===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/mandoc/mandoc_char.7,v
retrieving revision 1.3
retrieving revision 1.10
diff -u -p -r1.3 -r1.10
--- mandoc/mandoc_char.7	2009/04/12 19:29:53	1.3
+++ mandoc/mandoc_char.7	2009/07/27 12:35:53	1.10
@@ -1,22 +1,20 @@
-.\" $Id: mandoc_char.7,v 1.3 2009/04/12 19:29:53 kristaps Exp $
+.\"	$Id: mandoc_char.7,v 1.10 2009/07/27 12:35:53 kristaps Exp $
 .\"
-.\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@openbsd.org>
+.\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@kth.se>
 .\"
 .\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
-.\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the
-.\" above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all
-.\" copies.
+.\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
+.\" copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
 .\"
-.\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL
-.\" WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED
-.\" WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
-.\" AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
-.\" DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR
-.\" PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER
-.\" TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR
-.\" PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
+.\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
+.\" WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
+.\" MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR
+.\" ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
+.\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
+.\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
+.\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
 .\" 
-.Dd $Mdocdate: April 12 2009 $
+.Dd $Mdocdate: July 27 2009 $
 .Dt MANDOC_CHAR 7
 .Os
 .\" SECTION
@@ -25,7 +23,7 @@
 .Nd mandoc special characters
 .\" SECTION
 .Sh DESCRIPTION
-This documents the special characters accepted by 
+This documents the special characters and predefined strings accepted by 
 .Xr mandoc 1
 to format
 .Xr mdoc 7
@@ -36,21 +34,73 @@ documents.  Specific output devices of
 dictated by the
 .Fl T Ns Ar output
 argument, will properly render these sequences.
+.\" PARAGRAPH
 .Pp
 Both
 .Xr mdoc 7
 and
 .Xr man 7
-encode special characters with slightly different semantics; consult the
-respective manuals for these escapes.
+encode special characters with 
+.Sq \eX
+.Pq for a one-character escape ,
+.Sq \e(XX
+.Pq two-character ,
+and
+.Sq \e[N]
+.Pq N-character .
+One may generalise
+.Sq \e(XX
+as
+.Sq \e[XX] 
+and
+.Sq \eX
+as
+.Sq \e[X] .
+Predefined strings are functionally similar to special characters, using 
+.Sq \e*X
+.Pq for a one-character escape ,
+.Sq \e*(XX
+.Pq two-character ,
+and
+.Sq \e*[N]
+.Pq N-character .
+One may generalise
+.Sq \e*(XX
+as
+.Sq \e*[XX]
+and
+.Sq \e*X
+as
+.Sq \e*[X] .
+.\" SECTION
+.Sh Special Characters
+These are the preferred input symbols for producing special characters.
+.\" PARAGRAPH
 .Pp
+Typographic:
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
+.It \e~
+.Pq non-breaking space
+.It \e
+.Pq space
+.It \e^
+.Pq zero-width space
+.It \e%
+.Pq zero-width space
+.It \e&
+.Pq zero-width space
+.It \e|
+.Pq zero-width space
+.El
+.\" PARAGRAPH
+.Pp
 Grammatic:
-.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset "XXXX" -compact
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
 .It \e(em
 .Pq em-dash
 .It \e(en
 .Pq en-dash
-.It \e-
+.It \e(hy
 .Pq hyphen
 .It \e\e
 .Pq back-slash
@@ -58,8 +108,6 @@ Grammatic:
 .Pq apostrophe
 .It \e`
 .Pq back-tick
-.It \e
-.Pq space
 .It \e.
 .Pq period
 .It \e(r!
@@ -70,7 +118,7 @@ Grammatic:
 .\" PARAGRAPH
 .Pp
 Enclosures:
-.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset "XXXX" -compact
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
 .It \e(lh
 .Pq left hand
 .It \e(rh
@@ -95,16 +143,10 @@ Enclosures:
 .Pq right bracket
 .It \e(lB
 .Pq left bracket
-.It \eq
-.Pq double-quote
 .It \e(lq
 .Pq left double-quote
-.It \e(Lq
-.Pq left double-quote, deprecated
 .It \e(rq
 .Pq right double-quote
-.It \e(Rq
-.Pq right double-quote, deprecated
 .It \e(oq
 .Pq left single-quote
 .It \e(aq
@@ -117,7 +159,7 @@ Enclosures:
 .\" PARAGRAPH
 .Pp
 Indicatives:
-.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset "XXXX" -compact
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
 .It \e(<-
 .Pq left arrow
 .It \e(->
@@ -142,7 +184,7 @@ Indicatives:
 .\" PARAGRAPH
 .Pp
 Mathematical:
-.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset "XXXX" -compact
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
 .It \e(es
 .Pq empty set
 .It \e(ca
@@ -167,6 +209,8 @@ Mathematical:
 .Pq multiplication
 .It \e(pl
 .Pq addition
+.It \e-
+.Pq subtraction
 .It \e(nm
 .Pq not element
 .It \e(mo
@@ -197,43 +241,27 @@ Mathematical:
 .Pq approximately equals
 .It \e(=~
 .Pq congruent
-.It \e(Gt
-.Pq greater-than, deprecated
-.It \e(Lt
-.Pq less-than, deprecated
 .It \e(<=
 .Pq less-than-equal
-.It \e(Le
-.Pq less-than-equal, deprecated
 .It \e(>=
 .Pq greater-than-equal
-.It \e(Ge
-.Pq greater-than-equal
 .It \e(==
 .Pq equal
 .It \e(!=
 .Pq not equal
-.It \e(Ne
-.Pq not equal, deprecated
 .It \e(if
 .Pq infinity
-.It \e(If
-.Pq infinity, deprecated
 .It \e(na
-.Pq NaN , an extension
-.It \e(Na
-.Pq NaN, deprecated
+.Pq NaN, an extension
 .It \e(+-
 .Pq plus-minus
-.It \e(Pm
-.Pq plus-minus, deprecated
 .It \e(**
 .Pq asterisk
 .El
 .\" PARAGRAPH
 .Pp
 Ligatures:
-.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset "XXXX" -compact
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
 .It \e(ss
 .Pq German eszett
 .It \e(AE
@@ -258,7 +286,7 @@ Ligatures:
 .\" PARAGRAPH
 .Pp
 Diacritics and letters:
-.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset "XXXX" -compact
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
 .It \e(ga
 .Pq grave accent
 .It \e(aa
@@ -407,7 +435,7 @@ Diacritics and letters:
 .\" PARAGRAPH
 .Pp
 Monetary:
-.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset "XXXX" -compact
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
 .It \e(Cs
 .Pq Scandinavian
 .It \e(Do
@@ -424,7 +452,7 @@ Monetary:
 .\" PARAGRAPH
 .Pp
 Special symbols:
-.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset "XXXX" -compact
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
 .It \e0
 .Pq white-space
 .It \e(de
@@ -443,29 +471,73 @@ Special symbols:
 .Pq bar
 .It \e(bb
 .Pq broken bar
-.It \e(Ba
-.Pq bar, deprecated
 .It \e(co
 .Pq copyright
 .It \e(rg
 .Pq registered
 .It \e(tm
 .Pq trademarked
-.It \e&
-.Pq non-breaking space
 .It \ee
 .Pq escape
-.It \e(Am
-.Pq ampersand, deprecated
 .El 
 .\" SECTION
+.Sh PREDEFINED STRINGS
+These are not recommended for use, as they differ across
+implementations:
+.Pp
+Mathematical:
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
+.It \e*(Ne
+.Pq not equal
+.It \e*(Ge
+.Pq greater-than-equal
+.It \e*(Le
+.Pq less-than-equal
+.It \e*(Gt
+.Pq greater-than
+.It \e*(Lt
+.Pq greater-than
+.It \e*(Pm
+.Pq plus-minus
+.It \e*(If
+.Pq infinity
+.It \e*(Pi
+.Pq pi
+.It \e*(Na
+.Pq NaN
+.El
+.\" PARAGRAPH
+.Pp
+Special symbols:
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
+.It \e*(Ba
+.Pq vertical bar
+.It \e*(Am
+.Pq ampersand
+.El
+.\" PARAGRAPH
+.Pp
+Enclosures:
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
+.It \e*q
+.Pq double-quote
+.It \e*(Rq
+.Pq right-double-quote
+.It \e*(Lq
+.Pq left-double-quote
+.It \e*(lp
+.Pq right-parenthesis
+.It \e*(rp
+.Pq left-parenthesis
+.El
+.\" SECTION
 .Sh COMPATIBILITY
 This section documents compatibility of
 .Nm
 with older or existing versions of
 .Xr groff 1 :
 .Pp
-.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset "XXXX" -compact
+.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
 .It \e(ss
 Renders differently in
 .Fl T Ns Ar ascii
@@ -479,4 +551,4 @@ mode.
 The
 .Nm
 utility was written by 
-.An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@openbsd.org .
+.An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@kth.se .