path: root/index.sgml

                                                                                          

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		<TITLE>mdocml | UNIX manpage compiler</TITLE>
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		<P CLASS="head">
			<B>mdocml</B> &#8211; UNIX manpage compiler, current version @VERSION@ (@VDATE@)
		</P>
		<P CLASS="subhead">
			Sources: <A HREF="/snapshots/mdocml.tar.gz">current</A>,
			<A HREF="/cgi-bin/cvsweb/?cvsroot=mdocml">cvsweb</A>
			(<A HREF="/snapshots/">archives</A>)
		</P>
		<H1>
			<A NAME="description">Description</A>
		</H1>
		<P>
			<SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> is a suite of tools compiling <I><A HREF="mdoc.7.html">mdoc</A></I>, the roff macro
			package of choice for BSD manual pages, and <I><A HREF="man.7.html">man</A></I>, the predominant historical package for
			UNIX manuals.  The mission of <SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> is to deprecate <A
			HREF="http://www.gnu.org/software/groff/" CLASS="external">groff</A>, the GNU troff implementation, for displaying <I>mdoc</I>
			pages whilst providing token support for <I>man</I>.
		</P>
		<P>
			Why?  groff amounts to over 5 MB of source code, most of which is C++ and GPL version 3.  It runs slowly, produces
			uncertain output, and varies in operation from system to system.  mdocml strives to fix this (respectively small, C, <A
			CLASS="external" HREF="http://www.isc.org/software/license">ISC</A>-licensed, fast and regular).
		</P>
		<P>
			<SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> consists of the <A HREF="mandoc.3.html">libmandoc</A> validating compiler and <A
			HREF="mandoc.1.html">mandoc</A>, which interfaces with the compiler library to format output for UNIX terminals (with
			support for wide-character locales), XHTML, HTML, PostScript, and PDF.  
			It also includes <A HREF="preconv.1.html">preconv</A> for recoding multibyte manuals,
			<A HREF="demandoc.1.html">demandoc</A> for emitting only text parts of manuals,
			<A HREF="mandocdb.8.html">mandocdb</A> for indexing manuals,
			<A HREF="apropos.1.html">apropos</A> (includes whatis mode) for indexed manual search, and
			<A HREF="man.cgi.7.html">man.cgi</A> for indexed manual search online.
			It is a <A CLASS="external" HREF="http://bsd.lv/">BSD.lv</A> project.  
		</P>
		<P>
			<I>Disambiguation</I>: <SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> is often referred to by its installed binary, <Q>mandoc</Q>.
		</P>
		<H2>
			<A NAME="sources">Sources</A>
		</H2>
		<P>
			<SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> is in ISO C99 and should build and run on any modern system; however, you'll need <A
			HREF="http://www.sqlite.org">sqlite3</A> to build <A HREF="apropos.1.html">apropos</A> (links to whatis), 
			<A HREF="man.cgi.7.html">man.cgi</A>, and <A HREF="mandocdb.8.html">mandocdb</A>.  
			To build and install into <I>/usr/local/</I>, just run <CODE>make install</CODE>.  
			Be careful: the <B>preconv</B>, <B>apropos</B>, and <B>whatis</B> binary names are usually taken by existing utilities.
		</P>
		<H2>
			Downstream
		</H2>
		<P>
			Several systems come bundled with <SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> utilities.
			If your system does not appear below, the maintainers have not contacted me and it should not be considered
			<Q>official</Q>.
			Please <A HREF="#contact">contact us</A> if you plan on maintaining a downstream version!
		</P>
		<TABLE WIDTH="100%" SUMMARY="Downstream Sources">
			<COL WIDTH="175">
			<COL>
			<TBODY>
				<TR>
					<TD>DragonFly BSD</TD>
					<TD>
					<A HREF="http://gitweb.dragonflybsd.org/dragonfly.git/tree/HEAD:/contrib/mdocml" CLASS="external">contrib/mdocml</A> (1.12.2 sources)
					<A HREF="http://gitweb.dragonflybsd.org/dragonfly.git/tree/HEAD:/lib/libmandoc" CLASS="external">lib/libmandoc</A>
					<A HREF="http://gitweb.dragonflybsd.org/dragonfly.git/tree/HEAD:/usr.bin/mandoc" CLASS="external">usr.bin/mandoc</A> (build system)
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD>FreeBSD 10.0, -CURRENT</TD>
					<TD>
					<A HREF="http://svnweb.freebsd.org/base/head/contrib/mdocml/" CLASS="external">contrib/mdocml</A> (1.12.1 sources)
					<A HREF="http://svnweb.freebsd.org/base/head/usr.bin/mandoc/" CLASS="external">usr.bin/mandoc</A> (build system)
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD>FreeBSD 9.x, 8.x</TD>
					<TD>
					<A HREF="http://svnweb.freebsd.org/ports/head/textproc/mdocml/" CLASS="external">ports/textproc/mdocml</A> (1.12.1 port)
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD>NetBSD</TD>
					<TD>
					<A HREF="http://cvsweb.netbsd.org/bsdweb.cgi/src/external/bsd/mdocml/" CLASS="external">src/external/bsd/mdocml</A> (1.12.1 sources plus patches and build system)
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD>OpenBSD</TD>
					<TD>
					<A HREF="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/src/usr.bin/mandoc/" CLASS="external">src/usr.bin/mandoc</A> (1.12.2 sources and build system)
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD>pkgsrc</TD>
					<TD>
					<A HREF="http://pkgsrc.se/textproc/mdocml" CLASS="external">textproc/mdocml</A> (1.12.2 port)
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD>Minix3</TD>
					<TD>
					<A HREF="http://git.minix3.org/?p=minix.git;a=tree;f=external/bsd/mdocml" CLASS="external">external/bsd/mdocml</A> (1.10.9 sources and build system)
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD>Alpine Linux</TD>
					<TD>
					<A HREF="http://git.alpinelinux.org/cgit/aports/tree/main/mdocml" CLASS="external">aports/main/mdocml</A> (1.12.2 port)
					</TD>
				</TR>
			</TBODY>
		</TABLE>
		<H1>
			<A NAME="documentation">Documentation</A>
		</H1>
		<P>
			These manuals are generated automatically and refer to the current release.
			They are the authoritative documentation for the <SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> system.
		</P>

		<TABLE WIDTH="100%" SUMMARY="Documentation">
			<COL WIDTH="175">
			<COL>
			<TBODY>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="apropos.1.html">apropos(1)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						search the manual page database
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="demandoc.1.html">demandoc(1)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						emit only text of UNIX manuals
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="mandoc.1.html">mandoc(1)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						format and display UNIX manuals
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="preconv.1.html">preconv(1)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						recode multibyte UNIX manuals
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="mandoc.3.html">mandoc(3)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						mandoc macro compiler library
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="tbl.3.html">tbl(3)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						roff table parser library for mandoc
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="eqn.7.html">eqn(7)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						eqn-mandoc language reference
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="man.7.html">man(7)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						man language reference
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="man.cgi.7.html">man.cgi(7)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						cgi for manpage query and display
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="mandoc_char.7.html">mandoc_char(7)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						mandoc special characters
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="mdoc.7.html">mdoc(7)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						mdoc language reference
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="roff.7.html">roff(7)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						roff-mandoc language reference
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="tbl.7.html">tbl(7)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						tbl-mandoc language reference
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="mandocdb.8.html">mandocdb(8)</A></TD>
					<TD VALIGN="top">
						index UNIX manuals
					</TD>
				</TR>
			</TBODY>
		</TABLE>
		<H2>
			<A NAME="links">Supplementary Information</A>
		</H2>
		<UL>
			<LI>
				<A HREF="http://manpages.bsd.lv/">Practical UNIX Manuals</A>: mdoc tutorial by Kristaps Dzonsons
			</LI>
			<LI>
				<A HREF="http://www.openbsd.org/faq/ports/specialtopics.html#Mandoc" CLASS="external">OpenBSD porting guide</A>
				chapter regarding manual pages
			</LI>
			<LI>
				<A HREF="press.html">Publications and media coverage</A>
				concerning mdocml and mandoc
			</LI>
			<LI>
				<A HREF="http://manpages.bsd.lv/history.html">History of UNIX Manpages</A>: a comprehensive overview by Kristaps Dzonsons
			</LI>
		</UL>
		<H1>
			<A NAME="contact">Contact</A>
		</H1>
		<P>
			Use the mailing lists for bug-reports, patches, questions, etc.  Please check the
			<A HREF="http://mdocml.bsd.lv/cgi-bin/cvsweb/TODO?cvsroot=mdocml">TODO</A> for known issues
			before posting.  All lists are subscription-only: send a blank e-mail to the listed address to subscribe.  Beyond that,
			contact Kristaps at <A HREF="http://mailhide.recaptcha.net/d?k=01M6h_w7twDp58ZgH57eWC_w==&amp;c=Q2DBUt401ePlSeupJFrq_Q==" TITLE="Reveal
			this e-mail address">kris...</A>@bsd.lv.  Archives are available at <A HREF="http://gmane.org/" CLASS="external">Gmane</A>.
		</P>
		<TABLE WIDTH="100%" SUMMARY="Mailing Lists">
			<COL WIDTH="175">
			<COL>
			<TBODY>
				<TR>
					<TD>
						disc<A CLASS="external" TITLE="Reveal this e-mail address"
						HREF="http://www.google.com/recaptcha/mailhide/d?k=01KQ80PFH5n3BBNpF5Gs4sRg==&amp;c=EV1QytpQqTHSItc2IXvZyocgYLPnG5K0JKw_gwMC9yc=">...</A>@mdocml.bsd.lv
					</TD>
					<TD>
						bug-reports, general questions, and announcements 
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD>
						tec<A CLASS="external" TITLE="Reveal this e-mail address"
						HREF="http://www.google.com/recaptcha/mailhide/d?k=01qDX_iV0RlUOarEvb6mR28g==&amp;c=gRXsTjza0NNCFPaYu-Taj2tF0pmYZSc90EZkFkhkxgo=">...</A>@mdocml.bsd.lv
					</TD>
					<TD>
						patches and system discussions 
					</TD>
				</TR>
				<TR>
					<TD>
						sou<A CLASS="external" TITLE="Reveal this e-mail address"
						HREF="http://www.google.com/recaptcha/mailhide/d?k=01prQrAZhhl2EbIwVcRfABsQ==&amp;c=KtTW4Yic9xk-8g40KzJoca4fR3MYXv28g8NC6OQV-T8=">...</A>@mdocml.bsd.lv
					</TD>
					<TD>
						source commit messages 
					</TD>
				</TR>
			</TBODY>
		</TABLE>
		<H1>
			<A NAME="news">News</A>
		</H1>
		<P CLASS="news">
			xx-xx-2013: version 1.13.0
		</P>
		<P>
			 The <A HREF="mandocdb.8.html">mandocdb</A> tools (<A HREF="mandocdb.8.html">mandocdb</A>, <A
			HREF="apropos.1.html">apropos</A> (absorbing whatis), and <A HREF="man.cgi.7.html">man.cgi</A>) have been re-written to
			use <A CLASS="external" HREF="http://www.sqlite.org">sqlite3</A> as a database.
		</P>
		<P CLASS="news">
			05-10-2013: version 1.12.2
		</P>
		<P>
			The <A HREF="mdoc.7.html">mdoc(7)</A> to <A HREF="man.7.html">man(7)</A> converter,
			to be called as <CODE>mandoc -Tman</CODE>, is now fully functional.
		</P>
		<P>
			The <A HREF="mandoc.1.html">mandoc(1)</A> utility now supports the <CODE>-Ios</CODE> (default operating system)
			input option, and the <CODE>-Tutf8</CODE> output mode now actually works.
		</P>
		<P>
			The <A HREF="mandocdb.8.html">mandocdb(8)</A> utility no longer truncates existing databases when starting to build new ones,
			but only replaces them when the build actually succeeds.
		</P>
		<P>
			The <A HREF="man.7.html">man(7)</A> parser now supports the <EM>PD</EM> macro (paragraph distance),
			and (for GNU man-ext compatibility only) <EM>EX</EM> (example block) and <EM>EE</EM> (example end).
			Plus several bugfixes regarding indentation, line breaks, and vertical spacing,
			and regarding <EM>RS</EM> following <EM>TP</EM>.
		</P>
		<P>
			The <A HREF="roff.7.html">roff(7)</A> parser now supports the <EM>\f(BI</EM> (bold+italic) font escape,
			the <EM>\z</EM> (zero cursor advance) escape and the <EM>cc</EM> (change control character)
			and <EM>it</EM> (input line trap) requests.
			Plus bugfixes regarding the <EM>\t</EM> (tab) escape, nested escape sequences, and conditional requests.
		</P>
		<P>
			In <A HREF="mdoc.7.html">mdoc(7)</A>, several bugs were fixed related to UTF-8 output of quoting enclosures,
			delimiter handling, list indentation and horizontal and vertical spacing,
			formatting of the <EM>Lk</EM>, <EM>%U</EM>, and <EM>%C</EM> macros,
			plus some bugfixes related to the handling of syntax errors like badly nested font blocks,
			stray <EM>Ta</EM> macros outside column lists, unterminated <EM>It Xo</EM> blocks,
			and non-text children of <EM>Nm</EM> blocks.
		</P>
		<P>
			In <A HREF="tbl.7.html">tbl(7)</A>, the width of horizontal spans and the vertical spacing around tables was corrected,
			and in <A HREF="man.7.html">man(7)</A> files, a crash was fixed that was triggered by some particular unclosed <EM>T{</EM> macros.
		</P>
		<P>
			For mandoc developers, we now provide a <A HREF="tbl.3.html">tbl(3)</A> library manual and <CODE>gmdiff</CODE>,
			a very small, very simplistic groff-versus-mandoc output comparison tool.
		</P>
		<P CLASS="news">
			23-03-2012: version 1.12.1
		</P>
		<P>
			Significant work on <A HREF="apropos.1.html">apropos</A> and <A HREF="mandocdb.8.html">mandocdb</A>.  These tools are
			now much more robust.  
			A <A HREF="whatis.1.html">whatis</A> implementation is now handled as an <A HREF="apropos.1.html">apropos</A> mode.
			These tools are also able to minimally handle pre-formatted pages, that is, those already formatted by another utility
			such as GNU troff.
		</P>
		<P>
			The <A HREF="man.cgi.7.html">man.cgi</A> script is also now available for wider testing.  It interfaces with <A
			HREF="mandocdb.8.html">mandocdb</A> manuals cached by <A HREF="catman.8.html">catman</A>.  HTML output is generated
			on-the-fly by <A HREF="mandoc.3.html">libmandoc</A> or internal methods to convert pre-formatted pages.
		</P>
		<P>
			The mailing list archive for the discuss and tech lists are being hosted by <A CLASS="external"
			HREF="http://www.gmane.org">Gmane</A> at <A HREF="http://dir.gmane.org/gmane.comp.tools.mdocml.user"
			CLASS="external">gmane.comp.tools.mdocml.user</A> and <A HREF="http://dir.gmane.org/gmane.comp.tools.mdocml.devel"
			CLASS="external">gmane.comp.tools.mdocml.devel</A>, respectively.
		</P>
		<P>
			Lastly, I'm no longer providing binaries, as nobody has asked for them.
		</P>
		<H2>
			<A>History</A>
		</H2>
		<UL>
			<LI>
				<A HREF="NEWS">Release notes</A> going back to release 1.9.15, February 18, 2010.
				Briefly explaining the most important changes in each release in relatively easy terms.
				Very many changes are not mentioned here.
			</LI>
			<LI>
				<A HREF="history.html">Development history</A> going back to the beginning of the project, November 22, 2008.
				One-line entries for important commits, releases, merges, hackathons and talks.
				Makes it easy to find out who did what, and when, and when it became available where.
				However, this is still incomplete, mentioning only a small fraction of all commits,
				and to keep the size down, the individual entries are extremely terse and technical.
				Feel free to look up more details and longer explanations about individual entries
				in the ChangeLog or in CVS.
			</LI>
			<LI>
				<A HREF="ChangeLog">CVS ChangeLog</A> going back to the beginning of the project.
				Very technical information of varying quality, strictly chronological.
				All commits are mentioned, but some messages neglect to mention some changes.
				Partly terse, partly detailed and verbose.  In any case, the ChangeLog is very long -
				more than 25,000 lines, more than 700 kB.
			</LI>
			<LI>
				<A HREF="/cgi-bin/cvsweb/?cvsroot=mdocml">CVS</A> web interface, going back to the beginning of the project.
				Source code, diffs and commit messages for each source file.  The real thing.
			</LI>
		</UL>
		<P CLASS="foot">
			<SMALL>
				Copyright &#169; 2008&#8211;2011 
				<A CLASS="external" HREF="http://kristaps.bsd.lv">Kristaps Dzonsons</A>, 
				&#169; 2013 Ingo Schwarze,
				$Date$
			</SMALL>
		</P>
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