1 .\" $Id: man.7,v 1.113 2012/01/03 15:16:24 kristaps Exp $
3 .\" Copyright (c) 2009, 2010, 2011 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
4 .\" Copyright (c) 2011 Ingo Schwarze <schwarze@openbsd.org>
6 .\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
7 .\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
8 .\" copyright notice and this permission notice appear in all copies.
10 .\" THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE AUTHOR DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES
11 .\" WITH REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
12 .\" MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR
13 .\" ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES
14 .\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
15 .\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
16 .\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
18 .Dd $Mdocdate: January 3 2012 $
23 .Nd legacy formatting language for manual pages
27 language has been used to write
32 It supports limited control of presentational details like fonts,
33 indentation and spacing.
34 This reference document describes the structure of manual pages
35 and the syntax and usage of the man language.
40 to write your manuals:
42 It lacks support for semantic markup.
49 document, lines beginning with the control character
53 The first word is the macro name.
54 It usually consists of two capital letters.
55 For a list of available macros, see
57 The words following the macro name are arguments to the macro.
59 Lines not beginning with the control character are called
61 They provide free-form text to be printed; the formatting of the text
62 depends on the respective processing context:
63 .Bd -literal -offset indent
64 \&.SH Macro lines change control state.
65 Text lines are interpreted within the current state.
68 Many aspects of the basic syntax of the
70 language are based on the
78 manual for details, in particular regarding
79 comments, escape sequences, whitespace, and quoting.
83 document must contain the
85 macro describing the document's section and title.
86 It may occur anywhere in the document, although conventionally it
87 appears as the first macro.
91 at least one macro or text line must appear in the document.
93 The following is a well-formed skeleton
97 .Bd -literal -offset indent
98 \&.TH PROGNAME 1 2009-10-10
100 \efBprogname\efR \e(en a description goes here
101 \&.\e\(dq .SH LIBRARY
102 \&.\e\(dq For sections 2 & 3 only.
103 \&.\e\(dq Not used in OpenBSD.
105 \efBprogname\efR [\efB\e-options\efR] arguments...
107 The \efBfoo\efR utility processes files...
108 \&.\e\(dq .SH IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
109 \&.\e\(dq Not used in OpenBSD.
110 \&.\e\(dq .SH RETURN VALUES
111 \&.\e\(dq For sections 2, 3, & 9 only.
112 \&.\e\(dq .SH ENVIRONMENT
113 \&.\e\(dq For sections 1, 6, 7, & 8 only.
115 \&.\e\(dq .SH EXIT STATUS
116 \&.\e\(dq For sections 1, 6, & 8 only.
117 \&.\e\(dq .SH EXAMPLES
118 \&.\e\(dq .SH DIAGNOSTICS
119 \&.\e\(dq For sections 1, 4, 6, 7, & 8 only.
121 \&.\e\(dq For sections 2, 3, & 9 only.
122 \&.\e\(dq .SH SEE ALSO
123 \&.\e\(dq .BR foo ( 1 )
124 \&.\e\(dq .SH STANDARDS
125 \&.\e\(dq .SH HISTORY
126 \&.\e\(dq .SH AUTHORS
127 \&.\e\(dq .SH CAVEATS
129 \&.\e\(dq .SH SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
130 \&.\e\(dq Not used in OpenBSD.
135 document are conventionally ordered as they appear above.
136 Sections should be composed as follows:
137 .Bl -ohang -offset indent
139 The name(s) and a short description of the documented material.
140 The syntax for this is generally as follows:
142 .D1 \efBname\efR \e(en description
144 The name of the library containing the documented material, which is
145 assumed to be a function in a section 2 or 3 manual.
146 For functions in the C library, this may be as follows:
148 .D1 Standard C Library (libc, -lc)
150 Documents the utility invocation syntax, function call syntax, or device
153 For the first, utilities (sections 1, 6, and 8), this is
154 generally structured as follows:
156 .D1 \efBname\efR [-\efBab\efR] [-\efBc\efR\efIarg\efR] \efBpath\efR...
158 For the second, function calls (sections 2, 3, 9):
160 .D1 \&.B char *name(char *\efIarg\efR);
162 And for the third, configurations (section 4):
164 .D1 \&.B name* at cardbus ? function ?
166 Manuals not in these sections generally don't need a
169 This expands upon the brief, one-line description in
171 It usually contains a break-down of the options (if documenting a
173 .It Em IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
174 Implementation-specific notes should be kept here.
175 This is useful when implementing standard functions that may have side
176 effects or notable algorithmic implications.
178 This section documents the return values of functions in sections 2, 3, and 9.
180 Documents any usages of environment variables, e.g.,
183 Documents files used.
184 It's helpful to document both the file name and a short description of how
185 the file is used (created, modified, etc.).
187 This section documents the command exit status for
188 section 1, 6, and 8 utilities.
189 Historically, this information was described in
191 a practise that is now discouraged.
194 This often contains snippets of well-formed,
195 well-tested invocations.
196 Make sure that examples work properly!
198 Documents error conditions.
199 This is most useful in section 4 manuals.
200 Historically, this section was used in place of
202 for manuals in sections 1, 6, and 8; however, this practise is
205 Documents error handling in sections 2, 3, and 9.
207 References other manuals with related topics.
208 This section should exist for most manuals.
210 .D1 \&.BR bar \&( 1 \&),
212 Cross-references should conventionally be ordered
213 first by section, then alphabetically.
215 References any standards implemented or used, such as
217 .D1 IEEE Std 1003.2 (\e(lqPOSIX.2\e(rq)
219 If not adhering to any standards, the
221 section should be used.
223 A brief history of the subject, including where support first appeared.
225 Credits to the person or persons who wrote the code and/or documentation.
226 Authors should generally be noted by both name and email address.
228 Common misuses and misunderstandings should be explained
231 Known bugs, limitations, and work-arounds should be described
233 .It Em SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
234 Documents any security precautions that operators should consider.
237 This overview is sorted such that macros of similar purpose are listed
238 together, to help find the best macro for any given purpose.
239 Deprecated macros are not included in the overview, but can be found
240 in the alphabetical reference below.
241 .Ss Page header and footer meta-data
242 .Bl -column "PP, LP, P" description
243 .It Sx TH Ta set the title: Ar title section date Op Ar source Op Ar volume
244 .It Sx AT Ta display AT&T UNIX version in the page footer (<= 1 argument)
245 .It Sx UC Ta display BSD version in the page footer (<= 1 argument)
247 .Ss Sections and paragraphs
248 .Bl -column "PP, LP, P" description
249 .It Sx SH Ta section header (one line)
250 .It Sx SS Ta subsection header (one line)
251 .It Sx PP , LP , P Ta start an undecorated paragraph (no arguments)
252 .It Sx RS , RE Ta reset the left margin: Op Ar width
253 .It Sx IP Ta indented paragraph: Op Ar head Op Ar width
254 .It Sx TP Ta tagged paragraph: Op Ar width
255 .It Sx HP Ta hanged paragraph: Op Ar width
256 .It Sx \&br Ta force output line break in text mode (no arguments)
257 .It Sx \&sp Ta force vertical space: Op Ar height
258 .It Sx fi , nf Ta fill mode and no-fill mode (no arguments)
259 .It Sx in Ta additional indent: Op Ar width
262 .Bl -column "PP, LP, P" description
263 .It Sx B Ta boldface font
264 .It Sx I Ta italic font
265 .It Sx R Ta roman (default) font
266 .It Sx SB Ta small boldface font
267 .It Sx SM Ta small roman font
268 .It Sx BI Ta alternate between boldface and italic fonts
269 .It Sx BR Ta alternate between boldface and roman fonts
270 .It Sx IB Ta alternate between italic and boldface fonts
271 .It Sx IR Ta alternate between italic and roman fonts
272 .It Sx RB Ta alternate between roman and boldface fonts
273 .It Sx RI Ta alternate between roman and italic fonts
276 .Bl -column "PP, LP, P" description
277 .It Sx OP Ta optional arguments
280 This section is a canonical reference to all macros, arranged
282 For the scoping of individual macros, see
285 Sets the volume for the footer for compatibility with man pages from
288 The optional arguments specify which release it is from.
290 Text is rendered in bold face.
297 Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic.
299 .Sq .BI this word and that
304 to render in bold face, while
309 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
313 .Dl \&.BI bold italic bold italic
315 The output of this example will be emboldened
319 with spaces stripped between arguments.
329 Text is rendered alternately in bold face and roman (the default font).
330 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
334 for an equivalent example.
345 Included for compatibility.
347 Begin a paragraph whose initial output line is left-justified, but
348 subsequent output lines are indented, with the following syntax:
349 .Bd -filled -offset indent
356 argument must conform to
358 If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the
359 saved or default width is used.
369 Text is rendered in italics.
376 Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face.
377 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
381 for an equivalent example.
391 Begin an indented paragraph with the following syntax:
392 .Bd -filled -offset indent
394 .Op Cm head Op Cm width
399 argument defines the width of the left margin and is defined by
401 It's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the saved or
402 default width is used.
406 argument is used as a leading term, flushed to the left margin.
407 This is useful for bulleted paragraphs and so on.
417 Text is rendered alternately in italics and roman (the default font).
418 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
422 for an equivalent example.
432 Begin an undecorated paragraph.
433 The scope of a paragraph is closed by a subsequent paragraph,
434 sub-section, section, or end of file.
435 The saved paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
445 Optional command-line argument.
446 This has the following syntax:
447 .Bd -filled -offset indent
454 is usually a command-line flag and
480 Text is rendered in roman (the default font).
487 Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and bold face.
488 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
492 for an equivalent example.
502 Explicitly close out the scope of a prior
504 The default left margin is restored to the state of the original
508 Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and italics.
509 Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
513 for an equivalent example.
523 Temporarily reset the default left margin.
524 This has the following syntax:
525 .Bd -filled -offset indent
532 argument must conform to
534 If not specified, the saved or default width is used.
539 Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default font)
543 The scope of a section is only closed by another section or the end of
545 The paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
547 Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default
551 The scope of a sub-section is closed by a subsequent sub-section,
552 section, or end of file.
553 The paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
555 Sets the title of the manual page with the following syntax:
556 .Bd -filled -offset indent
558 .Ar title section date
559 .Op Ar source Op Ar volume
562 Conventionally, the document
564 is given in all caps.
569 as specified in the ISO-8601 standard;
570 if the argument does not conform, it is printed verbatim.
573 is empty or not specified, the current date is used.
576 string specifies the organisation providing the utility.
579 string replaces the default rendered volume, which is dictated by the
584 .Dl \&.TH CVS 5 "1992-02-12" GNU
586 Begin a paragraph where the head, if exceeding the indentation width, is
587 followed by a newline; if not, the body follows on the same line after a
588 buffer to the indentation width.
589 Subsequent output lines are indented.
590 The syntax is as follows:
591 .Bd -filled -offset indent
598 argument must conform to
600 If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
601 unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
611 Sets the volume for the footer for compatibility with man pages from
613 The optional first argument specifies which release it is from.
615 Breaks the current line.
616 Consecutive invocations have no further effect.
621 End literal mode begun by
624 Change the current font mode.
627 for a listing of available font modes.
629 Indent relative to the current indentation:
631 .D1 Pf \. Sx \&in Op Cm width
635 is signed, the new offset is relative.
636 Otherwise, it is absolute.
637 This value is reset upon the next paragraph, section, or sub-section.
639 Don't align to the right margin.
641 Begin literal mode: all subsequent free-form lines have their end of
642 line boundaries preserved.
645 Literal mode is implicitly ended by
650 Insert vertical spaces into output with the following syntax:
651 .Bd -filled -offset indent
658 spaces, which must conform to
660 If 0, this is equivalent to the
663 Defaults to 1, if unspecified.
670 macros are classified by scope: line scope or block scope.
671 Line macros are only scoped to the current line (and, in some
672 situations, the subsequent line).
673 Block macros are scoped to the current line and subsequent lines until
674 closed by another block macro.
676 Line macros are generally scoped to the current line, with the body
677 consisting of zero or more arguments.
678 If a macro is scoped to the next line and the line arguments are empty,
679 the next line, which must be text, is used instead.
681 .Bd -literal -offset indent
688 If next-line macros are invoked consecutively, only the last is used.
689 If a next-line macro is followed by a non-next-line macro, an error is
696 The syntax is as follows:
697 .Bd -literal -offset indent
698 \&.YO \(lBbody...\(rB
701 .Bl -column "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "ScopeXXXXX" "CompatX" -offset indent
702 .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Scope Ta Em Notes
703 .It Sx \&AT Ta <=1 Ta current Ta \&
704 .It Sx \&B Ta n Ta next-line Ta \&
705 .It Sx \&BI Ta n Ta current Ta \&
706 .It Sx \&BR Ta n Ta current Ta \&
707 .It Sx \&DT Ta 0 Ta current Ta \&
708 .It Sx \&I Ta n Ta next-line Ta \&
709 .It Sx \&IB Ta n Ta current Ta \&
710 .It Sx \&IR Ta n Ta current Ta \&
711 .It Sx \&OP Ta 0, 1 Ta current Ta compat
712 .It Sx \&R Ta n Ta next-line Ta \&
713 .It Sx \&RB Ta n Ta current Ta \&
714 .It Sx \&RI Ta n Ta current Ta \&
715 .It Sx \&SB Ta n Ta next-line Ta \&
716 .It Sx \&SM Ta n Ta next-line Ta \&
717 .It Sx \&TH Ta >1, <6 Ta current Ta \&
718 .It Sx \&UC Ta <=1 Ta current Ta \&
719 .It Sx \&br Ta 0 Ta current Ta compat
720 .It Sx \&fi Ta 0 Ta current Ta compat
721 .It Sx \&ft Ta 1 Ta current Ta compat
722 .It Sx \&in Ta 1 Ta current Ta compat
723 .It Sx \&na Ta 0 Ta current Ta compat
724 .It Sx \&nf Ta 0 Ta current Ta compat
725 .It Sx \&sp Ta 1 Ta current Ta compat
730 are included for compatibility with the significant corpus of existing
731 manuals that mix dialects of roff.
732 These macros should not be used for portable
736 Block macros comprise a head and body.
737 As with in-line macros, the head is scoped to the current line and, in
738 one circumstance, the next line (the next-line stipulations as in
742 The syntax is as follows:
743 .Bd -literal -offset indent
744 \&.YO \(lBhead...\(rB
749 The closure of body scope may be to the section, where a macro is closed
752 sub-section, closed by a section or
754 part, closed by a section, sub-section, or
756 or paragraph, closed by a section, sub-section, part,
764 No closure refers to an explicit block closing macro.
766 As a rule, block macros may not be nested; thus, calling a block macro
767 while another block macro scope is open, and the open scope is not
768 implicitly closed, is syntactically incorrect.
769 .Bl -column "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "Head ScopeX" "sub-sectionX" "compatX" -offset indent
770 .It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Head Scope Ta Em Body Scope Ta Em Notes
771 .It Sx \&HP Ta <2 Ta current Ta paragraph Ta \&
772 .It Sx \&IP Ta <3 Ta current Ta paragraph Ta \&
773 .It Sx \&LP Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph Ta \&
774 .It Sx \&P Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph Ta \&
775 .It Sx \&PP Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph Ta \&
776 .It Sx \&RE Ta 0 Ta current Ta none Ta compat
777 .It Sx \&RS Ta 1 Ta current Ta part Ta compat
778 .It Sx \&SH Ta >0 Ta next-line Ta section Ta \&
779 .It Sx \&SS Ta >0 Ta next-line Ta sub-section Ta \&
780 .It Sx \&TP Ta n Ta next-line Ta paragraph Ta \&
788 If a block macro is next-line scoped, it may only be followed by in-line
789 macros for decorating text.
798 font escape sequences can be used to choose fonts.
799 In text lines, the effect of manual font selection by escape sequences
800 only lasts until the next macro invocation; in macro lines, it only lasts
801 until the end of the macro scope.
802 Note that macros like
804 open and close a font scope for each argument.
806 This section documents areas of questionable portability between
807 implementations of the
817 to close out a literal context opened with
819 This behaviour may not be portable.
821 In quoted literals, GNU troff allowed pair-wise double-quotes to produce
822 a standalone double-quote in formatted output.
823 It is not known whether this behaviour is exhibited by other formatters.
825 troff suppresses a newline before
827 macro output; in mandoc, it is an alias for the standard
833 .Pq horizontal position ,
835 .Pq vertical position ,
839 .Pq text filling colour ,
841 .Pq zero-length character ,
845 .Pq horizontal position marker ,
847 .Pq text overstrike ,
851 escape sequences are all discarded in mandoc.
855 scaling unit is accepted by mandoc, but rendered as the default unit.
859 macro does not accept negative values in mandoc.
860 In GNU troff, this would result in strange behaviour.
862 In page header lines, GNU troff versions up to and including 1.21
865 names explicitly specified in the
867 macro; mandoc and newer groff print the default volume name
878 macro is part of the extended
880 macro set, and may not be portable to non-GNU troff implementations.
892 language first appeared as a macro package for the roff typesetting
895 It was later rewritten by James Clark as a macro package for groff.
896 Eric S. Raymond wrote the extended
898 macros for groff in 2007.
899 The stand-alone implementation that is part of the
901 utility written by Kristaps Dzonsons appeared in
906 reference was written by
907 .An Kristaps Dzonsons ,
908 .Mt kristaps@bsd.lv .
910 Do not use this language.
projects / FreeBSD / stable / 10.git / blob