mandoc/mdoc.7 - diff

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Diff for /mandoc/mdoc.7 between version 1.150 and 1.185

version 1.150, 2010/08/22 14:54:29

version 1.185, 2011/04/06 11:39:25

Line 1

.\" $Id$

.\"

.\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any

Line 40 An

.Nm

document follows simple rules: lines beginning with the control

character

.Sq \.

.Sq \&.

are parsed for macros.

Other lines are interpreted within the scope of

Text lines, those not beginning with the control character, are

prior macros:

interpreted within the scope of prior macros:

.Bd -literal -offset indent

\&.Sh Macro lines change control state.

Other lines are interpreted within the current state.

Text lines are interpreted within the current state.

.Ed

.Sh LANGUAGE SYNTAX

.Nm

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

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

All manuals must have

.Pp

.Ux

If the first character of a text line is a space, that line is printed

line terminators.

with a leading newline.

.Ss Comments

Text following a

.Sq \e\*q ,

whether in a macro or free-form text line, is ignored to the end of

whether in a macro or text line, is ignored to the end of

line.

A macro line with only a control character and comment escape,

.Sq \&.\e\*q ,

is also ignored.

Macro lines with only a control character and optional whitespace are

stripped from input.

.Ss Reserved Characters

.Ss Reserved Terms

Within a macro line, the following characters are reserved:

Within a macro line, the following terms are reserved:

.Pp

.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact

.It \&.

.Pq period

.It \e.

.Pq escaped period

.It \&,

.Pq comma

.It \&:

Line 91 Within a macro line, the following characters are rese

Line 93 Within a macro line, the following characters are rese

.Pq exclamation

.It \&|

.Pq vertical bar

.It \e*(Ba

.Pq reserved-word vertical bar

.El

.Pp

Use of reserved characters is described in

Use of reserved terms is described in

.Sx MACRO SYNTAX .

For general use in macro lines, these characters can either be escaped

For general use in macro lines, these can be escaped with a non-breaking

with a non-breaking space

space

.Pq Sq \e&

.Pq Sq \e& .

or, if applicable, an appropriate escape sequence can be used.

In text lines, these may be used as normal punctuation.

.Ss Special Characters

Special characters may occur in both macro and free-form lines.

Special characters may occur in both macro and text lines.

Sequences begin with the escape character

.Sq \e

followed by either an open-parenthesis

Line 125 Terms may be text-decorated using the

Line 129 Terms may be text-decorated using the

escape followed by an indicator: B (bold), I (italic), R (Roman), or P

(revert to previous mode):

.Pp

.D1 \efBbold\efR \efIitalic\efP

.Dl \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 valid within

If a macro opens a font scope after calling

the current font scope only: if a macro opens a font scope alongside

.Sq \ef ,

its own scope, such as

such as with

.Sx \&Bf

.Sx \&Bf ,

.Cm \&Sy ,

the

in-scope invocations of

.Sq \ef

are only valid within the font scope of the macro.

mode will be restored upon exiting the

.Sx \&Bf

.Sq \ef

scope.

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

text, it will affect the remainder of the document.

.Pp

Note this form is

.Em not

Line 174 and

Line 175 and

.Pq vertical bar .

.Ss Whitespace

Whitespace consists of the space character.

In free-form lines, whitespace is preserved within a line; unescaped

In text lines, whitespace is preserved within a line; unescaped

trailing spaces are stripped from input (unless in a literal context).

Blank free-form lines, which may include whitespace, are only permitted

Blank text lines, which may include whitespace, are only permitted

within literal contexts.

.Pp

In macro lines, whitespace delimits arguments and is discarded.

Line 196 Thus, the following produces

Line 197 Thus, the following produces

\&.Op "Fl a"

.Ed

.Pp

In free-form mode, quotes are regarded as opaque text.

In text lines, quotes are regarded as opaque text.

.Ss Dates

There are several macros in

.Nm

that require a date argument.

The canonical form for dates is the American format:

.Pp

.D1 Cm Month Day , Year

.Pp

The

.Cm Day

value is an optionally zero-padded numeral.

The

.Cm Month

value is the full month name.

The

.Cm Year

value is the full four-digit year.

.Pp

Reduced form dates are broken-down canonical form dates:

.Pp

.D1 Cm Month , Year

.D1 Cm Year

.Pp

Some examples of valid dates follow:

.Pp

.D1 "May, 2009" Pq reduced form

.D1 "2009" Pq reduced form

.D1 "May 20, 2009" Pq canonical form

.Ss Scaling Widths

Many macros support scaled widths for their arguments, such as

stipulating a two-inch list indentation with the following:

Line 283 a line.

Line 256 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 (

delimiters

.Ns Sq \&) ,

.Po

.Sq \&) ,

.Sq \&] ,

.Sq \&' ,

.Sq \&" ) .

.Sq \&"

.Pc .

.Pp

The proper spacing is also intelligently preserved if a sentence ends at

the boundary of a macro line.

For example:

.Pp

.D1 \&Xr mandoc 1 \.

.Dl \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&.

.D1 \&Fl T \&Ns \&Cm ascii \.

.Dl \&.Fl T \&Ns \&Cm ascii \&.

.Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE

A well-formed

.Nm

Line 331 file:

Line 306 file:

\&.Sh NAME

\&.Nm foo

\&.Nd a description goes here

\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2, 3, & 9 only.

\&.\e\*q .Sh LIBRARY

\&.\e\*q For sections 2, 3, & 9 only.

\&.\e\*q Not used in OpenBSD.

\&.Sh SYNOPSIS

\&.Nm foo

\&.Op Fl options

Line 342 The

Line 318 The

\&.Nm

utility processes files ...

\&.\e\*q .Sh IMPLEMENTATION NOTES

\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2, 3, & 9 only.

\&.\e\*q Not used in OpenBSD.

\&.\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 For sections 1, 6, 7, & 8 only.

\&.\e\*q .Sh FILES

\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1 & 8 only.

\&.\e\*q .Sh EXIT STATUS

\&.\e\*q For sections 1, 6, & 8 only.

\&.\e\*q .Sh EXAMPLES

\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1, 4, 6, 7, & 8 only.

\&.\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 For sections 2, 3, & 9 only.

\&.\e\*q .Sh SEE ALSO

\&.\e\*q .Xr foobar 1

\&.\e\*q .Sh STANDARDS

Line 362 utility processes files ...

Line 339 utility processes files ...

\&.\e\*q .Sh CAVEATS

\&.\e\*q .Sh BUGS

\&.\e\*q .Sh SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS

\&.\e\*q Not used in OpenBSD.

.Ed

.Pp

The sections in an

Line 379 The syntax for this as follows:

Line 357 The syntax for this as follows:

\&.Nd a one line description

.Ed

.Pp

Multiple

.Sq \&Nm

names should be separated by commas.

.Pp

The

.Sx \&Nm

macro(s) must precede the

Line 406 configuration.

Line 388 configuration.

For the first, utilities (sections 1, 6, and 8), this is

generally structured as follows:

.Bd -literal -offset indent

\&.Nm foo

\&.Nm bar

\&.Op Fl v

\&.Op Fl o Ar file

\&.Op Ar

\&.Nm bar

\&.Nm foo

\&.Op Fl v

\&.Op Fl o Ar file

\&.Op Ar

.Ed

.Pp

Commands should be ordered alphabetically.

.Pp

For the second, function calls (sections 2, 3, 9):

.Bd -literal -offset indent

\&.In header.h

Line 426 For the second, function calls (sections 2, 3, 9):

Line 410 For the second, function calls (sections 2, 3, 9):

\&.Fn bar "const char *src"

.Ed

.Pp

Ordering of

.Sx \&In ,

.Sx \&Vt ,

.Sx \&Fn ,

and

.Sx \&Fo

macros should follow C header-file conventions.

.Pp

And for the third, configurations (section 4):

.Bd -literal -offset indent

\&.Cd \*qit* at isa? port 0x2e\*q

Line 474 or

Line 466 or

.Sx \&Ss

macro or the end of an enclosing block, whichever comes first.

.It Em DESCRIPTION

This expands upon the brief, one line description in

This begins with an expansion of the brief, one line description in

.Em NAME .

.Em NAME :

It usually contains a breakdown of the options (if documenting a

.Bd -literal -offset indent

The

\&.Nm

utility does this, that, and the other.

.Ed

.Pp

It usually follows with a breakdown of the options (if documenting a

command), such as:

.Bd -literal -offset indent

The arguments are as follows:

Line 601 closes it out.

Line 599 closes it out.

.Pp

The

.Em Callable

column indicates that the macro may be called subsequent to the initial

column indicates that the macro may also be called by passing its name

line-macro.

as an argument to another macro.

If a macro is not callable, then its invocation after the initial line

If a macro is not callable but its name appears as an argument

macro is interpreted as opaque text, such that

to another macro, it is interpreted as opaque text.

For example,

.Sq \&.Fl \&Sh

produces

.Sq Fl \&Sh .

.Pp

The

.Em Parsed

column indicates whether the macro may be followed by further

column indicates whether the macro may call other macros by receiving

(ostensibly callable) macros.

their names as arguments.

If a macro is not parsed, subsequent macro invocations on the line

If a macro is not parsed but the name of another macro appears

will be interpreted as opaque text.

as an argument, it is interpreted as opaque text.

.Pp

The

.Em Scope

Line 623 column, if applicable, describes closure rules.

Line 622 column, if applicable, describes closure rules.

Multi-line scope closed by an explicit closing macro.

All macros contains bodies; only

.Sx \&Bf

contains a head.

and

.Pq optionally

.Sx \&Bl

contain a head.

.Bd -literal -offset indent

\&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBparm...\(rB\(rB \(lBhead...\(rB

\(lBbody...\(rB

Line 728 and/or tail

Line 730 and/or tail

.El

.Ss Block partial-implicit

Like block full-implicit, but with single-line scope closed by

.Sx Reserved Characters

.Sx Reserved Terms

or end of line.

.Bd -literal -offset indent

\&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB \(lBbody...\(rB \(lBres...\(rB

Line 761 section line, else it is

Line 763 section line, else it is

.Sx In-line .

.Ss In-line

Closed by

.Sx Reserved Characters ,

.Sx Reserved Terms ,

end of line, fixed argument lengths, and/or subsequent macros.

In-line macros have only text children.

If a number (or inequality) of arguments is

Line 791 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of argument

Line 793 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of argument

.It Sx \&%T Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta >0

.It Sx \&%U Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta >0

.It Sx \&%V Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta >0

.It Sx \&Ad Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&Ad Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&An Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&An Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&Ap Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta 0

.It Sx \&Ar Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&At Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta 1

Line 800 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of argument

Line 802 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of argument

.It Sx \&Bt Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 0

.It Sx \&Bx Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&Cd Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&Cm Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&Cm Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&Db Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 1

.It Sx \&Dd Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta n

.It Sx \&Dt Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta n

.It Sx \&Dv Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&Dv Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&Dx Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&Em Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&En Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 0

.It Sx \&Er Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&Es Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 0

.It Sx \&Ev Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&Ev Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&Ex Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta n

.It Sx \&Fa Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&Fa Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&Fd Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta >0

.It Sx \&Fl Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&Fn Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&Fr Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta n

.It Sx \&Ft Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&Ft Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&Fx Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&Hf Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta n

.It Sx \&Ic Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&In Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta n

.It Sx \&In Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 1

.It Sx \&Lb Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 1

.It Sx \&Li Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&Li Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&Lk Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n

.It Sx \&Lk Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&Lp Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 0

.It Sx \&Ms Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

.It Sx \&Mt Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0

Line 880 block.

Line 882 block.

Publication date of an

.Sx \&Rs

block.

This should follow the reduced or canonical form syntax described in

Recommended formats of arguments are

.Sx Dates .

.Ar month day , year

or just

.Ar year .

.Ss \&%I

Publisher or issuer name of an

.Sx \&Rs

Line 935 Memory address.

Line 939 Memory address.

Do not use this for postal addresses.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Ad [0,$]

.Dl \&.Ad [0,$]

.D1 \&.Ad 0x00000000

.Dl \&.Ad 0x00000000

.Ss \&An

Author name.

Requires either the name of an author or one of the following arguments:

Line 966 for the first author listing and

Line 970 for the first author listing and

for all other author listings.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.An -nosplit

.Dl \&.An -nosplit

.D1 \&.An Kristaps Dzonsons \&Aq kristaps@bsd.lv

.Dl \&.An Kristaps Dzonsons \&Aq kristaps@bsd.lv

.Ss \&Ao

Begin a block enclosed by angle brackets.

Does not have any head arguments.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Fl -key= \&Ns \&Ao \&Ar val \&Ac

.Dl \&.Fl -key= \&Ns \&Ao \&Ar val \&Ac

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Aq .

Line 983 This is generally used as a grammatical device when re

Line 987 This is generally used as a grammatical device when re

form of a function.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Fn execve \&Ap d

.Dl \&.Fn execve \&Ap d

.Ss \&Aq

Encloses its arguments in angle brackets.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Fl -key= \&Ns \&Aq \&Ar val

.Dl \&.Fl -key= \&Ns \&Aq \&Ar val

.Pp

.Em Remarks :

this macro is often abused for rendering URIs, which should instead use

Line 1009 If an argument is not provided, the string

Line 1013 If an argument is not provided, the string

is used as a default.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Fl o \&Ns \&Ar file1

.Dl \&.Fl o \&Ns \&Ar file1

.D1 \&.Ar

.Dl \&.Ar

.D1 \&.Ar arg1 , arg2 .

.Dl \&.Ar arg1 , arg2 .

.Ss \&At

Formats an AT&T version.

Accepts one optional argument:

Line 1028 A version of

Line 1032 A version of

Note that these arguments do not begin with a hyphen.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.At

.Dl \&.At

.D1 \&.At V.1

.Dl \&.At V.1

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Bsx ,

Line 1057 Its syntax is as follows:

Line 1061 Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

Display blocks are used to select a different indentation and

justification than the one used by the surrounding text.

They may contain both macro lines and free-form text lines.

They may contain both macro lines and text lines.

By default, a display block is preceded by a vertical space.

.Pp

The

Line 1174 and

Line 1178 and

.Ss \&Bk

Keep the output generated from each macro input line together

on one single output line.

Line breaks in free-form text lines are unaffected.

Line breaks in text lines are unaffected.

The syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Bk Fl words

Line 1197 Be careful in using over-long lines within a keep bloc

Line 1201 Be careful in using over-long lines within a keep bloc

Doing so will clobber the right margin.

.Ss \&Bl

Begin a list.

Lists consist of items started by the

Lists consist of items specified using the

.Sx \&It

macro, containing a head or a body or both.

The list syntax is as follows:

Line 1332 See also

Line 1336 See also

Encloses its arguments in square brackets.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Bq 1 , \&Dv BUFSIZ

.Dl \&.Bq 1 , \&Dv BUFSIZ

.Pp

.Em Remarks :

this macro is sometimes abused to emulate optional arguments for

Line 1365 See also

Line 1369 See also

Encloses its arguments in curly braces.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Brq 1 , ... , \&Va n

.Dl \&.Brq 1 , ... , \&Va n

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Bro .

Line 1374 Format the BSD/OS version provided as an argument, or

Line 1378 Format the BSD/OS version provided as an argument, or

no argument is provided.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Bsx 1.0

.Dl \&.Bsx 1.0

.D1 \&.Bsx

.Dl \&.Bsx

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&At ,

Line 1394 Format the BSD version provided as an argument, or a d

Line 1398 Format the BSD version provided as an argument, or a d

argument is provided.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Bx 4.4

.Dl \&.Bx 4.4

.D1 \&.Bx

.Dl \&.Bx

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&At ,

Line 1412 This denotes strings accepted by

Line 1416 This denotes strings accepted by

.Xr config 8 .

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Cd device le0 at scode?

.Dl \&.Cd device le0 at scode?

.Pp

.Em Remarks :

this macro is commonly abused by using quoted literals to retain

Line 1425 Command modifiers.

Line 1429 Command modifiers.

Useful when specifying configuration options or keys.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Cm ControlPath

.Dl \&.Cm ControlPath

.D1 \&.Cm ControlMaster

.Dl \&.Cm ControlMaster

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Fl .

Line 1437 statements.

Line 1441 statements.

It is followed by a newline.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.D1 \&Fl abcdefgh

.Dl \&.D1 \&Fl abcdefgh

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Bd

Line 1463 This is the mandatory first macro of any

Line 1467 This is the mandatory first macro of any

manual.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Dd Op Ar date

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Dd Ar month day , year

.Pp

The

.Ar date

.Ar month

may be either

is the full English month name, the

.Ar $\&Mdocdate$ ,

.Ar day

which signifies the current manual revision date dictated by

is an optionally zero-padded numeral, and the

.Ar year

is the full four-digit year.

.Pp

Other arguments are not portable; the

.Xr mandoc 1

utility handles them as follows:

.Bl -dash -offset 3n -compact

.It

To have the date automatically filled in by the

.Ox

version of

.Xr cvs 1 ,

or instead a valid canonical date as specified by

the special string

.Sx Dates .

.Dq $\&Mdocdate$

If a date does not conform or is empty, the current date is used.

can be given as an argument.

.It

A few alternative date formats are accepted as well

and converted to the standard form.

.It

If a date string cannot be parsed, it is used verbatim.

.It

If no date string is given, the current date is used.

.El

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Dd $\&Mdocdate$

.Dl \&.Dd $\&Mdocdate$

.D1 \&.Dd $\&Mdocdate: July 21 2007$

.Dl \&.Dd $\&Mdocdate: July 21 2007$

.D1 \&.Dd July 21, 2007

.Dl \&.Dd July 21, 2007

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Dt

Line 1491 invocations.

Line 1514 invocations.

It is followed by a newline.

.Pp

Examples:

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

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

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Bd

Line 1643 It must be one of

Line 1666 It must be one of

.Ar luna88k ,

.Ar mac68k ,

.Ar macppc ,

.Ar mips64 ,

.Ar mvme68k ,

.Ar mvme88k ,

.Ar mvmeppc ,

Line 1658 or

Line 1682 or

.El

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Dt FOO 1

.Dl \&.Dt FOO 1

.D1 \&.Dt FOO 4 KM

.Dl \&.Dt FOO 4 KM

.D1 \&.Dt FOO 9 i386

.Dl \&.Dt FOO 9 i386

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Dd

Line 1670 and

Line 1694 and

Defined variables such as preprocessor constants.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Dv BUFSIZ

.Dl \&.Dv BUFSIZ

.D1 \&.Dv STDOUT_FILENO

.Dl \&.Dv STDOUT_FILENO

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Er .

Line 1680 Format the DragonFly BSD version provided as an argume

Line 1704 Format the DragonFly BSD version provided as an argume

value if no argument is provided.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Dx 2.4.1

.Dl \&.Dx 2.4.1

.D1 \&.Dx

.Dl \&.Dx

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&At ,

Line 1727 Note that this is a presentation term and should not b

Line 1751 Note that this is a presentation term and should not b

stylistically decorating technical terms.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Em Warnings!

.Dl \&.Em Warnings!

.D1 \&.Em Remarks :

.Dl \&.Em Remarks :

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Bf ,

Line 1753 will emulate

Line 1777 will emulate

Display error constants.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Er EPERM

.Dl \&.Er EPERM

.D1 \&.Er ENOENT

.Dl \&.Er ENOENT

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Dv .

Line 1765 Environmental variables such as those specified in

Line 1789 Environmental variables such as those specified in

.Xr environ 7 .

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Ev DISPLAY

.Dl \&.Ev DISPLAY

.D1 \&.Ev PATH

.Dl \&.Ev PATH

.Ss \&Ex

Insert a standard sentence regarding exit values.

Its syntax is as follows:

Line 1806 Furthermore, if the following macro is another

Line 1830 Furthermore, if the following macro is another

the last argument will also have a trailing comma.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Fa \(dqconst char *p\(dq

.Dl \&.Fa \(dqconst char *p\(dq

.D1 \&.Fa \(dqint a\(dq \(dqint b\(dq \(dqint c\(dq

.Dl \&.Fa \(dqint a\(dq \(dqint b\(dq \(dqint c\(dq

.D1 \&.Fa foo

.Dl \&.Fa foo

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Fo .

Line 1836 If the argument is a macro, a hyphen is prefixed to th

Line 1860 If the argument is a macro, a hyphen is prefixed to th

output.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Fl a b c

.Dl \&.Fl a b c

.D1 \&.Fl \&Pf a b

.Dl \&.Fl \&Pf a b

.D1 \&.Fl

.Dl \&.Fl

.D1 \&.Op \&Fl o \&Ns \&Ar file

.Dl \&.Op \&Fl o \&Ns \&Ar file

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Cm .

Line 1848 A function name.

Line 1872 A function name.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Bd -ragged -offset indent

.Pf \. Ns Sx \&Fn

.Op Cm functype

.Op Ar functype

.Cm funcname

.Ar funcname

.Op Oo Cm argtype Oc Cm argname

.Op Oo Ar argtype Oc Ar argname

.Ed

.Pp

Function arguments are surrounded in parenthesis and

Line 1858 are delimited by commas.

Line 1882 are delimited by commas.

If no arguments are specified, blank parenthesis are output.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Fn "int funcname" "int arg0" "int arg1"

.Dl \&.Fn \*qint funcname\*q \*qint arg0\*q \*qint arg1\*q

.D1 \&.Fn funcname "int arg0"

.Dl \&.Fn funcname \*qint arg0\*q

.D1 \&.Fn funcname arg0

.Dl \&.Fn funcname arg0

.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact

\&.Ft functype

\&.Fn funcname

.Ed

.Pp

When referring to a function documented in another manual page, use

.Sx \&Xr

instead.

See also

.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE

and

Line 1876 This is a multi-line version of

Line 1903 This is a multi-line version of

.Sx \&Fn .

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Fo Cm funcname

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Fo Ar funcname

.Pp

Invocations usually occur in the following context:

.Bd -ragged -offset indent

.Pf \. Sx \&Ft Cm functype

.Pf \. Sx \&Ft Ar functype

.br

.Pf \. Sx \&Fo Cm funcname

.Pf \. Sx \&Fo Ar funcname

.br

.Pf \. Sx \&Fa Oo Cm argtype Oc Cm argname

.Pf \. Sx \&Fa Oo Ar argtype Oc Ar argname

.br

\.\.\.

\&.\.\.

.br

.Pf \. Sx \&Fc

.Ed

Line 1905 and

Line 1932 and

A function type.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Ft Cm functype

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Ft Ar functype

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Ft int

.Dl \&.Ft int

.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact

\&.Ft functype

\&.Fn funcname

Line 1926 version provided as an argument, or a default value

Line 1953 version provided as an argument, or a default value

if no argument is provided.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Fx 7.1

.Dl \&.Fx 7.1

.D1 \&.Fx

.Dl \&.Fx

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&At ,

Line 1947 This is similar to

Line 1974 This is similar to

but used for instructions rather than values.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Ic hash

.Dl \&.Ic hash

.D1 \&.Ic alias

.Dl \&.Ic alias

.Pp

Note that using

.Sx \&Bd Fl literal

Line 1969 preceded by

Line 1996 preceded by

the arguments is enclosed in angle brackets.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.In sys/types

.Dl \&.In sys/types

.Pp

See also

.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE .

Line 1986 and

Line 2013 and

.Fl diag

have the following syntax:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&It Cm args

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&It Ar args

.Pp

Lists of type

.Fl bullet ,

Line 2049 phrases on an

Line 2076 phrases on an

.Sx \&It ,

for example,

.Pp

.D1 .It \(dqcol1 ; <TAB> col2 ;\(dq \&;

.Dl .It \(dqcol1 ; <TAB> col2 ;\(dq \&;

.Pp

will preserve the semicolon whitespace except for the last.

.Pp

Line 2059 See also

Line 2086 See also

Specify a library.

The syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Lb Cm library

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Lb Ar library

.Pp

The

.Cm library

.Ar library

parameter may be a system library, such as

.Cm libz

.Ar libz

.Cm libpam ,

.Ar libpam ,

in which case a small library description is printed next to the linker

invocation; or a custom library, in which case the library name is

printed in quotes.

Line 2076 section as described in

Line 2103 section as described in

.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE .

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Lb libz

.Dl \&.Lb libz

.D1 \&.Lb mdoc

.Dl \&.Lb mdoc

.Ss \&Li

Denotes text that should be in a literal font mode.

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

Line 2092 and

Line 2119 and

Format a hyperlink.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Lk Cm uri Op Cm name

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Lk Ar uri Op Ar name

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Lk http://bsd.lv \*qThe BSD.lv Project\*q

.Dl \&.Lk http://bsd.lv \*qThe BSD.lv Project\*q

.D1 \&.Lk http://bsd.lv

.Dl \&.Lk http://bsd.lv

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Mt .

Line 2107 Synonym for

Line 2134 Synonym for

Display a mathematical symbol.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Ms Cm symbol

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Ms Ar symbol

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Ms sigma

.Dl \&.Ms sigma

.D1 \&.Ms aleph

.Dl \&.Ms aleph

.Ss \&Mt

Format a

.Dq mailto:

hyperlink.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Mt Cm address

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Mt Ar address

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Mt discuss@manpages.bsd.lv

.Dl \&.Mt discuss@manpages.bsd.lv

.Ss \&Nd

A one line description of the manual's content.

This may only be invoked in the

Line 2131 section subsequent the

Line 2158 section subsequent the

macro.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Sx \&Nd mdoc language reference

.Dl \&.Sx \&Nd mdoc language reference

.D1 \&.Sx \&Nd format and display UNIX manuals

.Dl \&.Sx \&Nd format and display UNIX manuals

.Pp

The

.Sx \&Nd

Line 2189 A

Line 2216 A

macro used to terminate prior macro contexts.

.Pp

Examples:

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

.Dl \&.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

This has no effect when invoked at the start of a macro line.

.Pp

Examples:

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

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

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&No

Line 2209 version provided as an argument, or a default value if

Line 2238 version provided as an argument, or a default value if

no argument is provided.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Nx 5.01

.Dl \&.Nx 5.01

.D1 \&.Nx

.Dl \&.Nx

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&At ,

Line 2241 Used when listing options to command-line utilities.

Line 2270 Used when listing options to command-line utilities.

Prints the argument(s) in brackets.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Op \&Fl a \&Ar b

.Dl \&.Op \&Fl a \&Ar b

.D1 \&.Op \&Ar a | b

.Dl \&.Op \&Ar a | b

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Oo .

Line 2254 any

Line 2283 any

file.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Os Op Cm system Op Cm version

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Os Op Ar system Op Ar version

.Pp

The optional

.Cm system

.Ar system

parameter specifies the relevant operating system or environment.

Left unspecified, it defaults to the local operating system version.

This is the suggested form.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Os

.Dl \&.Os

.D1 \&.Os KTH/CSC/TCS

.Dl \&.Os KTH/CSC/TCS

.D1 \&.Os BSD 4.3

.Dl \&.Os BSD 4.3

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Dd

Line 2283 version provided as an argument, or a default value

Line 2312 version provided as an argument, or a default value

if no argument is provided.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Ox 4.5

.Dl \&.Ox 4.5

.D1 \&.Ox

.Dl \&.Ox

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&At ,

Line 2297 and

Line 2326 and

.Sx \&Ux .

.Ss \&Pa

A file-system path.

If an argument is not provided, the string

.Dq \(ti

is used as a default.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Pa /usr/bin/mandoc

.Dl \&.Pa /usr/bin/mandoc

.D1 \&.Pa /usr/share/man/man7/mdoc.7

.Dl \&.Pa /usr/share/man/man7/mdoc.7

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Lk .

Line 2313 Removes the space

Line 2345 Removes the space

between its arguments.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. \&Pf Cm prefix suffix

.D1 Pf \. \&Pf Ar prefix suffix

.Pp

The

.Cm suffix

.Ar suffix

argument may be a macro.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Pf \e. \&Sx \&Pf \&Cm prefix suffix

.Dl \&.Pf \e. \&Sx \&Pf \&Ar prefix suffix

.Ss \&Po

Multi-line version of

.Sx \&Pq .

Line 2441 Its syntax is as follows:

Line 2473 Its syntax is as follows:

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

.Pp

By default, spacing is

.Cm on .

.Ar on .

When switched

.Cm off ,

.Ar off ,

no white space is inserted between macro arguments and between the

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

output generated from adjacent macros, but text lines

still get normal spacing between words and sentences.

.Ss \&So

Multi-line version of

Line 2580 The referenced section or sub-section name must be ide

Line 2612 The referenced section or sub-section name must be ide

enclosed argument, including whitespace.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE

.Dl \&.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&Sh

and

.Sx \&Ss .

.Ss \&Sy

Format enclosed arguments in symbolic

.Pq Dq boldface .

Line 2596 and

Line 2633 and

Format a tradename.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Tn IBM

.Dl \&.Tn IBM

.Ss \&Ud

Prints out

.Dq currently under development .

Line 2605 Format the UNIX name.

Line 2642 Format the UNIX name.

Accepts no argument.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Ux

.Dl \&.Ux

.Pp

See also

.Sx \&At ,

Line 2620 and

Line 2657 and

A variable name.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Va foo

.Dl \&.Va foo

.D1 \&.Va const char *bar ;

.Dl \&.Va const char *bar ;

.Ss \&Vt

A variable type.

This is also used for indicating global variables in the

Line 2640 Note that this should not be confused with

Line 2677 Note that this should not be confused with

which is used for function return types.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Vt unsigned char

.Dl \&.Vt unsigned char

.D1 \&.Vt extern const char * const sys_signame[] \&;

.Dl \&.Vt extern const char * const sys_signame[] \&;

.Pp

See also

.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE

Line 2651 and

Line 2688 and

Close a scope opened by

.Sx \&Xo .

.Ss \&Xo

Open an extension scope.

Extend the header of an

This macro originally existed to extend the 9-argument limit of troff;

.Sx \&It

since this limit has been lifted, the macro has been deprecated.

macro or the body of a partial-implicit block macro

beyond the end of the input line.

This macro originally existed to work around the 9-argument limit

of historic

.Xr roff 7 .

.Ss \&Xr

Link to another manual

.Pq Qq cross-reference .

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Xr Cm name section

.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Xr Ar name section

.Pp

The

.Cm name

.Ar name

and

.Cm section

.Ar section

are the name and section of the linked manual.

.Cm section

.Ar section

is followed by non-punctuation, an

.Sx \&Ns

is inserted into the token stream.

Line 2675 This behaviour is for compatibility with

Line 2716 This behaviour is for compatibility with

GNU troff.

.Pp

Examples:

.D1 \&.Xr mandoc 1

.Dl \&.Xr mandoc 1

.D1 \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&;

.Dl \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&;

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

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

.Ss \&br

Emits a line-break.

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

Line 2692 This macro should not be used; it is implemented for c

Line 2733 This macro should not be used; it is implemented for c

historical manuals.

Its syntax is as follows:

.Pp

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

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

.Pp

The

.Cm height

.Ar height

argument must be formatted as described in

.Sx Scaling Widths .

If unspecified,

Line 2707 troff implementations, at this time limited to GNU tro

Line 2748 troff implementations, at this time limited to GNU tro

.Pq Qq groff .

The term

.Qq historic groff

refers to groff versions before the

refers to groff versions before 1.17,

which featured a significant update of the

.Pa doc.tmac

file re-write

file.

.Pq somewhere between 1.15 and 1.19 .

.Pp

Heirloom troff, the other significant troff implementation accepting

\-mdoc, is similar to historic groff.

Line 2720 The following problematic behaviour is found in groff:

Line 2761 The following problematic behaviour is found in groff:

.Pp

.Bl -dash -compact

.It

Display macros

.Po

.Sx \&Bd ,

.Sx \&Dl ,

and

.Sx \&D1

.Pc

may not be nested.

\*[hist]

.It

.Sx \&At

with unknown arguments produces no output at all.

\*[hist]

Line 2737 does not start a new line.

Line 2788 does not start a new line.

\*[hist]

.It

.Sx \&Dd

without an argument prints

with non-standard arguments behaves very strangely.

.Dq Epoch .

When there are three arguments, they are printed verbatim.

In mandoc, it resolves to the current date.

Any other number of arguments is replaced by the current date,

but without any arguments the string

.Dq Epoch

is printed.

.It

.Sx \&Fl

does not print a dash for an empty argument.

Line 2801 can only be called by other macros, but not at the beg

Line 2855 can only be called by other macros, but not at the beg

.Sx \&%C

is not implemented.

.It

Historic groff only allows up to eight or nine arguments per macro input

line, depending on the exact situation.

Providing more arguments causes garbled output.

The number of arguments on one input line is not limited with mandoc.

.It

Historic groff has many un-callable macros.

Most of these (excluding some block-level macros) are callable

in new groff and mandoc.

Line 2844 The

Line 2903 The

.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 ,

.Sq \eo

.Pq text overstrike ,

and

.Sq \es

.Pq text size

.Sx Text Decoration

escape sequences are all discarded in mandoc.

escapes are all discarded in mandoc.

.It

The

.Sq \ef

Line 2859 standalone double-quote in formatted output.

Line 2925 standalone double-quote in formatted output.

This is not supported by mandoc.

.El

.Sh SEE ALSO

.Xr man 1 ,

.Xr mandoc 1 ,

.Xr eqn 7 ,

.Xr man 7 ,

.Xr mandoc_char 7

.Xr roff 7 ,

.Xr tbl 7

.Sh HISTORY

The

.Nm

language first appeared as a troff macro package in

.Bx 4.4 .

It was later significantly updated by Werner Lemberg and Ruslan Ermilov

in groff-1.17.

The standalone implementation that is part of the

.Xr mandoc 1

utility written by Kristaps Dzonsons appeared in

.Ox 4.6 .

.Sh AUTHORS

The

.Nm

CVSweb