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Diff for /mandoc/mdoc.7 between version 1.133 and 1.140

version 1.133, 2010/07/06 11:07:21

version 1.140, 2010/07/19 21:59:48

Line 27 The

language is used to format

.Bx

.Ux

manuals. In this reference document, we describe its syntax, structure,

manuals.

and usage. Our reference implementation is mandoc; the

In this reference document, we describe its syntax, structure, and

usage.

Our reference implementation is mandoc; the

.Sx COMPATIBILITY

section describes compatibility with other troff \-mdoc implementations.

.Pp

Line 37 An

Line 39 An

document follows simple rules: lines beginning with the control

character

.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:

.Bd -literal -offset indent

\&.Sh Macro lines change control state.

Line 46 Other lines are interpreted within the current state.

Line 49 Other lines are interpreted within the current state.

.Sh LANGUAGE SYNTAX

.Nm

documents may contain only graphable 7-bit ASCII characters, the space

character, and, in certain circumstances, the tab character. All

character, and, in certain circumstances, the tab character.

manuals must have

All manuals must have

.Ux

line terminators.

.Ss Comments

Text following a

.Sq \e" ,

.Sq \e\*q ,

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 character and optionally

.Sq \&.\e\*q ,

whitespace are stripped from input.

is also ignored.

Macro lines with only a control character and optionally whitespace are

stripped from input.

.Ss Reserved Characters

Within a macro line, the following characters are reserved:

.Pp

Line 135 If

Line 140 If

is specified outside of any font scope, such as in unenclosed, free-form

text, it will affect the remainder of the document.

.Pp

Text may also be sized with the

Note this form is

.Sq \es

escape, whose syntax is one of

.Sq \es+-n

for one-digit numerals;

.Sq \es(+-nn

.Sq \es+-(nn

for two-digit numerals; and

.Sq \es[+-N] ,

.Sq \es+-[N] ,

.Sq \es'+-N' ,

.Sq \es+-'N'

for arbitrary-digit numerals:

.Pp

.D1 \es+1bigger\es-1

.D1 \es[+10]much bigger\es[-10]

.D1 \es+(10much bigger\es-(10

.D1 \es+'100'much much bigger\es-'100'

.Pp

Note these forms are

.Em not

recommended for

.Nm ,

Line 466 section, particularly

Line 450 section, particularly

.Sx \&Vt ,

and

.Sx \&Ft .

All of these macros are output on their own line. If two such

All of these macros are output on their own line.

dissimilar macros are pair-wise invoked (except for

If two such dissimilar macros are pair-wise invoked (except for

.Sx \&Ft

before

.Sx \&Fo

Line 879 For the scoping of individual macros, see

Line 863 For the scoping of individual macros, see

.Ss \&%A

Author name of an

.Sx \&Rs

block. Multiple authors should each be accorded their own

block.

Multiple authors should each be accorded their own

.Sx \%%A

line. Author names should be ordered with full or abbreviated

line.

forename(s) first, then full surname.

Author names should be ordered with full or abbreviated forename(s)

first, then full surname.

.Ss \&%B

Book title of an

.Sx \&Rs

block. This macro may also be used in a non-bibliographic context when

block.

This macro may also be used in a non-bibliographic context when

referring to book titles.

.Ss \&%C

Publication city or location of an

Line 899 this macro is not implemented in

Line 886 this macro is not implemented in

.Ss \&%D

Publication date of an

.Sx \&Rs

block. This should follow the reduced or canonical form syntax

block.

described in

This should follow the reduced or canonical form syntax described in

.Sx Dates .

.Ss \&%I

Publisher or issuer name of an

Line 925 block.

Line 912 block.

.Ss \&%Q

Institutional author (school, government, etc.) of an

.Sx \&Rs

block. Multiple institutional authors should each be accorded their own

block.

Multiple institutional authors should each be accorded their own

.Sx \&%Q

line.

.Ss \&%R

Line 935 block.

Line 923 block.

.Ss \&%T

Article title of an

.Sx \&Rs

block. This macro may also be used in a non-bibliographical context

block.

when referring to article titles.

This macro may also be used in a non-bibliographical context when

referring to article titles.

.Ss \&%U

URI of reference document.

.Ss \&%V

Line 946 block.

Line 935 block.

.Ss \&Ac

Closes an

.Sx \&Ao

block. Does not have any tail arguments.

block.

Does not have any tail arguments.

.Ss \&Ad

Address construct: usually in the context of an computational address in

memory, not a physical (post) address.

Line 958 Examples:

Line 948 Examples:

Author name.

This macro may alternatively accepts the following arguments, although

these may not be specified along with a parameter:

.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset indent

.Pp

.Bl -tag -width "-nosplitX" -offset indent -compact

.It Fl split

Renders a line break before each author listing.

.It Fl nosplit

Line 966 The opposite of

Line 957 The opposite of

.Fl split .

.El

.Pp

In the AUTHORS section, the default is not to split the first author

In the

.Em AUTHORS

section, the default is not to split the first author

listing, but all subsequent author listings, whether or not they're

interspersed by other macros or text, are split.

Thus, specifying

.Fl split

will cause the first listing also to be split.

If not in the AUTHORS section, the default is not to split.

If not in the

.Em AUTHORS

section, the default is not to split.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.An -nosplit

Line 983 the effects of

Line 978 the effects of

.Fl split

.Fl nosplit

are re-set when entering the AUTHORS section, so if one specifies

are re-set when entering the

.Em AUTHORS

section, so if one specifies

.Sx \&An Fl nosplit

in the general document body, it must be re-specified in the AUTHORS

in the general document body, it must be re-specified in the

.Em AUTHORS

section.

.Ss \&Ao

Begins a block enclosed by angled brackets.

Line 997 Examples:

Line 995 Examples:

See also

.Sx \&Aq .

.Ss \&Ap

Inserts an apostrophe without any surrounding white-space.

Inserts an apostrophe without any surrounding whitespace.

This is generally used as a grammatical device when referring to the verb

form of a function:

form of a function.

.Bd -literal -offset indent

.Pp

\&.Fn execve Ap d

Examples:

.Ed

.D1 \&.Fn execve \&Ap d

.Ss \&Aq

Encloses its arguments in angled brackets.

.Pp

Line 1034 Examples:

Line 1032 Examples:

.Ss \&At

Formats an AT&T version.

Accepts at most one parameter:

.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset indent

.Pp

.Bl -tag -width "v[1-7] | 32vX" -offset indent -compact

.It Cm v[1-7] | 32v

A version of

.At .

Line 1061 and

Line 1060 and

.Ss \&Bc

Closes a

.Sx \&Bo

block. Does not have any tail arguments.

block.

Does not have any tail arguments.

.Ss \&Bd

Begins a display block.

Its syntax is as follows:

Line 1310 The

.Fl width

argument is ignored.

.It Fl tag

A list offset by list entry heads. List entry bodies are positioned

A list offset by list entry heads.

after the head as specified by the

List entry bodies are positioned after the head as specified by the

.Fl width

argument.

.El

Line 1323 Begins a block enclosed by square brackets.

Does not have any head arguments.

.Pp

Examples:

.Bd -literal -offset indent

.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact

\&.Bo 1 ,

\&.Dv BUFSIZ \&Bc

.Ed

Line 1349 See also

.Ss \&Brc

Closes a

.Sx \&Bro

block. Does not have any tail arguments.

block.

Does not have any tail arguments.

.Ss \&Bro

Begins a block enclosed by curly braces.

Does not have any head arguments.

.Pp

Examples:

.Bd -literal -offset indent

.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact

\&.Bro 1 , ... ,

\&.Va n \&Brc

.Ed

Line 1417 Examples:

Line 1418 Examples:

.Pp

.Em Remarks :

this macro is commonly abused by using quoted literals to retain

white-space and align consecutive

whitespace and align consecutive

.Sx \&Cd

declarations.

This practise is discouraged.

Line 1453 Its syntax is as follows:

Line 1454 Its syntax is as follows:

.Ss \&Dc

Closes a

.Sx \&Do

block. Does not have any tail arguments.

block.

Does not have any tail arguments.

.Ss \&Dd

Document date.

This is the mandatory first macro of any

Line 1489 invocations.

Line 1491 invocations.

It is followed by a newline.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Dl % mandoc mdoc.7 | less

.D1 \&.Dl % mandoc mdoc.7 \e(ba less

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Bd

and

.Sx \&D1 .

.Ss \&Do

Begins a block enclosed by double quotes. Does not have any head

Begins a block enclosed by double quotes.

arguments.

Does not have any head arguments.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.D1 \&Do April is the cruellest month \&Dc \e(em T.S. Eliot

.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact

\&.Do

April is the cruellest month

\&.Dc

\e(em T.S. Eliot

.Ed

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Dq .

.Ss \&Dq

Encloses its arguments in double quotes.

Encloses its arguments in

.Dq typographic

double-quotes.

.Pp

Examples:

.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact

Line 1514 Examples:

Line 1523 Examples:

.Ed

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Qq ,

.Sx \&Sq ,

and

.Sx \&Do .

.Ss \&Dt

Document title.

Line 1536 Its arguments are as follows:

Line 1548 Its arguments are as follows:

.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset Ds

.It Cm title

The document's title (name), defaulting to

.Qq UNKNOWN

.Dq UNKNOWN

if unspecified.

It should be capitalised.

.It Cm section

Line 1576 or

Line 1588 or

.Ar paper

.Pq paper .

It should correspond to the manual's filename suffix and defaults to

.Qq 1

.Dq 1

if unspecified.

.It Cm volume

This overrides the volume inferred from

Line 1717 stylistically decorating technical terms.

Line 1729 stylistically decorating technical terms.

Examples:

.D1 \&.Em Warnings!

.D1 \&.Em Remarks :

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Bf ,

.Sx \&Sy ,

and

.Sx \&Li .

.Ss \&En

This macro is obsolete and not implemented.

.Ss \&Eo

Line 1749 Examples:

Line 1767 Examples:

.D1 \&.Ev DISPLAY

.D1 \&.Ev PATH

.Ss \&Ex

Inserts text regarding a utility's exit values.

Inserts text regarding a utility's exit value.

This macro must have first the

This macro must consist of the

.Fl std

argument specified, then an optional

argument followed by an optional

.Ar utility .

.Ar utility

is not provided, the document's name as stipulated in

.Sx \&Nm

is provided.

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Rv .

.Ss \&Fa

Function argument.

Its syntax is as follows:

Line 1878 See also

Line 1899 See also

.Sx \&Fa ,

.Sx \&Fc ,

and

.Sx \&Ft .

.Ss \&Ft

A function type.

Its syntax is as follows:

Line 1934 is preferred for displaying code; the

Line 1956 is preferred for displaying code; the

macro is used when referring to specific instructions.

.Ss \&In

.Qq include

.Dq include

file.

In the

.Em SYNOPSIS

section (only if invoked as the line macro), the first argument is

preceded by

.Qq #include ,

.Dq #include ,

the arguments is enclosed in angled braces.

.Pp

Examples:

Line 2012 are interpreted within the scope of the last phrase.

Line 2034 are interpreted within the scope of the last phrase.

Calling the pseudo-macro

.Sq \&Ta

will open a new phrase scope (this must occur on a macro line to be

interpreted as a macro). Note that the tab phrase delimiter may only be

interpreted as a macro).

used within the

Note that the tab phrase delimiter may only be used within the

.Sx \&It

line itself.

Subsequent this, only the

Line 2057 Examples:

Line 2079 Examples:

Denotes text that should be in a literal font mode.

Note that this is a presentation term and should not be used for

stylistically decorating technical terms.

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Bf ,

.Sx \&Sy ,

and

.Sx \&Em .

.Ss \&Lk

Format a hyperlink.

Its syntax is as follows:

Line 2073 See also

Line 2101 See also

Synonym for

.Sx \&Pp .

.Ss \&Ms

Display a mathematical symbol.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Ms Cm symbol

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Ms sigma

.D1 \&.Ms aleph

.Ss \&Mt

Format a

.Qq mailto:

.Dq mailto:

hyperlink.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

Line 2146 macro rather than

Line 2182 macro rather than

to mark up the name of the manual page.

.Ss \&No

.Qq noop

.Dq noop

macro used to terminate prior macro contexts.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Sx \&Fl ab \&No cd \&Fl ef

.Ss \&Ns

Suppress a space.

Following invocation, text is interpreted as free-form text until a

macro is encountered.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Fl o \&Ns \&Ar output

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&No

and

.Sx \&Sm .

.Ss \&Nx

Format the NetBSD version provided as an argument, or a default value if

no argument is provided.

Line 2178 Multi-line version of

Line 2225 Multi-line version of

.Sx \&Op .

.Pp

Examples:

.Bd -literal -offset indent

.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact

\&.Oo

\&.Op Fl flag Ns Ar value

\&.Oc

Line 2255 Close parenthesised context opened by

Line 2302 Close parenthesised context opened by

.Sx \&Po .

.Ss \&Pf

Removes the space

.Pq Qq prefix

.Pq Dq prefix

between its arguments.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

Line 2280 Parenthesised enclosure.

Line 2327 Parenthesised enclosure.

See also

.Sx \&Po .

.Ss \&Qc

Close quoted context opened by

.Sx \&Qo .

.Ss \&Ql

Format a single-quoted literal.

See also

.Sx \&Qq

and

.Sx \&Sq .

.Ss \&Qo

Multi-line version of

.Sx \&Qq .

.Ss \&Qq

Encloses its arguments in

.Dq typewriter

double-quotes.

Consider using

.Sx \&Dq .

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Dq ,

.Sx \&Sq ,

and

.Sx \&Qo .

.Ss \&Re

Closes a

.Sx \&Rs

Line 2329 block is used within a SEE ALSO section, a vertical sp

Line 2396 block is used within a SEE ALSO section, a vertical sp

before the rendered output, else the block continues on the current

line.

.Ss \&Rv

Inserts text regarding a function call's return value.

This macro must consist of the

.Fl std

argument followed by an optional

.Ar function .

.Ar function

is not provided, the document's name as stipulated by the first

.Sx \&Nm

is provided.

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Ex .

.Ss \&Sc

Close single-quoted context opened by

.Sx \&So .

.Ss \&Sh

Begin a new section.

For a list of conventional manual sections, see

.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE .

These sections should be used unless it's absolutely necessary that

custom sections be used.

.Pp

Section names should be unique so that they may be keyed by

.Sx \&Sx .

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Pp ,

.Sx \&Ss ,

and

.Sx \&Sx .

.Ss \&Sm

Switches the spacing mode for output generated from macros.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Sm Cm on | off

.Pp

By default, spacing is

.Cm on .

When switched

.Cm off ,

no white space is inserted between macro arguments and between the

output generated from adjacent macros, but free-form text lines

still get normal spacing between words and sentences.

.Ss \&So

Multi-line version of

.Sx \&Sq .

.Ss \&Sq

Encloses its arguments in

.Dq typewriter

single-quotes.

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Dq ,

.Sx \&Qq ,

and

.Sx \&So .

.Ss \&Ss

Begin a new sub-section.

Unlike with

.Sx \&Sh ,

there's no convention for sub-sections.

Conventional sections, as described in

.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE ,

rarely have sub-sections.

.Pp

Sub-section names should be unique so that they may be keyed by

.Sx \&Sx .

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Pp ,

.Sx \&Sh ,

and

.Sx \&Sx .

.Ss \&St

Replace an abbreviation for a standard with the full form.

The following standards are recognised:

.Pp

.Bl -tag -width "-p1003.1g-2000X" -compact

.It \-p1003.1-88

.St -p1003.1-88

.It \-p1003.1-90

.St -p1003.1-90

.It \-p1003.1-96

.St -p1003.1-96

.It \-p1003.1-2001

.St -p1003.1-2001

.It \-p1003.1-2004

.St -p1003.1-2004

.It \-p1003.1-2008

.St -p1003.1-2008

.It \-p1003.1

.St -p1003.1

.It \-p1003.1b

.St -p1003.1b

.It \-p1003.1b-93

.St -p1003.1b-93

.It \-p1003.1c-95

.St -p1003.1c-95

.It \-p1003.1g-2000

.St -p1003.1g-2000

.It \-p1003.1i-95

.St -p1003.1i-95

.It \-p1003.2-92

.St -p1003.2-92

.It \-p1003.2a-92

.St -p1003.2a-92

.It \-p1387.2-95

.St -p1387.2-95

.It \-p1003.2

.St -p1003.2

.It \-p1387.2

.St -p1387.2

.It \-isoC

.St -isoC

.It \-isoC-90

.St -isoC-90

.It \-isoC-amd1

.St -isoC-amd1

.It \-isoC-tcor1

.St -isoC-tcor1

.It \-isoC-tcor2

.St -isoC-tcor2

.It \-isoC-99

.St -isoC-99

.It \-iso9945-1-90

.St -iso9945-1-90

.It \-iso9945-1-96

.St -iso9945-1-96

.It \-iso9945-2-93

.St -iso9945-2-93

.It \-ansiC

.St -ansiC

.It \-ansiC-89

.St -ansiC-89

.It \-ansiC-99

.St -ansiC-99

.It \-ieee754

.St -ieee754

.It \-iso8802-3

.St -iso8802-3

.It \-ieee1275-94

.St -ieee1275-94

.It \-xpg3

.St -xpg3

.It \-xpg4

.St -xpg4

.It \-xpg4.2

.St -xpg4.2

.St -xpg4.3

.It \-xbd5

.St -xbd5

.It \-xcu5

.St -xcu5

.It \-xsh5

.St -xsh5

.It \-xns5

.St -xns5

.It \-xns5.2

.St -xns5.2

.It \-xns5.2d2.0

.St -xns5.2d2.0

.It \-xcurses4.2

.St -xcurses4.2

.It \-susv2

.St -susv2

.It \-susv3

.St -susv3

.It \-svid4

.St -svid4

.El

.Ss \&Sx

Reference a section or sub-section.

The referenced section or sub-section name must be identical to the

enclosed argument, including whitespace.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE

.Ss \&Sy

Format enclosed arguments in symbolic

.Pq Dq boldface .

Note that this is a presentation term and should not be used for

stylistically decorating technical terms.

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Bf ,

.Sx \&Li ,

and

.Sx \&Em .

.Ss \&Tn

Format a tradename.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Tn IBM

.Ss \&Ud

Prints out

.Dq currently under development.

Line 2421 Examples:

Line 2672 Examples:

.D1 \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&;

.D1 \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&Ns s behaviour

.Ss \&br

Emits a line-break.

This macro should not be used; it is implemented for compatibility with

historical manuals.

.Pp

Consider using

.Sx \&Pp

in the event of natural paragraph breaks.

.Ss \&sp

Emits vertical space.

This macro should not be used; it is implemented for compatibility with

historical manuals.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&sp Op Cm height

.Pp

The

.Cm height

argument must be formatted as described in

.Sx Scaling Widths .

If unspecified,

.Sx \&sp

asserts a single vertical space.

.Sh COMPATIBILITY

This section documents compatibility between mandoc and other other

troff implementations, at this time limited to GNU troff

Line 2438 Heirloom troff, the other significant troff implementa

Line 2710 Heirloom troff, the other significant troff implementa

.Pp

.Bl -dash -compact

.It

The \es (font size), \em (font colour), and \eM (font filling colour)

font decoration escapes are all discarded in mandoc.

.It

Old groff fails to assert a newline before

.Sx \&Bd Fl ragged compact .

.It

Line 2485 pseudo-macro as a line macro.

Line 2760 pseudo-macro as a line macro.

mandoc does.

.It

The comment syntax

.Sq \e."

.Sq \e\."

is no longer accepted.

.It

In groff, the

Line 2577 The

Line 2852 The

.Nm

reference was written by

.An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@bsd.lv .

.\"

.\" XXX: this really isn't the place for these caveats.

.\" .

.\" .Sh CAVEATS

.\" There are many ambiguous parts of mdoc.

.\" .

.\" .Pp

.\" .Bl -dash -compact

.\" .It

.\" .Sq \&Fa

.\" should be

.\" .Sq \&Va

.\" as function arguments are variables.

.\" .It

.\" .Sq \&Ft

.\" should be

.\" .Sq \&Vt

.\" as function return types are still types. Furthermore, the

.\" .Sq \&Ft

.\" should be removed and

.\" .Sq \&Fo ,

.\" which ostensibly follows it, should follow the same convention as

.\" .Sq \&Va .

.\" .It

.\" .Sq \&Va

.\" should formalise that only one or two arguments are acceptable: a

.\" variable name and optional, preceding type.

.\" .It

.\" .Sq \&Fd

.\" is ambiguous. It's commonly used to indicate an include file in the

.\" synopsis section.

.\" .Sq \&In

.\" should be used, instead.

.\" .It

.\" Only the

.\" .Sq \-literal

.\" argument to

.\" .Sq \&Bd

.\" makes sense. The remaining ones should be removed.

.\" .It

.\" The

.\" .Sq \&Xo

.\" and

.\" .Sq \&Xc

.\" macros should be deprecated.

.\" .It

.\" The

.\" .Sq \&Dt

.\" macro lacks clarity. It should be absolutely clear which title will

.\" render when formatting the manual page.

.\" .It

.\" A

.\" .Sq \&Lx

.\" should be provided for Linux (\(`a la

.\" .Sq \&Ox ,

.\" .Sq \&Nx

.\" etc.).

.\" .It

.\" There's no way to refer to references in

.\" .Sq \&Rs/Re

.\" blocks.

.\" .It

.\" The \-split and \-nosplit dictates via

.\" .Sq \&An

.\" are re-set when entering and leaving the AUTHORS section.

.\" .El

.\" .

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