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Diff for /mandoc/man.7 between version 1.34 and 1.86

version 1.34, 2009/08/20 13:51:55 version 1.86, 2010/08/28 22:08:38
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 .\"     $Id$  .\"     $Id$
 .\"  .\"
 .\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@kth.se>  .\" Copyright (c) 2009, 2010 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
 .\"  .\"
 .\" 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 above  .\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
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 .Dd $Mdocdate$  .Dd $Mdocdate$
 .Dt MAN 7  .Dt MAN 7
 .Os  .Os
 .  
 .  
 .Sh NAME  .Sh NAME
 .Nm man  .Nm man
 .Nd man language reference  .Nd man language reference
 .  
 .  
 .Sh DESCRIPTION  .Sh DESCRIPTION
 The  The
 .Nm man  .Nm man
 language was historically used to format  language was historically used to format
 .Ux  .Ux
 manuals.  This reference document describes its syntax, structure, and  manuals.
 usage.  This reference document describes its syntax, structure, and usage.
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bf -emphasis  .Bf -emphasis
 Do not use  Do not use
Line 41  to write your manuals.
Line 36  to write your manuals.
 Use the  Use the
 .Xr mdoc 7  .Xr mdoc 7
 language, instead.  language, instead.
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 An  A
 .Nm  .Nm
 document follows simple rules:  lines beginning with the control  document follows simple rules:  lines beginning with the control
 character  character
 .Sq \&.  .Sq \&.
 are parsed for macros.  Other lines are interpreted within the scope of  are parsed for macros.
   Other lines are interpreted within the scope of
 prior macros:  prior macros:
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 \&.SH Macro lines change control state.  \&.SH Macro lines change control state.
 Other lines are interpreted within the current state.  Other lines are interpreted within the current state.
 .Ed  .Ed
 .  
 .  
 .Sh INPUT ENCODING  .Sh INPUT ENCODING
 .Nm  .Nm
 documents may contain only graphable 7-bit ASCII characters, the  documents may contain only graphable 7-bit ASCII characters, the
 space character, and the tabs character.  All manuals must have  space character, and the tab character.
   All manuals must have
 .Ux  .Ux
 line termination.  line termination.
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 Blank lines are acceptable; where found, the output will assert a  Blank lines are acceptable; where found, the output will assert a
 vertical space.  vertical space.
 .  
 .Pp  
 The  
 .Sq \ec  
 escape is common in historical  
 .Nm  
 documents; if encountered at the end of a word, it ensures that the  
 subsequent word isn't off-set by whitespace.  
 .  
 .  
 .Ss Comments  .Ss Comments
 Text following a  Text following a
 .Sq \e\*" ,  .Sq \e\*q ,
 whether in a macro or free-form text line, is ignored to the end of  whether in a macro or free-form text line, is ignored to the end of
 line.  A macro line with only a control character and comment escape,  line.
 .Sq \&.\e" ,  A macro line with only a control character and comment escape,
 is also ignored.  Macro lines with only a control charater and  .Sq \&.\e\*q ,
 optionally whitespace are stripped from input.  is also ignored.
 .  Macro lines with only a control character and optionally whitespace are
 .  stripped from input.
 .Ss Special Characters  .Ss Special Characters
 Special characters may occur in both macro and free-form lines.  Special characters may occur in both macro and free-form lines.
 Sequences begin with the escape character  Sequences begin with the escape character
Line 96  for two-character sequences; an open-bracket
Line 79  for two-character sequences; an open-bracket
 .Sq \&[  .Sq \&[
 for n-character sequences (terminated at a close-bracket  for n-character sequences (terminated at a close-bracket
 .Sq \&] ) ;  .Sq \&] ) ;
 or a single one-character sequence.  See  or a single one-character sequence.
   See
 .Xr mandoc_char 7  .Xr mandoc_char 7
 for a complete list.  Examples include  for a complete list.
   Examples include
 .Sq \e(em  .Sq \e(em
 .Pq em-dash  .Pq em-dash
 and  and
 .Sq \ee  .Sq \ee
 .Pq back-slash .  .Pq back-slash .
 .  
 .  
 .Ss Text Decoration  .Ss Text Decoration
 Terms may be text-decorated using the  Terms may be text-decorated using the
 .Sq \ef  .Sq \ef
 escape followed by an indicator: B (bold), I, (italic), or P and R  escape followed by an indicator: B (bold), I (italic), R (Roman), or P
 (Roman, or reset).  (revert to previous mode):
 .  .Pp
 .  .D1 \efBbold\efR \efIitalic\efP
   .Pp
   A numerical representation 3, 2, or 1 (bold, italic, and Roman,
   respectively) may be used instead.
   A text decoration is only valid, if specified in free-form text, until
   the next macro invocation; if specified within a macro, it's only valid
   until the macro closes scope.
   Note that macros like
   .Sx \&BR
   open and close a font scope with each argument.
   .Pp
   The
   .Sq \ef
   attribute is forgotten when entering or exiting a macro block.
 .Ss Whitespace  .Ss Whitespace
 Unless specifically escaped, consecutive blocks of whitespace are pruned  Whitespace consists of the space character.
 from input.  These are later re-added, if applicable, by a front-end  In free-form lines, whitespace is preserved within a line; unescaped
 utility such as  trailing spaces are stripped from input (unless in a literal context).
 .Xr mandoc 1 .  Blank free-form lines, which may include spaces, are permitted and
 .  rendered as an empty line.
 .  .Pp
   In macro lines, whitespace delimits arguments and is discarded.
   If arguments are quoted, whitespace within the quotes is retained.
   .Ss Dates
   The
   .Sx \&TH
   macro is the only
   .Nm
   macro that requires a date.
   The form for this date is the ISO-8601
   standard
   .Cm YYYY-MM-DD .
   .Ss Scaling Widths
   Many macros support scaled widths for their arguments, such as
   stipulating a two-inch paragraph indentation with the following:
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.HP 2i
   .Ed
   .Pp
   The syntax for scaled widths is
   .Sq Li [+-]?[0-9]*.[0-9]*[:unit:]? ,
   where a decimal must be preceded or proceeded by at least one digit.
   Negative numbers, while accepted, are truncated to zero.
   The following scaling units are accepted:
   .Pp
   .Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
   .It c
   centimetre
   .It i
   inch
   .It P
   pica (~1/6 inch)
   .It p
   point (~1/72 inch)
   .It f
   synonym for
   .Sq u
   .It v
   default vertical span
   .It m
   width of rendered
   .Sq m
   .Pq em
   character
   .It n
   width of rendered
   .Sq n
   .Pq en
   character
   .It u
   default horizontal span
   .It M
   mini-em (~1/100 em)
   .El
   .Pp
   Using anything other than
   .Sq m ,
   .Sq n ,
   .Sq u ,
   or
   .Sq v
   is necessarily non-portable across output media.
   .Pp
   If a scaling unit is not provided, the numerical value is interpreted
   under the default rules of
   .Sq v
   for vertical spaces and
   .Sq u
   for horizontal ones.
   .Em Note :
   this differs from
   .Xr mdoc 7 ,
   which, if a unit is not provided, will instead interpret the string as
   literal text.
   .Ss Sentence Spacing
   When composing a manual, make sure that sentences end at the end of
   a line.
   By doing so, front-ends will be able to apply the proper amount of
   spacing after the end of sentence (unescaped) period, exclamation mark,
   or question mark followed by zero or more non-sentence closing
   delimiters
   .Po
   .Sq \&) ,
   .Sq \&] ,
   .Sq \&' ,
   .Sq \&"
   .Pc .
 .Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE  .Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE
 Each  Each
 .Nm  .Nm
 document must contain contains at least the  document must contain the
 .Sq TH  .Sx \&TH
 macro describing the document's section and title.  It may occur  macro describing the document's section and title.
 anywhere in the document, although conventionally, it appears as the  It may occur anywhere in the document, although conventionally it
 first macro.  appears as the first macro.
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 Beyond  Beyond
 .Sq TH ,  .Sx \&TH ,
 at least one macro or text node must appear in the document.  Documents  at least one macro or text node must appear in the document.
 are generally structured as follows:  Documents are generally structured as follows:
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 \&.TH FOO 1 "13 Aug 2009"  \&.TH FOO 1 2009-10-10
 \&.  
 \&.SH NAME  \&.SH NAME
 \efBfoo\efR \e(en a description goes here  \efBfoo\efR \e(en a description goes here
 \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2 & 3 only.  
 \&.\e\*q .SH LIBRARY  \&.\e\*q .SH LIBRARY
 \&.  \&.\e\*q For sections 2 & 3 only.
   \&.\e\*q Not used in OpenBSD.
 \&.SH SYNOPSIS  \&.SH SYNOPSIS
 \efBfoo\efR [\efB\e-options\efR] arguments...  \efBfoo\efR [\efB\e-options\efR] arguments...
 \&.  
 \&.SH DESCRIPTION  \&.SH DESCRIPTION
 The \efBfoo\efR utility processes files...  The \efBfoo\efR utility processes files...
 \&.  
 \&.\e\*q .SH IMPLEMENTATION NOTES  \&.\e\*q .SH IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
 \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1 & 8 only.  
 \&.\e\*q .SH EXIT STATUS  
 \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2, 3, & 9 only.  
 \&.\e\*q .SH RETURN VALUES  \&.\e\*q .SH RETURN VALUES
 \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1, 6, 7, & 8 only.  \&.\e\*q For sections 2, 3, & 9 only.
 \&.\e\*q .SH ENVIRONMENT  \&.\e\*q .SH ENVIRONMENT
   \&.\e\*q For sections 1, 6, 7, & 8 only.
 \&.\e\*q .SH FILES  \&.\e\*q .SH FILES
   \&.\e\*q .SH EXIT STATUS
   \&.\e\*q For sections 1 & 8 only.
 \&.\e\*q .SH EXAMPLES  \&.\e\*q .SH EXAMPLES
 \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1, 4, 6, 7, & 8 only.  
 \&.\e\*q .SH DIAGNOSTICS  \&.\e\*q .SH DIAGNOSTICS
 \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2, 3, & 9 only.  \&.\e\*q For sections 1, 4, 6, 7, & 8 only.
 \&.\e\*q .SH ERRORS  \&.\e\*q .SH ERRORS
   \&.\e\*q For sections 2, 3, & 9 only.
 \&.\e\*q .SH SEE ALSO  \&.\e\*q .SH SEE ALSO
 \&.\e\*q \efBbar\efR(1)  \&.\e\*q .BR foo ( 1 )
 \&.\e\*q .SH STANDARDS  \&.\e\*q .SH STANDARDS
 \&.\e\*q .SH HISTORY  \&.\e\*q .SH HISTORY
 \&.\e\*q .SH AUTHORS  \&.\e\*q .SH AUTHORS
 \&.\e\*q .SH CAVEATS  \&.\e\*q .SH CAVEATS
 \&.\e\*q .SH BUGS  \&.\e\*q .SH BUGS
 \&.\e\*q .SH SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS  \&.\e\*q .SH SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
   \&.\e\*q Not used in OpenBSD.
 .Ed  .Ed
 .  .Pp
 .  The sections in a
   .Nm
   document are conventionally ordered as they appear above.
   Sections should be composed as follows:
   .Bl -ohang -offset indent
   .It Em NAME
   The name(s) and a short description of the documented material.
   The syntax for this is generally as follows:
   .Pp
   .D1 \efBname\efR \e(en description
   .It Em LIBRARY
   The name of the library containing the documented material, which is
   assumed to be a function in a section 2 or 3 manual.
   For functions in the C library, this may be as follows:
   .Pp
   .D1 Standard C Library (libc, -lc)
   .It Em SYNOPSIS
   Documents the utility invocation syntax, function call syntax, or device
   configuration.
   .Pp
   For the first, utilities (sections 1, 6, and 8), this is
   generally structured as follows:
   .Pp
   .D1 \efBname\efR [-\efBab\efR] [-\efBc\efR\efIarg\efR] \efBpath\efR...
   .Pp
   For the second, function calls (sections 2, 3, 9):
   .Pp
   .D1 \&.B char *name(char *\efIarg\efR);
   .Pp
   And for the third, configurations (section 4):
   .Pp
   .D1 \&.B name* at cardbus ? function ?
   .Pp
   Manuals not in these sections generally don't need a
   .Em SYNOPSIS .
   .It Em DESCRIPTION
   This expands upon the brief, one-line description in
   .Em NAME .
   It usually contains a break-down of the options (if documenting a
   command).
   .It Em IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
   Implementation-specific notes should be kept here.
   This is useful when implementing standard functions that may have side
   effects or notable algorithmic implications.
   .It Em RETURN VALUES
   This section documents the return values of functions in sections 2, 3, and 9.
   .It Em ENVIRONMENT
   Documents any usages of environment variables, e.g.,
   .Xr environ 7 .
   .It Em FILES
   Documents files used.
   It's helpful to document both the file name and a short description of how
   the file is used (created, modified, etc.).
   .It Em EXIT STATUS
   This section documents the command exit status for
   section 1, 6, and 8 utilities.
   Historically, this information was described in
   .Em DIAGNOSTICS ,
   a practise that is now discouraged.
   .It Em EXAMPLES
   Example usages.
   This often contains snippets of well-formed,
   well-tested invocations.
   Make sure that examples work properly!
   .It Em DIAGNOSTICS
   Documents error conditions.
   This is most useful in section 4 manuals.
   Historically, this section was used in place of
   .Em EXIT STATUS
   for manuals in sections 1, 6, and 8; however, this practise is
   discouraged.
   .It Em ERRORS
   Documents error handling in sections 2, 3, and 9.
   .It Em SEE ALSO
   References other manuals with related topics.
   This section should exist for most manuals.
   .Pp
   .D1 \&.BR bar \&( 1 \&),
   .Pp
   Cross-references should conventionally be ordered
   first by section, then alphabetically.
   .It Em STANDARDS
   References any standards implemented or used, such as
   .Pp
   .D1 IEEE Std 1003.2 (\e(lqPOSIX.2\e(rq)
   .Pp
   If not adhering to any standards, the
   .Em HISTORY
   section should be used.
   .It Em HISTORY
   A brief history of the subject, including where support first appeared.
   .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.
   .It Em CAVEATS
   Common misuses and misunderstandings should be explained
   in this section.
   .It Em BUGS
   Known bugs, limitations, and work-arounds should be described
   in this section.
   .It Em SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
   Documents any security precautions that operators should consider.
   .El
 .Sh MACRO SYNTAX  .Sh MACRO SYNTAX
 Macros are one to three three characters in length and begin with a  Macros are one to three characters in length and begin with a
 control character ,  control character,
 .Sq \&. ,  .Sq \&. ,
 at the beginning of the line.  An arbitrary amount of whitespace may  at the beginning of the line.
 sit between the control character and the macro name.  Thus,  The
 .Sq .PP  .Sq \(aq
 and  macro control character is also accepted.
 .Sq \&.\ \ \ PP  An arbitrary amount of whitespace (spaces or tabs) may sit between the
 are equivalent.  control character and the macro name.
 .  Thus, the following are equivalent:
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.PP
   \&.\ \ \ PP
   .Ed
 .Pp  .Pp
 The  The
 .Nm  .Nm
 macros are classified by scope: line scope or block scope.  Line  macros are classified by scope: line scope or block scope.
 macros are only scoped to the current line (and, in some situations,  Line macros are only scoped to the current line (and, in some
 the subsequent line).  Block macros are scoped to the current line and  situations, the subsequent line).
 subsequent lines until closed by another block macro.  Block macros are scoped to the current line and subsequent lines until
 .  closed by another block macro.
 .  
 .Ss Line Macros  .Ss Line Macros
 Line macros are generally scoped to the current line, with the body  Line macros are generally scoped to the current line, with the body
 consisting of zero or more arguments.  If a macro is scoped to the next  consisting of zero or more arguments.
 line and the line arguments are empty, the next line is used instead,  If a macro is scoped to the next line and the line arguments are empty,
 else the general syntax is used.  Thus:  the next line, which must be text, is used instead.
   Thus:
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 \&.I  \&.I
 foo  foo
 .Ed  .Ed
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 is equivalent to  is equivalent to
 .Sq \&.I foo .  .Sq \&.I foo .
 .\" PARAGRAPH  If next-line macros are invoked consecutively, only the last is used.
 Consecutive next-line scope invocations are disallowed.  If a next-line macro is followed by a non-next-line macro, an error is
   raised, except for
   .Sx \&br ,
   .Sx \&sp ,
   and
   .Sx \&na .
   .Pp
   The syntax is as follows:
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 \&.YO \(lBbody...\(rB  \&.YO \(lBbody...\(rB
 \(lBbody...\(rB  \(lBbody...\(rB
 .Ed  .Ed
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 It is considered an error when next-line scope is open at the end of  .Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "ScopeXXXXX" "CompatX"
 file.  .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Scope     Ta Em Notes
 .  .It Sx \&AT  Ta    <=1       Ta    current   Ta    \&
 .Pp  .It Sx \&B   Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
 .Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "ScopeXXXXX"  .It Sx \&BI  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
 .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Scope  .It Sx \&BR  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
 .It    B     Ta    n         Ta    next-line  .It Sx \&DT  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    \&
 .It    BI    Ta    n         Ta    current  .It Sx \&I   Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
 .It    BR    Ta    n         Ta    current  .It Sx \&IB  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
 .It    DT    Ta    0         Ta    current  .It Sx \&IR  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
 .It    I     Ta    n         Ta    next-line  .\" .It Sx \&PD  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    compat
 .It    IB    Ta    n         Ta    current  .It Sx \&R   Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
 .It    IR    Ta    n         Ta    current  .It Sx \&RB  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
 .It    R     Ta    n         Ta    next-line  .It Sx \&RI  Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    \&
 .It    RB    Ta    n         Ta    current  .It Sx \&SB  Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
 .It    RI    Ta    n         Ta    current  .It Sx \&SM  Ta    n         Ta    next-line Ta    \&
 .It    SB    Ta    n         Ta    next-line  .It Sx \&TH  Ta    >1, <6    Ta    current   Ta    \&
 .It    SM    Ta    n         Ta    next-line  .It Sx \&UC  Ta    <=1       Ta    current   Ta    \&
 .It    TH    Ta    >1, <6    Ta    current  .It Sx \&br  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat
 .It    br    Ta    0         Ta    current  .It Sx \&fi  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat
 .It    fi    Ta    0         Ta    current  .It Sx \&i   Ta    n         Ta    current   Ta    compat
 .It    i     Ta    n         Ta    current  .It Sx \&in  Ta    1         Ta    current   Ta    compat
 .It    na    Ta    0         Ta    current  .It Sx \&na  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat
 .It    nf    Ta    0         Ta    current  .It Sx \&nf  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat
 .It    r     Ta    0         Ta    current  .It Sx \&r   Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat
 .It    sp    Ta    1         Ta    current  .It Sx \&sp  Ta    1         Ta    current   Ta    compat
   .\" .It Sx \&Sp  Ta    <1        Ta    current   Ta    compat
   .\" .It Sx \&Vb  Ta    <1        Ta    current   Ta    compat
   .\" .It Sx \&Ve  Ta    0         Ta    current   Ta    compat
 .El  .El
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 The  Macros marked as
 .Sq RS ,  .Qq compat
 .Sq RE ,  are included for compatibility with the significant corpus of existing
 .Sq br ,  manuals that mix dialects of roff.
 .Sq fi ,  These macros should not be used for portable
 .Sq i ,  
 .Sq na ,  
 .Sq nf ,  
 .Sq r ,  
 and  
 .Sq sp  
 macros aren't historically part of  
 .Nm  .Nm
 and should not be used.  They're included for compatibility.  manuals.
 .  
 .  
 .Ss Block Macros  .Ss Block Macros
 Block macros are comprised of a head and body.  Like for in-line macros,  Block macros comprise a head and body.
 the head is scoped to the current line and, in one circumstance, the  As with in-line macros, the head is scoped to the current line and, in
 next line; the body is scoped to subsequent lines and is closed out by a  one circumstance, the next line (the next-line stipulations as in
 subsequent block macro invocation.  .Sx Line Macros
   apply here as well).
   .Pp
   The syntax is as follows:
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 \&.YO \(lBhead...\(rB  \&.YO \(lBhead...\(rB
 \(lBhead...\(rB  \(lBhead...\(rB
 \(lBbody...\(rB  \(lBbody...\(rB
 .Ed  .Ed
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 The closure of body scope may be to the section, where a macro is closed  The closure of body scope may be to the section, where a macro is closed
 by  by
 .Sq SH ;  .Sx \&SH ;
 sub-section, closed by a section or  sub-section, closed by a section or
 .Sq SS ;  .Sx \&SS ;
 part, closed by a section, sub-section, or  part, closed by a section, sub-section, or
 .Sq RE ;  .Sx \&RE ;
 or paragraph, closed by a section, sub-section, part,  or paragraph, closed by a section, sub-section, part,
 .Sq HP ,  .Sx \&HP ,
 .Sq IP ,  .Sx \&IP ,
 .Sq LP ,  .Sx \&LP ,
 .Sq P ,  .Sx \&P ,
 .Sq PP ,  .Sx \&PP ,
 or  or
 .Sq TP .  .Sx \&TP .
 No closure refers to an explicit block closing macro.  No closure refers to an explicit block closing macro.
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 It is considered an error when part or next-line scope is open at the  As a rule, block macros may not be nested; thus, calling a block macro
 end of file.  while another block macro scope is open, and the open scope is not
 .  implicitly closed, is syntactically incorrect.
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bl -column "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "Head ScopeX" "sub-sectionX" -compact -offset indent  .Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "Head ScopeX" "sub-sectionX" "compatX"
 .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Head Scope Ta Em Body Scope  .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Head Scope Ta Em Body Scope  Ta Em Notes
 .It   HP     Ta    <2        Ta    current    Ta    paragraph  .It Sx \&HP  Ta    <2        Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
 .It   IP     Ta    <3        Ta    current    Ta    paragraph  .It Sx \&IP  Ta    <3        Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
 .It   LP     Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph  .It Sx \&LP  Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
 .It   P      Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph  .It Sx \&P   Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
 .It   PP     Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph  .It Sx \&PP  Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
 .It   RE     Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    none  .It Sx \&RE  Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    none        Ta    compat
 .It   RS     Ta    1         Ta    current    Ta    part  .It Sx \&RS  Ta    1         Ta    current    Ta    part        Ta    compat
 .It   SH     Ta    >0        Ta    next-line  Ta    section  .It Sx \&SH  Ta    >0        Ta    next-line  Ta    section     Ta    \&
 .It   SS     Ta    >0        Ta    next-line  Ta    sub-section  .It Sx \&SS  Ta    >0        Ta    next-line  Ta    sub-section Ta    \&
 .It   TP     Ta    n         Ta    next-line  Ta    paragraph  .It Sx \&TP  Ta    n         Ta    next-line  Ta    paragraph   Ta    \&
 .El  .El
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
   Macros marked
   .Qq compat
   are as mentioned in
   .Sx Line Macros .
   .Pp
 If a block macro is next-line scoped, it may only be followed by in-line  If a block macro is next-line scoped, it may only be followed by in-line
 macros (excluding  macros for decorating text.
 .Sq DT ,  
 .Sq TH ,  
 .Sq br ,  
 .Sq na ,  
 .Sq sp ,  
 .Sq nf ,  
 and  
 .Sq fi ) .  
 .  
 .  
 .Sh REFERENCE  .Sh REFERENCE
 This section is a canonical reference to all macros, arranged  This section is a canonical reference to all macros, arranged
 alphabetically.  For the scoping of individual macros, see  alphabetically.
   For the scoping of individual macros, see
 .Sx MACRO SYNTAX .  .Sx MACRO SYNTAX .
 .  .Ss \&AT
 .  Sets the volume for the footer for compatibility with man pages from
 .Ss Definitions  .Tn AT&T UNIX
 In this reference, a numerical width may be either a standalone natural  releases.
 number (such as 3, 4, 10, etc.) or a natural number followed by a width  The optional arguments specify which release it is from.
 multiplier  .Ss \&B
 .Qq n ,  
 corresponding to the width of the formatted letter n, or  
 .Qq m ,  
 corresponding to the width of the formatted letter m.  The latter is the  
 default, if unspecified.  Thus,  
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  
 \&.HP 12n  
 .Ed  
 .  
 .Pp  
 indicates an offset of 12  
 .Qq n  
 .Ns -sized  
 letters.  
 .  
 .  
 .Ss Macro Reference  
 .Bl -tag -width Ds  
 .It B  
 Text is rendered in bold face.  Text is rendered in bold face.
 .It BI  .Pp
 Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic.  Thus,  See also
   .Sx \&I ,
   .Sx \&R ,
   .Sx \&b ,
   .Sx \&i ,
   and
   .Sx \&r .
   .Ss \&BI
   Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic.
   Thus,
 .Sq .BI this word and that  .Sq .BI this word and that
 causes  causes
 .Sq this  .Sq this
 and  and
 .Sq and  .Sq and
 to render in bold face, while  to render in bold face, while
 .Sq word  .Sq word
 and  and
 .Sq that  .Sq that
 render in italics.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.  render in italics.
 .It BR  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
   .Pp
   Examples:
   .Pp
   .D1 \&.BI bold italic bold italic
   .Pp
   The output of this example will be emboldened
   .Dq bold
   and italicised
   .Dq italic ,
   with spaces stripped between arguments.
   .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&IB ,
   .Sx \&BR ,
   .Sx \&RB ,
   .Sx \&RI ,
   and
   .Sx \&IR .
   .Ss \&BR
 Text is rendered alternately in bold face and roman (the default font).  Text is rendered alternately in bold face and roman (the default font).
 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .It DT  .Pp
 Re-set the tab spacing to 0.5 inches.  See
 .It HP  .Sx \&BI
   for an equivalent example.
   .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&BI ,
   .Sx \&IB ,
   .Sx \&RB ,
   .Sx \&RI ,
   and
   .Sx \&IR .
   .Ss \&DT
   Has no effect.
   Included for compatibility.
   .Ss \&HP
 Begin a paragraph whose initial output line is left-justified, but  Begin a paragraph whose initial output line is left-justified, but
 subsequent output lines are indented, with the following syntax:  subsequent output lines are indented, with the following syntax:
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Bd -filled -offset indent
 \&.HP [width]  .Pf \. Sx \&HP
   .Op Cm width
 .Ed  .Ed
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 If  The
 .Va width  .Cm width
 is specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if  argument must conform to
 unspecified, the saved or default width is used.  .Sx Scaling Widths .
 .It I  If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the
   saved or default width is used.
   .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&IP ,
   .Sx \&LP ,
   .Sx \&P ,
   .Sx \&PP ,
   and
   .Sx \&TP .
   .Ss \&I
 Text is rendered in italics.  Text is rendered in italics.
 .It IB  .Pp
 Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face.  Whitespace  See also
 between arguments is omitted in output.  .Sx \&B ,
 .It IP  .Sx \&R ,
 Begin a paragraph with the following syntax:  .Sx \&b ,
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Sx \&i ,
 \&.IP [head [width]]  and
   .Sx \&r .
   .Ss \&IB
   Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face.
   Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
   .Pp
   See
   .Sx \&BI
   for an equivalent example.
   .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&BI ,
   .Sx \&BR ,
   .Sx \&RB ,
   .Sx \&RI ,
   and
   .Sx \&IR .
   .Ss \&IP
   Begin an indented paragraph with the following syntax:
   .Bd -filled -offset indent
   .Pf \. Sx \&IP
   .Op Cm head Op Cm width
 .Ed  .Ed
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 This follows the behaviour of the  The
 .Sq TP  .Cm width
 except for the macro syntax (all arguments on the line, instead of  argument defines the width of the left margin and is defined by
 having next-line scope).  If  .Sx Scaling Widths .
 .Va width  It's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the saved or
 is specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if  default width is used.
 unspecified, the saved or default width is used.  .Pp
 .It IR  The
   .Cm head
   argument is used as a leading term, flushed to the left margin.
   This is useful for bulleted paragraphs and so on.
   .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&HP ,
   .Sx \&LP ,
   .Sx \&P ,
   .Sx \&PP ,
   and
   .Sx \&TP .
   .Ss \&IR
 Text is rendered alternately in italics and roman (the default font).  Text is rendered alternately in italics and roman (the default font).
 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .It LP, P, PP  .Pp
 Begin an undecorated paragraph.  The scope of a paragraph is closed by a  See
 subsequent paragraph, sub-section, section, or end of file.  The saved  .Sx \&BI
 paragraph left-margin width is re-set to the default.  for an equivalent example.
 .It R  .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&BI ,
   .Sx \&IB ,
   .Sx \&BR ,
   .Sx \&RB ,
   and
   .Sx \&RI .
   .Ss \&LP
   Begin an undecorated paragraph.
   The scope of a paragraph is closed by a subsequent paragraph,
   sub-section, section, or end of file.
   The saved paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
   .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&HP ,
   .Sx \&IP ,
   .Sx \&P ,
   .Sx \&PP ,
   and
   .Sx \&TP .
   .Ss \&P
   Synonym for
   .Sx \&LP .
   .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&HP ,
   .Sx \&IP ,
   .Sx \&LP ,
   .Sx \&PP ,
   and
   .Sx \&TP .
   .Ss \&PP
   Synonym for
   .Sx \&LP .
   .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&HP ,
   .Sx \&IP ,
   .Sx \&LP ,
   .Sx \&P ,
   and
   .Sx \&TP .
   .Ss \&R
 Text is rendered in roman (the default font).  Text is rendered in roman (the default font).
 .It RB  .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&I ,
   .Sx \&B ,
   .Sx \&b ,
   .Sx \&i ,
   and
   .Sx \&r .
   .Ss \&RB
 Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and bold face.  Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and bold face.
 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .It RE  .Pp
   See
   .Sx \&BI
   for an equivalent example.
   .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&BI ,
   .Sx \&IB ,
   .Sx \&BR ,
   .Sx \&RI ,
   and
   .Sx \&IR .
   .Ss \&RE
 Explicitly close out the scope of a prior  Explicitly close out the scope of a prior
 .Sq RS .  .Sx \&RS .
 .It RI  .Ss \&RI
 Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and italics.  Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and italics.
 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .It RS  .Pp
 Begin a part setting the left margin.  The left margin controls the  See
 offset, following an initial indentation, to un-indented text such as  .Sx \&BI
 that of  for an equivalent example.
 .Sq PP .  .Pp
 The width may be specified as following:  See also
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Sx \&BI ,
 \&.RS [width]  .Sx \&IB ,
   .Sx \&BR ,
   .Sx \&RB ,
   and
   .Sx \&IR .
   .Ss \&RS
   Begin a part setting the left margin.
   The left margin controls the offset, following an initial indentation,
   to un-indented text such as that of
   .Sx \&PP .
   This has the following syntax:
   .Bd -filled -offset indent
   .Pf \. Sx \&Rs
   .Op Cm width
 .Ed  .Ed
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 If  The
 .Va width  .Cm width
 is not specified, the saved or default width is used.  argument must conform to
 .It SB  .Sx Scaling Widths .
   If not specified, the saved or default width is used.
   .Ss \&SB
 Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default font)  Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default font)
 bold face.  bold face.
 .It SH  .Ss \&SH
 Begin a section.  The scope of a section is only closed by another  Begin a section.
 section or the end of file.  The paragraph left-margin width is re-set  The scope of a section is only closed by another section or the end of
 to the default.  file.
 .It SM  The paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
   .Ss \&SM
 Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default  Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default
 font).  font).
 .It SS  .Ss \&SS
 Begin a sub-section.  The scope of a sub-section is closed by a  Begin a sub-section.
 subsequent sub-section, section, or end of file.  The paragraph  The scope of a sub-section is closed by a subsequent sub-section,
 left-margin width is re-set to the default.  section, or end of file.
 .It TH  The paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
   .Ss \&TH
 Sets the title of the manual page with the following syntax:  Sets the title of the manual page with the following syntax:
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Bd -filled -offset indent
 \&.TH title section [date [source [volume]]]  .Pf \. Sx \&TH
   .Cm title section
   .Op Cm date Op Cm source Op Cm volume
 .Ed  .Ed
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 At least the  At least the upper-case document
 .Va title  .Cm title
 and  and the manual
 .Va section  .Cm section
 arguments must be provided.  The  arguments must be provided.
 .Va date  
 argument should be formatted as  
 .Qq %b [%d] %Y  
 format, described in  
 .Xr strptime 3 .  
 The  The
 .Va source  .Cm date
 string specifies the organisation providing the utility.  The  argument should be formatted as described in
 .Va volume  .Sx Dates ,
 replaces the default rendered volume as dictated by the manual section.  but will be printed verbatim if it is not.
 .It TP  If the date is not specified, the current date is used.
   The
   .Cm source
   string specifies the organisation providing the utility.
   The
   .Cm volume
   string replaces the default rendered volume, which is dictated by the
   manual section.
   .Pp
   Examples:
   .Pp
   .D1 \&.TH CVS 5 "1992-02-12" GNU
   .Ss \&TP
 Begin a paragraph where the head, if exceeding the indentation width, is  Begin a paragraph where the head, if exceeding the indentation width, is
 followed by a newline; if not, the body follows on the same line after a  followed by a newline; if not, the body follows on the same line after a
 buffer to the indentation width.  Subsequent output lines are indented.  buffer to the indentation width.
 .  Subsequent output lines are indented.
 .Pp  The syntax is as follows:
 The indentation width may be set as follows:  .Bd -filled -offset indent
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Pf \. Sx \&TP
 \&.TP [width]  .Op Cm width
 .Ed  .Ed
 .  
 .Pp  .Pp
 Where  The
 .Va width  .Cm width
 must be a properly-formed numeric width.  If  argument must conform to
 .Va width  .Sx Scaling Widths .
 is specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if  If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
 unspecified, the saved or default width is used.  unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
 .It br  .Pp
 Breaks the current line.  Consecutive invocations have no further effect.  See also
 .It fi  .Sx \&HP ,
   .Sx \&IP ,
   .Sx \&LP ,
   .Sx \&P ,
   and
   .Sx \&PP .
   .\" .
   .\" .
   .\" .Ss \&PD
   .\" Has no effect.  Included for compatibility.
   .\" .
   .\" .
   .Ss \&UC
   Sets the volume for the footer for compatibility with man pages from
   BSD releases.
   The optional first argument specifies which release it is from.
   .Ss \&br
   Breaks the current line.
   Consecutive invocations have no further effect.
   .Pp
   See also
   .Sx \&sp .
   .Ss \&fi
 End literal mode begun by  End literal mode begun by
 .Sq nf .  .Sx \&nf .
 .It i  .Ss \&i
 Italicise arguments.  If no arguments are specified, all subsequent text  Italicise arguments.
 is italicised.  Synonym for
 .It na  .Sx \&I .
 Don't alignment the right margin.  .Pp
 .It nf  See also
   .Sx \&B ,
   .Sx \&I ,
   .Sx \&R .
   .Sx \&b ,
   and
   .Sx \&r .
   .Ss \&in
   Indent relative to the current indentation:
   .Pp
   .D1 Pf \. Sx \&in Op Cm width
   .Pp
   If
   .Cm width
   is signed, the new offset is relative.
   Otherwise, it is absolute.
   This value is reset upon the next paragraph, section, or sub-section.
   .Ss \&na
   Don't align to the right margin.
   .Ss \&nf
 Begin literal mode: all subsequent free-form lines have their end of  Begin literal mode: all subsequent free-form lines have their end of
 line boundaries preserved.  May be ended by  line boundaries preserved.
 .Sq fi .  May be ended by
 .It r  .Sx \&fi .
   .Ss \&r
 Fonts and styles (bold face, italics) reset to roman (default font).  Fonts and styles (bold face, italics) reset to roman (default font).
 .It sp  .Pp
 Insert n spaces, where n is the macro's positive numeric argument.  If  See also
 0, this is equivalent to the  .Sx \&B ,
 .Sq br  .Sx \&I ,
   .Sx \&R ,
   .Sx \&b ,
   and
   .Sx \&i .
   .Ss \&sp
   Insert vertical spaces into output with the following syntax:
   .Bd -filled -offset indent
   .Pf \. Sx \&sp
   .Op Cm height
   .Ed
   .Pp
   Insert
   .Cm height
   spaces, which must conform to
   .Sx Scaling Widths .
   If 0, this is equivalent to the
   .Sx \&br
 macro.  macro.
 .El  Defaults to 1, if unspecified.
 .  .Pp
 .  See also
   .Sx \&br .
   .\" .Ss \&Sp
   .\" A synonym for
   .\" .Sx \&sp
   .\" .Cm 0.5v .
   .\" .
   .\" .Ss \&Vb
   .\" A synonym for
   .\" .Sx \&nf .
   .\" Accepts an argument (the height of the formatted space) which is
   .\" disregarded.
   .\" .
   .\" .Ss \&Ve
   .\" A synonym for
   .\" .Sx \&fi .
   .\" .
 .Sh COMPATIBILITY  .Sh COMPATIBILITY
 This section documents compatibility with other roff implementations, at  This section documents areas of questionable portability between
 this time limited to  implementations of the
 .Xr groff 1 .  .Nm
 .Bl -hyphen  language.
   .Pp
   .Bl -dash -compact
 .It  .It
 In quoted literals, groff allowed pair-wise double-quotes to produce a  In quoted literals, GNU troff allowed pair-wise double-quotes to produce
 standalone double-quote in formatted output.  This idiosyncratic  a standalone double-quote in formatted output.
 behaviour is no longer applicable.  It is not known whether this behaviour is exhibited by other formatters.
 .It  .It
   troff suppresses a newline before
   .Sq \(aq
   macro output; in mandoc, it is an alias for the standard
   .Sq \&.
   control character.
   .It
 The  The
 .Sq sp  .Sq \eh
 macro does not accept negative numbers.  .Pq horizontal position ,
   .Sq \ev
   .Pq vertical position ,
   .Sq \em
   .Pq text colour ,
   .Sq \eM
   .Pq text filling colour ,
   .Sq \ez
   .Pq zero-length character ,
   .Sq \ew
   .Pq string length ,
   .Sq \ek
   .Pq horizontal position marker ,
   and
   .Sq \es
   .Pq text size
   escape sequences are all discarded in mandoc.
 .It  .It
 Blocks of whitespace are stripped from both macro and free-form text  The
 lines (except when in literal mode), while groff would retain whitespace  .Sq \ef
 in free-form text lines.  scaling unit is accepted by mandoc, but rendered as the default unit.
   .It
   The
   .Sx \&sp
   macro does not accept negative values in mandoc.
   In GNU troff, this would result in strange behaviour.
 .El  .El
 .  
 .  
 .Sh SEE ALSO  .Sh SEE ALSO
 .Xr mandoc 1 ,  .Xr mandoc 1 ,
 .Xr mandoc_char 7  .Xr mandoc_char 7
 .  .Sh HISTORY
 .  
 .Sh AUTHORS  
 The  The
 .Nm  .Nm
   language first appeared as a macro package for the roff typesetting
   system in
   .At v7 .
   It was later rewritten by James Clark as a macro package for groff.
   The stand-alone implementation that is part of the
   .Xr mandoc 1
   utility written by Kristaps Dzonsons appeared in
   .Ox 4.6 .
   .Sh AUTHORS
   This
   .Nm
 reference was written by  reference was written by
 .An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@kth.se .  .An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@bsd.lv .
 .  
 .  
 .Sh CAVEATS  .Sh CAVEATS
 Do not use this language.  Use  Do not use this language.
   Use
 .Xr mdoc 7 ,  .Xr mdoc 7 ,
 instead.  instead.
 .  
Legend:
Removed from v.1.34  
changed lines
  Added in v.1.86
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