Throughout the UNIX manual pages, a manual entry is simply referred to as a man page, regardless of actual length and without sexist intention.  

1. TROFF IDIOSYNCRASIES

   "Macro Usage"

   "Passing Space Characters in an Argument"

   "Trailing Blank Space Characters (a warning)"

   "Escaping Special Characters"

2. THE ANATOMY OF A MAN PAGE

   "A manual page template"

3. TITLE MACROS
4. INTRODUCTION OF MANUAL AND GENERAL TEXT DOMAINS

   "What's in a name..."

   "General Syntax"

5. MANUAL DOMAIN

   "Addresses"

   "Author name"

   "Arguments"

   "Configuration Declarations (section four only)"

   "Command Modifier"

   "Defined Variables"

   "Errno's (Section two only)"

   "Environment Variables"

   "Function Argument"

   "Function Declaration"

   "Flags"

   "Functions (library routines)"

   "Function Types"

   "Interactive Commands"

   "Names"

   "Options"

   "Pathnames"

   "Variables"

   "Cross References"

6. GENERAL TEXT DOMAIN

   "AT&T Macro"

   "BSD Macro"

   "FreeBSD Macro"

   "UNIX Macro"

   "Enclosure/Quoting Macros"

   "Angle Bracket Quote/Enclosure"

   "Bracket Quotes/Enclosure"

   "Double Quote macro/Enclosure"

   "Parenthesis Quote/Enclosure"

   "Single Quotes/Enclosure"

   "Prefix Macro"

   "No-[or Normal Text Macro]

   "Space Macro

   "Section Cross References"

   "References and Citations"

   "Return Values (sections two and three only)"

   "Trade Names (Acronyms and Type Names)"

   "Extended Arguments"

7. PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN

   "Section Headers"

   "Paragraphs and Line Spacing"

   "Keeps"

   "Displays"

   "Font Modes (Emphasis, Literal, and Symbolic)"

   "Lists and Columns"

8. PREDEFINED STRINGS
9. DIAGNOSTICS
10. FORMATTING WITH GROFF, TROFF AND NROFF
11. BUGS

In general, troff(1) macros accept up to nine arguments, any extra arguments are ignored. Most macros in -mdoc accept nine arguments and, in limited cases, arguments may be continued or extended on the next line (See Sx Extensions ) . A few macros handle quoted arguments (see Sx Passing Space Characters in an Argument below).

Most of the -mdoc general text domain and manual domain macros are special in that their argument lists are parsed for callable macro names. This means an argument on the argument list which matches a general text or manual domain macro name and is determined to be callable will be executed or called when it is processed. In this case the argument, although the name of a macro, is not preceded by a `.' (dot). It is in this manner that many macros are nested; for example the option macro, `.[,] ' may call the flag and argument macros, `- ' and `file ... ' to specify an optional flag with an argument:

[-s bytes ]

is produced by .[-s bytes ]

To prevent a two character string from being interpreted as a macro name, precede the string with the escape sequence `\&' :

[-s bytes ]

is produced by .[\&-s \&bytes ]

Here the strings `- ' and `file ... ' are not interpreted as macros. Macros whose argument lists are parsed for callable arguments are referred to as parsed and macros which may be called from an argument list are referred to as callable throughout this document and in the companion quick reference manual mdoc(7). This is a technical faux pas as almost all of the macros in -mdoc are parsed, but as it was cumbersome to constantly refer to macros as being callable and being able to call other macros, the term parsed has been used.  

There are two possible ways to pass an argument which contains an embedded space. Implementation note Unfortunately, the most convenient way of passing spaces in between quotes by reassigning individual arguments before parsing was fairly expensive speed wise and space wise to implement in all the macros for AT&T troff. It is not expensive for groff but for the sake of portability, has been limited to the following macros which need it the most:

Configuration declaration (section 4

Sx SYNOPSIS )

Begin list (for the width specifier).

Emphasized text.

Fn Functions (sections two and four).

List items.

Literal text.

Symbolic text.

%B

Book titles.

%J

Journal names.

%O

Optional notes for a reference.

%R

Report title (in a reference).

%T

Title of article in a book or journal.

One way of passing a string containing blank spaces is to use the hard or unpaddable space character `\
 ,' that is, a blank space preceded by the escape character `\' This method may be used with any macro but has the side effect of interfering with the adjustment of text over the length of a line. Troff sees the hard space as if it were any other printable character and cannot split the string into blank or newline separated pieces as one would expect. The method is useful for strings which are not expected to overlap a line boundary. For example:

Fn fetch char *str

is created by `.Fn fetch ' char\ *str

Fn fetch char *str

can also be created by `.Fn fetch ' \*qchar *str\*q

If the `\' or quotes were omitted, `.Fn would ' see three arguments and the result would be:

Fn fetch char *str

For an example of what happens when the parameter list overlaps a newline boundary, see the Sx BUGS section.

.\" The following requests are required for all man pages.
.Dd Month day, year
.Os OPERATING_SYSTEM [version/release]
.Dt DOCUMENT_TITLE [section number] [volume]
.Sh NAME
.Nm name
.Nd one line description of name
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Sh DESCRIPTION
.\" The following requests should be uncommented and
.\" used where appropriate.  This next request is
.\" for sections 2 and 3 function return values only.
.\" .Sh RETURN VALUE
.\" This next request is for sections 1, 6, 7 & 8 only
.\" .Sh ENVIRONMENT
.\" .Sh FILES
.\" .Sh EXAMPLES
.\" This next request is for sections 1, 6, 7 & 8 only
.\"     (command return values (to shell) and
.\"       fprintf/stderr type diagnostics)
.\" .Sh DIAGNOSTICS
.\" The next request is for sections 2 and 3 error
.\" and signal handling only.
.\" .Sh ERRORS
.\" .Sh SEE ALSO
.\" .Sh CONFORMING TO
.\" .Sh HISTORY
.\" .Sh AUTHORS
.\" .Sh BUGS

The first items in the template are the macros (., ., . ) the document date, the operating system the man page or subject source is developed or modified for, and the man page title (in upper case ) along with the section of the manual the page belongs in. These macros identify the page, and are discussed below in Sx TITLE MACROS .

The remaining items in the template are section headers (. 

.

The document title is the subject of the man page and must be in CAPITALS due to troff limitations. The section number may be 1, ..., 8, and if it is specified, the volume title may be omitted. A volume title may be arbitrary or one of the following:

AMD    UNIX Ancestral Manual Documents

SMM  UNIX System Manager's Manual

URM     UNIX Reference Manual

PRMUNIX Programmer's Manual

The default volume labeling is
URM for sections 1, 6, and 7; SMM for section 8; PRM for sections 2, 3, 4, and 5.

.operating_system release#

The name of the operating system should be the common acronym, for example, BSD or FreeBSD or ATT The release should be the standard release nomenclature for the system specified, for example, 4.3, 4.3+Tahoe, V.3, V.4. Unrecognized arguments are displayed as given in the page footer. For instance, a typical footer might be:

.4.3BSD

or

.FreeBSD 2.2

or for a locally produced set

.CS Department

The Berkeley default, `.without ' an argument, has been defined as BSD in the site-specific file /usr/share/tmac/mdoc/doc-common It really should default to LOCAL Note, if the `.macro ' is not present, the bottom left corner of the page will be ugly.

.month day, year

The date should be written formally:

January 25, 1989

In the first case, troff(1) macros are themselves a type of command; the general syntax for a troff command is:

.Va argument1 argument2 ... argument9

The `.is ' a macro command or request, and anything following it is an argument to be processed. In the second case, the description of a UNIX command using the content macros is a bit more involved; a typical Sx SYNOPSIS command line might be displayed as:

filter [-flag ] infile outfile

Here, filter is the command name and the bracketed string -flag is a flag argument designated as optional by the option brackets. In -mdoc terms, infile and outfile are called arguments The macros which formatted the above example:

.Nm filter
.Op Fl flag
.Ar infile outfile

In the third case, discussion of commands and command syntax includes both examples above, but may add more detail. The arguments infile and outfile from the example above might be referred to as operands or file arguments Some command line argument lists are quite long:

make

[-eiknqrstv ] [-D variable ] [-d flags ] [-f makefile ] -words [-I directory ] [-j max_jobs ] [variable=value ] -words [target ... ]

Here one might talk about the command make and qualify the argument makefile as an argument to the flag, -f or discuss the optional file operand target In the verbal context, such detail can prevent confusion, however the -mdoc package does not have a macro for an argument to a flag. Instead the `file ... ' argument macro is used for an operand or file argument like target as well as an argument to a flag like variable The make command line was produced from:

.Nm make
.Op Fl eiknqrstv
.Op Fl D Ar variable
.Op Fl d Ar flags
.Op Fl f Ar makefile
.Op Fl I Ar directory
.Op Fl j Ar max_jobs
.Op Ar variable=value
.Bk -words
.Op Ar target ...
.Ek

The `.and ' `.macros ' are explained in Sx Keeps .  

.sptr, ptr),

The result is:

sptr, ptr),

The punctuation is not recognized and all is output in the literal font. If the punctuation is separated by a leading white space:

.sptr , ptr ) ,

The result is:

sptr , ptr

The punctuation is now recognized and is output in the default font distinguishing it from the strings in literal font.

To remove the special meaning from a punctuation character escape it with `\&' Troff is limited as a macro language, and has difficulty when presented with a string containing a member of the mathematical, logical or quotation set:

{+,-,/,*,%,<,>,<=,>=,=,==,&,`,',"}

The problem is that troff may assume it is supposed to actually perform the operation or evaluation suggested by the characters. To prevent the accidental evaluation of these characters, escape them with `\&' Typical syntax is shown in the first content macro displayed below, `. '  

Usage: .address ...

.addr1

addr1

.addr1

addr1

.addr1 , file2

addr1 , file2

.f1 , f2 , f3:

f1 , f2 , f3

.addr ) ),

addr ) )

It is an error to call `.without ' arguments. `.is ' callable by other macros and is parsed.  

Usage: .An author_name

.An Joe Author

An Joe Author

.An Joe Author,

An Joe Author ,

.An Joe Author Aq nobody@FreeBSD.ORG

An Joe Author Aq nobody@FreeBSD.ORG

.An Joe Author ) ),

An Joe Author ) ) ,

The `.An macro ' is parsed and is callable. It is an error to call `.An without ' any arguments.  

Usage: .argument ...

.file ...

file ...

.file1

file1

.file1

file1

.file1 file2

file1 file2

.f1 f2 f3:

f1 f2 f3

.file ) ),

file ) )

If `.file ... ' is called without arguments `file ... ' is assumed. The `.file ... ' macro is parsed and is callable.  

device le0 at scode?

produced by: `.device ' le0 at scode? .

Usage: .defined_variable ...

.MAXHOSTNAMELEN

MAXHOSTNAMELEN

.TIOCGPGRP )

TIOCGPGRP

It is an error to call `.without ' arguments. `.is ' parsed and is callable.  

Usage: .Er ERRNOTYPE ...

.Er ENOENT

Er ENOENT

.Er ENOENT );

Er ENOENT ) ;

.Bq Er ENOTDIR

Bq Er ENOTDIR

It is an error to call `.Er without ' arguments. The `.Er macro ' is parsed and is callable.  

Usage: .argument ...

.DISPLAY

DISPLAY

.PATH

PATH

.PRINTER ) ),

PRINTER ) )

It is an error to call `.without ' arguments. The `.macro ' is parsed and is callable.  

Usage: .Fa function_argument ...

.Fa d_namlen ) ),

Fa d_namlen ) ) ,

.Fa iov_len

Fa iov_len

It is an error to call `.Fa without ' arguments. `.Fa is ' parsed and is callable.  

Usage: .Fd include_file (or defined variable)

In the Sx SYNOPSIS section a `.Fd request ' causes a line break if a function has already been presented and a break has not occurred. This leaves a nice vertical space in between the previous function call and the declaration for the next function.  

Usage: .-argument ...

.-

-

.-cfv

-cfv

.-cfv

-cfv

.-s v t

-s v t

.--,

--

.-xyz ),

-xyz )

The `.- ' macro without any arguments results in a dash representing stdin/stdout. Note that giving `.- ' a single dash, will result in two dashes. The `.- ' macro is parsed and is callable.  

Usage: .Fn [type] function [[type] parameters ... ]

.Fn getchar

Fn getchar

.Fn strlen ) ,

Fn strlen ) ,

.Fn \*qint align\*q \*qconst * char *sptrs\*q

Fn int align const * char *sptrs ,

It is an error to call `.Fn without ' any arguments. The `.Fn macro ' is parsed and is callable, note that any call to another macro signals the end of the `.Fn call ' (it will close-parenthesis at that point).

For functions that have more than eight parameters (and this is rare), the macros `.Fo (function ' open) and `.Fc (function ' close) may be used with `.Fa (function ' argument) to get around the limitation. For example:

.Fo "int res_mkquery"
.Fa "int op"
.Fa "char *dname"
.Fa "int class"
.Fa "int type"
.Fa "char *data"
.Fa "int datalen"
.Fa "struct rrec *newrr"
.Fa "char *buf"
.Fa "int buflen"
.Fc

Produces:

Fo int res_mkquery Fa int op Fa char *dname Fa int class Fa int type Fa char *data Fa int datalen Fa struct rrec *newrr Fa char *buf Fa int buflen Fc

The `.Fo and ' `.Fc macros ' are parsed and are callable. In the Sx SYNOPSIS section, the function will always begin at the beginning of line. If there is more than one function presented in the Sx SYNOPSIS section and a function type has not been given, a line break will occur, leaving a nice vertical space between the current function name and the one prior. At the moment, `.Fn does ' not check its word boundaries against troff line lengths and may split across a newline ungracefully. This will be fixed in the near future.  

Usage: .Ft type ...

.Ft struct stat

Ft struct stat

The `.Ft request ' is not callable by other macros.  

Usage: .argument ...

.:wq

:wq

.do while {...}

do while {...}

.setenv , unsetenv

setenv , unsetenv

It is an error to call `.without ' arguments. The `.macro ' is parsed and is callable.  

Usage: .argument ...

.mdoc.sample

mdoc.sample

.\-mdoc

-mdoc

.foo ) ),

foo ) )

.man mdoc.samples

man mdoc.samples

The `.man mdoc.samples ' macro is parsed and is callable.  

Usage: .[options ... ]

.[[

.[-k ]

] ]

[-k ]

.[-k ) . ]

[-k ]

.[-k kookfile ]

[-k kookfile ]

.[-k kookfile , ]

[-k kookfile ]

.[objfil [corfil ] ]

[objfil [corfil ] ]

.[-c objfil [corfil , ] ]

[-c objfil [corfil ] ]

.[word1 word2]

[word1 word2]

The `.] ' and `.[macros: '

.Oo
.Op Fl k Ar kilobytes
.Op Fl i Ar interval
.Op Fl c Ar count
.Oc

Produce: [[-k kilobytes ] [-i interval ] [-c count ] ]

The macros `.[,] ' `.] ' and `.[are ' parsed and are callable.  

Usage: .pathname

./usr/share

/usr/share

./tmp/fooXXXXX )

/tmp/fooXXXXX )

The `.macro ' is parsed and is callable.  

Usage: .variable ...

.count

count

.settimer

settimer

.int *prt ):

int *prt )

.char s ] ) ),

char s ] ) )

It is an error to call `.without ' any arguments. The `.macro ' is parsed and is callable.  

Usage: .man_page[1,...,8]

.mdoc

mdoc

.mdoc

mdoc,

.mdoc(7)

mdoc(7)

.mdoc(7)))

mdoc(7))),

The `.macro ' is parsed and is callable. It is an error to call `.without ' any arguments.  

Usage: .At [v6 | v7 | 32v | V.1 | V.4] ... 

.At

AT&T System

.AT&T System v6 .

AT&T System v6 .

The `.AT&T System ' macro is not parsed and not callable It accepts at most two arguments.  

Usage: .BSD [Version/release] ...

.Bx

BSD

.BSD 4.3 .

BSD 4.3

The `.BSD macro ' is parsed and is callable.  

Usage: .Fx Version.release ... 

.Fx 2.2 .

Fx 2.2 .

The `.Fx macro ' is not parsed and not callable It accepts at most two arguments.  

Usage: .UNIX

.Ux

UNIX

The `.UNIX ' macro is parsed and is callable.  

Quote         Close   Open   Function        Result .Aq    .Ac     .Ao     Angle Bracket Enclosure<string>
.Bq     .Bc     .Bo     Bracket Enclosure       [string]
.Dq     .Dc     .Do     Double Quote    ``string''
        .Ec     .Eo     Enclose String (in XX)  XXstringXX
.Pq     .Pc     .Po     Parenthesis Enclosure   (string)
.Ql                     Quoted Literal  `st' or string
.Qq     .Qc     .Qo     Straight Double Quote   "string"
.Sq     .Sc     .So     Single Quote    `string'

Except for the irregular macros noted below, all of the quoting macros are parsed and callable. All handle punctuation properly, as long as it is presented one character at a time and separated by spaces. The quoting macros examine opening and closing punctuation to determine whether it comes before or after the enclosing string This makes some nesting possible.

.Ec , .Eo These macros expect the first argument to be the

opening and closing strings respectively.

.`The'

quoted literal macro behaves differently for troff than nroff. If formatted with nroff, a quoted literal is always quoted. If formatted with troff, an item is only quoted if the width of the item is less than three constant width characters. This is to make short strings more visible where the font change to literal (constant width) is less noticeable.

.The prefix macro is not callable, but it is parsed:

.( Fa name2

becomes ( Fa name2

The `.(no ' space) macro performs the analogous suffix function.

Examples of quoting:

.Aq Aq

.Aq ctype.h ),

Aq Ar ctype.h ) ,

.Bq Bq

.Bq Greek , French .

Bq Em Greek , French .

.````

.``string abc .''

'' ''

``string abc''

.``'^[A-Z]'''

``'^[A-Z]'''

.`man'

mdoc `man' mdoc

.Qq Qq

.Qq string ) ,

Qq string ) ,

.Qq string ),

Qq string Ns ),

.``

.`string'

' '

`string'

For a good example of nested enclosure macros, see the `.[option] ' macro. It was created from the same underlying enclosure macros as those presented in the list above. The `. ' and `. ' extended argument list macros were also built from the same underlying routines and are a good example of -mdoc macro usage at its worst.  

No-[or Normal Text Macro]

Space Macro

.[-I directory ]

produces [-I directory ]

Note: the `.macro ' always invokes the `.macro ' after eliminating the space unless another macro name follows it. The macro `.is ' parsed and is callable.  

.Sx FILES

Sx FILES

.Rs

Reference Start. Causes a line break and begins collection of reference information until the reference end macro is read.

.Re

Reference End. The reference is printed.

.%A

Reference author name, one name per invocation.

.%B

Book title.

.%C

City/place.

.%D

Date.

.%J

Journal name.

.%N

Issue number.

.%O

Optional information.

.%P

Page number.

.%R

Report name.

.%T

Title of article.

.%V

Volume(s).

The macros beginning with `%' are not callable, and are parsed only for the trade name macro which returns to its caller. (And not very predictably at the moment either.) The purpose is to allow trade names to be pretty printed in troffNs/NsXrditroff output.  

Usage: .Rv [-std function]

`.Rv -std ' atexit will generate the following text:

Rv -std atexit

The -std option is valid only for manual page sections 2 and 3.  

Usage: .symbol ...

.DEC

DEC

.ASCII

ASCII

The `.macro ' is parsed and is callable by other macros.  

Here is an example of `. ' using the space mode macro to turn spacing off:

.Sm off
.It Xo Sy I Ar operation
.No \en Ar count No \en
.Xc
.Sm on

Produces

I operation \n count \n

.Sm off
.It Cm S No / Ar old_pattern Xo
.No / Ar new_pattern
.No / Op Cm g
.Xc
.Sm on

Produces

S / old_pattern / new_pattern / [g ]

.It Xo
.Ic .ifndef
.Oo \&! Oc Ns Ar variable
.Op Ar operator variable ...
.Xc

Produces

.ifndef [! variable ] [operator variable ... ]

.

cat [-benstuv ] [- ] file ...

The following macros were used:

.cat

.[-benstuv ]

.[- ]

.file ...

Note The macros `.[,] ' `.- ' and `.file ... ' recognize the pipe bar character `' so a command line such as:

".[-a | -b ]

will not go orbital. Troff normally interprets a as a special operator. See Sx PREDEFINED STRINGS for a usable character in other situations. .Sh DESCRIPTION In most cases the first text in the Sx DESCRIPTION section is a brief paragraph on the command, function or file, followed by a lexical list of options and respective explanations. To create such a list, the `.

' begin-list, `.

list-item '

and `.

' end-list macros are used (see Sx Lists and Columns below).

The following `. 

.

ls(1), ps(1), group(5), passwd(5).

At this time refer(1) style references are not accommodated. .Sh CONFORMING TO If the command, library function or file adheres to a specific implementation such as St -p1003.2 or St -ansiC this should be noted here. If the command does not adhere to any standard, its history should be noted in the Sx HISTORY section. .Sh HISTORY Any command which does not adhere to any specific standards should be outlined historically in this section. .Sh AUTHORS Credits, if need be, should be placed here. .Sh DIAGNOSTICS Diagnostics from a command should be placed in this section. .Sh ERRORS Specific error handling, especially from library functions (man page sections 2 and 3) should go here. The `.Er macro ' is used to specify an errno. .Sh BUGS Blatant problems with the topic go here...

User specified `. 

.Sh PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN

.

The `.

' paragraph command may be used to specify a line space where necessary. The macro is not necessary after a `.

' macro. (The `.

' macro asserts a vertical distance unless the -compact flag is given).

,

.D1 (D-one) Display one line of indented text.

This macro is parsed, but it is not callable.

-ldghfstru

The above was produced by: .

-ldghfstru

.

(D-ell)

Display one line of indented literal text. The `.

example

' macro has been used throughout this file. It allows the indent (display) of one line of text. Its default font is set to constant width (literal) however it is parsed and will recognized other macros. It is not callable however.

% ls -ldg /usr/local/bin

The above was produced by .

% ls -ldg /usr/local/bin

.

Begin-display. The `. ' display must be ended with the `. ' macro. Displays may be nested within displays and lists. `. ' has the following syntax:

".

The display-type must be one of the following four types and may have an offset specifier for indentation: `. '

-ragged

Display a block of text as typed, right (and left) margin edges are left ragged.

-filled

Display a filled (formatted) block. The block of text is formatted (the edges are filled - not left unjustified).

-literal

Display a literal block, useful for source code or simple tabbed or spaced text.

-file file_name

The filename following the -file flag is read and displayed. Literal mode is asserted and tabs are set at 8 constant width character intervals, however any troff/NsNm-mdoc commands in file will be processed.

-offset string

If -offset is specified with one of the following strings, the string is interpreted to indicate the level of indentation for the forthcoming block of text:

left

Align block on the current left margin, this is the default mode of `. '

center

Supposedly center the block. At this time unfortunately, the block merely gets left aligned about an imaginary center margin.

indent

Indents by one default indent value or tab. The default indent value is also used for the `.D1' display so one is guaranteed the two types of displays will line up. This indent is normally set to 6n or about two thirds of an inch (six constant width characters).

indent-two

Indents two times the default indent value.

right

This left aligns the block about two inches from the right side of the page. This macro needs work and perhaps may never do the right thing by troff.

".Ed"

End-display.

.Text may be stressed or emphasized with the `.

macro. ' The usual font for emphasis is italic.

Usage: .argument ...

.does not does not

.exceed 1024 . exceed 1024

.vide infra ) ) , vide infra ) )

The `.macro ' is parsed and is callable. It is an error to call `.without ' arguments.

.The `.

literal ' macro may be used for special characters, variable constants, anything which should be displayed as it would be typed.

Usage: .argument ...

.\en \n

.M1 M2 M3; M1 M2 M3

.cntrl-D ), cntrl-D )

.1024 ... 1024 ...

The `.macro ' is parsed and is callable.

.The symbolic emphasis macro is generally a boldface macro in

either the symbolic sense or the traditional English usage.

Usage: .symbol ...

.Important Notice Important Notice

The `.macro ' is parsed and is callable. Arguments to `.may ' be quoted.

.Bf Begin font mode.

The `.Bf font ' mode must be ended with the `.Ef macro. ' Font modes may be nested within other font modes. `.Bf has ' the following syntax:

".Bf font-mode

The font-mode must be one of the following three types: `.Bf '

| -emphasis

Same as if the `.macro ' was used for the entire block of text.

| -literal

Same as if the `.macro ' was used for the entire block of text.

| -symbolic

Same as if the `.macro ' was used for the entire block of text.

".Ef"

End font mode.

In addition, several list attributes may be specified such as the width of a tag, the list offset, and compactness (blank lines between items allowed or disallowed). Most of this document has been formatted with a tag style list (-tag ) For a change of pace, the list-type used to present the list-types is an over-hanging list (-ohang ) This type of list is quite popular with TeX users, but might look a bit funny after having read many pages of tagged lists. The following list types are accepted by `.Bl' :

-bullet

-item

-enum

These three are the simplest types of lists. Once the `.Bl' macro has been given, items in the list are merely indicated by a line consisting solely of the `.It' macro. For example, the source text for a simple enumerated list would look like:

.Bl -enum -compact
.It
Item one goes here.
.It
And item two here.
.It
Lastly item three goes here.
.El

The results:

1. Item one goes here.
2. And item two here.
3. Lastly item three goes here.

A simple bullet list construction:

.Bl -bullet -compact
.It
Bullet one goes here.
.It
Bullet two here.
.El

Produces:

• Bullet one goes here.
• Bullet two here.

-tag

-diag

-hang

-ohang

-inset

These list-types collect arguments specified with the `.

macro '

and create a label which may be inset into the forthcoming text, hanged from the forthcoming text, overhanged from above and not indented or tagged This list was constructed with the `-ohang ' list-type. The `.

macro '

is parsed only for the inset, hang and tag list-types and is not callable. Here is an example of inset labels:

Tag

The tagged list (also called a tagged paragraph) is the most common type of list used in the Berkeley manuals.

Diag

Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists and are similar to inset lists except callable macros are ignored.

Hang

Hanged labels are a matter of taste.

Ohang

Overhanging labels are nice when space is constrained.

Inset

Inset labels are useful for controlling blocks of paragraphs and are valuable for converting -mdoc manuals to other formats.

Here is the source text which produced the above example:

.Bl -inset -offset indent
.It Em Tag
The tagged list (also called a tagged paragraph) is the
most common type of list used in the Berkeley manuals.
.It Em Diag
Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists
and are similar to inset lists except callable
macros are ignored.
.It Em Hang
Hanged labels are a matter of taste.
.It Em Ohang
Overhanging labels are nice when space is constrained.
.It Em Inset
Inset labels are useful for controlling blocks of
paragraphs and are valuable for converting
.Nm -mdoc
manuals to other formats.
.El

Here is a hanged list with two items:

Hanged

labels appear similar to tagged lists when the label is smaller than the label width.

Longer hanged list labels

blend in to the paragraph unlike tagged paragraph labels.

And the unformatted text which created it:

.Bl -hang -offset indent
.It Em Hanged
labels appear similar to tagged lists when the
label is smaller than the label width.
.It Em Longer hanged list labels
blend in to the paragraph unlike
tagged paragraph labels.
.El

The tagged list which follows uses an optional width specifier to control the width of the tag.

SL

sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)

PAGEIN

number of disk I/O 's resulting from references by the process to pages not loaded in core.

UID

numerical user-id of process owner

PPID

numerical ID of parent of process process priority (non-positive when in non-interruptible wait)

The raw text:

.Bl -tag -width "PAGEIN" -compact -offset indent
.It SL
sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
.It PAGEIN
number of disk
.Tn I/O Ns 's
resulting from references
by the process to pages not loaded in core.
.It UID
numerical user ID of process owner
.It PPID
numerical ID of parent of process process priority
(non-positive when in non-interruptible wait)
.El

Acceptable width specifiers:

-width Fl

sets the width to the default width for a flag. All callable macros have a default width value. The `.- ' value is presently set to ten constant width characters or about five sixth of an inch.

-width 24n

sets the width to 24 constant width characters or about two inches. The `n' is absolutely necessary for the scaling to work correctly.

-width ENAMETOOLONG

sets width to the constant width length of the string given.

-width \*qint mkfifo\*q

again, the width is set to the constant width of the string given.

If a width is not specified for the tag list type, the first time `. ' is invoked, an attempt is made to determine an appropriate width. If the first argument to `.It' is a callable macro, the default width for that macro will be used as if the macro name had been supplied as the width. However, if another item in the list is given with a different callable macro name, a new and nested list is assumed.  

String        Nroff   Troff

<= Ta <= Ta

>= Ta >= Ta

Rq Ta '' Ta

Lq Ta `` Ta

ua Ta ^ Ta

aa Ta ' Ta

ga Ta ` Ta

q Ta Ta

Pi Ta pi Ta

Ne Ta != Ta

Le Ta <= Ta

Ge Ta >= Ta

Lt Ta < Ta

Gt Ta > Ta

Pm Ta +- Ta

If Ta infinity Ta

Na Ta NaN Ta

Ba Ta | Ta

Note

If a non-escaped register name is given in the argument list of a request unpredictable behavior will occur. In general, any time huge portions of text do not appear where expected in the output, or small strings such as list tags disappear, chances are there is a misunderstanding about an argument type in the argument list. Your mother never intended for you to remember this evil stuff - so here is a way to find out whether or not your arguments are valid: The `.Db (debug) ' macro displays the interpretation of the argument list for most macros. Macros such as the `.

' (paragraph) macro do not contain debugging information. All of the callable macros do, and it is strongly advised whenever in doubt, turn on the `.Db macro. '

Usage: .Db [on | off]

An example of a portion of text with the debug macro placed above and below an artificially created problem (a flag argument `aC' which should be `\&aC' in order to work):

.Db on
.Op Fl aC Ar file )
.Db off

The resulting output:

DEBUGGING ON
DEBUG(argv) MACRO: `.Op'  Line #: 2
        Argc: 1  Argv: `Fl'  Length: 2
        Space: `'  Class: Executable
        Argc: 2  Argv: `aC'  Length: 2
        Space: `'  Class: Executable
        Argc: 3  Argv: `Ar'  Length: 2
        Space: `'  Class: Executable
        Argc: 4  Argv: `file'  Length: 4
        Space: ` '  Class: String
        Argc: 5  Argv: `)'  Length: 1
        Space: ` '  Class: Closing Punctuation or suffix
        MACRO REQUEST: .Op Fl aC Ar file )
DEBUGGING OFF

The first line of information tells the name of the calling macro, here `.[,] ' and the line number it appears on. If one or more files are involved (especially if text from another file is included) the line number may be bogus. If there is only one file, it should be accurate. The second line gives the argument count, the argument (`- ' ) and its length. If the length of an argument is two characters, the argument is tested to see if it is executable (unfortunately, any register which contains a nonzero value appears executable). The third line gives the space allotted for a class, and the class type. The problem here is the argument aC should not be executable. The four types of classes are string, executable, closing punctuation and opening punctuation. The last line shows the entire argument list as it was read. In this next example, the offending `aC' is escaped:

.Db on
.Em An escaped \&aC
.Db off

DEBUGGING ON
DEBUG(fargv) MACRO: `.Em'  Line #: 2
        Argc: 1  Argv: `An'  Length: 2
        Space: ` '  Class: String
        Argc: 2  Argv: `escaped'  Length: 7
        Space: ` '  Class: String
        Argc: 3  Argv: `aC'  Length: 2
        Space: ` '  Class: String
        MACRO REQUEST: .Em An escaped &aC
DEBUGGING OFF

The argument `\&aC' shows up with the same length of 2 as the `\&' sequence produces a zero width, but a register named `\&aC' was not found and the type classified as string.

Other diagnostics consist of usage statements and are self explanatory.  

The package inhibits page breaks, and the headers and footers which normally occur at those breaks with nroff, to make the manual more efficient for viewing on-line. At the moment, groff with -T ascii does eject the imaginary remainder of the page at end of file. The inhibiting of the page breaks makes nroffNs'd files unsuitable for hardcopy. There is a register named `cR' which can be set to zero in the site dependent style file /usr/src/share/tmac/doc-nroff to restore the old style behavior.  

/usr/share/tmac/doc.tmac

manual macro package

/usr/share/misc/mdoc.template

template for writing a man page

/usr/share/examples/mdoc/*

several example man pages

Predefined strings are not declared in documentation.

Section 3f has not been added to the header routines.

`.man mdoc.samples ' font should be changed in Sx NAME section.

`.Fn needs ' to have a check to prevent splitting up if the line length is too short. Occasionally it separates the last parenthesis, and sometimes looks ridiculous if a line is in fill mode.

The method used to prevent header and footer page breaks (other than the initial header and footer) when using nroff occasionally places an unsightly partially filled line (blank) at the would be bottom of the page.

The list and display macros to not do any keeps and certainly should be able to.  

NAME

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

GETTING STARTED

TROFF IDIOSYNCRASIES

Macro Usage

Passing Space Characters in an Argument

Trailing Blank Space Characters

Escaping Special Characters

THE ANATOMY OF A MAN PAGE

A manual page template

;

TITLE MACROS

INTRODUCTION OF MANUAL AND GENERAL TEXT DOMAINS

What's in a name...

General Syntax

MANUAL DOMAIN

Address Macro

Author Name

Argument Macro

Configuration Declaration (section four only)

Command Modifier

Defined Variables

Errno's (Section two only)

Environment Variables

Function Argument

Function Declaration

Flags

Functions (library routines)

Function Type

Interactive Commands

Name Macro

Options

Pathnames

Variables

Manual Page Cross References

GENERAL TEXT DOMAIN

AT&T Macro

BSD Macro

FreeBSD Macro

UNIX Macro

Enclosure and Quoting Macros

No-Op or Normal Text Macro

No Space Macro

Section Cross References

References and Citations

Return Values

Trade Names (or Acronyms and Type Names)

Extended Arguments

PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN

Section Headers

section

macro

NAME

NAME

section

ENVIRONMENT

sections

Paragraphs and Line Spacing.

or

macro

Keeps

Examples and Displays

Font Modes

Tagged Lists and Columns

PREDEFINED STRINGS

DIAGNOSTICS

GROFF, TROFF AND NROFF

FILES

BUGS

SEE ALSO

COLOPHON