summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/mdoc.7
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
authorKristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>2009-03-22 08:52:27 +0000
committerKristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>2009-03-22 08:52:27 +0000
commitcf2c069b38b257059a2eeb84c38a24fe86c715bb (patch)
treedb50035ba542eb38d08802615355a076feef30d1 /mdoc.7
parenta9d3d4288c2b573605a81c6fccba5e9ce61f6d1d (diff)
downloadmandoc-cf2c069b38b257059a2eeb84c38a24fe86c715bb.tar.gz
More documentation clarification.
Diffstat (limited to 'mdoc.7')
-rw-r--r--mdoc.749
1 files changed, 42 insertions, 7 deletions
diff --git a/mdoc.7 b/mdoc.7
index 492a8ef7..ba786c44 100644
--- a/mdoc.7
+++ b/mdoc.7
@@ -30,18 +30,33 @@ The
language is used to format
.Bx
.Ux
-manuals. An
+manuals. In this reference document, we describe the syntax, ontology
+and structure of the
+.Nm
+language.
+.\" PARAGRAPH
+.Pp
+An
.Nm
document follows simple rules: lines beginning with the control
-character
+character
.Sq \.
are parsed for macros. Other lines are interpreted within the scope of
-prior macros. This document describes the encoding, ontology and syntax
-of these macros.
+prior macros:
+.Bd -literal -offset XXX
+\&.Sh Macro lines change control state.
+Other lines are interpreted within the current state.
+.Ed
+.\" PARAGRAPH
+.Pp
+Macros are two- or three-character sequences whose scope rules, rules
+that dictate handling of subsequent-line or same-line arguments, are
+governed by one of five classifications described in this document.
.\" SECTION
-.Sh CHARACTER ENCODING
+.Sh INPUT ENCODING
.Nm
-documents may contain only printable characters, the space character
+documents may contain only graphable 7-bit ASCII characters, the space
+character
.Sq \ ,
and, in certain circumstances, the tab character
.Sq \et .
@@ -529,7 +544,11 @@ Special symbols:
.El
.\" SECTION
.Sh ONTOLOGY
-Macros are classified in an ontology described by scope rules.
+Macros are classified in an ontology described by their scope rules.
+Some macros are allowed to deviate from their classifications to
+preserve backward-compatibility with old macro combinations still found
+in the manual corpus. These are specifically noted on a per-macro
+basis.
.\" SUB-SECTION
.Ss Scope
.Bl -inset
@@ -729,6 +748,22 @@ close at the invocation's end-of-line.
.It \&.Dl Ta \&No Ta Yes
.It \&.Ql Ta Yes Ta Yes
.El
+.\" PARAGRAPH
+.Pp
+The
+.Sq \&Op
+may be broken by \&Oc as in the following example:
+.Bd -literal -offset XXXX
+\&.Oo
+\&.Op Fl a Oc
+.Ed
+.Pp
+In the above example, the scope of
+.Sq \&Op
+is technically broken by
+.Sq \&Oc ,
+however, due to the overwhelming existence of this sequence, it's
+allowed.
.\" SUB-SECTION
.Ss Block partial-explicit
Each of these contains at least a body and, in limited circumstances, a