sx \&Fn
+for the normalised behaviour.
+.It
+Historic groff does not break before an
+.Sx \&Fn
+when not invoked as the line macro in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section.
+.It
+Historic groff formats the
+.Sx \&In
+badly: trailing arguments are trashed and
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+is not specially treated.
+.It
+groff does not accept the
+.Sq \&Ta
+pseudo-macro as a line macro.
+mandoc does.
+.It
The comment syntax
.Sq \e."
is no longer accepted.
This is not supported in mandoc.
.It
In groff, the
-.Sx \&Fo
-macro only produces the first parameter.
-This is not the case in mandoc.
-.It
-In groff, the
.Sx \&Cd ,
.Sx \&Er ,
.Sx \&Ex ,
git.ckatri.com / mandoc.git / blobdiff