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Diff for /mandoc/mdoc.7 between version 1.27 and 1.59

version 1.27, 2009/06/12 09:18:00 version 1.59, 2009/08/20 13:32:09
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 .\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN  .\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
 .\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF  .\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
 .\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.  .\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
 .\"  .\"
 .Dd $Mdocdate$  .Dd $Mdocdate$
 .Dt MDOC 7  .Dt MDOC 7
 .Os  .Os
 .\" SECTION  .
   .
 .Sh NAME  .Sh NAME
 .Nm mdoc  .Nm mdoc
 .Nd mdoc language reference  .Nd mdoc language reference
 .\" SECTION  .
   .
 .Sh DESCRIPTION  .Sh DESCRIPTION
 The  The
 .Nm mdoc  .Nm mdoc
 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 its syntax, structure,
 and structure of the  and usage.  Our reference implementation is
 .Nm  .Xr mandoc 1 .
 language.  The
 .\" PARAGRAPH  .Sx COMPATIBILITY
   section describes compatibility with
   .Xr groff 1 .
   .
 .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:
 .Bd -literal -offset XXX  .Bd -literal -offset indent
 \&.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 LANGUAGE SYNTAX
 .Nm  .Nm
 documents may contain only graphable 7-bit ASCII characters, the space  documents may contain only graphable 7-bit ASCII characters, the space
 character  character, and, in certain circumstances, the tab character.  All
 .Sq \  ,  manuals must have
 and, in certain circumstances, the tab character  .Ux
 .Sq \et .  line terminators.
 All manuals must have  .
 .Sq \en  .
 line termination.  .Ss Comments
 .Pp  Text following a
 The only time a blank line is acceptable is within  .Sq \e" ,
 the context of  whether in a macro or free-form text line, is ignored to the end of
 .Sq \&.Bd \-literal  line.  A macro line with only a control character and comment escape,
 or  .Sq \&.\e" ,
 .Sq \&.Bd \-unfilled .  is also ignored.  Macro lines with only a control charater and optionally
 .Pp  whitespace are stripped from input.
 Tab characters  .
 .Pq \et  .
 are only acceptable when delimiting  
 .Sq \&.Bl \-column  
 and in  
 .Sq \&.Bd \-literal  
 or  
 .Sq \&.Bd \-unfilled  
 contexts.  
 .\" 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 indent -compact
 .It \&.  .It \&.
 .Pq period  .Pq period
 .It \&,  .It \&,
Line 95  Within a macro line, the following characters are rese
Line 93  Within a macro line, the following characters are rese
 .It \&?  .It \&?
 .Pq question  .Pq question
 .It \&!  .It \&!
 .Pq exclamation  .Pq exclamation
   .It \&|
   .Pq vertical bar
 .El  .El
 .\" PARAGRAPH  .
 .Pp  .Pp
 Use of reserved characters is described in  Use of reserved characters is described in
 .Sx Closure .  .Sx MACRO SYNTAX .
 For general non-reserved use, characters must either be escaped with a  For general use in macro lines, these characters must either be escaped
 non-breaking space  with a non-breaking space
 .Pq Sq \e&  .Pq Sq \e&
 or, if applicable, an appropriate escape-sequence used.  or, if applicable, an appropriate escape sequence used.
 .\" 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
   .Xr mandoc_char 7
   for a complete list.  Examples include
   .Sq \e(em
   .Pq em-dash
   and
   .Sq \ee
   .Pq back-slash .
   .
   .
   .Ss Text Decoration
   Terms may be text-decorated using the
   .Sq \ef
   escape followed by an indicator: B (bold), I, (italic), or P and R
   (Roman, or reset).  This form is not recommended for
   .Nm ,
   which encourages semantic, not presentation, annotation.
   .
   .
   .Ss Predefined Strings
   Historically,
   .Xr groff 1
   also defined a set of package-specific
   .Dq predefined strings ,
   which, like
   .Sx Special Characters ,
   demark special output characters and strings by way of input codes.
   Predefined strings are escaped with the slash-asterisk,
   .Sq \e* :
   single-character
   .Sq \e*X ,
   two-character
   .Sq \e*(XX ,
   and N-character
   .Sq \e*[N] .
   See
   .Xr mandoc_char 7
   for a complete list.  Examples include
   .Sq \e*(Am
   .Pq ampersand
   and
   .Sq \e*(Ba
   .Pq vertical bar .
   .
   .
   .Ss Whitespace
   In non-literal free-form lines, consecutive blocks of whitespace are
   pruned from input and added later in the output filter, if applicable:
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   These     spaces   are    pruned       from    input.
   \&.Bd \-literal
   These         are              not.
   \&.Ed
   .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 Characters may alternatively be escaped by a slash-asterisk,  In macro lines, whitespace delimits arguments and is discarded.  If
 .Sq \e* ,  arguments are quoted, whitespace within the quotes is retained.
 with the same combinations as described above.  This form is deprecated.  .
 .\" SECTION  
 .Sh STRUCTURE  
 Macros are classified in an ontology described by their scope rules.  
 Some macros are allowed to deviate from their classifications to  
 preserve backward-compatibility with old macro combinations still found  
 in the manual corpus.  These are specifically noted on a per-macro  
 basis.  
 .\" SUB-SECTION  
 .Ss Scope  
 .Bl -inset  
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It Em Block  
 macros enclose other block macros, in-line macros or text, and  
 may span multiple lines.  
 .Bl -inset -offset XXXX  
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It Em Full-block  
 macros always span multiple lines.  They consist of zero or  
 more  
 .Qq heads ,  
 subsequent macros or text on the same line following invocation; an  
 optional  
 .Qq body ,  
 which spans subsequent lines of text or macros; and an optional  
 .Qq tail ,  
 macros or text on the same line following closure.  
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It Em Partial-block  
 macros may span multiple lines.  They consists of a optional  
 .Qq head ,  
 text immediately following invocation; always a  
 .Qq body ,  
 text or macros following the head on the same and subsequent lines; and  
 optionally a  
 .Qq tail ,  
 text immediately following closure.  
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It Em In-line  
 macros may only enclose text and span at most a single line.  
 .El  
 .El  
 .\" SUB-SECTION  
 .Ss Closure  
 Closure of a macro's scope depends first on its classification, then  
 on whether it's parsable.  In this table,  
 .Sq BFE  
 refers to block full-explicit and so on.  
 .\" PARAGRAPH  
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bl -tag -width 12n -offset XXXX -compact  Blank lines are only permitted within literal contexts, as are lines
 .It BPE , BFE  containing only whitespace.  Tab characters are only acceptable when
 corresponding explicit closure macro  delimiting
 .It BFI  .Sq \&Bl \-column
 end-of-file or a corresponding implicit closure macro  or when in a literal context.
 .It BPI  .
 end-of-line (body may be closed by >0 space-separated  .
 .Sx Reserved Characters ,  .Ss Quotation
 although block scope will still be open)  Macro arguments may be quoted with a double-quote to group
 .It INL  space-delimited terms or to retain blocks of whitespace.  A quoted
 end-of-line  argument begins with a double-quote preceded by whitespace.  The next
 .El  double-quote not pair-wise adjacent to another double-quote terminates
 .\" PARAGRAPH  the literal, regardless of surrounding whitespace.
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 If a macro (block or in-line) is parsable, it may also be closed out by  This produces tokens
 one of the following scenarios (unless specifically noted otherwise):  .Sq a" ,
 .\" PARAGRAPH  .Sq b c ,
   .Sq de ,
   and
   .Sq fg" .
   Note that any quoted term, be it argument or macro, is indiscriminately
   considered literal text.  Thus, the following produces
   .Sq \&Em a :
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.Em "Em a"
   .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bl -dash -offset XXXX -compact  In free-form mode, quotes are regarded as opaque text.
 .It  .
 a sequence of >0 space-separated  .
 .Sx Reserved Characters ,  .Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE
 .It  Each
 another macro,  .Nm
 .It  document must begin with a document prologue, containing, in order,
 end-of-line, or  .Sq \&Dd ,
 .It  .Sq \&Dt ,
 completion of a set number of arguments.  and
 .El  .Sq \&Os ,
 .\" PARAGRAPH  then the NAME section containing at least one
   .Sq \&Nm
   followed by
   .Sq \&Nd :
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.Dd $\&Mdocdate$
   \&.Dt mdoc 7
   \&.Os
   \&.
   \&.Sh NAME
   \&.Nm foo
   \&.Nd a description goes here
   \&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2 & 3 only.
   \&.\e\*q .Sh LIBRARY
   \&.
   \&.Sh SYNOPSIS
   \&.Nm foo
   \&.Op Fl options
   \&.Ar
   \&.
   \&.Sh DESCRIPTION
   The
   \&.Nm
   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 .Xr foobar 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
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 If >0 space-separated  Subsequent SYNOPSIS and DESCRIPTION sections are strongly encouraged,
 .Sx Reserved Characters  but non-compulsory.
 are followed by non-reserved characters, the behaviour differs per  .
 macro.  In general, scope of the macro is closed and re-opened:  .
 subsequent tokens are interpreted as if the scope had just been opened.  .Sh MACRO SYNTAX
 In other circumstances, scope is simply closed out.  Macros are one to three three characters in length and begin with a
 .\" SECTION  control character ,
 .Sh SYNTAX  .Sq \&. ,
 Macros are two or three characters in length.  The syntax of macro  at the beginning of the line.  An arbitrary amount of whitespace may
 invocation depends on its classification.  sit between the control character and the macro name.  Thus,
 .Qq \-arg  .Sq \&.Pp
 refers to the macro arguments (which may contain zero or more values).  and
 In these illustrations,  .Sq \&.\ \ \ \&Pp
 .Sq \&.Yo  are equivalent.  Macro names are two or three characters in length.
 opens the scope of a macro, and if specified,  .
 .Sq \&.Yc  
 closes it out (closure may be implicit at end-of-line or end-of-file).  
 .\" PARAGRAPH  
 .Pp  .Pp
 Block full-explicit (may contain head, body, tail).  The syntax of a macro depends on its classification.  In this section,
 .Bd -literal -offset XXXX  .Sq \-arg
 \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB \(lBhead...\(rB  refers to macro arguments, which may be followed by zero or more
 \(lBbody...\(rB  .Sq parm
 \&.Yc \(lBtail...\(rB  parameters;
 .Ed  .Sq \&Yo
 .\" PARAGRAPH  opens the scope of a macro; and if specified,
   .Sq \&Yc
   closes it out.
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 Block full-implicit (may contain zero or more heads, body, no tail).  The
 .Bd -literal -offset XXXX  .Em Callable
 \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB \(lBhead... \(lBTa head...\(rB\(rB  column indicates that the macro may be called subsequent to the initial
 \(lBbody...\(rB  line-macro.  If a macro is not callable, then its invocation after the
 \&.Yc  initial line macro is interpreted as opaque text, such that
 .Ed  .Sq \&.Fl Sh
 .\" PARAGRAPH  produces
   .Sq Fl Sh .
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 Block partial-explicit (may contain head, multi-line body, tail).  The
 .Bd -literal -offset XXXX  .Em Parsable
 \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB \(lBhead...\(rB  column indicates whether the macro may be followed by further
 \(lBbody...\(rB  (ostensibly callable) macros.  If a macro is not parsable, subsequent
 \&.Yc \(lBtail...\(rB  macro invocations on the line will be interpreted as opaque text.
   .
 \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB \(lBhead...\(rB \  
 \(lBbody...\(rB \&Yc \(lBtail...\(rB  
 .Ed  
 .\" PARAGRAPH  
 .Pp  .Pp
 Block partial-implicit (no head, body, no tail).  Note that the body  The
 section may be followed by zero or more  .Em Scope
 .Sx Reserved Words .  column, if applicable, describes closure rules.
 These are in the block scope, but not in the body scope.  .
 .Bd -literal -offset XXXX  .
 \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB \(lBbody...\(rB \(lBreserved...\(rB  .Ss Block full-explicit
   Multi-line scope closed by an explicit closing macro.  All macros
   contains bodies; only
   .Pq Sq \&Bf
   contains a head.
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBparm...\(rB\(rB \(lBhead...\(rB
   \(lBbody...\(rB
   \&.Yc
 .Ed  .Ed
 .\" PARAGRAPH  .
 .Pp  .Pp
 In-lines have \(>=0 scoped arguments.  .Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" "closed by XXX"
 .Bd -literal -offset XXX  .It Em Macro Ta Em Callable Ta Em Parsable Ta Em Scope
 \&.Yy \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB \(lBargs...\(rB  .It \&Bd     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    closed by \&Ed
   .It \&Bf     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    closed by \&Ef
 \&.Yy \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB arg0 arg1 argN  .It \&Bk     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    closed by \&Ek
 .Ed  .It \&Bl     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    closed by \&El
 .\"  .It \&Ed     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    opened by \&Bd
 .Sh MACROS  .It \&Ef     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    opened by \&Bf
 This section contains a complete list of all  .It \&Ek     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    opened by \&Bk
 .Nm  .It \&El     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    opened by \&Bl
 macros, arranged ontologically.  A  .El
 .Qq callable  .
 macro is invoked subsequent to the initial macro-line macro.  A  .
 .Qq parsable  
 macro may be followed by further (ostensibly callable) macros.  
 .\" SUB-SECTION  
 .Ss Block full-implicit  .Ss Block full-implicit
 The head of these macros follows invocation; the body is the content of  Multi-line scope closed by end-of-file or implicitly by another macro.
 subsequent lines prior to closure.  None of these macros have tails;  All macros have bodies; some
 some  
 .Po  .Po
 .Sq \&.It \-bullet ,  .Sq \&It \-bullet ,
 .Sq \-hyphen ,  .Sq \-hyphen ,
 .Sq \-dash ,  .Sq \-dash ,
 .Sq \-enum ,  .Sq \-enum ,
 .Sq \-item  .Sq \-item
 .Pc  .Pc
 don't have heads.  don't have heads, while
   .Sq \&It \-column
   may have multiple heads.
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBparm...\(rB\(rB \(lBhead... \(lBTa head...\(rB\(rB
   \(lBbody...\(rB
   .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bl -column "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" "Closing" -compact -offset XXXX  .Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" "closed by XXXXXXXXXXX"
 .It Em Macro Ta Em Callable Ta Em Parsable Ta Em Closing  .It Em Macro Ta Em Callable Ta Em Parsable Ta Em Scope
 .It \&.Sh    Ta    \&No    Ta    \&No    Ta    \&.Sh  .It \&It     Ta    \&No     Ta    Yes      Ta    closed by \&It, \&El
 .It \&.Ss    Ta    \&No    Ta    \&No    Ta    \&.Sh, \&.Ss  .It \&Nd     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    closed by \&Sh
 .It \&.It    Ta    \&No    Ta    Yes     Ta    \&.It, \&.El  .It \&Sh     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    closed by \&Sh
   .It \&Ss     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    closed by \&Sh, \&Ss
 .El  .El
 .\" SUB-SECTION  .
 .Ss Block full-explicit  .
 None of these macros are callable or parsed.  The last column indicates  .Ss Block partial-explicit
 the explicit scope rules.  All contains bodies, some may contain heads  Like block full-explicit, but also with single-line scope.  Each
 .Pq So \&Bf Sc .  has at least a body and, in limited circumstances, a head
   .Pq So \&Fo Sc , So \&Eo Sc
   and/or tail
   .Pq So \&Ec Sc .
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBparm...\(rB\(rB \(lBhead...\(rB
   \(lBbody...\(rB
   \&.Yc \(lBtail...\(rB
   
   \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBparm...\(rB\(rB \(lBhead...\(rB \
   \(lBbody...\(rB \&Yc \(lBtail...\(rB
   .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bl -column "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" "closed by XXX" -compact -offset XXXX  .Bl -column "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" "closed by XXXX" -compact -offset indent
 .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 \&Ac     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    opened by \&Ao
 .It \&.Ed    Ta    \&No    Ta    \&No    Ta    opened by \&.Bd  .It \&Ao     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    closed by \&Ac
 .It \&.Bl    Ta    \&No    Ta    \&No    Ta    closed by \&.El  .It \&Bc     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    closed by \&Bo
 .It \&.El    Ta    \&No    Ta    \&No    Ta    opened by \&.Bl  .It \&Bo     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    opened by \&Bc
 .It \&.Bf    Ta    \&No    Ta    \&No    Ta    closed by \&.Ef  .It \&Brc    Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    opened by \&Bro
 .It \&.Ef    Ta    \&No    Ta    \&No    Ta    opened by \&.Bf  .It \&Bro    Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    closed by \&Brc
 .It \&.Bk    Ta    \&No    Ta    \&No    Ta    closed by \&.Ek  .It \&Dc     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    opened by \&Do
 .It \&.Ek    Ta    \&No    Ta    \&No    Ta    opened by \&.Bk  .It \&Do     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    closed by \&Dc
   .It \&Ec     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    opened by \&Eo
   .It \&Eo     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    closed by \&Ec
   .It \&Fc     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    opened by \&Fo
   .It \&Fo     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    closed by \&Fc
   .It \&Oc     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    closed by \&Oo
   .It \&Oo     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    opened by \&Oc
   .It \&Pc     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    closed by \&Po
   .It \&Po     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    opened by \&Pc
   .It \&Qc     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    opened by \&Oo
   .It \&Qo     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    closed by \&Oc
   .It \&Re     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    opened by \&Rs
   .It \&Rs     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    closed by \&Re
   .It \&Sc     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    opened by \&So
   .It \&So     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    closed by \&Sc
   .It \&Xc     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    opened by \&Xo
   .It \&Xo     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    closed by \&Xc
 .El  .El
 .\" SUB-SECTION  .
   .
 .Ss Block partial-implicit  .Ss Block partial-implicit
 All of these are callable and parsed for further macros.  Their scopes  Like block full-implicit, but with single-line scope closed by
 close at the invocation's end-of-line.  .Sx Reserved Characters
   or end of line.
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB \(lBbody...\(rB \(lBres...\(rB
   .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bl -column "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" -compact -offset XXXX  .Bl -column "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" -compact -offset indent
 .It Em Macro Ta Em Callable Ta Em Parsable  .It Em Macro Ta Em Callable Ta Em Parsable
 .It \&.Aq    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes  .It \&Aq     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes
 .It \&.Op    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes  .It \&Bq     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes
 .It \&.Bq    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes  .It \&Brq    Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes
 .It \&.Dq    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes  .It \&D1     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&Yes
 .It \&.Pq    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes  .It \&Dl     Ta    \&No     Ta    Yes
 .It \&.Qq    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes  .It \&Dq     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes
 .It \&.Sq    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes  .It \&Op     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes
 .It \&.Brq   Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes  .It \&Pq     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes
 .It \&.D1    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&Yes  .It \&Ql     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes
 .It \&.Dl    Ta    \&No  Ta    Yes  .It \&Qq     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes
 .It \&.Ql    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes  .It \&Sq     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes
 .El  .El
 .\" PARAGRAPH  .
 .Pp  .
 The  .Ss In-line
 .Sq \&.Op  Closed by
 may be broken by  .Sx Reserved Characters ,
 .Sq \&.Oc  end of line, fixed argument lengths, and/or subsequent macros.  In-line
 as in the following example:  macros have only text children.  If a number (or inequality) of
 .Bd -literal -offset XXXX  
 \&.Oo  
 \&.Op Fl a Oc  
 .Ed  
 .Pp  
 In the above example, the scope of  
 .Sq \&.Op  
 is technically broken by  
 .Sq \&.Oc ,  
 however, due to the overwhelming existence of this sequence, it's  
 allowed.  
 .\" SUB-SECTION  
 .Ss Block partial-explicit  
 Each of these contains at least a body and, in limited circumstances, a  
 head  
 .Pq So \&.Fo Sc , So \&.Eo Sc  
 and/or tail  
 .Pq So \&.Ec Sc .  
 .Pp  
 .Bl -column "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" "closed by XXXX" -compact -offset XXXX  
 .It Em Macro Ta Em Callable Ta Em Parsable Ta Em Scope  
 .It \&.Ao    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    closed by \&.Ac  
 .It \&.Ac    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    opened by \&.Ao  
 .It \&.Bc    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    closed by \&.Bo  
 .It \&.Bo    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    opened by \&.Bc  
 .It \&.Pc    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    closed by \&.Po  
 .It \&.Po    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    opened by \&.Pc  
 .It \&.Do    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    closed by \&.Dc  
 .It \&.Dc    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    opened by \&.Do  
 .It \&.Xo    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    closed by \&.Xc  
 .It \&.Xc    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    opened by \&.Xo  
 .It \&.Bro   Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    closed by \&.Brc  
 .It \&.Brc   Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    opened by \&.Bro  
 .It \&.Oc    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    closed by \&.Oo  
 .It \&.Oo    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    opened by \&.Oc  
 .It \&.So    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    closed by \&.Sc  
 .It \&.Sc    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    opened by \&.So  
 .It \&.Fc    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    opened by \&.Fo  
 .It \&.Fo    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No   Ta    closed by \&.Fc  
 .It \&.Ec    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    opened by \&.Eo  
 .It \&.Eo    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    closed by \&.Ec  
 .It \&.Qc    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    opened by \&.Oo  
 .It \&.Qo    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes    Ta    closed by \&.Oc  
 .It \&.Re    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No   Ta    opened by \&.Rs  
 .It \&.Rs    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No   Ta    closed by \&.Re  
 .El  
 .\" SUB-SECTION  
 .Ss In-line  
 In-line macros have only text children.  If a number (or inequality) of  
 arguments is  arguments is
 .Pq n ,  .Pq n ,
 then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of arguments.  then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of arguments.
   .Bd -literal -offset indent
   \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB \(lBargs...\(rB \(lbres...\(rb
   
   \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB \(lBargs...\(rB Yc...
   
   \&.Yo \(lB\-arg \(lBval...\(rB\(rB arg0 arg1 argN
   .Ed
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bl -column "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" "Arguments" -compact -offset XXXX  .Bl -column "MacroX" "CallableX" "ParsableX" "Arguments" -compact -offset indent
 .It Em Macro Ta Em Callable Ta Em Parsable Ta Em Arguments  .It Em Macro Ta Em Callable Ta Em Parsable Ta Em Arguments
 .It \&.Dd    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&%A     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.Dt    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    n  .It \&%B     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.Os    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    n  .It \&%C     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.Pp    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    0  .It \&%D     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.Ad    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&%I     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.An    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&%J     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.Ar    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&%N     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.Cd    Ta    Yes   Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&%O     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.Cm    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&%P     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.Dv    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&%R     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.Er    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    >0  .It \&%T     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.Ev    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&%V     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.Ex    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    0  .It \&Ad     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Fa    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&An     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Fd    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Ap     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    0
 .It \&.Fl    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Ar     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Fn    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    >0  .It \&At     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    1
 .It \&.Ft    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Bsx    Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Ic    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    >0  .It \&Bt     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    0
 .It \&.In    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    n  .It \&Bx     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Li    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Cd     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
 .It \&.Nd    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    n  .It \&Cm     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Nm    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Db     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    1
 .It \&.Ot    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    n  .It \&Dd     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.Pa    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Dt     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    n
 .It \&.Rv    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    0  .It \&Dv     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.St    Ta    \&No  Ta    Yes     Ta    1  .It \&Dx     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Va    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Em     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
 .It \&.Vt    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    >0  .It \&En     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    0
 .It \&.Xr    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    >0, <3  .It \&Er     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
 .It \&.%A    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Es     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    0
 .It \&.%B    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Ev     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.%C    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Ex     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    n
 .It \&.%D    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Fa     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.%I    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Fd     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    >0
 .It \&.%J    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Fl     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.%N    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Fn     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
 .It \&.%O    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Fr     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    n
 .It \&.%P    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Ft     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.%R    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Fx     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.%T    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Hf     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    n
 .It \&.%V    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    >0  .It \&Ic     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
 .It \&.At    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    1  .It \&In     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    n
 .It \&.Bsx   Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Lb     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    1
 .It \&.Bx    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Li     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Db    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    1  .It \&Lk     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Em    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    >0  .It \&Lp     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    0
 .It \&.Fx    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Ms     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
 .It \&.Ms    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    >0  .It \&Mt     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
 .It \&.No    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    0  .It \&Nm     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Ns    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    0  .It \&No     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    0
 .It \&.Nx    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Ns     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    0
 .It \&.Ox    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Nx     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Pf    Ta    \&No  Ta    Yes     Ta    1  .It \&Os     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    n
 .It \&.Sm    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    1  .It \&Ot     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    n
 .It \&.Sx    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    >0  .It \&Ox     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Sy    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    >0  .It \&Pa     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Tn    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    >0  .It \&Pf     Ta    \&No     Ta    Yes      Ta    1
 .It \&.Ux    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Pp     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    0
 .It \&.Dx    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Rv     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    n
 .It \&.Bt    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    0  .It \&Sm     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    1
 .It \&.Hf    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    n  .It \&St     Ta    \&No     Ta    Yes      Ta    1
 .It \&.Fr    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    n  .It \&Sx     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
 .It \&.Ud    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    0  .It \&Sy     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
 .It \&.Lb    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    1  .It \&Tn     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
 .It \&.Ap    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    0  .It \&Ud     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    0
 .It \&.Lp    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    0  .It \&Ux     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Lk    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    n  .It \&Va     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It \&.Mt    Ta    Yes   Ta    Yes     Ta    >0  .It \&Vt     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
 .It \&.Es    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    0  .It \&Xr     Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0, <3
 .It \&.En    Ta    \&No  Ta    \&No    Ta    0  .It \&br     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    0
 .El  .It \&sp     Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    1
 .Pp  .El
 The  .
 .Sq \&.Ot ,  .
 .Sq \&.Fr ,  
 .Sq \&.Es  
 and  
 .Sq \&.En ,  
 macros are obsolete.  
 .\" 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
   refers to those versions before the
   .Pa doc.tmac
   file re-write
   .Pq somewhere between 1.15 and 1.19 .
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bl -dash -compact  .Bl -dash -compact
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It  .It
 .Sq \&.An ,  The
 .Sq \&.Fo ,  .Sq \-split
 .Sq \&.Lk ,  or
 .Sq \&.Ms ,  .Sq \-nosplit
 .Sq \&.Mt ,  argument to
 and  .Sq \&An
 .Sq \&.St  applies to the whole document, not just to the current section as it
 historically weren't callable.  does in groff.
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It  .It
 .Sq \&.It \-nested  In quoted literals, groff allowed pair-wise double-quotes to produce a
 is assumed for all lists: any list may be nested and  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.
   .It
   Historic groff has many un-callable macros.  Most of these (excluding
   some block-level macros) are now callable, conforming to the
   non-historic groff version.
   .It
   The vertical bar
   .Sq \(ba
   made historic groff
   .Qq go orbital
   but is a proper delimiter in this implementation.
   .It
   .Sq \&It \-nested
   is assumed for all lists (it wasn't in historic groff): any list may be
   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  
 .It  .It
 .Sq \&.It \-column  .Sq \&It \-column
 syntax where column widths may be preceded 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  
 .It  .It
 The  The
 .Sq \&.At  .Sq \&At
 macro only accepts a single parameter.  macro only accepts a single parameter.
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It  .It
 The system-name macros (  
 .Ns Sq \&.At ,  
 .Sq \&.Bsx ,  
 .Sq \&.Bx ,  
 .Sq \&.Fx ,  
 .Sq \&.Nx ,  
 .Sq \&.Ox ,  
 and  
 .Sq \&.Ux )  
 are callable.  
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It  
 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  
 .It  .It
 .Sq \&.Cd  In groff, the
 is callable.  .Sq \&Fo
   macro only produces the first parameter.  This is no longer the case.
 .El  .El
 .\" SECTION  .
   .
 .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
 There are several ambiguous parts of mdoc.  There are many ambiguous parts of mdoc.
   .
 .Pp  .Pp
 .Bl -dash -compact  .Bl -dash -compact
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It  .It
 .Sq \&.Fa  .Sq \&Fa
 should be  should be
 .Sq \&.Va  .Sq \&Va
 as function arguments are variables.  as function arguments are variables.
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It  .It
 .Sq \&.Ft  .Sq \&Ft
 should be  should be
 .Sq \&.Vt  .Sq \&Vt
 as function return types are still types.  Furthermore, the  as function return types are still types.  Furthermore, the
 .Sq \&.Ft  .Sq \&Ft
 should be removed and  should be removed and
 .Sq \&.Fo ,  .Sq \&Fo ,
 which ostensibly follows it, should follow the same convention as  which ostensibly follows it, should follow the same convention as
 .Sq \&.Va .  .Sq \&Va .
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .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, preceding type.  variable name and optional, preceding type.
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It  .It
 .Sq \&.Fd  .Sq \&Fd
 is ambiguous.  It's commonly used to indicate an include file in the  is ambiguous.  It's commonly used to indicate an include file in the
 synopsis section.  synopsis section.
 .Sq \&.In  .Sq \&In
 should be used, instead.  should be used, instead.
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It  .It
 Only the  Only the
 .Sq \-literal  .Sq \-literal
 argument to  argument to
 .Sq \&.Bd  .Sq \&Bd
 makes sense.  The remaining ones should be removed.  makes sense.  The remaining ones should be removed.
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It  .It
 The  The
 .Sq \&.Xo  .Sq \&Xo
 and  and
 .Sq \&.Xc  .Sq \&Xc
 macros should be deprecated.  macros should be deprecated.
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It  .It
 The  The
 .Sq \&.Dt  .Sq \&Dt
 macro lacks clarity.  It should be absolutely clear which title will  macro lacks clarity.  It should be absolutely clear which title will
 render when formatting the manual page.  render when formatting the manual page.
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It  .It
 A  A
 .Sq \&.Lx  .Sq \&Lx
 should be provided for Linux (\(`a la  should be provided for Linux (\(`a la
 .Sq \&.Ox ,  .Sq \&Ox ,
 .Sq \&.Nx  .Sq \&Nx
 etc.).  etc.).
 .\" LIST-ITEM  
 .It  .It
 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.
   .It
   The \-split and \-nosplit dictates via
   .Sq \&An
   are re-set when entering and leaving the AUTHORS section.
 .El  .El
   .
Legend:
Removed from v.1.27  
changed lines
  Added in v.1.59
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