implement -C (alternative config file) for apropos(1) and mandocdb(8),

including various tweaks to the whatis(8) manual;
ok kristaps@

1 files changed, 57 insertions, 14 deletions

diff --git a/whatis.1 b/whatis.1
index ee794bb4..0537bbaf 100644
--- a/whatis.1
+++ b/whatis.1
@@ -19,32 +19,47 @@
 .Os
 .Sh NAME
 .Nm whatis
-.Nd search manual page databases
+.Nd search for manual pages by page names
 .Sh SYNOPSIS
 .Nm
+.Op Fl C Ar file
 .Op Fl M Ar manpath
 .Op Fl m Ar manpath
 .Op Fl S Ar arch
 .Op Fl s Ar section
-.Ar term...
+.Ar name ...
 .Sh DESCRIPTION
 The
 .Nm
-utility searches for manuals named or described with
-.Ar term
-in manual page databases generated by
-.Xr mandocdb 8 .
-Its arguments are as follows:
+utility searches databases generated by
+.Xr mandocdb 8
+for manuals containing the word
+.Ar name
+in their page name, ignoring case.
+It returns the header lines from all matching pages.
+You can then use the
+.Xr man 1
+command to get more information.
+.Pp
+The options are as follows:
 .Bl -tag -width Ds
+.It Fl C Ar file
+Specify an alternative configuration
+.Ar file
+in
+.Xr man.conf 5
+format.
 .It Fl M Ar manpath
-Use the colon-separated path instead of the default list of paths
-searched for
+Use the colon-separated
+.Ar manpath
+instead of the default list of paths searched for
 .Xr mandocdb 8
 databases.
 Invalid paths, or paths without manual databases, are ignored.
 .It Fl m Ar manpath
-Prepend the colon-separated paths to the list of paths searched
-for
+Prepend the colon-separated
+.Ar manpath
+to the list of paths searched for
 .Xr mandocdb 8
 databases.
 Invalid paths, or paths without manual databases, are ignored.
@@ -102,16 +117,44 @@ Invalid paths, or paths without manual databases, are ignored.
 Overridden by
 .Fl M .
 .El
-.\" .Sh FILES
+.Sh FILES
+.Bl -tag -width "/etc/man.conf" -compact
+.It Pa mandoc.db
+name of the
+.Xr mandocdb 8
+keyword database
+.It Pa mandoc.index
+name of the
+.Xr mandocdb 8
+filename database
+.It Pa /etc/man.conf
+default
+.Xr man 1
+configuration file
+.El
 .Sh EXIT STATUS
 .Ex -std
 .Sh SEE ALSO
 .Xr apropos 1 ,
 .Xr man 1 ,
+.Xr man.conf 5 ,
 .Xr mandocdb 8
-.Sh AUTHORS
+.Sh HISTORY
 The
 .Nm
-utility was written by
+utility first appeared in
+.Bx 2 .
+It was rewritten from scratch as part of the
+.Xr mandocdb 8
+project for
+.Ox 5.1 .
+.Sh AUTHORS
+.An -nosplit
+.An Bill Joy
+wrote the original
+.Bx
+.Nm
+in 1979.
+The current version was written by
 .An Kristaps Dzonsons ,
 .Mt kristaps@bsd.lv .