version 1.9, 2009/03/24 10:59:50 |
version 1.18, 2009/07/27 13:10:08 |
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.\" $Id$ |
.\" $Id$ |
.\" |
.\" |
.\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@openbsd.org> |
.\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@kth.se> |
.\" |
.\" |
.\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any |
.\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any |
.\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the |
.\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above |
.\" above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all |
.\" copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies. |
.\" copies. |
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.\" |
.\" |
.\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL |
.\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES |
.\" WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED |
.\" WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF |
.\" WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE |
.\" MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR |
.\" AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL |
.\" ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES |
.\" DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR |
.\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN |
.\" PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER |
.\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF |
.\" TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR |
.\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE. |
.\" PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE. |
.\" |
.\" |
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.Dd $Mdocdate$ |
.Dd $Mdocdate$ |
.Dt manuals 7 |
.Dt MANUALS 7 |
.Os |
.Os |
.\" SECTION |
.\" SECTION |
.Sh NAME |
.Sh NAME |
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.Pp |
.Pp |
A system component's documentation describes the utility of that |
A system component's documentation describes the utility of that |
component, whether it's a device driver, an executable or, most |
component, whether it's a device driver, an executable or, most |
importantly, a game. Although there are plenty of documents available |
importantly, a game. |
on how to read |
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.Ux |
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documents, or where to find them, few focus on composition. |
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.\" PARAGRAPH |
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.Pp |
.Pp |
This document serves as a tutorial to writing |
This document serves as a tutorial to writing |
.Ux |
.Ux |
documentation |
documentation |
.Pq Dq manuals . |
.Pq Dq manuals . |
If you add something to your operating system, whether it's a new file |
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format or directory structure or device driver, it needs documentation. |
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.\" SECTION |
.\" SECTION |
.Sh COMPOSITION |
.Sh ENVIRONMENT |
Prepare your composition environment by copying over the manual template |
First, copy over the manual template from |
from |
.Pa /usr/share/misc/mdoc.template |
.Pa /usr/share/misc/mdoc.template . |
into your source directory. |
.Pp |
.Pp |
If this file doesn't exist, bug your administrator. |
.Dl % cp /usr/share/misc/mdoc.template \. |
|
.Pp |
.Em \&Do not |
.Em \&Do not |
start afresh or by copying another manual unless you know exactly what |
start afresh or by copying another manual unless you know exactly what |
you're doing! |
you're doing! If the template doesn't exist, bug your administrator. |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.Ss Section Numbering |
.Ss Section Numbering |
Find an appropriate section for your manual. There may exist multiple |
Find an appropriate section for your manual. There may exist multiple |
manual names per section, so be specific. A table of all available |
manual names per section, so be specific: |
manual sections follows: |
|
.Pp |
.Pp |
.\" LIST |
.\" LIST |
.Bl -tag -width "XXXXXXXXXXXX" -offset indent -compact |
.Bl -tag -width "XXXXXXXXXXXX" -offset indent -compact |
Line 74 file and wire protocol formats |
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Line 66 file and wire protocol formats |
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games |
games |
.It 7 |
.It 7 |
tutorials, documents and papers |
tutorials, documents and papers |
.It 8 |
.It 8 |
administrator utilities |
administrator utilities |
.It 9 |
.It 9 |
in-kernel routines |
in-kernel routines |
Line 98 myname (3) - library description |
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Line 90 myname (3) - library description |
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.Ed |
.Ed |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.Ss Naming |
.Ss Naming |
Name your component. Be terse, erring on the side of clarity. You may |
Name your component. Be terse, erring on the side of clarity. Look for |
want to look for other manuals by that same name before committing: |
other manuals by that same name before committing: |
.Pp |
.Pp |
.Dl % apropos myname |
.Dl % apropos myname |
.Pp |
.Pp |
Manual files are named |
Manual files are named |
.Pa myname.mysection , |
.Pa myname.mysection , |
such as |
such as |
.Pa manuals.7 |
.Pa manuals.7 |
for this document. |
for this document. Rename the template file: |
.\" SUBSECTION |
|
.Ss Input Language |
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Manuals should |
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.Em always |
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be written in the |
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.Xr mdoc 7 |
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formatting language. |
|
.Pp |
.Pp |
There exist other documentation-specific languages, such as the |
.Dl % mv mdoc.template myname.mysection |
historical |
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.Xr man 7 |
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package of |
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.Xr roff 7 ; |
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newer languages such as DocBook, texinfo or schema-driven XML; or even |
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ad-hoc conventions such as README files. |
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.Em Avoid these formats . |
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Historical formats fail to capture a manual's semantic content, instead |
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only modelling its style. Newer methods requires special, |
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system-specific tools and may change or become obsolete over the |
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life-time of your component. |
|
.Pp |
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There are two canonical references for writing mdoc. Read them. |
|
.Pp |
|
.\" LIST |
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.Bl -tag -width XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -offset indent -compact |
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.It Xr mdoc 7 |
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formal language reference |
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.It Xr mdoc.samples 7 |
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macro reference |
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.El |
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.Pp |
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Open the template you've copied into |
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.Pa name.section |
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and begin editing. |
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.\" SUBSECTION |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.Ss Development Tools |
.Ss Development Tools |
While writing, make sure that your manual is correctly structured: |
While writing, make sure that your manual is correctly structured: |
.Pp |
.Pp |
.Dl % mandoc \-Tlint \-Wall name.1 |
.Dl % mandoc \-Tlint \-Wall \-fstrict name.1 |
.Pp |
.Pp |
|
The quick-fix feature of |
|
.Xr vim 1 |
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is useful for checking over many manuals: |
|
.Bd -literal -offset indent |
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% mandoc \-Wall \-fstrict \-Tlint \-fign-errors \e |
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`find /usr/src \-name \e*\e.[1-9]` 2>&1 | \e |
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sed 's!^mandoc: !!' > /tmp/mandoc.errs |
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% vim -q /tmp/mandoc.errs |
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.Ed |
|
.Pp |
You may spell-check your work as follows: |
You may spell-check your work as follows: |
.Pp |
.Pp |
.Dl % deroff name.1 | spell |
.Dl % deroff name.1 | spell |
|
.Pp |
|
If |
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.Xr ispell 1 |
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is installed, it has a special mode for manuals: |
|
.Pp |
.Dl % ispell \-n name.1 |
.Dl % ispell \-n name.1 |
.Pp |
.Pp |
Use |
Use |
.Xr cvs 1 |
.Xr cvs 1 |
or, if not available, |
or |
.Xr rcs 1 |
.Xr rcs 1 |
to version-control your work. If you wish the last check-in to effect |
to version-control your work. If you wish the last check-in to effect |
your document's date, use the following RCS tag for the date macro: |
your document's date, use the following RCS tag for the date macro: |
.Pp |
.Pp |
.Dl \&.Dd $Mdocdate$ |
.Dl \&.Dd $Mdocdate$ |
.Pp |
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If using version control, the first line in your manual should be a |
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comment with the |
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.Li $Id$ |
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rcs tag. |
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.\" SUBSECTION |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.Ss Viewing |
.Ss Viewing |
mdoc documents may be paged to your terminal with traditional |
mdoc documents may be paged to your terminal with |
tools such as |
.Xr mandoc 1 . |
.Xr nroff 1 , |
If you plan on distributing your work to systems without this tool, |
.Xr groff 1 , |
check it against |
or with newer, more powerful tools such as |
.Xr groff 1 : |
.Xr mandoc 1 : |
|
.\" DISPLAY |
|
.Bd -literal -offset indent |
.Bd -literal -offset indent |
% nroff \-mandoc name.1 | less |
% mandoc \-Wall name.1 2>&1 | less |
% groff \-Tascii \-mandoc name.1 | less |
% groff -mandoc name.1 2>&1 | less |
% mandoc name.1 | less |
|
.Ed |
.Ed |
.Pp |
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Other output formats are also supported: |
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.\" DISPLAY |
|
.Bd -literal -offset indent |
|
% groff \-Tps \-mandoc name.1 | less |
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% mandoc \-Thtml name.1 | less |
|
.Ed |
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.\" SUBSECTION |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.Ss Automation |
.Ss Automation |
Consider adding your mdoc documents to |
Consider adding your mdoc documents to |
.Xr make 1 |
.Xr make 1 |
Makefiles in order to automatically check your input and generate |
Makefiles in order to automatically check your input: |
output: |
|
.Bd -literal -offset indent |
.Bd -literal -offset indent |
\&.SUFFIXES: .html .txt .1 .in |
\&.SUFFIXES: .1 .in |
|
|
\&.in.1: |
\&.in.1: |
mandoc -Wall,error -Tlint $< |
mandoc -Wall,error -Tlint $< |
cp -f $< $@ |
cp -f $< $@ |
\&.1.html: |
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mandoc -Thtml $< >$@ |
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\&.1.txt: |
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mandoc -Tascii $< | col -b >$@ |
|
.Ed |
.Ed |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.Ss Licensing |
.Ss Licensing |
Your manual must have a license. It should be listed at the start of |
Your manual must have a license. It should be listed at the start of |
your document, just as in source code. |
your document, just as in source code. |
.\" SECTION |
.\" SECTION |
.Sh BEST PRACTICES |
.Sh COMPOSITION |
The |
Manuals should |
|
.Em always |
|
be written in the |
.Xr mdoc 7 |
.Xr mdoc 7 |
and |
formatting language. |
.Xr mdoc.samples 7 |
.\" PARAGRAPH |
files are indispensable in guiding composition. In this section, we |
.Pp |
introduce some |
Open the template you've copied into |
.Ux |
.Pa myname.mysection |
manual best practices: |
and begin editing. |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.Ss Language |
.Ss Language |
.Bl -enum |
.Bl -enum |
.It |
.It |
Use clear, concise language. Favour simplicity. |
Use clear, concise language. Favour simplicity. |
.It |
.It |
Line 240 symbols and so on), use the escapes dictated in |
|
Line 197 symbols and so on), use the escapes dictated in |
|
.Ss Style |
.Ss Style |
The structure of the mdoc language makes it very hard to have any |
The structure of the mdoc language makes it very hard to have any |
particular format style. Keep your lines under 72 characters in length. |
particular format style. Keep your lines under 72 characters in length. |
If you must have long option lines, use |
If you must have long option lines, use |
.Sq \&Oo/Oc . |
.Sq \&Oo/Oc . |
|
The same goes for function prototypes. |
.Em \&Do not |
.Em \&Do not |
use |
use |
.Sq \&Xo/Xc ; |
.Sq \&Xo/Xc . |
instead, either fine another way to write long lines, or, at the |
Find another way to structure your line. |
absolute worst, use CPP-style newline escapes. |
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.\" SUBSECTION |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.Ss References |
.Ss References |
Other components may be referenced with the |
Other components may be referenced with the |
.Sq \&Xr |
.Sq \&Xr |
and |
and |
Line 267 publications, please use the |
|
Line 224 publications, please use the |
|
block macros. |
block macros. |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.\" SUBSECTION |
.Ss Formatting |
.Ss Formatting |
.Em Don't style your manual. |
.Em Don't style your manual . |
Give it meaningful content. The front-end will worry about formatting |
Give it meaningful content. The front-end will worry about formatting |
and style. |
and style. |
.\" SECTION |
.\" SECTION |
.Sh MAINTENANCE |
.Sh MAINTENANCE |
As your component changes and bugs are fixed, your manual may become out |
As your component changes and bugs are fixed, your manual may become out |
of date. You may be tempted to use automation tools like Doxygen to |
of date. You may be tempted to use tools like Doxygen to automate the |
smooth the development of your manuals. Don't. Source documentation is |
development of your manuals. Don't. |
different from a component manual. |
.Pp |
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.Em Manuals are part of a system component : |
|
if you modify your code or specifications, modify the documentation. |