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version 1.19, 2009/07/14 15:56:44 version 1.34, 2009/08/20 13:51:55
Line 17 
Line 17 
 .Dd $Mdocdate$  .Dd $Mdocdate$
 .Dt MAN 7  .Dt MAN 7
 .Os  .Os
 .\" SECTION  .
   .
 .Sh NAME  .Sh NAME
 .Nm man  .Nm man
 .Nd man language reference  .Nd man language reference
 .\" SECTION  .
   .
 .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.  This reference document describes its syntax, structure, and
 usage.  usage.
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bf Em  .Bf -emphasis
 Do not use  Do not use
 .Nm  .Nm
 to write your manuals.  to write your manuals.
 .Ef  .Ef
 Use the  Use the
 .Xr mdoc 7  .Xr mdoc 7
 language, instead.  language, instead.
 .\" PARAGRAPH  .
 .Pp  .Pp
 An  An
 .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:
Line 51  prior macros:
Line 54  prior macros:
 \&.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
 .\" SECTION  .
   .
 .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 tabs 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  .Pp
 The  The
 .Sq \ec  .Sq \ec
Line 68  escape is common in historical
Line 74  escape is common in historical
 .Nm  .Nm
 documents; if encountered at the end of a word, it ensures that the  documents; if encountered at the end of a word, it ensures that the
 subsequent word isn't off-set by whitespace.  subsequent word isn't off-set by whitespace.
 .\" SUB-SECTION  .
   .
 .Ss Comments  .Ss Comments
 Anything following a  Text following a
 .Sq \e"  .Sq \e\*" ,
 delimiter is considered a comment (unless the  whether in a macro or free-form text line, is ignored to the end of
 .Sq \e  line.  A macro line with only a control character and comment escape,
 itself has been escaped) and is ignored to the end of line.  .Sq \&.\e" ,
 Furthermore, a macro line with only a control character  is also ignored.  Macro lines with only a control charater and
 .Sq \. ,  optionally whitespace are stripped from input.
 optionally followed by whitespace, is ignored.  .
 .\" SUB-SECTION  .
 .Ss Special Characters  .Ss Special Characters
 Special character sequences begin with the escape character  Special characters may occur in both macro and free-form lines.
   Sequences begin with the escape character
 .Sq \e  .Sq \e
 followed by either an open-parenthesis  followed by either an open-parenthesis
 .Sq \&(  .Sq \&(
 for two-character sequences; an open-bracket  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.  or a single one-character sequence.  See
 .Pp  .Xr mandoc_char 7
 Characters may alternatively be escaped by a slash-asterisk,  for a complete list.  Examples include
 .Sq \e* ,  .Sq \e(em
 with the same combinations as described above.  .Pq em-dash
 .Pp  and
 Terms may also be text-decorated using the  .Sq \ee
   .Pq back-slash .
   .
   .
   .Ss Text Decoration
   Terms may be text-decorated using the
 .Sq \ef  .Sq \ef
 escape followed by a text-decoration letter: B (bold), I, (italic), or P  escape followed by an indicator: B (bold), I, (italic), or P and R
 and R (Roman, or reset).  (Roman, or reset).
 .\" SUB-SECTION  .
   .
 .Ss Whitespace  .Ss Whitespace
 Unless specifically escaped, consecutive blocks of whitespace are pruned  Unless specifically escaped, consecutive blocks of whitespace are pruned
 from input.  These are later re-added, if applicable, by a front-end  from input.  These are later re-added, if applicable, by a front-end
 utility such as  utility such as
 .Xr mandoc 1 .  .Xr mandoc 1 .
 .\" SECTION  .
 .Sh STRUCTURE  .
   .Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE
 Each  Each
 .Nm  .Nm
 document must contain contains at least the  document must contain contains at least the
 .Sq \&.TH  .Sq TH
 macro describing the document's section and title.  It may occur  macro describing the document's section and title.  It may occur
 anywhere in the document, although conventionally, it appears as the  anywhere in the document, although conventionally, it appears as the
 first macro.  first macro.
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 Beyond the  Beyond
 .Sq \&.TH ,  .Sq TH ,
 at least one macro or text node must appear in the document.  at least one macro or text node must appear in the document.  Documents
 .\" SECTION  are generally structured as follows:
 .Sh SYNTAX  .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.TH FOO 1 "13 Aug 2009"
   \&.
   \&.SH NAME
   \efBfoo\efR \e(en a description goes here
   \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2 & 3 only.
   \&.\e\*q .SH LIBRARY
   \&.
   \&.SH SYNOPSIS
   \efBfoo\efR [\efB\e-options\efR] arguments...
   \&.
   \&.SH DESCRIPTION
   The \efBfoo\efR utility processes files...
   \&.
   \&.\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 The next is for sections 1, 6, 7, & 8 only.
   \&.\e\*q .SH ENVIRONMENT
   \&.\e\*q .SH FILES
   \&.\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 .SH ERRORS
   \&.\e\*q .SH SEE ALSO
   \&.\e\*q \efBbar\efR(1)
   \&.\e\*q .SH STANDARDS
   \&.\e\*q .SH HISTORY
   \&.\e\*q .SH AUTHORS
   \&.\e\*q .SH CAVEATS
   \&.\e\*q .SH BUGS
   \&.\e\*q .SH SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
   .Ed
   .
   .
   .Sh MACRO SYNTAX
 Macros are one to three three characters in length and begin with a  Macros are one to three 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.  An arbitrary amount of whitespace may
 sit between the control character and the macro name.  Thus,  sit between the control character and the macro name.  Thus,
 .Sq \&.PP  .Sq .PP
 and  and
 .Sq \&.\ \ \ \&PP  .Sq \&.\ \ \ PP
 are equivalent.  are equivalent.
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 All  The
 .Nm  .Nm
 macros follow the same structural rules:  macros are classified by scope: line scope or block scope.  Line
   macros are only scoped to the current line (and, in some situations,
   the subsequent line).  Block macros are scoped to the current line and
   subsequent lines until closed by another block macro.
   .
   .
   .Ss Line Macros
   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
   line and the line arguments are empty, the next line is used instead,
   else the general syntax is used.  Thus:
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 \&.YO \(lBbody...\(rB  \&.I
   foo
 .Ed  .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 The  is equivalent to
 .Dq body  .Sq \&.I foo .
 consists of zero or more arguments to the macro.  .\" PARAGRAPH
   Consecutive next-line scope invocations are disallowed.
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.YO \(lBbody...\(rB
   \(lBbody...\(rB
   .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
   It is considered an error when next-line scope is open at the end of
   file.
   .
   .Pp
   .Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "ScopeXXXXX"
   .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Scope
   .It    B     Ta    n         Ta    next-line
   .It    BI    Ta    n         Ta    current
   .It    BR    Ta    n         Ta    current
   .It    DT    Ta    0         Ta    current
   .It    I     Ta    n         Ta    next-line
   .It    IB    Ta    n         Ta    current
   .It    IR    Ta    n         Ta    current
   .It    R     Ta    n         Ta    next-line
   .It    RB    Ta    n         Ta    current
   .It    RI    Ta    n         Ta    current
   .It    SB    Ta    n         Ta    next-line
   .It    SM    Ta    n         Ta    next-line
   .It    TH    Ta    >1, <6    Ta    current
   .It    br    Ta    0         Ta    current
   .It    fi    Ta    0         Ta    current
   .It    i     Ta    n         Ta    current
   .It    na    Ta    0         Ta    current
   .It    nf    Ta    0         Ta    current
   .It    r     Ta    0         Ta    current
   .It    sp    Ta    1         Ta    current
   .El
   .
   .Pp
   The
   .Sq RS ,
   .Sq RE ,
   .Sq br ,
   .Sq fi ,
   .Sq i ,
   .Sq na ,
   .Sq nf ,
   .Sq r ,
   and
   .Sq sp
   macros aren't historically part of
 .Nm  .Nm
 has a primitive notion of multi-line scope for the following macros:  and should not be used.  They're included for compatibility.
 .Sq \&.TM ,  .
 .Sq \&.SM ,  .
 .Sq \&.SB ,  .Ss Block Macros
 .Sq \&.BI ,  Block macros are comprised of a head and body.  Like for in-line macros,
 .Sq \&.IB ,  the head is scoped to the current line and, in one circumstance, the
 .Sq \&.BR ,  next line; the body is scoped to subsequent lines and is closed out by a
 .Sq \&.RB ,  subsequent block macro invocation.
 .Sq \&.R ,  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 .Sq \&.B ,  \&.YO \(lBhead...\(rB
 .Sq \&.I ,  \(lBhead...\(rB
 .Sq \&.IR  \(lBbody...\(rB
   .Ed
   .
   .Pp
   The closure of body scope may be to the section, where a macro is closed
   by
   .Sq SH ;
   sub-section, closed by a section or
   .Sq SS ;
   part, closed by a section, sub-section, or
   .Sq RE ;
   or paragraph, closed by a section, sub-section, part,
   .Sq HP ,
   .Sq IP ,
   .Sq LP ,
   .Sq P ,
   .Sq PP ,
   or
   .Sq TP .
   No closure refers to an explicit block closing macro.
   .
   .Pp
   It is considered an error when part or next-line scope is open at the
   end of file.
   .
   .Pp
   .Bl -column "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "Head ScopeX" "sub-sectionX" -compact -offset indent
   .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Head Scope Ta Em Body Scope
   .It   HP     Ta    <2        Ta    current    Ta    paragraph
   .It   IP     Ta    <3        Ta    current    Ta    paragraph
   .It   LP     Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph
   .It   P      Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph
   .It   PP     Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    paragraph
   .It   RE     Ta    0         Ta    current    Ta    none
   .It   RS     Ta    1         Ta    current    Ta    part
   .It   SH     Ta    >0        Ta    next-line  Ta    section
   .It   SS     Ta    >0        Ta    next-line  Ta    sub-section
   .It   TP     Ta    n         Ta    next-line  Ta    paragraph
   .El
   .
   .Pp
   If a block macro is next-line scoped, it may only be followed by in-line
   macros (excluding
   .Sq DT ,
   .Sq TH ,
   .Sq br ,
   .Sq na ,
   .Sq sp ,
   .Sq nf ,
 and  and
 .Sq \&.RI .  .Sq fi ) .
 When these macros are invoked without arguments, the subsequent line is  .
 considered a continuation of the macro.  Thus:  .
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .Sh REFERENCE
 \&.RI  This section is a canonical reference to all macros, arranged
 foo  alphabetically.  For the scoping of individual macros, see
   .Sx MACRO SYNTAX .
   .
   .
   .Ss Definitions
   In this reference, a numerical width may be either a standalone natural
   number (such as 3, 4, 10, etc.) or a natural number followed by a width
   multiplier
   .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  .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 is equivalent to  indicates an offset of 12
 .Sq \&.RI foo .  .Qq n
 If two consecutive lines exhibit the latter behaviour,  .Ns -sized
 an error is raised.  Thus, the following is not acceptable:  letters.
 .Bd -literal -offset indent  .
 \&.RI  .
 \&.I  .Ss Macro Reference
 Hello, world.  .Bl -tag -width Ds
   .It B
   Text is rendered in bold face.
   .It BI
   Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic.  Thus,
   .Sq .BI this word and that
   causes
   .Sq this
   and
   .Sq and
   to render in bold face, while
   .Sq word
   and
   .Sq that
   render in italics.  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
   .It BR
   Text is rendered alternately in bold face and roman (the default font).
   Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
   .It DT
   Re-set the tab spacing to 0.5 inches.
   .It HP
   Begin a paragraph whose initial output line is left-justified, but
   subsequent output lines are indented, with the following syntax:
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.HP [width]
 .Ed  .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 The  If
 .Sq \&.TP  .Va width
 macro is similar, but does not need an empty argument line to trigger  is specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
 the behaviour.  unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
 .\" SECTION  .It I
 .Sh MACROS  Text is rendered in italics.
 This section contains a complete list of all  .It IB
 .Nm  Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face.  Whitespace
 macros and corresponding number of arguments.  between arguments is omitted in output.
   .It IP
   Begin a paragraph with the following syntax:
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.IP [head [width]]
   .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bl -column "MacroX" "Arguments" -compact -offset indent  This follows the behaviour of the
 .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments  .Sq TP
 .It \&.TH    Ta    >1, <6  except for the macro syntax (all arguments on the line, instead of
 .It \&.SH    Ta    >0  having next-line scope).  If
 .It \&.SS    Ta    >0  .Va width
 .It \&.TP    Ta    n  is specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
 .It \&.LP    Ta    0  unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
 .It \&.PP    Ta    0  .It IR
 .It \&.P     Ta    0  Text is rendered alternately in italics and roman (the default font).
 .It \&.IP    Ta    <3  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .It \&.HP    Ta    <2  .It LP, P, PP
 .It \&.SM    Ta    n  Begin an undecorated paragraph.  The scope of a paragraph is closed by a
 .It \&.SB    Ta    n  subsequent paragraph, sub-section, section, or end of file.  The saved
 .It \&.BI    Ta    n  paragraph left-margin width is re-set to the default.
 .It \&.IB    Ta    n  .It R
 .It \&.BR    Ta    n  Text is rendered in roman (the default font).
 .It \&.RB    Ta    n  .It RB
 .It \&.R     Ta    n  Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and bold face.
 .It \&.B     Ta    n  Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
 .It \&.I     Ta    n  .It RE
 .It \&.IR    Ta    n  Explicitly close out the scope of a prior
 .It \&.RI    Ta    n  .Sq RS .
 .El  .It RI
   Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and italics.
   Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
   .It 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
   .Sq PP .
   The width may be specified as following:
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.RS [width]
   .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 Although not historically part of the  If
 .Nm  .Va width
 system, the following macros are also supported:  is not specified, the saved or default width is used.
   .It SB
   Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default font)
   bold face.
   .It SH
   Begin a section.  The scope of a section is only closed by another
   section or the end of file.  The paragraph left-margin width is re-set
   to the default.
   .It SM
   Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default
   font).
   .It SS
   Begin a sub-section.  The scope of a sub-section is closed by a
   subsequent sub-section, section, or end of file.  The paragraph
   left-margin width is re-set to the default.
   .It TH
   Sets the title of the manual page with the following syntax:
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.TH title section [date [source [volume]]]
   .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bl -column "MacroX" "Arguments" -compact -offset indent  At least the
 .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments  .Va title
 .It \&.br    Ta    0  and
 .It \&.i     Ta    n  .Va section
 .El  arguments must be provided.  The
   .Va date
   argument should be formatted as
   .Qq %b [%d] %Y
   format, described in
   .Xr strptime 3 .
   The
   .Va source
   string specifies the organisation providing the utility.  The
   .Va volume
   replaces the default rendered volume as dictated by the manual section.
   .It TP
   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
   buffer to the indentation width.  Subsequent output lines are indented.
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 These follow the same calling conventions as the above  The indentation width may be set as follows:
 .Nm  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 macros.  \&.TP [width]
 .\" SECTION  .Ed
   .
   .Pp
   Where
   .Va width
   must be a properly-formed numeric width.  If
   .Va width
   is specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
   unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
   .It br
   Breaks the current line.  Consecutive invocations have no further effect.
   .It fi
   End literal mode begun by
   .Sq nf .
   .It i
   Italicise arguments.  If no arguments are specified, all subsequent text
   is italicised.
   .It na
   Don't alignment the right margin.
   .It nf
   Begin literal mode: all subsequent free-form lines have their end of
   line boundaries preserved.  May be ended by
   .Sq fi .
   .It r
   Fonts and styles (bold face, italics) reset to roman (default font).
   .It sp
   Insert n spaces, where n is the macro's positive numeric argument.  If
   0, this is equivalent to the
   .Sq br
   macro.
   .El
   .
   .
 .Sh COMPATIBILITY  .Sh COMPATIBILITY
 See  This section documents compatibility with other roff implementations, at
 .Xr mdoc 7  this time limited to
 for groff compatibility notes.  .Xr groff 1 .
 .\" SECTION  .Bl -hyphen
   .It
   In quoted literals, groff allowed pair-wise double-quotes to produce a
   standalone double-quote in formatted output.  This idiosyncratic
   behaviour is no longer applicable.
   .It
   The
   .Sq sp
   macro does not accept negative numbers.
   .It
   Blocks of whitespace are stripped from both macro and free-form text
   lines (except when in literal mode), while groff would retain whitespace
   in free-form text lines.
   .El
   .
   .
 .Sh SEE ALSO  .Sh SEE ALSO
 .Xr mandoc 1 ,  .Xr mandoc 1 ,
 .Xr mandoc_char 7  .Xr mandoc_char 7
 .\" SECTION  .
   .
 .Sh AUTHORS  .Sh AUTHORS
 The  The
 .Nm  .Nm
 utility was written by  reference was written by
 .An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@kth.se .  .An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@kth.se .
 .\" SECTION  .
   .
 .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.1.19  
changed lines
  Added in v.1.34
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