3 .\" A complete reference of the mdoc macro package for GNU troff.
5 .\" Based on NetBSD's mdoc.samples.7, version 1.21.
8 .\" Warning: You can't format this file with the old mdoc macros!
11 .\" Copyright (c) 1990, 1993
12 .\" The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
14 .\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
15 .\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
17 .\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
18 .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
19 .\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
20 .\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
21 .\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
23 .\" ftp://ftp.cs.berkeley.edu/pub/4bsd/README.Impt.License.Change]
24 .\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
25 .\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
26 .\" without specific prior written permission.
28 .\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
29 .\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
30 .\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
31 .\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
32 .\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
33 .\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
34 .\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
35 .\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
36 .\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
37 .\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
40 .\" @(#)mdoc.samples.7 8.2 (Berkeley) 12/30/93
42 .\" This reference invokes every macro in the package several
43 .\" times and is guaranteed to give a worst case performance
44 .\" for an already extremely slow package.
55 .Nd reference for groff's mdoc implementation
60 .Nm groff Fl m Ns Cm doc Ar
65 A complete reference for writing
73 formatting package for
78 package, addressed page layout leaving the manipulation of fonts and other
79 typesetting details to the individual author.
82 page layout macros make up the
83 .Em "page structure domain"
84 which consists of macros for titles, section headers, displays and lists
85 \- essentially items which affect the physical position of text on a
87 In addition to the page structure domain, there are two more domains, the
92 The general text domain is defined as macros which perform tasks such as
93 quoting or emphasizing pieces of text.
94 The manual domain is defined as macros that are a subset of the day to day
95 informal language used to describe commands, routines and related
98 Macros in the manual domain handle command names, command line arguments and
99 options, function names, function parameters, pathnames, variables, cross
100 references to other manual pages, and so on.
101 These domain items have value for both the author and the future user of the
103 Hopefully, the consistency gained across the manual set will provide easier
104 translation to future documentation tools.
108 manual pages, a manual entry is simply referred to as a man page, regardless
109 of actual length and without sexist intention.
112 .Sh "GETTING STARTED"
114 The material presented in the remainder of this document is outlined
117 .Bl -enum -width 3n -offset indent
119 . Tn "TROFF IDIOSYNCRASIES"
121 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
123 . It "Passing Space Characters in an Argument"
124 . It "Trailing Blank Space Characters"
125 . It "Escaping Special Characters"
126 . It "Other Possible Pitfalls"
130 . Tn "A MANUAL PAGE TEMPLATE"
139 . Tn "INTRODUCTION OF MANUAL AND GENERAL TEXT DOMAINS"
141 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
142 . It "What's in a Name" Ns ...
143 . It "General Syntax"
149 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
153 . It "Configuration Declarations (Section Four Only)"
154 . It "Command Modifiers"
155 . It "Defined Variables"
157 . It "Environment Variables"
159 . It "Function Declarations"
160 . It "Function Types"
161 . It "Functions (Library Routines)"
162 . It "Function Arguments"
165 . \" .It "Header File (including source code)"
166 . It "Interactive Commands"
173 . It "Variable Types"
175 . It "Manual Page Cross References"
179 . Tn "GENERAL TEXT DOMAIN"
181 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
186 . It "DragonFly Macro"
190 . It "Emphasis Macro"
192 . It "Enclosure and Quoting Macros"
193 . It "No-Op or Normal Text Macro"
194 . It "No-Space Macro"
195 . It "Section Cross References"
197 . It "Mathematical Symbols"
198 . It "References and Citations"
199 . It "Trade Names (or Acronyms and Type Names)"
200 . It "Extended Arguments"
204 . Tn "PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN"
206 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
207 . It "Section Headers"
208 . It "Subsection Headers"
209 . It "Paragraphs and Line Spacing"
211 . It "Examples and Displays"
212 . It "Lists and Columns"
216 . Tn "MISCELLANEOUS MACROS"
219 . Tn "PREDEFINED STRINGS"
225 . Tn "FORMATTING WITH GROFF, TROFF, AND NROFF"
242 .Sh "TROFF IDIOSYNCRASIES"
246 package attempts to simplify the process of writing a man page.
247 Theoretically, one should not have to learn the tricky details of
252 however, there are a few limitations which are unavoidable and best gotten
254 And, too, be forewarned, this package is
263 a macro is called by placing a
265 (dot character) at the beginning of a line followed by the two-character
266 (or three-character) name for the macro.
267 There can be space or tab characters between the dot and the macro name.
268 Arguments may follow the macro separated by spaces (but
271 It is the dot character at the beginning of the line which causes
274 to interpret the next two (or more) characters as a macro name.
275 A single starting dot followed by nothing is ignored.
278 (dot character) at the beginning of an input line in some context other than
279 a macro invocation, precede the
283 escape sequence which translates literally to a zero-width space, and is
284 never displayed in the output.
289 macros accept an unlimited number of arguments (contrary to other versions
290 of troff which can't handle more than nine arguments).
291 In limited cases, arguments may be continued or extended on the next
293 .Sx Extended Arguments
295 Almost all macros handle quoted arguments (see
296 .Sx Passing Space Characters in an Argument
301 general text domain and manual domain macros are special in that their
304 for callable macro names.
305 This means an argument on the argument list which matches a general text or
306 manual domain macro name (and which is defined to be callable) will be
307 executed or called when it is processed.
308 In this case the argument, although the name of a macro, is not preceded by
312 This makes it possible to nest macros; for example the option macro,
316 the flag and argument macros,
320 to specify an optional flag with an argument:
322 .Bl -tag -width ".Op Fl s Ar bytes" -offset indent
325 .Ql ".Op Fl s Ar bytes"
329 To prevent a string from being interpreted as a macro name, precede the
330 string with the escape sequence
333 .Bl -tag -width ".Op \&Fl s \&Ar bytes" -offset indent
334 .It Op \&Fl s \&Ar bytes
336 .Ql ".Op \e&Fl s \e&Ar bytes"
344 are not interpreted as macros.
345 Macros whose argument lists are parsed for callable arguments are referred
348 and macros which may be called from an argument list are referred to as
350 throughout this document.
353 as almost all of the macros in
355 are parsed, but as it was cumbersome to constantly refer to macros as
356 being callable and being able to call other macros, the term parsed
360 In the following, we call an
362 macro which starts a line (with a leading dot) a
364 if this distinction is necessary.
366 .Ss "Passing Space Characters in an Argument"
368 Sometimes it is desirable to give as an argument a string containing one or
369 more blank space characters, say, to specify arguments to commands which
370 expect particular arrangement of items in the argument list.
371 Additionally, it makes
374 For example, the function command
376 expects the first argument to be the name of a function and any remaining
377 arguments to be function parameters.
380 stipulates the declaration of function parameters in the parenthesized
381 parameter list, each parameter is guaranteed to be at minimum a two word
386 There are two possible ways to pass an argument which contains
388 One way of passing a string containing blank spaces is to use the hard or
389 unpaddable space character
391 that is, a blank space preceded by the escape character
393 This method may be used with any macro but has the side effect of
394 interfering with the adjustment of text over the length of a line.
396 sees the hard space as if it were any other printable character and cannot
397 split the string into blank or newline separated pieces as one would expect.
398 This method is useful for strings which are not expected to overlap a line
400 An alternative is to use
402 a paddable (i.e.\& stretchable), unbreakable space (this is a
406 The second method is to enclose the string with double quotes.
410 .Bl -tag -width ".Fn fetch char\ *str" -offset indent
411 .It Fn fetch char\ *str
413 .Ql ".Fn fetch char\e *str"
414 .It Fn fetch "char *str"
415 can also be created by
416 .Ql ".Fn fetch \*[q]char *str\*[q]"
422 before the space in the first example
423 or double quotes in the second example
426 would see three arguments, and the result would be:
428 .Dl Fn fetch char *str
430 .\" For an example of what happens when the parameter list overlaps a newline
431 .\" boundary, see the
435 .Ss "Trailing Blank Space Characters"
438 can be confused by blank space characters at the end of a line.
439 It is a wise preventive measure to globally remove all blank spaces
441 .Ao blank-space Ac Ns Ao end-of-line Ac
443 Should the need arise to use a blank character at the end of a line, it
444 may be forced with an unpaddable space and the
450 .Ss "Escaping Special Characters"
452 Special characters like the newline character
454 are handled by replacing the
460 to preserve the backslash.
462 .Ss "Other Possible Pitfalls"
464 A warning is emitted when an empty input line is found outside of displays
469 (Well, it is even better to use
471 macros to avoid the usage of low-level commands.)
473 Leading spaces will cause a break and are output directly.
474 Avoid this behaviour if possible.
475 Similarly, do not use more than one space character between words in an
476 ordinary text line; contrary to other text formatters, they are
478 replaced with a single space.
482 directly as an argument.
491 inserts two space characters after a punctuation mark closing a sentence;
496 are treated transparently, not influencing the sentence-ending behaviour.
497 To change this, insert
499 before or after the dot:
501 .Bd -literal -offset indent
520 .Bd -filled -offset indent
537 As can be seen in the first and third line,
539 handles punctuation characters specially in macro arguments.
540 This will be explained in section
543 In the same way, you have to protect trailing full stops of abbreviations
544 with a trailing zero-width space:
547 A comment in the source file of a man page can be either started with
553 anywhere (the latter is a
556 extension); the rest of such a line is ignored.
559 .Sh "A MANUAL PAGE TEMPLATE"
561 The body of a man page is easily constructed from a basic template:
563 .Bd -literal -offset indent
564 \&.\e" The following commands are required for all man pages.
565 \&.Dd Month day, year
566 \&.Dt DOCUMENT_TITLE [section number] [architecture/volume]
567 \&.Os [OPERATING_SYSTEM] [version/release]
570 \&.Nd one line description of name
571 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 2 and 3 only.
575 \&.\e" The following commands should be uncommented and
576 \&.\e" used where appropriate.
577 \&.\e" .Sh IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
578 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 2, 3 and 9 function
579 \&.\e" return values only.
580 \&.\e" .Sh RETURN VALUES
581 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 1, 6, 7 and 8 only.
582 \&.\e" .Sh ENVIRONMENT
585 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 1, 6, 7, 8 and 9 only
586 \&.\e" (command return values (to shell) and
587 \&.\e" fprintf/stderr type diagnostics).
588 \&.\e" .Sh DIAGNOSTICS
589 \&.\e" .Sh COMPATIBILITY
590 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 2, 3 and 9 error
591 \&.\e" and signal handling only.
601 The first items in the template are the commands
606 the document date, the operating system the man page or subject source is
607 developed or modified for, and the man page title (in
609 along with the section of the manual the page belongs in.
610 These commands identify the page and are discussed below in
613 The remaining items in the template are section headers
621 The headers are discussed in
622 .Sx "PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN" ,
623 after presentation of
624 .Sx "MANUAL DOMAIN" .
625 Several content macros are used to demonstrate page layout macros; reading
626 about content macros before page layout macros is recommended.
631 In the description of all macros below, optional arguments are put into
635 represents zero or more additional arguments.
636 Alternative values for a parameter are separated with
638 If there are alternative values for a mandatory parameter, braces are used
641 to enclose the value set.
642 Meta-variables are specified within angles.
646 .Bl -tag -width 6n -offset indent
650 .Op \-test1 Op \-test2 | \-test3
656 Except stated explicitly, all macros are parsed and callable.
658 Note that a macro takes effect up to the next nested macro.
665 Consequently, a warning message is emitted for most commands if the first
666 argument is a macro itself since it cancels the effect of the calling
668 Another consequence is that quoting macros never insert literal quotes;
671 .Ql ".Ic \*[q]foo <bar>\*[q]" .
673 Most macros have a default width value which can be used to specify a label
683 It is recommended not to use this rather obscure feature to avoid
684 dependencies on local modifications of the
691 The title macros are part of the page structure domain but are presented
692 first and separately for someone who wishes to start writing a man page
694 Three header macros designate the document title or manual page title, the
695 operating system, and the date of authorship.
696 These macros are called once at the very beginning of the document and are
697 used to construct headers and footers only.
701 .Op Aq document title
702 .Op Aq section number
705 The document title is the subject of the man page and must be in
707 due to troff limitations.
711 The section number may be a number in the range
712 .No 1,\~ Ns ... Ns ,\~9
718 If it is specified, and no volume name is given, a default volume name is
723 .Tn \*[operating-system] ,
724 the following sections are defined:
726 .Bl -column LOCAL -offset indent -compact
727 .It Li 1 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-1]"
728 .It Li 2 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-2]"
729 .It Li 3 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-3]"
730 .It Li 4 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-4]"
731 .It Li 5 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-5]"
732 .It Li 6 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-6]"
733 .It Li 7 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-7]"
734 .It Li 8 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-8]"
735 .It Li 9 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-9]"
739 A volume name may be arbitrary or one of the following:
742 .Bl -column LOCAL -offset indent -compact
743 .It Li USD Ta "\*[volume-ds-USD]"
744 .It Li PS1 Ta "\*[volume-ds-PS1]"
745 .It Li AMD Ta "\*[volume-ds-AMD]"
746 .It Li SMM Ta "\*[volume-ds-SMM]"
747 .It Li URM Ta "\*[volume-ds-URM]"
748 .It Li PRM Ta "\*[volume-ds-PRM]"
749 .It Li KM Ta "\*[volume-ds-KM]"
750 .It Li IND Ta "\*[volume-ds-IND]"
751 .It Li LOCAL Ta "\*[volume-ds-LOCAL]"
752 .It Li CON Ta "\*[volume-ds-CON]"
764 Values from the previous table will specify a new volume name.
765 If the third parameter is a keyword designating a computer architecture,
766 its value is prepended to the default volume name as specified by the
768 By default, the following architecture keywords are defined:
770 \# we use `No' to avoid hyphenation
771 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
772 .No acorn26 , acorn32 , algor , alpha , amd64 , amiga , amigappc ,
773 .No arc , arm , arm26 , arm32 , armish , atari , aviion ,
774 .No beagle , bebox , cats , cesfic , cobalt , dreamcast ,
775 .No emips , evbarm , evbmips , evbppc , evbsh3 , ews4800mips ,
776 .No hp300 , hp700 , hpcarm , hpcmips , hpcsh , hppa , hppa64 ,
777 .No i386 , ia64 , ibmnws , iyonix , landisk , loongson , luna68k , luna88k ,
778 .No m68k , mac68k , macppc , mips , mips64 , mipsco , mmeye ,
779 .No mvme68k , mvme88k , mvmeppc , netwinder , news68k , newsmips , next68k ,
780 .No ofppc , palm , pc532 , playstation2 , pmax , pmppc , powerpc , prep ,
781 .No rs6000 , sandpoint , sbmips , sgi , sgimips , sh3 , shark ,
782 .No socppc , solbourne , sparc , sparc64 , sun2 , sun3 ,
783 .No tahoe , vax , x68k , x86_64 , xen , zaurus
787 If the section number is neither a numeric expression in the range 1 to\~9
788 nor one of the above described keywords, the third parameter is used
789 verbatim as the volume name.
791 In the following examples, the left (which is identical to the right) and
792 the middle part of the manual page header strings are shown.
795 prevents the digit\~7 from being a valid numeric expression.
798 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Dt\ FOO\ 2\ i386" -compact -offset indent
801 .Ql \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-7]
802 .It Li ".Dt FOO 7 bar"
804 .Ql \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-7]
805 .It Li ".Dt FOO \e&7 bar"
808 .It Li ".Dt FOO 2 i386"
810 .Ql \*[volume-operating-system]/\*[volume-as-i386] \*[volume-ds-2]
811 .It Li ".Dt FOO \*[q]\*[q] bar"
818 Local, OS-specific additions might be found in the file
820 look for strings named
822 (for the former type) and
824 (for the latter type);
826 then denotes the keyword to be used with the
830 This macro is neither callable nor parsed.
833 .Op Aq operating system
836 If the first parameter is empty,
838 .Sq Tn "\*[operating-system]"
840 This may be overridden in the local configuration file,
842 In general, the name of the operating system should be the common acronym,
847 The release should be the standard release nomenclature for the system
849 In the following table, the possible second arguments for some predefined
850 operating systems are listed.
853 local additions might be defined in
855 look for strings named
856 .Ql operating\-system\-XXX\-YYY ,
859 is the acronym for the operating system and
864 .Bl -tag -width ".No DragonFly" -offset indent
866 7th, 7, III, 3, V, V.2, V.3, V.4
868 3, 4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.3t, 4.3T, 4.3r, 4.3R, 4.4
870 0.8, 0.8a, 0.9, 0.9a, 1.0, 1.0a, 1.1, 1.2, 1.2a, 1.2b, 1.2c, 1.2d, 1.2e,
871 1.3, 1.3a, 1.4, 1.4.1, 1.4.2, 1.4.3, 1.5, 1.5.1, 1.5.2, 1.5.3, 1.6, 1.6.1,
872 1.6.2, 1.6.3, 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3, 2.1, 3.0, 3.0.1, 3.0.2, 3.0.3,
873 3.1, 3.1.1, 4.0, 4.0.1, 5.0, 5.0.1, 5.0.2, 5.1, 6.0
875 1.0, 1.1, 1.1.5, 1.1.5.1, 2.0, 2.0.5, 2.1, 2.1.5, 2.1.6, 2.1.7, 2.2, 2.2.1,
876 2.2.2, 2.2.5, 2.2.6, 2.2.7, 2.2.8, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 4.0, 4.1,
877 4.1.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 5.0, 5.1,
878 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 8.0,
881 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4,
882 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9,
885 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 1.8.1, 1.10, 1.12, 1.12.2, 2.0, 2.2,
886 2.4, 2.6, 2.8, 2.9, 2.9.1, 2.10, 2.10.1, 2.11
888 8.0.0, 8.1.0, 8.2.0, 8.3.0, 8.4.0, 8.5.0, 8.6.0, 8.7.0, 8.8.0, 8.9.0,
889 8.10.0, 8.11.0, 9.0.0, 9.1.0, 9.2.0, 9.3.0, 9.4.0, 9.5.0, 9.6.0, 9.7.0,
890 9.8.0, 10.1.0, 10.2.0, 10.3.0, 10.4.0, 10.5.0, 10.6.0, 10.7.0, 11.0.0
897 an unknown second parameter will be replaced with the string
899 for the other predefined acronyms it will be ignored and a warning message
901 Unrecognized arguments are displayed as given in the page footer.
902 For instance, a typical footer might be:
907 .Ql 4.3\~Berkeley Distribution ,
908 or for a locally produced set
910 .Dl .Os CS Department
917 macro is not present, the bottom left corner of the manual page will be
920 This macro is neither callable nor parsed.
931 is used for the date string.
932 If it has exactly three arguments, they are concatenated, separated with
935 .Dl .Dd January 25, 2001
937 The month's name shall not be abbreviated.
939 With any other number of arguments, the current date is used, ignoring
942 This macro is neither callable nor parsed.
946 .Sh "INTRODUCTION OF MANUAL AND GENERAL TEXT DOMAINS"
948 .Ss "What's in a Name" Ns ...
950 The manual domain macro names are derived from the day to day informal
951 language used to describe commands, subroutines and related files.
952 Slightly different variations of this language are used to describe the
953 three different aspects of writing a man page.
954 First, there is the description of
957 Second is the description of a
962 macros, and third, the description of a command to a user in the verbal
963 sense; that is, discussion of a command in the text of a man page.
967 macros are themselves a type of command; the general syntax for a troff
970 .Bd -filled -offset indent
971 .Li ".Xx argument1 argument2" ...
976 is a macro command, and anything following it are arguments to
978 In the second case, the description of a
980 command using the content macros is a bit more involved; a typical
982 command line might be displayed as:
984 .Bd -filled -offset indent
987 .Ao Ar infile Ac Ao Ar outfile Ac
993 is the command name and the
998 argument designated as optional by the option brackets.
1006 .Em meta arguments ;
1007 in this example, the user has to replace the meta expressions given in angle
1008 brackets with real file names.
1009 Note that in this document meta arguments are used to describe
1011 commands; in most man pages, meta variables are not specifically written
1012 with angle brackets.
1013 The macros which formatted the above example:
1015 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1018 \&.Ao Ar infile Ac Ao Ar outfile Ac
1022 In the third case, discussion of commands and command syntax includes both
1023 examples above, but may add more detail.
1028 from the example above might be referred to as
1031 .Em file arguments .
1032 Some command line argument lists are quite long:
1035 .Bl -tag -width ".Nm make" -offset indent -compact
1038 .Op Fl D Ar variable
1040 .Op Fl f Ar makefile
1041 .Op Fl I Ar directory
1042 .Op Fl j Ar max_jobs
1043 .Op Ar variable Ns = Ns Ar value
1051 Here one might talk about the command
1053 and qualify the argument,
1055 as an argument to the flag,
1057 or discuss the optional file operand
1059 In the verbal context, such detail can prevent confusion, however the
1061 package does not have a macro for an argument
1066 argument macro is used for an operand or file argument like
1068 as well as an argument to a flag like
1070 The make command line was produced from:
1072 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1075 \&.Op Fl D Ar variable
1077 \&.Op Fl f Ar makefile
1078 \&.Op Fl I Ar directory
1079 \&.Op Fl j Ar max_jobs
1080 \&.Op Ar variable Ns = Ns Ar value
1091 macros are explained in
1094 .Ss "General Syntax"
1096 The manual domain and general text domain macros share a similar syntax with
1097 a few minor deviations; most notably,
1103 differ only when called without arguments; and
1107 impose an order on their argument lists.
1108 All content macros are capable of recognizing and properly handling
1109 punctuation, provided each punctuation character is separated by a leading
1111 If a command is given:
1113 .Dl \&.Ar sptr, ptr),
1119 The punctuation is not recognized and all is output in the
1122 If the punctuation is separated by a leading white space:
1124 .Dl \&.Ar "sptr , ptr ) ,"
1128 .Dl Ar sptr , ptr ) ,
1130 The punctuation is now recognized and output in the default font
1131 distinguishing it from the argument strings.
1132 To remove the special meaning from a punctuation character escape it with
1135 The following punctuation characters are recognized by
1138 .Bl -column -offset indent-two XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX
1139 .It Li .\& Ta Li ,\& Ta Li :\& Ta Li ;\& Ta Li (\&
1140 .It Li )\& Ta Li [\& Ta Li ]\& Ta Li ?\& Ta Li !\&
1145 is limited as a macro language, and has difficulty when presented with a
1146 string containing a member of the mathematical, logical or quotation set:
1148 .Bd -literal -offset indent-two
1149 {+,\-,/,*,%,<,>,<=,>=,=,==,&,`,',"}
1155 may assume it is supposed to actually perform the operation or evaluation
1156 suggested by the characters.
1157 To prevent the accidental evaluation of these characters, escape them with
1159 Typical syntax is shown in the first content macro displayed below,
1167 The address macro identifies an address construct.
1169 .Dl Usage: .Ad Ao address Ac ...
1171 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ad\ f1\ ,\ f2\ ,\ f3\ :" -compact -offset 15n
1174 .It Li ".Ad addr1 ."
1176 .It Li ".Ad addr1 , file2"
1178 .It Li ".Ad f1 , f2 , f3 :"
1180 .It Li ".Ad addr ) ) ,"
1185 The default width is 12n.
1191 macro is used to specify the name of the author of the item being
1192 documented, or the name of the author of the actual manual page.
1194 .Dl Usage: .An Ao author name Ac ...
1196 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .An\ \*[q]Joe\ Author\*[q]\ )\ )\ ," -offset 15n
1197 .It Li ".An \*[q]Joe Author\*[q]"
1199 .It Li ".An \*[q]Joe Author\*[q] ,"
1201 .It Li ".An \*[q]Joe Author\*[q] Aq nobody@FreeBSD.org"
1202 .An "Joe Author" Aq nobody@FreeBSD.org
1203 .It Li ".An \*[q]Joe Author\*[q] ) ) ,"
1204 .An "Joe Author" ) ) ,
1208 The default width is 12n.
1214 command causes a line break allowing each new name to appear on its own
1216 If this is not desirable,
1218 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1223 call will turn this off.
1224 To turn splitting back on, write
1226 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1234 argument macro may be used whenever an argument is referenced.
1235 If called without arguments, the
1239 .Dl Usage: .Ar Oo Ao argument Ac Oc ...
1241 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ar\ file1\ file2" -compact -offset 15n
1246 .It Li ".Ar file1 ."
1248 .It Li ".Ar file1 file2"
1250 .It Li ".Ar f1 f2 f3 :"
1252 .It Li ".Ar file ) ) ,"
1257 The default width is 12n.
1259 .Ss "Configuration Declaration (Section Four Only)"
1263 macro is used to demonstrate a
1265 declaration for a device interface in a section four manual.
1267 .Dl Usage: .Cd Ao argument Ac ...
1269 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Cd\ Xdevice\ le0\ at\ scode?X" -offset 15n
1270 .It Li ".Cd \*[q]device le0 at scode?\*[q]"
1271 .Cd "device le0 at scode?"
1278 command causes a line break before and after its arguments are printed.
1281 The default width is 12n.
1283 .Ss "Command Modifiers"
1285 The command modifier is identical to the
1287 (flag) command with the exception that the
1289 macro does not assert a dash in front of every argument.
1290 Traditionally flags are marked by the preceding dash, however, some commands
1291 or subsets of commands do not use them.
1292 Command modifiers may also be specified in conjunction with interactive
1293 commands such as editor commands.
1297 The default width is 10n.
1299 .Ss "Defined Variables"
1301 A variable (or constant) which is defined in an include file
1302 is specified by the macro
1305 .Dl Usage: .Dv Ao defined variable Ac ...
1307 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Dv\ MAXHOSTNAMELEN" -compact -offset 15n
1308 .It Li ".Dv MAXHOSTNAMELEN"
1310 .It Li ".Dv TIOCGPGRP )"
1315 The default width is 12n.
1321 errno macro specifies the error return value for section 2, 3, and\~9 library
1323 The second example below shows
1327 general text domain macro, as it would be used in a section two manual page.
1329 .Dl Usage: .Er Ao errno type Ac ...
1331 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bq\ Er\ ENOTDIR" -compact -offset 15n
1334 .It Li ".Er ENOENT ) ;"
1336 .It Li ".Bq Er ENOTDIR"
1341 The default width is 17n.
1343 .Ss "Environment Variables"
1347 macro specifies an environment variable.
1349 .Dl Usage: .Ev Ao argument Ac ...
1351 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ev\ PRINTER\ )\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1352 .It Li ".Ev DISPLAY"
1356 .It Li ".Ev PRINTER ) ) ,"
1361 The default width is 15n.
1367 macro handles command line flags.
1371 For interactive command flags, which are not prepended with a dash, the
1374 macro is identical, but without the dash.
1376 .Dl Usage: .Fl Ao argument Ac ...
1378 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fl\ xyz\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1391 .It Li ".Fl xyz ) ,"
1399 macro without any arguments results in a dash representing stdin/stdout.
1402 a single dash will result in two dashes.
1404 The default width is 12n.
1406 .Ss "Function Declarations"
1410 macro is used in the
1412 section with section two or three functions.
1413 It is neither callable nor parsed.
1415 .Dl Usage: .Fd Ao argument Ac ...
1417 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fd\ X#include\ <sys/types.h>X" -compact -offset 15n
1418 .It Li ".Fd \*[q]#include <sys/types.h>\*[q]"
1419 .Fd "#include <sys/types.h>"
1426 command causes a line break if a function has already been presented and a
1427 break has not occurred.
1428 This leaves a nice vertical space in between the previous function call and
1429 the declaration for the next function.
1436 section, represents the
1438 statement, and is the short form of the above example.
1439 It specifies the C\~header file as being included in a C\~program.
1440 It also causes a line break.
1444 section, it represents the header file enclosed in angle brackets.
1446 .Dl Usage: .In Ao header file Ac
1448 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .In\ stdio.h" -compact -offset 15n
1449 .nr in-synopsis-section 1
1450 .It Li ".In stdio.h"
1452 .nr in-synopsis-section 0
1453 .It Li ".In stdio.h"
1457 .Ss "Function Types"
1459 This macro is intended for the
1462 It may be used anywhere else in the man page without problems, but its main
1463 purpose is to present the function type in kernel normal form for the
1465 of sections two and three (it causes a line break, allowing the function
1466 name to appear on the next line).
1468 .Dl Usage: .Ft Ao type Ac ...
1470 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ft\ struct\ stat" -compact -offset 15n
1471 .It Li ".Ft struct stat"
1475 .Ss "Functions (Library Routines)"
1483 .Dl Usage: .Fn Ao function Ac Oo Ao parameter Ac Oc ...
1485 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fn\ align\ Xchar\ *ptrX\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1486 .It Li ".Fn getchar"
1488 .It Li ".Fn strlen ) ,"
1490 .It Li ".Fn align \*[q]char *ptr\*[q] ,"
1491 .Fn align "char *ptr" ,
1494 Note that any call to another macro signals the end of the
1496 call (it will insert a closing parenthesis at that point).
1498 For functions with many parameters (which is rare), the macros
1506 (function argument).
1510 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1519 \&.Fa "struct rrec *newrr"
1528 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
1537 .Fa "struct rrec *newrr"
1546 section, the function will always begin at the beginning of line.
1547 If there is more than one function presented in the
1549 section and a function type has not been given, a line break will occur,
1550 leaving a nice vertical space between the current function name and the one
1553 The default width values of
1557 are 12n and 16n, respectively.
1559 .Ss "Function Arguments"
1563 macro is used to refer to function arguments (parameters) outside of the
1565 section of the manual or inside the
1567 section if the enclosure macros
1575 may also be used to refer to structure members.
1577 .Dl Usage: .Fa Ao function argument Ac ...
1579 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fa\ d_namlen\ )\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1580 .It Li ".Fa d_namlen ) ) ,"
1582 .It Li ".Fa iov_len"
1587 The default width is 12n.
1593 macro generates text for use in the
1597 .Dl Usage: .Rv Oo \-std Oc Op Ao function Ac ...
1600 .Ql ".Rv \-std atexit"
1603 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
1604 \# a small hack to suppress a warning message
1605 .ds section-old "\*[section]
1608 .ds section "\*[section-old]
1614 option is valid only for manual page sections\~2 and\~3.
1615 Currently, this macro does nothing if used without the
1623 macro generates text for use in the
1627 .Dl Usage: .Ex Oo \-std Oc Op Ao utility Ac ...
1633 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
1634 \# a small hack to suppress a warning message
1635 .ds section-old "\*[section]
1638 .ds section "\*[section-old]
1644 option is valid only for manual page sections 1, 6 and\~8.
1645 Currently, this macro does nothing if used without the
1649 .Ss "Interactive Commands"
1653 macro designates an interactive or internal command.
1655 .Dl Usage: .Ic Ao argument Ac ...
1657 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ic\ setenv\ ,\ unsetenv" -compact -offset 15n
1660 .It Li ".Ic \*[q]do while {...}\*[q]"
1661 .Ic "do while {...}"
1662 .It Li ".Ic setenv , unsetenv"
1663 .Ic setenv , unsetenv
1667 The default width is 12n.
1673 macro is used to specify the library where a particular function is compiled
1676 .Dl Usage: .Lb Ao argument Ac ...
1678 Available arguments to
1680 and their results are:
1683 .Bl -tag -width ".Li librpcsec_gss" -compact -offset indent
1790 .It Li librpcsec_gss
1827 Local, OS-specific additions might be found in the file
1829 look for strings named
1832 then denotes the keyword to be used with the
1840 command causes a line break before and after its arguments are printed.
1847 literal macro may be used for special characters, variable constants, etc.\&
1848 \- anything which should be displayed as it would be typed.
1850 .Dl Usage: .Li Ao argument Ac ...
1852 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Li\ cntrl\-D\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1855 .It Li ".Li M1 M2 M3 ;"
1857 .It Li ".Li cntrl\-D ) ,"
1859 .It Li ".Li 1024 ..."
1864 The default width is 16n.
1870 macro is used for the document title or subject name.
1871 It has the peculiarity of remembering the first argument it was called with,
1872 which should always be the subject name of the page.
1873 When called without arguments,
1875 regurgitates this initial name for the sole purpose of making less work for
1878 causes a line break within the
1882 Note: A section two or three document function name is addressed with the
1890 and remaining sections.
1891 For interactive commands, such as the
1897 macro should be used.
1903 it can not recall the first argument it was invoked with.
1905 .Dl Usage: .Nm Oo Ao argument Ac Oc ...
1907 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Nm\ groff_mdoc" -compact -offset 15n
1908 .It Li ".Nm groff_mdoc"
1910 .It Li ".Nm \e\-mdoc"
1912 .It Li ".Nm foo ) ) ,"
1919 The default width is 10n.
1925 macro places option brackets around any remaining arguments on the
1926 command line, and places any trailing punctuation outside the brackets.
1931 (which produce an opening and a closing option bracket respectively) may be used
1932 across one or more lines or to specify the exact position of the closing
1935 .Dl Usage: .Op Oo Ao option Ac Oc ...
1937 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Op\ Fl\ c\ Ar\ objfil\ Op\ Ar\ corfil\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1942 .It Li ".Op Fl k ) ."
1944 .It Li ".Op Fl k Ar kookfile"
1945 .Op Fl k Ar kookfile
1946 .It Li ".Op Fl k Ar kookfile ,"
1947 .Op Fl k Ar kookfile ,
1948 .It Li ".Op Ar objfil Op Ar corfil"
1949 .Op Ar objfil Op Ar corfil
1950 .It Li ".Op Fl c Ar objfil Op Ar corfil ,"
1951 .Op Fl c Ar objfil Op Ar corfil ,
1952 .It Li ".Op word1 word2"
1954 .It Li ".Li .Op Oo Ao option Ac Oc ..."
1955 .Li .Op Oo Ao option Ac Oc ...
1958 Here a typical example of the
1964 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1966 \&.Op Fl k Ar kilobytes
1967 \&.Op Fl i Ar interval
1975 .Bd -filled -offset indent
1977 .Op Fl k Ar kilobytes
1978 .Op Fl i Ar interval
1984 The default width values of
1988 are 14n and 10n, respectively.
1994 macro formats path or file names.
1995 If called without arguments, the
1997 string is output, which represents the current user's home directory.
1999 .Dl Usage: .Pa Oo Ao pathname Ac Oc ...
2001 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Pa\ /tmp/fooXXXXX\ )\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2004 .It Li ".Pa /usr/share"
2006 .It Li ".Pa /tmp/fooXXXXX ) ."
2007 .Pa /tmp/fooXXXXX ) .
2011 The default width is 32n.
2017 macro replaces standard abbreviations with their formal names.
2019 .Dl Usage: .St Ao abbreviation Ac ...
2022 .Dq Abbreviation/Formal Name
2028 .Bl -tag -width ".Li \-p1003.1g\-2000" -compact -offset indent
2047 .Bl -tag -width ".Li \-p1003.1g\-2000" -compact -offset indent
2048 .It Li \-iso9945\-1\-90
2050 .It Li \-iso9945\-1\-96
2054 .It Li \-p1003.1\-88
2056 .It Li \-p1003.1\-90
2058 .It Li \-p1003.1\-96
2060 .It Li \-p1003.1b\-93
2062 .It Li \-p1003.1c\-95
2064 .It Li \-p1003.1g\-2000
2066 .It Li \-p1003.1i\-95
2068 .It Li \-p1003.1\-2001
2070 .It Li \-p1003.1\-2004
2072 .It Li \-p1003.1\-2008
2078 Part 2: Shell and Utilities
2080 .Bl -tag -width ".Li \-p1003.1g\-2000" -compact -offset indent
2081 .It Li \-iso9945\-2\-93
2085 .It Li \-p1003.2\-92
2087 .It Li \-p1003.2a\-92
2094 .Bl -tag -width ".Li \-p1003.1g\-2000" -compact -offset indent
2124 .Bl -tag -width ".Li \-p1003.1g\-2000" -compact -offset indent
2131 .Ss "Variable Types"
2135 macro may be used whenever a type is referenced.
2138 section, it causes a line break (useful for old style variable declarations).
2140 .Dl Usage: .Vt Ao type Ac ...
2142 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Vt\ extern\ char\ *optarg\ ;" -compact -offset 15n
2143 .It Li ".Vt extern char *optarg ;"
2144 .Vt extern char *optarg ;
2151 Generic variable reference.
2153 .Dl Usage: .Va Ao variable Ac ...
2155 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Va\ Xchar\ sX\ ]\ )\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
2158 .It Li ".Va settimer ,"
2160 .It Li ".Va \*[q]int *prt\*[q] ) :"
2162 .It Li ".Va \*[q]char s\*[q] ] ) ) ,"
2163 .Va "char s" ] ) ) ,
2167 The default width is 12n.
2169 .Ss "Manual Page Cross References"
2173 macro expects the first argument to be a manual page name.
2174 The optional second argument, if a string (defining the manual section), is
2175 put into parentheses.
2177 .Dl Usage: .Xr Ao man page name Ac Oo Ao section Ac Oc ...
2179 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Xr\ xinit\ 1x\ ;" -compact -offset 15n
2186 .It Li ".Xr xinit 1x ;"
2191 The default width is 10n.
2194 .Sh "GENERAL TEXT DOMAIN"
2199 .Dl Usage: .At Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2201 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .At\ v6\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2208 The following values for
2212 .Dl 32v, v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, V, V.1, V.2, V.3, V.4
2217 .Dl "Usage: .Bx" Bro \-alpha | \-beta | \-devel Brc ...
2218 .Dl " .Bx" Oo Ao version Ac Oo Ao release Ac Oc Oc ...
2220 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bx\ -devel" -compact -offset 15n
2225 .It Li ".Bx \-devel"
2230 will be prepended to the string
2232 The following values for
2236 .Dl Reno, reno, Tahoe, tahoe, Lite, lite, Lite2, lite2
2241 .Dl Usage: .Nx Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2243 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Nx\ 1.4\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2250 For possible values of
2252 see the description of the
2254 command above in section
2255 .Sx "TITLE MACROS" .
2260 .Dl Usage: .Fx Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2262 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fx\ 2.2\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2269 For possible values of
2271 see the description of the
2273 command above in section
2274 .Sx "TITLE MACROS" .
2276 .Ss "DragonFly Macro"
2279 .Dl Usage: .Dx Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2281 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Dx\ 1.4\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2288 For possible values of
2290 see the description of the
2292 command above in section
2293 .Sx "TITLE MACROS" .
2298 .Dl Usage: .Ox Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2300 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ox\ 1.0" -compact -offset 15n
2308 .Dl Usage: .Bsx Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2310 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bsx\ 1.0" -compact -offset 15n
2320 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ux" -compact -offset 15n
2325 .Ss "Emphasis Macro"
2327 Text may be stressed or emphasized with the
2330 The usual font for emphasis is italic.
2332 .Dl Usage: .Em Ao argument Ac ...
2334 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Em\ vide\ infra\ )\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
2335 .It Li ".Em does not"
2337 .It Li ".Em exceed 1024 ."
2339 .It Li ".Em vide infra ) ) ,"
2340 .Em vide infra ) ) ,
2344 The default width is 10n.
2350 font mode must be ended with the
2352 macro (the latter takes no arguments).
2353 Font modes may be nested within other font modes.
2356 has the following syntax:
2358 .Dl .Bf Ao font mode Ac
2361 must be one of the following three types:
2363 .Bl -tag -width ".Sy \&Sy | Fl symbolic" -compact -offset indent
2364 .It Sy \&Em | Fl emphasis
2367 macro was used for the entire block of text.
2368 .It Sy \&Li | Fl literal
2371 macro was used for the entire block of text.
2372 .It Sy \&Sy | Fl symbolic
2375 macro was used for the entire block of text.
2378 Both macros are neither callable nor parsed.
2380 .Ss "Enclosure and Quoting Macros"
2382 The concept of enclosure is similar to quoting.
2383 The object being to enclose one or more strings between a pair of characters
2384 like quotes or parentheses.
2385 The terms quoting and enclosure are used interchangeably throughout this
2387 Most of the one-line enclosure macros end in small letter
2389 to give a hint of quoting, but there are a few irregularities.
2390 For each enclosure macro there is also a pair of open and close macros which
2391 end in small letters
2401 .Bd -filled -offset 4n
2402 .Bl -column "quote" "close" "open" "Angle Bracket Enclosure" "`string' or string"
2403 .Em Quote Ta Em Open Ta Em Close Ta Em Function Ta Em Result
2404 .No .Aq Ta .Ao Ta .Ac Ta "Angle Bracket Enclosure" Ta Ao string Ac
2405 .No .Bq Ta .Bo Ta .Bc Ta "Bracket Enclosure" Ta Bo string Bc
2406 .No .Brq Ta .Bro Ta .Brc Ta "Brace Enclosure" Ta Bro string Brc
2407 .No .Dq Ta .Do Ta .Dc Ta "Double Quote" Ta Do string Dc
2408 .No .Eq Ta .Eo Ta .Ec Ta "Enclose String (in XX)" Ta XXstringXX
2409 .No .Pq Ta .Po Ta .Pc Ta "Parenthesis Enclosure" Ta Po string Pc
2410 .No .Ql Ta Ta Ta "Quoted Literal" Ta So string Sc or Li string
2411 .No .Qq Ta .Qo Ta .Qc Ta "Straight Double Quote" Ta Qo string Qc
2412 .No .Sq Ta .So Ta .Sc Ta "Single Quote" Ta So string Sc
2416 All macros ending with
2420 have a default width value of 12n.
2422 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ec , .Eo"
2424 These macros expect the first argument to be the opening and closing strings
2427 Due to the nine-argument limit in the original troff program two other
2428 macros have been implemented which are now rather obsolete:
2430 takes the first and second parameter as the left and right enclosure string,
2431 which are then used to enclose the arguments of
2433 The default width value is 12n for both macros.
2435 The first and second arguments of this macro are the opening and
2436 closing strings respectively, followed by the arguments to be enclosed.
2438 The quoted literal macro behaves differently in troff and nroff mode.
2441 a quoted literal is always quoted.
2442 If formatted with troff, an item is only quoted if the width of the item is
2443 less than three constant width characters.
2444 This is to make short strings more visible where the font change to literal
2445 (constant width) is less noticeable.
2447 The default width is 16n.
2449 The prefix macro suppresses the whitespace between its first and second
2452 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Pf\ (\ Fa\ name2" -offset indent
2453 .It Li ".Pf ( Fa name2"
2458 The default width is 12n.
2462 macro (see below) performs the analogous suffix function.
2466 macro inserts an apostrophe and exits any special text modes, continuing in
2472 Examples of quoting:
2475 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bq\ Em\ Greek\ ,\ French\ ." -compact -offset indent
2478 .It Li ".Aq Pa ctype.h ) ,"
2482 .It Li ".Bq Em Greek , French ."
2483 .Bq Em Greek , French .
2486 .It Li ".Dq string abc ."
2488 .It Li ".Dq \'^[A\-Z]\'"
2490 .It Li ".Ql man mdoc"
2494 .It Li ".Qq string ) ,"
2496 .It Li ".Qq string Ns ),"
2502 .It Li ".Em or Ap ing"
2507 For a good example of nested enclosure macros, see the
2510 It was created from the same underlying enclosure macros as those presented
2516 extended argument list macros are discussed below.
2518 .Ss "No-Op or Normal Text Macro"
2522 macro can be used in a macro command line for parameters which should
2529 if you really want that English word (and not the macro) as a parameter.
2531 .Dl Usage: .No Ao argument Ac ...
2533 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .No\ test\ Ta\ with\ Ta\ tabs" -compact -offset 15n
2534 .It Li ".No test Ta with Ta tabs"
2535 .No test Ta with Ta tabs
2539 The default width is 12n.
2541 .Ss "No-Space Macro"
2545 macro suppresses insertion of a space between the current position and its
2547 For example, it is useful for old style argument lists where there is no
2548 space between the flag and argument:
2550 .Dl "Usage:" ... Ao argument Ac \&Ns Oo Ao argument Ac Oc ...
2551 .Dl " " .Ns Ao argument Ac ...
2553 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Op\ Fl\ I\ Ns\ Ar\ directory" -compact -offset 15n
2554 .It Li ".Op Fl I Ns Ar directory"
2555 .Op Fl I Ns Ar directory
2560 macro always invokes the
2562 macro after eliminating the space unless another macro name follows it.
2563 If used as a command (i.e., the second form above in the
2570 .Ss "Section Cross References"
2574 macro designates a reference to a section header within the same document.
2576 .Dl Usage: .Sx Ao section reference Ac ...
2578 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Sx\ FILES" -offset 15n
2584 The default width is 16n.
2588 The symbolic emphasis macro is generally a boldface macro in either the
2589 symbolic sense or the traditional English usage.
2591 .Dl Usage: .Sy Ao symbol Ac ...
2593 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Sy\ Important\ Notice" -compact -offset 15n
2594 .It Li ".Sy Important Notice"
2595 .Sy Important Notice
2599 The default width is 6n.
2601 .Ss Mathematical Symbols
2603 Use this macro for mathematical symbols and similar things.
2605 .Dl Usage: .Ms Ao math symbol Ac ...
2607 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ms\ sigma" -compact -offset 15n
2613 The default width is 6n.
2615 .Ss "References and Citations"
2617 The following macros make a modest attempt to handle references.
2618 At best, the macros make it convenient to manually drop in a subset of
2622 .Bl -tag -width 6n -offset indent -compact
2624 Reference start (does not take arguments).
2625 Causes a line break in the
2627 section and begins collection of reference information until the reference
2630 Reference end (does not take arguments).
2631 The reference is printed.
2633 Reference author name; one name per invocation.
2637 City/place (not implemented yet).
2641 Issuer/publisher name.
2647 Optional information.
2651 Corporate or foreign author.
2657 Optional hypertext reference.
2662 Macros beginning with
2664 are not callable but accept multiple arguments in the usual way.
2667 macro is handled properly as a parameter; other macros will cause strange
2672 can be used outside of the
2678 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2682 \&.%T "Implementation Notes on foobar(1)"
2683 \&.%R "Technical Report ABC\-DE\-12\-345"
2684 \&.%Q "Drofnats College, Nowhere"
2691 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
2695 .%T "Implementation Notes on foobar(1)"
2696 .%R "Technical Report ABC-DE-12-345"
2697 .%Q "Drofnats College, Nowhere"
2702 .Ss "Trade Names (or Acronyms and Type Names)"
2704 The trade name macro prints its arguments in a smaller font.
2705 Its intended use is to imitate a small caps fonts for uppercase acronyms.
2707 .Dl Usage: .Tn Ao symbol Ac ...
2709 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Tn\ ASCII" -compact -offset 15n
2717 The default width is 10n.
2719 .Ss "Extended Arguments"
2725 macros allow one to extend an argument list on a macro boundary for the
2732 are implemented similarly to all other macros opening and closing an
2733 enclosure (without inserting characters, of course).
2734 This means that the following is true for those macros also.
2736 Here is an example of
2738 using the space mode macro to turn spacing off:
2740 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2742 \&.It Xo Sy I Ar operation
2743 \&.No \een Ar count No \een
2751 .Bd -filled -offset indent
2754 .It Xo Sy I Ar operation
2755 .No \en Ar count No \en
2764 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2766 \&.It Cm S No / Ar old_pattern Xo
2767 \&.No / Ar new_pattern
2776 .Bd -filled -offset indent
2779 .It Cm S No \&/ Ar old_pattern Xo
2780 .No \&/ Ar new_pattern
2790 and enclosure macros: Test the value of a variable.
2792 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2795 \&.Oo \e&! Oc Ns Ar variable Oo
2796 \&.Ar operator variable ...
2803 .Bd -filled -offset indent
2804 .Bl -tag -width flag -compact
2807 .Oo \&! Oc Ns Ar variable Oo
2808 .Ar operator variable ...
2815 .Sh "PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN"
2817 .Ss "Section Headers"
2821 section header macros are required in every man page.
2822 The remaining section headers are recommended at the discretion of the
2823 author writing the manual page.
2826 macro is parsed but not generally callable.
2827 It can be used as an argument in a call to
2829 only; it then reactivates the default font for
2832 The default width is 8n.
2834 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Sh\ RETURN\ VALUES"
2839 If not specified, headers, footers and page layout defaults will not be set
2840 and things will be rather unpleasant.
2843 section consists of at least three items.
2846 name macro naming the subject of the man page.
2847 The second is the name description macro,
2849 which separates the subject name from the third item, which is the
2851 The description should be the most terse and lucid possible, as the space
2857 then all its arguments.
2859 .It Li ".Sh LIBRARY"
2860 This section is for section two and three function calls.
2861 It should consist of a single
2865 .Sx "Library Names" .
2867 .It Li ".Sh SYNOPSIS"
2870 section describes the typical usage of the subject of a man page.
2871 The macros required are either
2882 The function name macro
2884 is required for manual page sections\~2 and\~3; the command and general name
2887 is required for sections 1, 5, 6, 7, and\~8.
2888 Section\~4 manuals require a
2893 configuration device usage macro.
2894 Several other macros may be necessary to produce the synopsis line as shown
2897 .Bd -filled -offset indent
2905 The following macros were used:
2908 .Dl ".Op Fl benstuv"
2912 .It Li ".Sh DESCRIPTION"
2913 In most cases the first text in the
2915 section is a brief paragraph on the command, function or file, followed by a
2916 lexical list of options and respective explanations.
2917 To create such a list, the
2924 macros are used (see
2925 .Sx Lists and Columns
2928 .It Li ".Sh IMPLEMENTATION NOTES"
2929 Implementation specific information should be placed here.
2931 .It Li ".Sh RETURN VALUES"
2932 Sections 2, 3 and\~9 function return values should go here.
2935 macro may be used to generate text for use in the
2937 section for most section 2 and 3 library functions;
2939 .Sx "Return Values" .
2945 section headers are part of the preferred manual page layout and must be
2946 used appropriately to maintain consistency.
2947 They are listed in the order in which they would be used.
2949 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Sh\ COMPATIBILITY"
2950 .It Li ".Sh ENVIRONMENT"
2953 section should reveal any related environment variables and clues to their
2954 behavior and/or usage.
2957 Files which are used or created by the man page subject should be listed via
2964 .It Li ".Sh EXAMPLES"
2965 There are several ways to create examples.
2968 section below for details.
2970 .It Li ".Sh DIAGNOSTICS"
2971 Diagnostic messages from a command should be placed in this section.
2974 macro may be used to generate text for use in the
2976 section for most section 1, 6 and\~8 commands;
2980 .It Li ".Sh COMPATIBILITY"
2981 Known compatibility issues (e.g. deprecated options or parameters)
2982 should be listed here.
2985 Specific error handling, especially from library functions (man page
2986 sections 2, 3, and\~9) should go here.
2989 macro is used to specify an error (errno).
2991 .It Li ".Sh SEE ALSO"
2992 References to other material on the man page topic and cross references to
2993 other relevant man pages should be placed in the
2996 Cross references are specified using the
3001 style references are not accommodated.
3003 It is recommended that the cross references are sorted on the section
3004 number, then alphabetically on the names within a section, and placed
3005 in that order and comma separated.
3013 .It Li ".Sh STANDARDS"
3014 If the command, library function or file adheres to a specific
3015 implementation such as
3019 this should be noted here.
3020 If the command does not adhere to any standard, its history should be noted
3025 .It Li ".Sh HISTORY"
3026 Any command which does not adhere to any specific standards should be
3027 outlined historically in this section.
3029 .It Li ".Sh AUTHORS"
3030 Credits should be placed here.
3033 macro for names and the
3035 macro for e-mail addresses within optional contact information.
3036 Explicitly indicate whether the person authored the initial manual page
3037 or the software or whatever the person is being credited for.
3039 Blatant problems with the topic go here.
3045 sections may be added; for example, this section was set with:
3047 .Bd -literal -offset 15n
3048 \&.Sh "PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN"
3051 .Ss "Subsection Headers"
3053 Subsection headers have exactly the same syntax as section headers:
3055 is parsed but not generally callable.
3056 It can be used as an argument in a call to
3058 only; it then reactivates the default font for
3061 The default width is 8n.
3063 .Ss "Paragraphs and Line Spacing"
3065 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Pp"
3069 paragraph command may be used to specify a line space where necessary.
3070 The macro is not necessary after a
3078 macro (which both assert a vertical distance unless the
3082 The macro is neither callable nor parsed and takes no arguments; an
3089 .\" This worked with version one, need to redo for version three
3092 .\" .Cw (ax+bx+c) \ is\ produced\ by\ \&
3093 .\" .\".Cw (ax+bx+c) \&.Va_by_) \&_and_\& \&[?/]m_b1_e1_f1[?/]\&
3110 .\" .Em is produced by
3126 .\" This example shows the same equation in a different format.
3130 .\" signs were forced with
3134 .\" .Cw (ax\ +\ bx\ +\ c) \ is\ produced\ by\ \&
3135 .\" .\".Cw (ax+bx+c) \&.Va_by_) \&_and_\& \&[?/]m_b1_e1_f1[?/]\&
3146 .\" .Li \&.Cx \e\ +\e\ \e&
3157 .\" .Em is produced by
3165 .\" .Li \&.Cx \e\ +\e\ \e&
3176 .\" The incantation below was
3182 .\" .Cw \&[?/]m_b1_e1_f1[?/]\& is\ produced\ by
3184 .\" .Li \&.Cx Op Sy ?/
3194 .\" .Em is produced by
3196 .\" .Li \&.Ar \e\ b1 e1 f1
3210 The only keep that is implemented at this time is for words.
3217 The only option that
3219 accepts currently is
3221 (this is also the default if no option is given) which is useful for
3222 preventing line breaks in the middle of options.
3223 In the example for the make command line arguments (see
3224 .Sx What's in a Name ) ,
3227 from placing up the flag and the argument on separate lines.
3229 Both macros are neither callable nor parsed.
3231 More work needs to be done with the keep macros; specifically, a
3233 option should be added.
3235 .Ss "Examples and Displays"
3237 There are seven types of displays.
3239 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .D1"
3242 Display one line of indented text.
3243 This macro is parsed but not callable.
3247 The above was produced by:
3248 .Li ".D1 Fl ldghfstru" .
3252 Display one line of indented
3257 example macro has been used throughout this file.
3258 It allows the indentation (display) of one line of text.
3259 Its default font is set to constant width (literal).
3261 is parsed but not callable.
3263 .Dl % ls \-ldg /usr/local/bin
3265 The above was produced by:
3266 .Li ".Dl % ls \e\-ldg /usr/local/bin" .
3272 display must be ended with the
3275 It has the following syntax:
3277 .Bd -ragged -compact
3278 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bd" -offset indent
3280 .Bro \-literal | \-filled | \-unfilled | \-ragged | \-centered Brc
3281 .Oo \-offset Ao string Ac Oc Oo \-file Ao file name Ac Oc Oo \-compact Oc Xc
3286 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl file Ao Ar file name Ac " -compact
3288 Fill, but do not adjust the right margin (only left-justify).
3290 Center lines between the current left and right margin.
3291 Note that each single line is centered.
3293 Do not fill; display a block of text as typed, using line breaks as
3294 specified by the user.
3295 This can produce overlong lines without warning messages.
3297 Display a filled block.
3298 The block of text is formatted (i.e., the text is justified on both the left
3301 Display block with literal font (usually fixed-width).
3302 Useful for source code or simple tabbed or spaced text.
3303 .It Fl file Ao Ar file name Ac
3304 The file whose name follows the
3306 flag is read and displayed before any data enclosed with
3310 using the selected display type.
3312 .Xr troff/ Ns Nm \-mdoc
3313 commands in the file will be processed.
3314 .It Fl offset Ao Ar string Ac
3317 is specified with one of the following strings, the string is interpreted to
3318 indicate the level of indentation for the forthcoming block of text:
3321 .Bl -tag -width ".Ar indent-two" -compact
3323 Align block on the current left margin; this is the default mode of
3326 Supposedly center the block.
3327 At this time unfortunately, the block merely gets left aligned about an
3328 imaginary center margin.
3330 Indent by one default indent value or tab.
3331 The default indent value is also used for the
3335 macros, so one is guaranteed the two types of displays will line up.
3336 The indentation value is normally set to\~6n or about two thirds of an inch
3337 (six constant width characters).
3339 Indent two times the default indent value.
3343 aligns the block about two inches from the right side of the page.
3344 This macro needs work and perhaps may never do the right thing within
3351 is a valid numeric expression instead
3352 .Pf ( Em with a scale indicator other than
3354 use that value for indentation.
3355 The most useful scale indicators are
3359 specifying the so-called
3363 This is approximately the width of the letters
3368 of the current font (for nroff output, both scale indicators give the same
3372 isn't a numeric expression, it is tested whether it is an
3374 macro name, and the default offset value associated with this macro is used.
3375 Finally, if all tests fail,
3378 (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the offset.
3380 Suppress insertion of vertical space before begin of display.
3384 End display (takes no arguments).
3387 .Ss "Lists and Columns"
3389 There are several types of lists which may be initiated with the
3392 Items within the list are specified with the
3394 item macro, and each list must end with the
3397 Lists may be nested within themselves and within displays.
3398 The use of columns inside of lists or lists inside of columns is unproven.
3400 In addition, several list attributes may be specified such as the width of a
3401 tag, the list offset, and compactness (blank lines between items allowed or
3403 Most of this document has been formatted with a tag style list
3406 It has the following syntax forms:
3409 .Bd -ragged -compact
3410 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bl" -offset indent -compact
3412 .Bro \-hang | \-ohang | \-tag | \-diag | \-inset Brc
3413 .Oo \-width Ao string Ac Oc
3414 .Oo \-offset Ao string Ac Oc Oo \-compact Oc Xc
3416 .No \-column Oo \-offset Ao string Ac Oc
3417 .Ao string1 Ac Ao string2 Ac ... Xc
3419 .Bro \-item | \-enum Oo \-nested Oc | \-bullet | \-hyphen | \-dash Brc
3420 .Oo \-offset Ao string Ac Oc Oo \-compact Oc Xc
3425 And now a detailed description of the list types.
3428 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl column" -compact
3432 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3433 \&.Bl \-bullet \-offset indent \-compact
3435 Bullet one goes here.
3445 .Bl -bullet -offset indent -compact
3447 Bullet one goes here.
3453 .It Fl dash No ( or Fl hyphen )
3456 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3457 \&.Bl \-dash \-offset indent \-compact
3469 .Bl -dash -offset indent -compact
3480 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3481 \&.Bl \-enum \-offset indent \-compact
3493 .Bl -enum -offset indent -compact
3501 If you want to nest enumerated lists, use the
3503 flag (starting with the second-level list):
3505 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3506 \&.Bl \-enum \-offset indent \-compact
3509 \&.Bl \-enum \-nested \-compact
3513 And item three here.
3524 .Bl -enum -offset indent -compact
3527 .Bl -enum -nested -compact
3531 And item three here.
3541 without list markers.
3543 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3544 \&.Bl \-item \-offset indent
3560 .Bl -item -offset indent
3576 to specify the tag width.
3579 .Bl -tag -width "PPID" -compact -offset indent
3581 sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
3585 resulting from references by the process
3586 to pages not loaded in core.
3588 numerical user-id of process owner
3590 numerical id of parent of process priority
3591 (non-positive when in non-interruptible wait)
3597 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3598 \&.Bl \-tag \-width "PPID" \-compact \-offset indent
3600 sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
3604 resulting from references by the process
3605 to pages not loaded in core.
3607 numerical user\-id of process owner
3609 numerical id of parent of process priority
3610 (non\-positive when in non\-interruptible wait)
3616 Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists and are similar to inset
3617 lists except callable macros are ignored.
3620 flag is not meaningful in this context.
3624 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3626 \&.It You can't use Sy here.
3627 The message says all.
3635 .It You can't use Sy here.
3636 The message says all.
3641 A list with hanging tags.
3643 .Bl -hang -offset indent
3645 labels appear similar to tagged lists when the
3646 label is smaller than the label width.
3647 .It Em Longer hanged list labels
3648 blend into the paragraph unlike
3649 tagged paragraph labels.
3652 And the unformatted text which created it:
3654 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3655 \&.Bl \-hang \-offset indent
3657 labels appear similar to tagged lists when the
3658 label is smaller than the label width.
3659 \&.It Em Longer hanged list labels
3660 blend into the paragraph unlike
3661 tagged paragraph labels.
3667 Lists with overhanging tags do not use indentation for the items; tags are
3668 written to a separate line.
3670 .Bl -ohang -offset indent
3672 sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
3676 resulting from references by the process
3677 to pages not loaded in core.
3679 numerical user-id of process owner
3681 numerical id of parent of process priority
3682 (non-positive when in non-interruptible wait)
3688 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3689 \&.Bl \-ohang \-offset indent
3691 sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
3695 resulting from references by the process
3696 to pages not loaded in core.
3698 numerical user\-id of process owner
3700 numerical id of parent of process priority
3701 (non\-positive when in non\-interruptible wait)
3707 Here is an example of inset labels:
3708 .Bl -inset -offset indent
3710 The tagged list (also called a tagged paragraph)
3711 is the most common type of list used in the
3715 attribute as described below.
3717 Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists
3718 and are similar to inset lists except callable
3721 Hanged labels are a matter of taste.
3723 Overhanging labels are nice when space is constrained.
3725 Inset labels are useful for controlling blocks of
3726 paragraphs and are valuable for converting
3728 manuals to other formats.
3731 Here is the source text which produced the above example:
3733 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3734 \&.Bl \-inset \-offset indent
3736 The tagged list (also called a tagged paragraph)
3737 is the most common type of list used in the
3740 Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists
3741 and are similar to inset lists except callable
3744 Hanged labels are a matter of taste.
3746 Overhanging labels are nice when space is constrained.
3748 Inset labels are useful for controlling blocks of
3749 paragraphs and are valuable for converting
3751 manuals to other formats.
3757 This list type generates multiple columns.
3758 The number of columns and the width of each column is determined by the
3769 (dot) immediately followed by a valid
3771 macro name, interpret
3773 and use the width of the result.
3774 Otherwise, the width of
3776 (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the
3782 argument is parsed to make a row, each column within the row is a separate
3783 argument separated by a tab or the
3789 .Bl -column -offset indent ".Sy String" ".Sy Nroff" ".Sy Troff"
3790 .It Sy String Ta Sy Nroff Ta Sy Troff
3791 .It Li <= Ta <= Ta \*(<=
3792 .It Li >= Ta >= Ta \*(>=
3799 \&.Bl \-column \-offset indent ".Sy String" ".Sy Nroff" ".Sy Troff"
3800 \&.It Sy String Ta Sy Nroff Ta Sy Troff
3801 \&.It Li <= Ta <= Ta \e*(<=
3802 \&.It Li >= Ta >= Ta \e*(>=
3807 Don't abuse this list type!
3808 For more complicated cases it might be far better and easier to use
3810 the table preprocessor.
3816 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl indent Ao Ar string Ac"
3817 .It Fl width Ao Ar string Ac
3822 (dot) immediately followed by a valid
3824 macro name, interpret
3826 and use the width of the result.
3827 Almost all lists in this document use this option.
3831 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3832 \&.Bl \-tag \-width ".Fl test Ao Ar string Ac"
3833 \&.It Fl test Ao Ar string Ac
3834 This is a longer sentence to show how the
3836 flag works in combination with a tag list.
3843 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl test Ao Ar string Ac"
3844 .It Fl test Ao Ar string Ac
3845 This is a longer sentence to show how the
3847 flag works in combination with a tag list.
3851 (Note that the current state of
3855 is interpreted; afterwards, all variables are restored again.
3856 However, boxes (used for enclosures) can't be saved in
3859 as a consequence, arguments must always be
3861 to avoid nasty errors.
3862 For example, do not write
3865 .Ql ".Ao Ar string Xc"
3866 instead if you really need only an opening angle bracket.)
3870 is a valid numeric expression
3871 .Em ( with a scale indicator other than
3873 use that value for indentation.
3874 The most useful scale indicators are
3878 specifying the so-called
3882 This is approximately the width of the letters
3887 of the current font (for nroff output, both scale indicators give the same
3891 isn't a numeric expression, it is tested whether it is an
3893 macro name, and the default width value associated with this macro is used.
3894 Finally, if all tests fail,
3897 (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the width.
3899 If a width is not specified for the tag list type, every time
3901 is invoked, an attempt is made to determine an appropriate width.
3902 If the first argument to
3904 is a callable macro, the default width for that macro will be used;
3905 otherwise, the default width of
3908 .It Fl offset Ao Ar string Ac
3913 a default indent value (normally set to\~6n, similar to the value used in
3920 is a valid numeric expression instead
3921 .Pf ( Em with a scale indicator other than
3923 use that value for indentation.
3924 The most useful scale indicators are
3928 specifying the so-called
3932 This is approximately the width of the letters
3937 of the current font (for nroff output, both scale indicators give the same
3941 isn't a numeric expression, it is tested whether it is an
3943 macro name, and the default offset value associated with this macro is used.
3944 Finally, if all tests fail,
3947 (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the offset.
3949 Suppress insertion of vertical space before the list and between list items.
3953 .Sh "MISCELLANEOUS MACROS"
3955 Here a list of the remaining macros which do not fit well into one of the
3957 We couldn't find real examples for the following macros:
3961 They are documented here for completeness \- if you know how to use them
3962 properly please send a mail to
3963 .Mt bug-groff@gnu.org
3964 (including an example).
3966 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bt"
3970 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
3974 It is neither callable nor parsed and takes no arguments.
3978 .Dl Usage: .Fr Ao function return value Ac ...
3980 Don't use this macro.
3981 It allows a break right before the return value (usually a single digit)
3982 which is bad typographical behaviour.
3985 to tie the return value to the previous word.
3988 Use this macro to include a (header) file literally.
3991 followed by the file name, then the contents of
3994 .Dl Usage: .Hf Ao file Ac
3996 It is neither callable nor parsed.
4002 Exact usage unknown.
4003 The documentation in the
4005 source file describes it as a macro for
4006 .Dq "menu entries" .
4008 Its default width is 6n.
4014 Exact usage unknown.
4015 The documentation in the
4017 source file describes it as
4018 .Dq old function type (fortran) .
4021 Activate (toggle) space mode.
4023 .Dl Usage: .Sm Oo on | off Oc ...
4025 If space mode is off, no spaces between macro arguments are inserted.
4026 If called without a parameter (or if the next parameter is neither
4036 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
4040 It is neither callable nor parsed and takes no arguments.
4044 .Sh "PREDEFINED STRINGS"
4046 The following strings are predefined:
4048 .Bl -column String infinity "Troff " "straight double quote" -offset indent
4049 .It Sy String Ta Sy Nroff Ta Sy Troff Ta Sy Meaning
4050 .It Li <= Ta <= Ta \*[<=] Ta "less equal"
4051 .It Li >= Ta >= Ta \*[>=] Ta "greater equal"
4052 .It Li Rq Ta '' Ta \*[Rq] Ta "right double quote"
4053 .It Li Lq Ta `` Ta \*[Lq] Ta "left double quote"
4054 .It Li ua Ta ^ Ta \*[ua] Ta "upwards arrow"
4055 .It Li aa Ta \' Ta \*[aa] Ta "acute accent"
4056 .It Li ga Ta \` Ta \*[ga] Ta "grave accent"
4057 .It Li q Ta \&" Ta \*[q] Ta "straight double quote"
4058 .It Li Pi Ta pi Ta \*[Pi] Ta "greek pi"
4059 .It Li Ne Ta != Ta \*[Ne] Ta "not equal"
4060 .It Li Le Ta <= Ta \*[Le] Ta "less equal"
4061 .It Li Ge Ta >= Ta \*[Ge] Ta "greater equal"
4062 .It Li Lt Ta < Ta \*[Lt] Ta "less than"
4063 .It Li Gt Ta > Ta \*[Gt] Ta "greater than"
4064 .It Li Pm Ta +\- Ta \*[Pm] Ta "plus minus"
4065 .It Li If Ta infinity Ta \*[If] Ta "infinity"
4066 .It Li Am Ta \*[Am] Ta \*[Am] Ta "ampersand"
4067 .It Li Na Ta \*[Na] Ta \*[Na] Ta "not a number"
4068 .It Li Ba Ta \*[Ba] Ta \*[Ba] Ta "vertical bar"
4071 The names of the columns
4075 are a bit misleading;
4079 representation, while
4081 gives the best glyph form available.
4082 For example, a Unicode enabled
4084 device will have proper glyph representations for all strings, whereas the
4085 enhancement for a Latin1
4087 device is only the plus-minus sign.
4089 String names which consist of two characters can be written as
4091 string names which consist of one character can be written as
4093 A generic syntax for a string name of any length is
4102 \#=====================================================================
4108 available in previous versions of
4110 has been removed since
4113 provides better facilities to check parameters; additionally, many error and
4114 warning messages have been added to this macro package, making it both more
4117 The only remaining debugging macro is
4119 which yields a register dump of all global registers and strings.
4120 A normal user will never need it.
4123 .Sh "FORMATTING WITH GROFF, TROFF, AND NROFF"
4125 By default, the package inhibits page breaks, headers, and footers if
4132 to make the manual more efficient for viewing on-line.
4133 This behaviour can be changed (e.g.\& to create a hardcopy of the
4135 output) by setting the register
4137 to zero while calling
4139 resulting in multiple pages instead of a single, very long page:
4141 .Dl groff \-Tlatin1 \-rcR=0 \-mdoc foo.man > foo.txt
4143 For double-sided printing, set register
4147 .Dl groff \-Tps \-rD1 \-mdoc foo.man > foo.ps
4149 To change the document font size to 11pt or 12pt, set register
4153 .Dl groff \-Tdvi \-rS11 \-mdoc foo.man > foo.dvi
4161 The line and title length can be changed by setting the registers
4167 .Dl groff \-Tutf8 \-rLL=100n \-rLT=100n \-mdoc foo.man | less
4169 If not set, both registers default to 78n for TTY devices and 6.5i
4175 .Bl -tag -width mdoc/doc-ditroff -compact
4177 The main manual macro package.
4179 A wrapper file to call
4181 .It Pa mdoc/doc-common
4182 Common strings, definitions, stuff related typographic output.
4183 .It Pa mdoc/doc-nroff
4184 Definitions used for a
4187 .It Pa mdoc/doc-ditroff
4188 Definitions used for all other devices.
4190 Local additions and customizations.
4192 Use this file if you don't know whether the
4196 package should be used.
4197 Multiple man pages (in either format) can be handled.
4211 Section 3f has not been added to the header routines.
4214 font should be changed in
4219 needs to have a check to prevent splitting up
4220 if the line length is too short.
4222 separates the last parenthesis, and sometimes
4223 looks ridiculous if a line is in fill mode.
4225 The list and display macros do not do any keeps
4226 and certainly should be able to.
4227 .\" Note what happens if the parameter list overlaps a newline
4229 .\" to make sure a line boundary is crossed:
4231 .\" \&.Fn struct\e\ dictionarytable\e\ *dictionarylookup struct\e\ dictionarytable\e\ *tab[]
4234 .\" produces, nudge nudge,
4235 .\" .Fn struct\ dictionarytable\ *dictionarylookup char\ *h struct\ dictionarytable\ *tab[] ,
4236 .\" .Fn struct\ dictionarytable\ *dictionarylookup char\ *h struct\ dictionarytable\ *tab[] ,
4238 .\" .Fn struct\ dictionarytable\ *dictionarylookup char\ *h struct\ dictionarytable\ *tab[] .
4240 .\" If double quotes are used, for example:
4242 .\" \&.Fn \*qstruct dictionarytable *dictionarylookup\*q \*qchar *h\*q \*qstruct dictionarytable *tab[]\*q
4245 .\" produces, nudge nudge,
4246 .\" .Fn "struct dictionarytable *dictionarylookup" "char *h" "struct dictionarytable *tab[]" ,
4248 .\" .Fn "struct dictionarytable *dictionarylookup" "char *h" "struct dictionarytable *tab[]" ,
4250 .\" .Fn "struct dictionarytable *dictionarylookup" "char *h" "struct dictionarytable *tab[]" .
4252 .\" Not a pretty sight...
4253 .\" In a paragraph, a long parameter containing unpaddable spaces as
4254 .\" in the former example will cause
4256 .\" to break the line and spread
4257 .\" the remaining words out.
4258 .\" The latter example will adjust nicely to
4259 .\" justified margins, but may break in between an argument and its
4263 .\" the right margin adjustment is normally ragged and the problem is
4266 .\" Local Variables: