version 1.20, 2009/04/12 19:19:57 |
version 1.38, 2009/07/06 09:21:24 |
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.\" $Id$ |
.\" $Id$ |
.\" |
.\" |
.\" 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 |
.\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any |
.\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the |
.\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above |
.\" above copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all |
.\" copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies. |
.\" copies. |
|
.\" |
.\" |
.\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL |
.\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES |
.\" WARRANTIES WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED |
.\" WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF |
.\" WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE |
.\" MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR |
.\" AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL |
.\" ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES |
.\" DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR |
.\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN |
.\" PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER |
.\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF |
.\" TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR |
.\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE. |
.\" PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE. |
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.\" |
.\" |
.Dd $Mdocdate$ |
.Dd $Mdocdate$ |
.Dt MDOC 7 |
.Dt MDOC 7 |
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language is used to format |
language is used to format |
.Bx |
.Bx |
.Ux |
.Ux |
manuals. In this reference document, we describe the syntax, ontology |
manuals. In this reference document, we describe the syntax and |
and structure of the |
structure of the |
.Nm |
.Nm |
language. |
language. Our reference implementation is |
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.Xr mandoc 1 . |
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The |
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.Sx COMPATIBILITY |
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section describes compatibility with |
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.Xr groff 1 . |
.\" PARAGRAPH |
.\" PARAGRAPH |
.Pp |
.Pp |
An |
An |
|
|
.Sq \&.Bd \-unfilled |
.Sq \&.Bd \-unfilled |
contexts. |
contexts. |
.\" SUB-SECTION |
.\" SUB-SECTION |
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.Ss Comments |
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Anything following a |
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.Sq \e" |
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delimiter is considered a comment (unless the |
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.Sq \e |
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itself has been escaped) and is ignored to the end of line. |
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Furthermore, a macro line with only a control character |
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.Sq \. , |
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optionally followed by whitespace, is ignored. |
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.\" SUB-SECTION |
.Ss Reserved Characters |
.Ss Reserved Characters |
Within a macro line, the following characters are reserved: |
Within a macro line, the following characters are reserved: |
.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset XXXX -compact |
.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset XXXX -compact |
.It \&. |
.It \&. |
.Pq period |
.Pq period |
.It \&, |
.It \&, |
Line 98 Within a macro line, the following characters are rese |
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Line 111 Within a macro line, the following characters are rese |
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.Pq question |
.Pq question |
.It \&! |
.It \&! |
.Pq exclamation |
.Pq exclamation |
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.It \&| |
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.Pq vertical bar |
.El |
.El |
.\" PARAGRAPH |
.\" PARAGRAPH |
.Pp |
.Pp |
Line 121 or a single one-character sequence. |
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Line 136 or a single one-character sequence. |
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.Pp |
.Pp |
Characters may alternatively be escaped by a slash-asterisk, |
Characters may alternatively be escaped by a slash-asterisk, |
.Sq \e* , |
.Sq \e* , |
with the same combinations as described above. This form is deprecated. |
with the same combinations as described above. |
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.Pp |
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Terms may also be text-decorated using the |
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.Sq \ef |
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escape followed by a text-decoration letter: B (bold), I, (italic), or P |
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and R (Roman, or reset). This form is not recommended. |
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.\" SUB-SECTION |
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.Ss Whitespace |
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Unless in literal mode or specifically escaped, consecutive blocks of |
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whitespace are pruned from input. These are later re-added, if |
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applicable, by a front-end utility such as |
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.Xr mandoc 1 . |
.\" SECTION |
.\" SECTION |
.Sh STRUCTURE |
.Sh STRUCTURE |
Macros are classified in an ontology described by their scope rules. |
Each |
Some macros are allowed to deviate from their classifications to |
.Nm |
preserve backward-compatibility with old macro combinations still found |
document must begin with the document prologue, containing, in order, |
in the manual corpus. These are specifically noted on a per-macro |
.Sq \&.Dd , |
basis. |
.Sq \&.Dt , |
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and |
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.Sq \&.Os . |
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Following these, the document body must begin with the NAME section |
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containing at least one |
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.Sq \&.Nm |
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followed by a |
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.Sq \&.Nd |
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macro. |
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.Pp |
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At least one free-form or macro line must follow this prologue. |
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.\" |
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.Ss Classification |
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Macros are classified by their scope rules. Some macros are allowed to |
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deviate from their classifications to preserve backward-compatibility |
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with old macro combinations still found in the manual corpus. These are |
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specifically noted on a per-macro basis. |
.\" SUB-SECTION |
.\" SUB-SECTION |
.Ss Scope |
.Ss Scope |
.Bl -inset |
.Bl -inset |
Line 263 In-lines have \(>=0 scoped arguments. |
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Line 305 In-lines have \(>=0 scoped arguments. |
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\&.Yy \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB arg0 arg1 argN |
\&.Yy \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB arg0 arg1 argN |
.Ed |
.Ed |
.\" |
.\" SECTION |
.Sh MACROS |
.Sh MACROS |
This section contains a complete list of all |
This section contains a complete list of all |
.Nm |
.Nm |
macros, arranged ontologically. A |
macros, arranged by classification. A |
.Qq callable |
.Qq callable |
macro is invoked subsequent to the initial macro-line macro. A |
macro is invoked subsequent to the initial macro-line macro. A |
.Qq parsable |
.Qq parsable |
|
|
.Pc |
.Pc |
don't have heads. |
don't have heads. |
.Pp |
.Pp |
.Bl -column "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" "Closing" -compact -offset XXXX |
.Bl -column -compact -offset XXXX "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" "Closing" |
.It Em Macro Ta Em Callable Ta Em Parsable Ta Em Closing |
.It Em Macro Ta Em Callable Ta Em Parsable Ta Em Closing |
.It \&.Sh Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta \&.Sh |
.It \&.Sh Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta \&.Sh |
.It \&.Ss Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta \&.Sh, \&.Ss |
.It \&.Ss Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta \&.Sh, \&.Ss |
Line 298 None of these macros are callable or parsed. The last |
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Line 340 None of these macros are callable or parsed. The last |
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the explicit scope rules. All contains bodies, some may contain heads |
the explicit scope rules. All contains bodies, some may contain heads |
.Pq So \&Bf Sc . |
.Pq So \&Bf Sc . |
.Pp |
.Pp |
.Bl -column "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" "closed by XXX" -compact -offset XXXX |
.Bl -column -compact -offset XXXX "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" "closed by XXX" |
.It Em Macro Ta Em Callable Ta Em Parsable Ta Em Scope |
.It Em Macro Ta Em Callable Ta Em Parsable Ta Em Scope |
.It \&.Bd Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta closed by \&.Ed |
.It \&.Bd Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta closed by \&.Ed |
.It \&.Ed Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta opened by \&.Bd |
.It \&.Ed Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta opened by \&.Bd |
Line 395 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of argument |
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Line 437 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of argument |
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.It \&.Os Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta n |
.It \&.Os Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta n |
.It \&.Pp Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 0 |
.It \&.Pp Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 0 |
.It \&.Ad Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Ad Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.An Ta \&No Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.An Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Ar Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Ar Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Cd Ta Yes Ta \&No Ta >0 |
.It \&.Cd Ta Yes Ta \&No Ta >0 |
.It \&.Cm Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Cm Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
Line 407 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of argument |
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Line 449 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of argument |
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.It \&.Fd Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta >0 |
.It \&.Fd Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta >0 |
.It \&.Fl Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Fl Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Fn Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0 |
.It \&.Fn Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0 |
.It \&.Ft Ta \&No Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Ft Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Ic Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0 |
.It \&.Ic Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0 |
.It \&.In Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta n |
.It \&.In Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta n |
.It \&.Li Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Li Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
Line 438 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of argument |
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Line 480 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of argument |
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.It \&.Db Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 1 |
.It \&.Db Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 1 |
.It \&.Em Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0 |
.It \&.Em Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0 |
.It \&.Fx Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Fx Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Ms Ta \&No Ta Yes Ta >0 |
.It \&.Ms Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0 |
.It \&.No Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta 0 |
.It \&.No Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta 0 |
.It \&.Ns Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta 0 |
.It \&.Ns Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta 0 |
.It \&.Nx Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Nx Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
Line 457 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of argument |
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Line 499 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of argument |
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.It \&.Lb Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 1 |
.It \&.Lb Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 1 |
.It \&.Ap Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta 0 |
.It \&.Ap Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta 0 |
.It \&.Lp Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 0 |
.It \&.Lp Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 0 |
.It \&.Lk Ta \&No Ta Yes Ta >0 |
.It \&.Lk Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta n |
.It \&.Mt Ta \&No Ta Yes Ta >0 |
.It \&.Mt Ta Yes Ta Yes Ta >0 |
.It \&.Es Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 0 |
.It \&.Es Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 0 |
.It \&.En Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 0 |
.It \&.En Ta \&No Ta \&No Ta 0 |
.El |
.El |
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macros are obsolete. |
macros are obsolete. |
.\" SECTION |
.\" SECTION |
.Sh COMPATIBILITY |
.Sh COMPATIBILITY |
The mdoc language was traditionally a |
This section documents compatibility with other roff implementations, at |
.Qq roff |
this time limited to |
macro package; most existing manuals were written with mdoc syntax |
.Xr groff 1 . |
dictated by system-dependent roff installations. This section documents |
The term |
compatibility with these systems. |
.Qq historic groff |
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refers to those versions before the |
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.Pa doc.tmac |
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file re-write |
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.Pq somewhere between 1.15 and 1.19 . |
.Pp |
.Pp |
.Bl -dash -compact |
.Bl -dash -compact |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.It |
.It |
.Sq \&.Fo |
Some character sequences in groff are not handled depending on escape |
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style, e.g., |
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.Sq \e(ba |
and |
and |
.Sq \&.St |
.Sq \e*(Ba |
historically weren't always callable. Both are now correctly callable. |
may not be interchanged. This is no longer the case: all character |
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sequences resolve to the same symbol, regardless the escape style. |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.It |
.It |
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Blocks of whitespace are stripped from both macro and free-form text |
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lines (except when in literal mode), while groff would retain whitespace |
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in free-form text lines. |
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.\" LIST-ITEM |
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.It |
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Historic groff has many un-callable macros. Most of these (excluding |
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some block-level macros) are now callable, conforming to the |
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non-historic groff version. |
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.\" LIST-ITEM |
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.It |
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The vertical bar |
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.Sq \(ba |
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made historic groff |
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.Qq go orbital |
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but is a proper delimiter in this implementation. |
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.\" LIST-ITEM |
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.It |
.Sq \&.It \-nested |
.Sq \&.It \-nested |
is assumed for all lists: any list may be nested and |
is assumed for all lists (it wasn't in historic groff): any list may be |
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nested and |
.Sq \-enum |
.Sq \-enum |
lists will restart the sequence only for the sub-list. |
lists will restart the sequence only for the sub-list. |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.It |
.It |
.Sq \&.It \-column |
.Sq \&.It \-column |
syntax where column widths may be preceeded by other arguments (instead |
syntax where column widths may be preceded by other arguments (instead |
of proceeded) is not supported. |
of proceeded) is not supported. |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.It |
.It |
|
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macro only accepts a single parameter. |
macro only accepts a single parameter. |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.It |
.It |
The system-name macros ( |
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.Ns Sq \&.At , |
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.Sq \&.Bsx , |
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.Sq \&.Bx , |
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.Sq \&.Fx , |
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.Sq \&.Nx , |
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.Sq \&.Ox , |
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and |
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.Sq \&.Ux ) |
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are callable. |
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.\" LIST-ITEM |
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.It |
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Some manuals use |
Some manuals use |
.Sq \&.Li |
.Sq \&.Li |
incorrectly by following it with a reserved character and expecting the |
incorrectly by following it with a reserved character and expecting the |
delimiter to render. This is not supported. |
delimiter to render. This is not supported. |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.It |
.It |
.Sq \&.Cd |
If an special-character control character is escaped |
is callable. |
.Sq \e\e , |
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it will obviously not render the subsequent sequence. Even newer |
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versions of groff seem to dither on this. |
.El |
.El |
.\" SECTION |
.\" SECTION |
.Sh SEE ALSO |
.Sh SEE ALSO |
|
|
The |
The |
.Nm |
.Nm |
utility was written by |
utility was written by |
.An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@openbsd.org . |
.An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@kth.se . |
.\" SECTION |
.\" SECTION |
.Sh CAVEATS |
.Sh CAVEATS |
There are several ambiguous parts of mdoc. |
There are many ambiguous parts of mdoc. |
.Pp |
.Pp |
.Bl -dash -compact |
.Bl -dash -compact |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
Line 560 which ostensibly follows it, should follow the same co |
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Line 617 which ostensibly follows it, should follow the same co |
|
.It |
.It |
.Sq \&.Va |
.Sq \&.Va |
should formalise that only one or two arguments are acceptable: a |
should formalise that only one or two arguments are acceptable: a |
variable name and optional, preceeding type. |
variable name and optional, preceding type. |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.\" LIST-ITEM |
.It |
.It |
.Sq \&.Fd |
.Sq \&.Fd |
|
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There's no way to refer to references in |
There's no way to refer to references in |
.Sq \&.Rs/.Re |
.Sq \&.Rs/.Re |
blocks. |
blocks. |
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.\" LIST-ITEM |
|
.It |
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The \-split and \-nosplit arguments to |
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.Sq \&.An |
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are inane. |
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.\" LIST-ITEM |
|
.It |
|
The end-of-line whitespace warnings are superfluous holdovers from |
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historic groff. |
.El |
.El |