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-rw-r--r--mdoc.7216
1 files changed, 165 insertions, 51 deletions
diff --git a/mdoc.7 b/mdoc.7
index 4ad9333a..5edf81d6 100644
--- a/mdoc.7
+++ b/mdoc.7
@@ -471,6 +471,21 @@ Print verbose information.
.Ed
.Pp
Manuals not documenting a command won't include the above fragment.
+.Pp
+Since the
+.Em DESCRIPTION
+section usually contains most of the text of a manual, longer manuals
+often use the
+.Sx \&Ss
+macro to form subsections.
+In very long manuals, the
+.Em DESCRIPTION
+may be split into multiple sections, each started by an
+.Sx \&Sh
+macro followed by a non-standard section name, and each having
+several subsections, like in the present
+.Nm
+manual.
.It Em IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
Implementation-specific notes should be kept here.
This is useful when implementing standard functions that may have side
@@ -532,7 +547,13 @@ This section should exist for most manuals.
Cross-references should conventionally be ordered first by section, then
alphabetically.
.Pp
+References to other documentation concerning the topic of the manual page,
+for example authoritative books or journal articles, may also be
+provided in this section.
+.Pp
See
+.Sx \&Rs
+and
.Sx \&Xr .
.It Em STANDARDS
References any standards implemented or used.
@@ -543,7 +564,8 @@ section should be used instead.
See
.Sx \&St .
.It Em HISTORY
-A brief history of the subject, including where support first appeared.
+A brief history of the subject, including where it was first implemented,
+and when it was ported to or reimplemented for the operating system at hand.
.It Em AUTHORS
Credits to the person or persons who wrote the code and/or documentation.
Authors should generally be noted by both name and email address.
@@ -1176,20 +1198,27 @@ The
must be one of the following:
.Bl -tag -width 13n -offset indent
.It Fl centered
-Centre-justify each line.
+Produce one output line from each input line, and centre-justify each line.
Using this display type is not recommended; many
.Nm
implementations render it poorly.
.It Fl filled
-Left- and right-justify the block.
+Change the positions of line breaks to fill each line, and left- and
+right-justify the resulting block.
.It Fl literal
-Do not justify the block at all.
+Produce one output line from each input line,
+and do not justify the block at all.
Preserve white space as it appears in the input.
+Always use a constant-width font.
+Use this for displaying source code.
.It Fl ragged
-Only left-justify the block.
+Change the positions of line breaks to fill each line, and left-justify
+the resulting block.
.It Fl unfilled
-An alias for
-.Fl literal .
+The same as
+.Fl literal ,
+but using the same font as for normal text, which is a variable width font
+if supported by the output device.
.El
.Pp
The
@@ -1205,7 +1234,7 @@ which may be one of the following:
.It
One of the pre-defined strings
.Cm indent ,
-the width of standard indentation;
+the width of a standard indentation (six constant width characters);
.Cm indent-two ,
twice
.Cm indent ;
@@ -1382,9 +1411,12 @@ except that dashes are used in place of bullets.
Like
.Fl inset ,
except that item heads are not parsed for macro invocations.
-.\" but with additional formatting to the head.
+Most often used in the
+.Em DIAGNOSTICS
+section with error constants in the item heads.
.It Fl enum
A numbered list.
+No item heads can be specified.
Formatted like
.Fl bullet ,
except that cardinal numbers are used in place of bullets,
@@ -1424,6 +1456,13 @@ this head on the same output line.
Otherwise, the body starts on the output line following the head.
.El
.Pp
+Lists may be nested within lists and displays.
+Nesting of
+.Fl column
+and
+.Fl enum
+lists may not be portable.
+.Pp
See also
.Sx \&El
and
@@ -1500,12 +1539,13 @@ and
.Sx \&Ux .
.Ss \&Bt
Prints
-.Dq is currently in beta test .
+.Dq is currently in beta test.
.Ss \&Bx
Format the BSD version provided as an argument, or a default value if no
argument is provided.
.Pp
Examples:
+.Dl \&.Bx 4.3 Tahoe
.Dl \&.Bx 4.4
.Dl \&.Bx
.Pp
@@ -1865,9 +1905,12 @@ See also
and
.Sx \&It .
.Ss \&Em
-Denotes text that should be emphasised.
+Denotes text that should be
+.Em emphasised .
Note that this is a presentation term and should not be used for
stylistically decorating technical terms.
+Depending on the output device, this is usually represented
+using an italic font or underlined characters.
.Pp
Examples:
.Dl \&.Em Warnings!
@@ -1875,9 +1918,10 @@ Examples:
.Pp
See also
.Sx \&Bf ,
-.Sx \&Sy ,
+.Sx \&Li ,
+.Sx \&No ,
and
-.Sx \&Li .
+.Sx \&Sy .
.Ss \&En
This macro is obsolete and not implemented in
.Xr mandoc 1 .
@@ -1994,7 +2038,7 @@ output.
Examples:
.Dl ".Nm cat Fl v No considered harmful"
.Dl ".Nm cp Fl pR Ar source ... directory"
-.Dl ".Nm find Ar dir Fl type Cm d Fl name Pa CVS
+.Dl ".Nm find Ar dir Fl type Cm d Fl name Pa CVS"
.Dl ".Nm kill Fl Ar signal_number pid"
.Dl ".Nm su Fl"
.Pp
@@ -2069,7 +2113,13 @@ See also
and
.Sx \&Ft .
.Ss \&Fr
-This macro is obsolete and not implemented.
+This macro is obsolete and not implemented in
+.Xr mandoc 1 .
+.Pp
+It was used to show function return values.
+The syntax was:
+.Pp
+.Dl Pf . Sx \&Fr Ar value
.Ss \&Ft
A function type.
Its syntax is as follows:
@@ -2112,7 +2162,13 @@ See also
and
.Sx \&Ux .
.Ss \&Hf
-This macro is obsolete and not implemented.
+This macro is not implemented in
+.Xr mandoc 1 .
+.Pp
+It was used to include the contents of a (header) file literally.
+The syntax was:
+.Pp
+.Dl Pf . Sx \&Hf Ar filename
.Ss \&Ic
Designate an internal or interactive command.
This is similar to
@@ -2251,15 +2307,21 @@ Examples:
.Dl \&.Lb libz
.Dl \&.Lb mdoc
.Ss \&Li
-Denotes text that should be in a literal font mode.
+Denotes text that should be in a
+.Li literal
+font mode.
Note that this is a presentation term and should not be used for
stylistically decorating technical terms.
.Pp
+On terminal output devices, this is often indistinguishable from
+normal text.
+.Pp
See also
.Sx \&Bf ,
-.Sx \&Sy ,
+.Sx \&Em ,
+.Sx \&No ,
and
-.Sx \&Em .
+.Sx \&Sy .
.Ss \&Lk
Format a hyperlink.
Its syntax is as follows:
@@ -2303,8 +2365,8 @@ section subsequent the
macro.
.Pp
Examples:
-.Dl \&.Sx \&Nd mdoc language reference
-.Dl \&.Sx \&Nd format and display UNIX manuals
+.Dl Pf . Sx \&Nd mdoc language reference
+.Dl Pf . Sx \&Nd format and display UNIX manuals
.Pp
The
.Sx \&Nd
@@ -2356,21 +2418,44 @@ macro rather than
.Sx \&Nm
to mark up the name of the manual page.
.Ss \&No
-A
-.Dq noop
-macro used to terminate prior macro contexts.
+Normal text.
+Closes the scope of any preceding in-line macro.
+When used after physical formatting macros like
+.Sx \&Em
+or
+.Sx \&Sy ,
+switches back to the standard font face and weight.
+Can also be used to embed plain text strings in macro lines
+using semantic annotation macros.
.Pp
Examples:
-.Dl \&.Sx \&Fl ab \&No cd \&Fl ef
+.Dl ".Em italic , Sy bold , No and roman"
+.Pp
+.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
+\&.Sm off
+\&.Cm :C No / Ar pattern No / Ar replacement No /
+\&.Sm on
+.Ed
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&Em ,
+.Sx \&Li ,
+and
+.Sx \&Sy .
.Ss \&Ns
-Suppress a space.
-Following invocation, text is interpreted as free-form text until a
-macro is encountered.
+Suppress a space between the output of the preceding macro
+and the following text or macro.
+Following invocation, input is interpreted as normal text
+just like after an
+.Sx \&No
+macro.
.Pp
This has no effect when invoked at the start of a macro line.
.Pp
Examples:
-.Dl \&.Fl o \&Ns \&Ar output
+.Dl ".Ar name Ns = Ns Ar value"
+.Dl ".Cm :M Ns Ar pattern"
+.Dl ".Fl o Ns Ar output"
.Pp
See also
.Sx \&No
@@ -2448,10 +2533,13 @@ See also
and
.Sx \&Dt .
.Ss \&Ot
-Unknown usage.
+This macro is obsolete and not implemented in
+.Xr mandoc 1 .
.Pp
-.Em Remarks :
-this macro has been deprecated.
+Historical
+.Xr mdoc 7
+packages described it as
+.Dq "old function type (FORTRAN)" .
.Ss \&Ox
Format the
.Ox
@@ -2487,19 +2575,25 @@ See also
Close parenthesised context opened by
.Sx \&Po .
.Ss \&Pf
-Removes the space
+Removes the space between its argument
.Pq Dq prefix
-between its arguments.
+and the following macro.
Its syntax is as follows:
.Pp
-.D1 Pf \. \&Pf Ar prefix suffix
+.D1 .Pf Ar prefix macro arguments ...
.Pp
-The
-.Ar suffix
-argument may be a macro.
+This is equivalent to:
+.Pp
+.D1 .No Ar prefix No \&Ns Ar macro arguments ...
.Pp
Examples:
-.Dl \&.Pf \e. \&Sx \&Pf \&Ar prefix suffix
+.Dl ".Pf $ Ar variable_name"
+.Dl ".Pf 0x Ar hex_digits"
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&Ns
+and
+.Sx \&Sm .
.Ss \&Po
Multi-line version of
.Sx \&Pq .
@@ -2507,6 +2601,18 @@ Multi-line version of
Break a paragraph.
This will assert vertical space between prior and subsequent macros
and/or text.
+.Pp
+Paragraph breaks are not needed before or after
+.Sx \&Sh
+or
+.Sx \&Ss
+macros or before displays
+.Pq Sx \&Bd
+or lists
+.Pq Sx \&Bl
+unless the
+.Fl compact
+flag is given.
.Ss \&Pq
Parenthesised enclosure.
.Pp
@@ -2526,7 +2632,7 @@ Multi-line version of
.Sx \&Qq .
.Ss \&Qq
Encloses its arguments in
-.Dq typewriter
+.Qq typewriter
double-quotes.
Consider using
.Sx \&Dq .
@@ -2640,7 +2746,7 @@ Multi-line version of
.Sx \&Sq .
.Ss \&Sq
Encloses its arguments in
-.Dq typewriter
+.Sq typewriter
single-quotes.
.Pp
See also
@@ -2649,13 +2755,15 @@ See also
and
.Sx \&So .
.Ss \&Ss
-Begin a new sub-section.
+Begin a new subsection.
Unlike with
.Sx \&Sh ,
-there's no convention for sub-sections.
-Conventional sections, as described in
-.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE ,
-rarely have sub-sections.
+there is no convention for the naming of subsections.
+Except
+.Em DESCRIPTION ,
+the conventional sections described in
+.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE
+rarely have subsections.
.Pp
Sub-section names should be unique so that they may be keyed by
.Sx \&Sx .
@@ -2767,8 +2875,8 @@ The following standards are recognised:
.St -svid4
.El
.Ss \&Sx
-Reference a section or sub-section.
-The referenced section or sub-section name must be identical to the
+Reference a section or subsection in the same manual page.
+The referenced section or subsection name must be identical to the
enclosed argument, including whitespace.
.Pp
Examples:
@@ -2786,9 +2894,10 @@ stylistically decorating technical terms.
.Pp
See also
.Sx \&Bf ,
+.Sx \&Em ,
.Sx \&Li ,
and
-.Sx \&Em .
+.Sx \&No .
.Ss \&Ta
Table cell separator in
.Sx \&Bl Fl column
@@ -2797,11 +2906,16 @@ lists; can only be used below
.Ss \&Tn
Format a tradename.
.Pp
+Since this macro is often implemented to use a small caps font,
+it has historically been used for acronyms (like ASCII) as well.
+Such usage is not recommended because it would use the same macro
+sometimes for semantical annotation, sometimes for physical formatting.
+.Pp
Examples:
.Dl \&.Tn IBM
.Ss \&Ud
Prints out
-.Dq currently under development .
+.Dq currently under development.
.Ss \&Ux
Format the UNIX name.
Accepts no argument.
@@ -3097,7 +3211,7 @@ This is not supported by mandoc.
.Xr mandoc 1 ,
.Xr eqn 7 ,
.Xr man 7 ,
-.Xr mandoc_char 7
+.Xr mandoc_char 7 ,
.Xr roff 7 ,
.Xr tbl 7
.Sh HISTORY