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.
22 .\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software
23 .\" must display the following acknowledgement:
24 .\" This product includes software developed by the University of
25 .\" California, Berkeley and its contributors.
26 .\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
27 .\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
28 .\" without specific prior written permission.
30 .\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
31 .\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
32 .\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
33 .\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
34 .\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
35 .\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
36 .\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
37 .\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
38 .\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
39 .\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
42 .\" @(#)mdoc.samples.7 8.2 (Berkeley) 12/30/93
44 .\" This reference invokes every macro in the package several
45 .\" times and is guaranteed to give a worst case performance
46 .\" for an already extremely slow package.
57 .Nd reference for groff's mdoc implementation
62 .Nm groff Fl m Ns Cm doc Ar
67 A complete reference for writing
75 formatting package for
80 package, addressed page layout leaving the manipulation of fonts and other
81 typesetting details to the individual author.
84 page layout macros make up the
85 .Em "page structure domain"
86 which consists of macros for titles, section headers, displays and lists
87 \- essentially items which affect the physical position of text on a
89 In addition to the page structure domain, there are two more domains, the
94 The general text domain is defined as macros which perform tasks such as
95 quoting or emphasizing pieces of text.
96 The manual domain is defined as macros that are a subset of the day to day
97 informal language used to describe commands, routines and related
100 Macros in the manual domain handle command names, command line arguments and
101 options, function names, function parameters, pathnames, variables, cross
102 references to other manual pages, and so on.
103 These domain items have value for both the author and the future user of the
105 Hopefully, the consistency gained across the manual set will provide easier
106 translation to future documentation tools.
110 manual pages, a manual entry is simply referred to as a man page, regardless
111 of actual length and without sexist intention.
114 .Sh "GETTING STARTED"
116 The material presented in the remainder of this document is outlined
119 .Bl -enum -width 3n -offset indent
121 . Tn "TROFF IDIOSYNCRASIES"
123 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
125 . It "Passing Space Characters in an Argument"
126 . It "Trailing Blank Space Characters"
127 . It "Escaping Special Characters"
128 . It "Other Possible Pitfalls"
132 . Tn "A MANUAL PAGE TEMPLATE"
141 . Tn "INTRODUCTION OF MANUAL AND GENERAL TEXT DOMAINS"
143 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
144 . It "What's in a Name" Ns ...
145 . It "General Syntax"
151 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
155 . It "Configuration Declarations (Section Four Only)"
156 . It "Command Modifiers"
157 . It "Defined Variables"
159 . It "Environment Variables"
161 . It "Function Declarations"
162 . It "Function Types"
163 . It "Functions (Library Routines)"
164 . It "Function Arguments"
167 . \" .It "Header File (including source code)"
168 . It "Interactive Commands"
175 . It "Variable Types"
177 . It "Manual Page Cross References"
181 . Tn "GENERAL TEXT DOMAIN"
183 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
191 . It "Emphasis Macro"
193 . It "Enclosure and Quoting Macros"
194 . It "No-Op or Normal Text Macro"
195 . It "No-Space Macro"
196 . It "Section Cross References"
198 . It "Mathematical Symbols"
199 . It "References and Citations"
200 . It "Trade Names (or Acronyms and Type Names)"
201 . It "Extended Arguments"
205 . Tn "PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN"
207 . Bl -tag -width 2n -compact
208 . It "Section Headers"
209 . It "Subsection Headers"
210 . It "Paragraphs and Line Spacing"
212 . It "Examples and Displays"
213 . It "Lists and Columns"
217 . Tn "MISCELLANEOUS MACROS"
220 . Tn "PREDEFINED STRINGS"
226 . Tn "FORMATTING WITH GROFF, TROFF, AND NROFF"
243 .Sh "TROFF IDIOSYNCRASIES"
247 package attempts to simplify the process of writing a man page.
248 Theoretically, one should not have to learn the tricky details of
253 however, there are a few limitations which are unavoidable and best gotten
255 And, too, be forewarned, this package is
264 a macro is called by placing a
266 (dot character) at the beginning of a line followed by the two-character
267 (or three-character) name for the macro.
268 There can be space or tab characters between the dot and the macro name.
269 Arguments may follow the macro separated by spaces (but
272 It is the dot character at the beginning of the line which causes
275 to interpret the next two (or more) characters as a macro name.
276 A single starting dot followed by nothing is ignored.
279 (dot character) at the beginning of an input line in some context other than
280 a macro invocation, precede the
284 escape sequence which translates literally to a zero-width space, and is
285 never displayed in the output.
290 macros accept an unlimited number of arguments (contrary to other versions
291 of troff which can't handle more than nine arguments).
292 In limited cases, arguments may be continued or extended on the next
294 .Sx Extended Arguments
296 Almost all macros handle quoted arguments (see
297 .Sx Passing Space Characters in an Argument
302 general text domain and manual domain macros are special in that their
305 for callable macro names.
306 This means an argument on the argument list which matches a general text or
307 manual domain macro name (and which is defined to be callable) will be
308 executed or called when it is processed.
309 In this case the argument, although the name of a macro, is not preceded by
313 This makes it possible to nest macros; for example the option macro,
317 the flag and argument macros,
321 to specify an optional flag with an argument:
323 .Bl -tag -width ".Op Fl s Ar bytes" -offset indent
326 .Ql ".Op Fl s Ar bytes"
330 To prevent a string from being interpreted as a macro name, precede the
331 string with the escape sequence
334 .Bl -tag -width ".Op \&Fl s \&Ar bytes" -offset indent
335 .It Op \&Fl s \&Ar bytes
337 .Ql ".Op \e&Fl s \e&Ar bytes"
345 are not interpreted as macros.
346 Macros whose argument lists are parsed for callable arguments are referred
349 and macros which may be called from an argument list are referred to as
351 throughout this document.
354 as almost all of the macros in
356 are parsed, but as it was cumbersome to constantly refer to macros as
357 being callable and being able to call other macros, the term parsed
361 In the following, we call an
363 macro which starts a line (with a leading dot) a
365 if this distinction is necessary.
367 .Ss "Passing Space Characters in an Argument"
369 Sometimes it is desirable to give as an argument a string containing one or
370 more blank space characters, say, to specify arguments to commands which
371 expect particular arrangement of items in the argument list.
372 Additionally, it makes
375 For example, the function command
377 expects the first argument to be the name of a function and any remaining
378 arguments to be function parameters.
381 stipulates the declaration of function parameters in the parenthesized
382 parameter list, each parameter is guaranteed to be at minimum a two word
387 There are two possible ways to pass an argument which contains
389 One way of passing a string containing blank spaces is to use the hard or
390 unpaddable space character
392 that is, a blank space preceded by the escape character
394 This method may be used with any macro but has the side effect of
395 interfering with the adjustment of text over the length of a line.
397 sees the hard space as if it were any other printable character and cannot
398 split the string into blank or newline separated pieces as one would expect.
399 This method is useful for strings which are not expected to overlap a line
401 An alternative is to use
403 a paddable (i.e.\& stretchable), unbreakable space (this is a
407 The second method is to enclose the string with double quotes.
411 .Bl -tag -width ".Fn fetch char\ *str" -offset indent
412 .It Fn fetch char\ *str
414 .Ql ".Fn fetch char\e *str"
415 .It Fn fetch "char *str"
416 can also be created by
417 .Ql ".Fn fetch \*[q]char *str\*[q]"
423 before the space in the first example
424 or double quotes in the second example
427 would see three arguments, and the result would be:
429 .Dl Fn fetch char *str
431 .\" For an example of what happens when the parameter list overlaps a newline
432 .\" boundary, see the
436 .Ss "Trailing Blank Space Characters"
439 can be confused by blank space characters at the end of a line.
440 It is a wise preventive measure to globally remove all blank spaces
442 .Ao blank-space Ac Ns Ao end-of-line Ac
444 Should the need arise to use a blank character at the end of a line, it
445 may be forced with an unpaddable space and the
451 .Ss "Escaping Special Characters"
453 Special characters like the newline character
455 are handled by replacing the
461 to preserve the backslash.
463 .Ss "Other Possible Pitfalls"
465 A warning is emitted when an empty input line is found outside of displays
470 (Well, it is even better to use
472 macros to avoid the usage of low-level commands.)
474 Leading spaces will cause a break and are output directly.
475 Avoid this behaviour if possible.
476 Similarly, do not use more than one space character between words in an
477 ordinary text line; contrary to other text formatters, they are
479 replaced with a single space.
483 directly as an argument.
492 inserts two space characters after a punctuation mark closing a sentence;
497 are treated transparently, not influencing the sentence-ending behaviour.
498 To change this, insert
500 before or after the dot:
502 .Bd -literal -offset indent
521 .Bd -filled -offset indent
538 As can be seen in the first and third line,
540 handles punctuation characters specially in macro arguments.
541 This will be explained in section
544 In the same way, you have to protect trailing full stops of abbreviations
545 with a trailing zero-width space:
548 A comment in the source file of a man page can be either started with
554 anywhere (the latter is a
557 extension); the rest of such a line is ignored.
560 .Sh "A MANUAL PAGE TEMPLATE"
562 The body of a man page is easily constructed from a basic template:
564 .Bd -literal -offset indent
565 \&.\e" The following commands are required for all man pages.
566 \&.Dd Month day, year
567 \&.Os [OPERATING_SYSTEM] [version/release]
568 \&.Dt DOCUMENT_TITLE [section number] [architecture/volume]
571 \&.Nd one line description of name
572 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 2 and 3 only.
576 \&.\e" The following commands should be uncommented and
577 \&.\e" used where appropriate.
578 \&.\e" .Sh IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
579 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 2, 3 and 9 function
580 \&.\e" return values only.
581 \&.\e" .Sh RETURN VALUES
582 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 1, 6, 7 and 8 only.
583 \&.\e" .Sh ENVIRONMENT
586 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 1, 6, 7, 8 and 9 only
587 \&.\e" (command return values (to shell) and
588 \&.\e" fprintf/stderr type diagnostics).
589 \&.\e" .Sh DIAGNOSTICS
590 \&.\e" .Sh COMPATIBILITY
591 \&.\e" This next command is for sections 2, 3 and 9 error
592 \&.\e" and signal handling only.
602 The first items in the template are the commands
607 the document date, the operating system the man page or subject source is
608 developed or modified for, and the man page title (in
610 along with the section of the manual the page belongs in.
611 These commands identify the page and are discussed below in
614 The remaining items in the template are section headers
622 The headers are discussed in
623 .Sx "PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN" ,
624 after presentation of
625 .Sx "MANUAL DOMAIN" .
626 Several content macros are used to demonstrate page layout macros; reading
627 about content macros before page layout macros is recommended.
632 In the description of all macros below, optional arguments are put into
636 represents zero or more additional arguments.
637 Alternative values for a parameter are separated with
639 If there are alternative values for a mandatory parameter, braces are used
642 to enclose the value set.
643 Meta-variables are specified within angles.
647 .Bl -tag -width 6n -offset indent
651 .Op \-test1 Op \-test2 | \-test3
657 Except stated explicitly, all macros are parsed and callable.
659 Note that a macro takes effect up to the next nested macro.
666 Consequently, a warning message is emitted for most commands if the first
667 argument is a macro itself since it cancels the effect of the calling
669 Another consequence is that quoting macros never insert literal quotes;
672 .Ql ".Ic \*[q]foo <bar>\*[q]" .
674 Most macros have a default width value which can be used to specify a label
684 It is recommended not to use this rather obscure feature to avoid
685 dependencies on local modifications of the
692 The title macros are part of the page structure domain but are presented
693 first and separately for someone who wishes to start writing a man page
695 Three header macros designate the document title or manual page title, the
696 operating system, and the date of authorship.
697 These macros are called once at the very beginning of the document and are
698 used to construct headers and footers only.
702 .Op Aq document title
703 .Op Aq section number
706 The document title is the subject of the man page and must be in
708 due to troff limitations.
712 The section number may be a number in the range
713 .No 1,\~ Ns ... Ns ,\~9
719 If it is specified, and no volume name is given, a default volume name is
724 .Tn \*[operating-system] ,
725 the following sections are defined:
727 .Bl -column LOCAL -offset indent -compact
728 .It Li 1 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-1]"
729 .It Li 2 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-2]"
730 .It Li 3 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-3]"
731 .It Li 4 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-4]"
732 .It Li 5 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-5]"
733 .It Li 6 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-6]"
734 .It Li 7 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-7]"
735 .It Li 8 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-8]"
736 .It Li 9 Ta "\*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-9]"
740 A volume name may be arbitrary or one of the following:
743 .Bl -column LOCAL -offset indent -compact
744 .It Li USD Ta "\*[volume-ds-USD]"
745 .It Li PS1 Ta "\*[volume-ds-PS1]"
746 .It Li AMD Ta "\*[volume-ds-AMD]"
747 .It Li SMM Ta "\*[volume-ds-SMM]"
748 .It Li URM Ta "\*[volume-ds-URM]"
749 .It Li PRM Ta "\*[volume-ds-PRM]"
750 .It Li KM Ta "\*[volume-ds-KM]"
751 .It Li IND Ta "\*[volume-ds-IND]"
752 .It Li LOCAL Ta "\*[volume-ds-LOCAL]"
753 .It Li CON Ta "\*[volume-ds-CON]"
765 Values from the previous table will specify a new volume name.
766 If the third parameter is a keyword designating a computer architecture,
767 its value is prepended to the default volume name as specified by the
769 By default, the following architecture keywords are defined:
771 \# we use `No' to avoid hyphenation
772 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
773 .No alpha , acorn26 , acorn32 , algor , amd64 , amiga , arc , arm26 ,
774 .No arm32 , atari , bebox , cats , cesfic , cobalt , dreamcast , evbarm ,
775 .No evbmips , evbppc , evbsh3 , hp300 , hp700 , hpcmips , i386 , luna68k ,
776 .No m68k , mac68k , macppc , mips , mmeye , mvme68k , mvmeppc , netwinder ,
777 .No news68k , newsmips , next68k , ofppc , pc532 , pmax , pmppc , powerpc ,
778 .No prep , sandpoint , sgimips , sh3 , shark , sparc , sparc64 , sun3 ,
779 .No tahoe , vax , x68k , x86_64
783 If the section number is neither a numeric expression in the range 1 to\~9
784 nor one of the above described keywords, the third parameter is used
785 verbatim as the volume name.
787 In the following examples, the left (which is identical to the right) and
788 the middle part of the manual page header strings are shown.
791 prevents the digit\~7 from being a valid numeric expression.
794 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Dt\ FOO\ 2\ i386" -compact -offset indent
797 .Ql \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-7]
798 .It Li ".Dt FOO 7 bar"
800 .Ql \*[volume-operating-system] \*[volume-ds-7]
801 .It Li ".Dt FOO \e&7 bar"
804 .It Li ".Dt FOO 2 i386"
806 .Ql \*[volume-operating-system]/\*[volume-as-i386] \*[volume-ds-2]
807 .It Li ".Dt FOO \*[q]\*[q] bar"
814 Local, OS-specific additions might be found in the file
816 look for strings named
818 (for the former type) and
820 (for the latter type);
822 then denotes the keyword to be used with the
826 This macro is neither callable nor parsed.
829 .Op Aq operating system
832 If the first parameter is empty,
834 .Sq Tn "\*[operating-system]"
836 This may be overridden in the local configuration file,
838 In general, the name of the operating system should be the common acronym,
843 The release should be the standard release nomenclature for the system
845 In the following table, the possible second arguments for some predefined
846 operating systems are listed.
849 local additions might be defined in
851 look for strings named
852 .Ql operating-system-XXX-YYY ,
855 is the acronym for the operating system and
860 .Bl -tag -width ".No FreeBSD" -offset indent
862 7th, 7, III, 3, V, V.2, V.3, V.4
864 3, 4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.3t, 4.3T, 4.3r, 4.3R, 4.4
866 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,
867 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,
870 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,
871 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,
872 4.1.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.6.2, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2,
880 an unknown second parameter will be replaced with the string
882 for the other predefined acronyms it will be ignored and a warning message
884 Unrecognized arguments are displayed as given in the page footer.
885 For instance, a typical footer might be:
890 .Ql 4.3\~Berkeley Distribution ,
891 or for a locally produced set
893 .Dl .Os CS Department
900 macro is not present, the bottom left corner of the manual page will be
903 This macro is neither callable nor parsed.
914 is used for the date string.
915 If it has exactly three arguments, they are concatenated, separated with
918 .Dl .Dd January 25, 2001
920 Otherwise, the current date is used, ignoring the parameters.
922 This macro is neither callable nor parsed.
926 .Sh "INTRODUCTION OF MANUAL AND GENERAL TEXT DOMAINS"
928 .Ss "What's in a Name" Ns ...
930 The manual domain macro names are derived from the day to day informal
931 language used to describe commands, subroutines and related files.
932 Slightly different variations of this language are used to describe the
933 three different aspects of writing a man page.
934 First, there is the description of
937 Second is the description of a
942 macros, and third, the description of a command to a user in the verbal
943 sense; that is, discussion of a command in the text of a man page.
947 macros are themselves a type of command; the general syntax for a troff
950 .Bd -filled -offset indent
951 .Li ".Xx argument1 argument2" ...
956 is a macro command, and anything following it are arguments to
958 In the second case, the description of a
960 command using the content macros is a bit more involved; a typical
962 command line might be displayed as:
964 .Bd -filled -offset indent
967 .Ao Ar infile Ac Ao Ar outfile Ac
973 is the command name and the
978 argument designated as optional by the option brackets.
987 in this example, the user has to replace the meta expressions given in angle
988 brackets with real file names.
989 Note that in this document meta arguments are used to describe
991 commands; in most man pages, meta variables are not specifically written
993 The macros which formatted the above example:
995 .Bd -literal -offset indent
998 \&.Ao Ar infile Ac Ao Ar outfile Ac
1002 In the third case, discussion of commands and command syntax includes both
1003 examples above, but may add more detail.
1008 from the example above might be referred to as
1011 .Em file arguments .
1012 Some command line argument lists are quite long:
1015 .Bl -tag -width ".Nm make" -offset indent -compact
1018 .Op Fl D Ar variable
1020 .Op Fl f Ar makefile
1021 .Op Fl I Ar directory
1022 .Op Fl j Ar max_jobs
1023 .Op Ar variable Ns = Ns Ar value
1031 Here one might talk about the command
1033 and qualify the argument,
1035 as an argument to the flag,
1037 or discuss the optional file operand
1039 In the verbal context, such detail can prevent confusion, however the
1041 package does not have a macro for an argument
1046 argument macro is used for an operand or file argument like
1048 as well as an argument to a flag like
1050 The make command line was produced from:
1052 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1055 \&.Op Fl D Ar variable
1057 \&.Op Fl f Ar makefile
1058 \&.Op Fl I Ar directory
1059 \&.Op Fl j Ar max_jobs
1060 \&.Op Ar variable Ns = Ns Ar value
1071 macros are explained in
1074 .Ss "General Syntax"
1076 The manual domain and general text domain macros share a similar syntax with
1077 a few minor deviations; most notably,
1083 differ only when called without arguments; and
1087 impose an order on their argument lists.
1088 All content macros are capable of recognizing and properly handling
1089 punctuation, provided each punctuation character is separated by a leading
1091 If a command is given:
1093 .Dl \&.Ar sptr, ptr),
1099 The punctuation is not recognized and all is output in the
1102 If the punctuation is separated by a leading white space:
1104 .Dl \&.Ar "sptr , ptr ) ,"
1108 .Dl Ar sptr , ptr ) ,
1110 The punctuation is now recognized and output in the default font
1111 distinguishing it from the argument strings.
1112 To remove the special meaning from a punctuation character escape it with
1115 The following punctuation characters are recognized by
1118 .Bl -column -offset indent-two XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX XXXXXX
1119 .It Li .\& Ta Li ,\& Ta Li :\& Ta Li ;\& Ta Li (\&
1120 .It Li )\& Ta Li [\& Ta Li ]\& Ta Li ?\& Ta Li !\&
1125 is limited as a macro language, and has difficulty when presented with a
1126 string containing a member of the mathematical, logical or quotation set:
1128 .Bd -literal -offset indent-two
1129 {+,\-,/,*,%,<,>,<=,>=,=,==,&,`,',"}
1135 may assume it is supposed to actually perform the operation or evaluation
1136 suggested by the characters.
1137 To prevent the accidental evaluation of these characters, escape them with
1139 Typical syntax is shown in the first content macro displayed below,
1147 The address macro identifies an address construct.
1149 .Dl Usage: .Ad Ao address Ac ...
1151 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ad\ f1\ ,\ f2\ ,\ f3\ :" -compact -offset 15n
1154 .It Li ".Ad addr1 ."
1156 .It Li ".Ad addr1 , file2"
1158 .It Li ".Ad f1 , f2 , f3 :"
1160 .It Li ".Ad addr ) ) ,"
1165 The default width is 12n.
1171 macro is used to specify the name of the author of the item being
1172 documented, or the name of the author of the actual manual page.
1174 .Dl Usage: .An Ao author name Ac ...
1176 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .An\ \*[q]Joe\ Author\*[q]\ )\ )\ ," -offset 15n
1177 .It Li ".An \*[q]Joe Author\*[q]"
1179 .It Li ".An \*[q]Joe Author\*[q] ,"
1181 .It Li ".An \*[q]Joe Author\*[q] Aq nobody@FreeBSD.org"
1182 .An "Joe Author" Aq nobody@FreeBSD.org
1183 .It Li ".An \*[q]Joe Author\*[q] ) ) ,"
1184 .An "Joe Author" ) ) ,
1188 The default width is 12n.
1194 command causes a line break allowing each new name to appear on its own
1196 If this is not desirable,
1198 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1203 call will turn this off.
1204 To turn splitting back on, write
1206 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1214 argument macro may be used whenever an argument is referenced.
1215 If called without arguments, the
1219 .Dl Usage: .Ar Oo Ao argument Ac Oc ...
1221 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ar\ file1\ file2" -compact -offset 15n
1226 .It Li ".Ar file1 ."
1228 .It Li ".Ar file1 file2"
1230 .It Li ".Ar f1 f2 f3 :"
1232 .It Li ".Ar file ) ) ,"
1237 The default width is 12n.
1239 .Ss "Configuration Declaration (Section Four Only)"
1243 macro is used to demonstrate a
1245 declaration for a device interface in a section four manual.
1247 .Dl Usage: .Cd Ao argument Ac ...
1249 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Cd\ Xdevice\ le0\ at\ scode?X" -offset 15n
1250 .It Li ".Cd \*[q]device le0 at scode?\*[q]"
1251 .Cd "device le0 at scode?"
1258 command causes a line break before and after its arguments are printed.
1261 The default width is 12n.
1263 .Ss "Command Modifiers"
1265 The command modifier is identical to the
1267 (flag) command with the exception that the
1269 macro does not assert a dash in front of every argument.
1270 Traditionally flags are marked by the preceding dash, however, some commands
1271 or subsets of commands do not use them.
1272 Command modifiers may also be specified in conjunction with interactive
1273 commands such as editor commands.
1277 The default width is 10n.
1279 .Ss "Defined Variables"
1281 A variable (or constant) which is defined in an include file
1282 is specified by the macro
1285 .Dl Usage: .Dv Ao defined variable Ac ...
1287 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Dv\ MAXHOSTNAMELEN" -compact -offset 15n
1288 .It Li ".Dv MAXHOSTNAMELEN"
1290 .It Li ".Dv TIOCGPGRP )"
1295 The default width is 12n.
1301 errno macro specifies the error return value for section 2, 3, and\~9 library
1303 The second example below shows
1307 general text domain macro, as it would be used in a section two manual page.
1309 .Dl Usage: .Er Ao errno type Ac ...
1311 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bq\ Er\ ENOTDIR" -compact -offset 15n
1314 .It Li ".Er ENOENT ) ;"
1316 .It Li ".Bq Er ENOTDIR"
1321 The default width is 17n.
1323 .Ss "Environment Variables"
1327 macro specifies an environment variable.
1329 .Dl Usage: .Ev Ao argument Ac ...
1331 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ev\ PRINTER\ )\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1332 .It Li ".Ev DISPLAY"
1336 .It Li ".Ev PRINTER ) ) ,"
1341 The default width is 15n.
1347 macro handles command line flags.
1351 For interactive command flags, which are not prepended with a dash, the
1354 macro is identical, but without the dash.
1356 .Dl Usage: .Fl Ao argument Ac ...
1358 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fl\ xyz\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1371 .It Li ".Fl xyz ) ,"
1379 macro without any arguments results in a dash representing stdin/stdout.
1382 a single dash will result in two dashes.
1384 The default width is 12n.
1386 .Ss "Function Declarations"
1390 macro is used in the
1392 section with section two or three functions.
1393 It is neither callable nor parsed.
1395 .Dl Usage: .Fd Ao argument Ac ...
1397 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fd\ X#include\ <sys/types.h>X" -compact -offset 15n
1398 .It Li ".Fd \*[q]#include <sys/types.h>\*[q]"
1399 .Fd "#include <sys/types.h>"
1406 command causes a line break if a function has already been presented and a
1407 break has not occurred.
1408 This leaves a nice vertical space in between the previous function call and
1409 the declaration for the next function.
1416 section, represents the
1418 statement, and is the short form of the above example.
1419 It specifies the C\~header file as being included in a C\~program.
1420 It also causes a line break.
1424 section, it represents the header file enclosed in angle brackets.
1426 .Dl Usage: .In Ao header file Ac
1428 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .In\ stdio.h" -compact -offset 15n
1429 .nr in-synopsis-section 1
1430 .It Li ".In stdio.h"
1432 .nr in-synopsis-section 0
1433 .It Li ".In stdio.h"
1437 .Ss "Function Types"
1439 This macro is intended for the
1442 It may be used anywhere else in the man page without problems, but its main
1443 purpose is to present the function type in kernel normal form for the
1445 of sections two and three (it causes a line break, allowing the function
1446 name to appear on the next line).
1448 .Dl Usage: .Ft Ao type Ac ...
1450 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ft\ struct\ stat" -compact -offset 15n
1451 .It Li ".Ft struct stat"
1455 .Ss "Functions (Library Routines)"
1463 .Dl Usage: .Fn Ao function Ac Oo Ao parameter Ac Oc ...
1465 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fn\ align\ Xchar\ *ptrX\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1466 .It Li ".Fn getchar"
1468 .It Li ".Fn strlen ) ,"
1470 .It Li ".Fn align \*[q]char *ptr\*[q] ,"
1471 .Fn align "char *ptr" ,
1474 Note that any call to another macro signals the end of the
1476 call (it will insert a closing parenthesis at that point).
1478 For functions with many parameters (which is rare), the macros
1486 (function argument).
1490 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1499 \&.Fa "struct rrec *newrr"
1508 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
1517 .Fa "struct rrec *newrr"
1526 section, the function will always begin at the beginning of line.
1527 If there is more than one function presented in the
1529 section and a function type has not been given, a line break will occur,
1530 leaving a nice vertical space between the current function name and the one
1533 The default width values of
1537 are 12n and 16n, respectively.
1539 .Ss "Function Arguments"
1543 macro is used to refer to function arguments (parameters) outside of the
1545 section of the manual or inside the
1547 section if the enclosure macros
1555 may also be used to refer to structure members.
1557 .Dl Usage: .Fa Ao function argument Ac ...
1559 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fa\ d_namlen\ )\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1560 .It Li ".Fa d_namlen ) ) ,"
1562 .It Li ".Fa iov_len"
1567 The default width is 12n.
1573 macro generates text for use in the
1577 .Dl Usage: .Rv Oo -std Oc Op Ao function Ac ...
1580 .Ql ".Rv -std atexit"
1583 .Bd -ragged -offset -indent
1584 \# a small hack to suppress a warning message
1585 .ds section-old "\*[section]
1588 .ds section "\*[section-old]
1594 option is valid only for manual page sections\~2 and\~3.
1595 Currently, this macro does nothing if used without the
1603 macro generates text for use in the
1607 .Dl Usage: .Ex Oo -std Oc Op Ao utility Ac ...
1613 .Bd -ragged -offset -indent
1614 \# a small hack to suppress a warning message
1615 .ds section-old "\*[section]
1618 .ds section "\*[section-old]
1624 option is valid only for manual page sections 1, 6 and\~8.
1625 Currently, this macro does nothing if used without the
1629 .Ss "Interactive Commands"
1633 macro designates an interactive or internal command.
1635 .Dl Usage: .Ic Ao argument Ac ...
1637 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ic\ setenv\ ,\ unsetenv" -compact -offset 15n
1640 .It Li ".Ic \*[q]do while {...}\*[q]"
1641 .Ic "do while {...}"
1642 .It Li ".Ic setenv , unsetenv"
1643 .Ic setenv , unsetenv
1647 The default width is 12n.
1653 macro is used to specify the library where a particular function is compiled
1656 .Dl Usage: .Lb Ao argument Ac ...
1658 Available arguments to
1660 and their results are:
1663 .Bl -tag -width ".Li libossaudio" -compact -offset indent
1729 Local, OS-specific additions might be found in the file
1731 look for strings named
1734 then denotes the keyword to be used with the
1742 command causes a line break before and after its arguments are printed.
1749 literal macro may be used for special characters, variable constants, etc.\&
1750 -- anything which should be displayed as it would be typed.
1752 .Dl Usage: .Li Ao argument Ac ...
1754 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Li\ cntrl-D\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1757 .It Li ".Li M1 M2 M3 ;"
1759 .It Li ".Li cntrl-D ) ,"
1761 .It Li ".Li 1024 ..."
1766 The default width is 16n.
1772 macro is used for the document title or subject name.
1773 It has the peculiarity of remembering the first argument it was called with,
1774 which should always be the subject name of the page.
1775 When called without arguments,
1777 regurgitates this initial name for the sole purpose of making less work for
1779 Note: A section two or three document function name is addressed with the
1787 and remaining sections.
1788 For interactive commands, such as the
1794 macro should be used.
1800 it can not recall the first argument it was invoked with.
1802 .Dl Usage: .Nm Oo Ao argument Ac Oc ...
1804 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Nm\ groff_mdoc" -compact -offset 15n
1805 .It Li ".Nm groff_mdoc"
1807 .It Li ".Nm \e-mdoc"
1809 .It Li ".Nm foo ) ) ,"
1816 The default width is 10n.
1822 macro places option brackets around any remaining arguments on the
1823 command line, and places any trailing punctuation outside the brackets.
1828 (which produce an opening and a closing option bracket respectively) may be used
1829 across one or more lines or to specify the exact position of the closing
1832 .Dl Usage: .Op Oo Ao option Ac Oc ...
1834 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Op\ Fl\ c\ Ar\ objfil\ Op\ Ar\ corfil\ ," -compact -offset 15n
1839 .It Li ".Op Fl k ) ."
1841 .It Li ".Op Fl k Ar kookfile"
1842 .Op Fl k Ar kookfile
1843 .It Li ".Op Fl k Ar kookfile ,"
1844 .Op Fl k Ar kookfile ,
1845 .It Li ".Op Ar objfil Op Ar corfil"
1846 .Op Ar objfil Op Ar corfil
1847 .It Li ".Op Fl c Ar objfil Op Ar corfil ,"
1848 .Op Fl c Ar objfil Op Ar corfil ,
1849 .It Li ".Op word1 word2"
1851 .It Li ".Li .Op Oo Ao option Ac Oc ..."
1852 .Li .Op Oo Ao options Ac Oc ...
1855 Here a typical example of the
1861 .Bd -literal -offset indent
1863 \&.Op Fl k Ar kilobytes
1864 \&.Op Fl i Ar interval
1872 .Bd -filled -offset indent
1874 .Op Fl k Ar kilobytes
1875 .Op Fl i Ar interval
1881 The default width values of
1885 are 14n and 10n, respectively.
1891 macro formats path or file names.
1892 If called without arguments, the
1894 string is output, which represents the current user's home directory.
1896 .Dl Usage: .Pa Oo Ao pathname Ac Oc ...
1898 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Pa\ /tmp/fooXXXXX\ )\ ." -compact -offset 15n
1901 .It Li ".Pa /usr/share"
1903 .It Li ".Pa /tmp/fooXXXXX ) ."
1904 .Pa /tmp/fooXXXXX ) .
1908 The default width is 32n.
1914 macro replaces standard abbreviations with their formal names.
1916 .Dl Usage: .St Ao abbreviation Ac ...
1919 .Dq Abbreviation/Formal Name
1925 .Bl -tag -width ".Li -iso9945-1-90" -compact -offset indent
1942 .Bl -tag -width ".Li -p1003.1g-2000" -compact -offset indent
1943 .It Li -iso9945-1-90
1945 .It Li -iso9945-1-96
1959 .It Li -p1003.1g-2000
1963 .It Li -p1003.1-2001
1965 .It Li -p1003.1-2004
1971 Part 2: Shell and Utilities
1973 .Bl -tag -width ".Li -p1003.1g-2000" -compact -offset indent
1974 .It Li -iso9945-2-93
1986 .Bl -tag -width ".Li -p1003.1g-2000" -compact -offset indent
2015 .Bl -tag -width ".Li -p1003.1g-2000" -compact -offset indent
2022 .Ss "Variable Types"
2026 macro may be used whenever a type is referenced.
2029 section, it causes a line break (useful for old style variable declarations).
2031 .Dl Usage: .Vt Ao type Ac ...
2033 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Vt\ extern\ char\ *optarg\ ;" -compact -offset 15n
2034 .It Li ".Vt extern char *optarg ;"
2035 .Vt extern char *optarg ;
2042 Generic variable reference.
2044 .Dl Usage: .Va Ao variable Ac ...
2046 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Va\ Xchar\ sX\ ]\ )\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
2049 .It Li ".Va settimer ,"
2051 .It Li ".Va \*[q]int *prt\*[q] ) :"
2053 .It Li ".Va \*[q]char s\*[q] ] ) ) ,"
2054 .Va "char s" ] ) ) ,
2058 The default width is 12n.
2060 .Ss "Manual Page Cross References"
2064 macro expects the first argument to be a manual page name.
2065 The optional second argument, if a string (defining the manual section), is
2066 put into parentheses.
2068 .Dl Usage: .Xr Ao man page name Ac Oo Ao section Ac Oc ...
2070 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Xr\ xinit\ 1x\ ;" -compact -offset 15n
2077 .It Li ".Xr xinit 1x ;"
2082 The default width is 10n.
2085 .Sh "GENERAL TEXT DOMAIN"
2090 .Dl Usage: .At Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2092 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .At\ v6\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2099 The following values for
2103 .Dl 32v, v1, v2, v3, v4, v5, v6, v7, V, V.1, V.2, V.3, V.4
2108 .Dl "Usage: .Bx" Bro -alpha | -beta | -devel Brc ...
2109 .Dl " .Bx" Oo Ao version Ac Oo Ao release Ac Oc Oc ...
2111 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bx\ -devel" -compact -offset 15n
2116 .It Li ".Bx \-devel"
2121 will be prepended to the string
2123 The following values for
2127 .Dl Reno, reno, Tahoe, tahoe, Lite, lite, Lite2, lite2
2132 .Dl Usage: .Nx Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2134 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Nx\ 1.4\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2141 For possible values of
2143 see the description of the
2145 command above in section
2146 .Sx "TITLE MACROS" .
2151 .Dl Usage: .Fx Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2153 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Fx\ 2.2\ ." -compact -offset 15n
2160 For possible values of
2162 see the description of the
2164 command above in section
2165 .Sx "TITLE MACROS" .
2170 .Dl Usage: .Ox Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2172 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ox\ 1.0" -compact -offset 15n
2180 .Dl Usage: .Bsx Oo Ao version Ac Oc ...
2182 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bsx\ 1.0" -compact -offset 15n
2192 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ux" -compact -offset 15n
2197 .Ss "Emphasis Macro"
2199 Text may be stressed or emphasized with the
2202 The usual font for emphasis is italic.
2204 .Dl Usage: .Em Ao argument Ac ...
2206 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Em\ vide\ infra\ )\ )\ ," -compact -offset 15n
2207 .It Li ".Em does not"
2209 .It Li ".Em exceed 1024 ."
2211 .It Li ".Em vide infra ) ) ,"
2212 .Em vide infra ) ) ,
2216 The default width is 10n.
2222 font mode must be ended with the
2224 macro (the latter takes no arguments).
2225 Font modes may be nested within other font modes.
2228 has the following syntax:
2230 .Dl .Bf Ao font mode Ac
2233 must be one of the following three types:
2235 .Bl -tag -width ".Sy \&Sy | Fl symbolic" -compact -offset indent
2236 .It Sy \&Em | Fl emphasis
2239 macro was used for the entire block of text.
2240 .It Sy \&Li | Fl literal
2243 macro was used for the entire block of text.
2244 .It Sy \&Sy | Fl symbolic
2247 macro was used for the entire block of text.
2250 Both macros are neither callable nor parsed.
2252 .Ss "Enclosure and Quoting Macros"
2254 The concept of enclosure is similar to quoting.
2255 The object being to enclose one or more strings between a pair of characters
2256 like quotes or parentheses.
2257 The terms quoting and enclosure are used interchangeably throughout this
2259 Most of the one-line enclosure macros end in small letter
2261 to give a hint of quoting, but there are a few irregularities.
2262 For each enclosure macro there is also a pair of open and close macros which
2263 end in small letters
2273 .Bd -filled -offset 4n
2274 .Bl -column "quote" "close" "open" "Angle Bracket Enclosure" "`string' or string"
2275 .Em Quote Ta Em Open Ta Em Close Ta Em Function Ta Em Result
2276 .No .Aq Ta .Ao Ta .Ac Ta "Angle Bracket Enclosure" Ta Ao string Ac
2277 .No .Bq Ta .Bo Ta .Bc Ta "Bracket Enclosure" Ta Bo string Bc
2278 .No .Brq Ta .Bro Ta .Brc Ta "Brace Enclosure" Ta Bro string Brc
2279 .No .Dq Ta .Do Ta .Dc Ta "Double Quote" Ta Do string Dc
2280 .No .Eq Ta .Eo Ta .Ec Ta "Enclose String (in XX)" Ta XXstringXX
2281 .No .Pq Ta .Po Ta .Pc Ta "Parenthesis Enclosure" Ta Po string Pc
2282 .No .Ql Ta Ta Ta "Quoted Literal" Ta So string Sc or Li string
2283 .No .Qq Ta .Qo Ta .Qc Ta "Straight Double Quote" Ta Qo string Qc
2284 .No .Sq Ta .So Ta .Sc Ta "Single Quote" Ta So string Sc
2288 All macros ending with
2292 have a default width value of 12n.
2294 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ec , .Eo"
2296 These macros expect the first argument to be the opening and closing strings
2299 Due to the nine-argument limit in the original troff program two other
2300 macros have been implemented which are now rather obsolete:
2302 takes the first and second parameter as the left and right enclosure string,
2303 which are then used to enclose the arguments of
2305 The default width value is 12n for both macros.
2307 The first and second arguments of this macro are the opening and
2308 closing strings respectively, followed by the arguments to be enclosed.
2310 The quoted literal macro behaves differently in troff and nroff mode.
2313 a quoted literal is always quoted.
2314 If formatted with troff, an item is only quoted if the width of the item is
2315 less than three constant width characters.
2316 This is to make short strings more visible where the font change to literal
2317 (constant width) is less noticeable.
2319 The default width is 16n.
2321 The prefix macro suppresses the whitespace between its first and second
2324 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Pf\ (\ Fa\ name2" -offset indent
2325 .It Li ".Pf ( Fa name2"
2330 The default width is 12n.
2334 macro (see below) performs the analogous suffix function.
2338 macro inserts an apostrophe and exits any special text modes, continuing in
2344 Examples of quoting:
2347 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bq\ Em\ Greek\ ,\ French\ ." -compact -offset indent
2350 .It Li ".Aq Pa ctype.h ) ,"
2354 .It Li ".Bq Em Greek , French ."
2355 .Bq Em Greek , French .
2358 .It Li ".Dq string abc ."
2360 .It Li ".Dq \'^[A-Z]\'"
2362 .It Li ".Ql man mdoc"
2366 .It Li ".Qq string ) ,"
2368 .It Li ".Qq string Ns ),"
2374 .It Li ".Em or Ap ing"
2379 For a good example of nested enclosure macros, see the
2382 It was created from the same underlying enclosure macros as those presented
2388 extended argument list macros are discussed below.
2390 .Ss "No-Op or Normal Text Macro"
2394 macro can be used in a macro command line for parameters which should
2401 if you really want that English word (and not the macro) as a parameter.
2403 .Dl Usage: .No Ao argument Ac ...
2405 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .No\ test\ Ta\ with\ Ta\ tabs" -compact -offset 15n
2406 .It Li ".No test Ta with Ta tabs"
2407 .No test Ta with Ta tabs
2411 The default width is 12n.
2413 .Ss "No-Space Macro"
2417 macro suppresses insertion of a space between the current position and its
2419 For example, it is useful for old style argument lists where there is no
2420 space between the flag and argument:
2422 .Dl "Usage:" ... Ao argument Ac \&Ns Oo Ao argument Ac Oc ...
2423 .Dl " " .Ns Ao argument Ac ...
2425 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Op\ Fl\ I\ Ns\ Ar\ directory" -compact -offset 15n
2426 .It Li ".Op Fl I Ns Ar directory"
2427 .Op Fl I Ns Ar directory
2432 macro always invokes the
2434 macro after eliminating the space unless another macro name follows it.
2435 If used as a command (i.e., the second form above in the
2442 .Ss "Section Cross References"
2446 macro designates a reference to a section header within the same document.
2448 .Dl Usage: .Sx Ao section reference Ac ...
2450 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Sx\ FILES" -offset 15n
2456 The default width is 16n.
2460 The symbolic emphasis macro is generally a boldface macro in either the
2461 symbolic sense or the traditional English usage.
2463 .Dl Usage: .Sy Ao symbol Ac ...
2465 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Sy\ Important\ Notice" -compact -offset 15n
2466 .It Li ".Sy Important Notice"
2467 .Sy Important Notice
2471 The default width is 6n.
2473 .Ss Mathematical Symbols
2475 Use this macro for mathematical symbols and similar things.
2477 .Dl Usage: .Ms Ao math symbol Ac ...
2479 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Ms\ sigma" -compact -offset 15n
2485 The default width is 6n.
2487 .Ss "References and Citations"
2489 The following macros make a modest attempt to handle references.
2490 At best, the macros make it convenient to manually drop in a subset of
2494 .Bl -tag -width 6n -offset indent -compact
2496 Reference start (does not take arguments).
2497 Causes a line break in the
2499 section and begins collection of reference information until the reference
2502 Reference end (does not take arguments).
2503 The reference is printed.
2505 Reference author name; one name per invocation.
2509 City/place (not implemented yet).
2513 Issuer/publisher name.
2519 Optional information.
2523 Corporate or foreign author.
2532 Macros beginning with
2534 are not callable but accept multiple arguments in the usual way.
2537 macro is handled properly as a parameter; other macros will cause strange
2542 can be used outside of the
2548 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2552 \&.%T "Implementation Notes on foobar(1)"
2553 \&.%R "Technical Report ABC-DE-12-345"
2554 \&.%Q "Drofnats College, Nowhere"
2561 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
2565 .%T "Implementation Notes on foobar(1)"
2566 .%R "Technical Report ABC-DE-12-345"
2567 .%Q "Drofnats College, Nowhere"
2572 .Ss "Trade Names (or Acronyms and Type Names)"
2574 The trade name macro prints its arguments in a smaller font.
2575 Its intended use is to imitate a small caps fonts for uppercase acronyms.
2577 .Dl Usage: .Tn Ao symbol Ac ...
2579 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Tn\ ASCII" -compact -offset 15n
2587 The default width is 10n.
2589 .Ss "Extended Arguments"
2595 macros allow one to extend an argument list on a macro boundary for the
2602 are implemented similarly to all other macros opening and closing an
2603 enclosure (without inserting characters, of course).
2604 This means that the following is true for those macros also.
2606 Here is an example of
2608 using the space mode macro to turn spacing off:
2610 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2612 \&.It Xo Sy I Ar operation
2613 \&.No \een Ar count No \een
2621 .Bd -filled -offset indent
2624 .It Xo Sy I Ar operation
2625 .No \en Ar count No \en
2634 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2636 \&.It Cm S No / Ar old_pattern Xo
2637 \&.No / Ar new_pattern
2646 .Bd -filled -offset indent
2649 .It Cm S No \&/ Ar old_pattern Xo
2650 .No \&/ Ar new_pattern
2660 and enclosure macros: Test the value of a variable.
2662 .Bd -literal -offset indent
2665 \&.Oo \e&! Oc Ns Ar variable Oo
2666 \&.Ar operator variable ...
2673 .Bd -filled -offset indent
2674 .Bl -tag -width flag -compact
2677 .Oo \&! Oc Ns Ar variable Oo
2678 .Ar operator variable ...
2685 .Sh "PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN"
2687 .Ss "Section Headers"
2691 section header macros are required in every man page.
2692 The remaining section headers are recommended at the discretion of the
2693 author writing the manual page.
2696 macro is parsed but not generally callable.
2697 It can be used as an argument in a call to
2699 only; it then reactivates the default font for
2702 The default width is 8n.
2704 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Sh\ RETURN\ VALUES"
2709 If not specified, headers, footers and page layout defaults will not be set
2710 and things will be rather unpleasant.
2713 section consists of at least three items.
2716 name macro naming the subject of the man page.
2717 The second is the name description macro,
2719 which separates the subject name from the third item, which is the
2721 The description should be the most terse and lucid possible, as the space
2727 then all its arguments.
2729 .It Li ".Sh LIBRARY"
2730 This section is for section two and three function calls.
2731 It should consist of a single
2735 .Sx "Library Names" .
2737 .It Li ".Sh SYNOPSIS"
2740 section describes the typical usage of the subject of a man page.
2741 The macros required are either
2752 The function name macro
2754 is required for manual page sections\~2 and\~3; the command and general name
2757 is required for sections 1, 5, 6, 7, and\~8.
2758 Section\~4 manuals require a
2763 configuration device usage macro.
2764 Several other macros may be necessary to produce the synopsis line as shown
2767 .Bd -filled -offset indent
2775 The following macros were used:
2778 .Dl ".Op Fl benstuv"
2782 .It Li ".Sh DESCRIPTION"
2783 In most cases the first text in the
2785 section is a brief paragraph on the command, function or file, followed by a
2786 lexical list of options and respective explanations.
2787 To create such a list, the
2794 macros are used (see
2795 .Sx Lists and Columns
2798 .It Li ".Sh IMPLEMENTATION NOTES"
2799 Implementation specific information should be placed here.
2801 .It Li ".Sh RETURN VALUES"
2802 Sections 2, 3 and\~9 function return values should go here.
2805 macro may be used to generate text for use in the
2807 section for most section 2 and 3 library functions;
2809 .Sx "Return Values" .
2815 section headers are part of the preferred manual page layout and must be
2816 used appropriately to maintain consistency.
2817 They are listed in the order in which they would be used.
2819 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Sh\ COMPATIBILITY"
2820 .It Li ".Sh ENVIRONMENT"
2823 section should reveal any related environment variables and clues to their
2824 behavior and/or usage.
2827 Files which are used or created by the man page subject should be listed via
2834 .It Li ".Sh EXAMPLES"
2835 There are several ways to create examples.
2838 section below for details.
2840 .It Li ".Sh DIAGNOSTICS"
2841 Diagnostic messages from a command should be placed in this section.
2844 macro may be used to generate text for use in the
2846 section for most section 1, 6 and\~8 commands;
2850 .It Li ".Sh COMPATIBILITY"
2851 Known compatibility issues (e.g. deprecated options or parameters)
2852 should be listed here.
2855 Specific error handling, especially from library functions (man page
2856 sections 2, 3, and\~9) should go here.
2859 macro is used to specify an error (errno).
2861 .It Li ".Sh SEE ALSO"
2862 References to other material on the man page topic and cross references to
2863 other relevant man pages should be placed in the
2866 Cross references are specified using the
2871 style references are not accommodated.
2873 It is recommended that the cross references are sorted on the section
2874 number, then alphabetically on the names within a section, and placed
2875 in that order and comma separated.
2883 .It Li ".Sh STANDARDS"
2884 If the command, library function or file adheres to a specific
2885 implementation such as
2889 this should be noted here.
2890 If the command does not adhere to any standard, its history should be noted
2895 .It Li ".Sh HISTORY"
2896 Any command which does not adhere to any specific standards should be
2897 outlined historically in this section.
2899 .It Li ".Sh AUTHORS"
2900 Credits should be placed here.
2903 macro should be used to specify the name(s) of the person(s).
2906 Blatant problems with the topic go here.
2912 sections may be added; for example, this section was set with:
2914 .Bd -literal -offset 15n
2915 \&.Sh "PAGE STRUCTURE DOMAIN"
2918 .Ss "Subsection Headers"
2920 Subsection headers have exactly the same syntax as section headers:
2922 is parsed but not generally callable.
2923 It can be used as an argument in a call to
2925 only; it then reactivates the default font for
2928 The default width is 8n.
2930 .Ss "Paragraphs and Line Spacing"
2932 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Pp"
2936 paragraph command may be used to specify a line space where necessary.
2937 The macro is not necessary after a
2945 macro (which both assert a vertical distance unless the
2949 The macro is neither callable nor parsed and takes no arguments; an
2956 .\" This worked with version one, need to redo for version three
2959 .\" .Cw (ax+bx+c) \ is\ produced\ by\ \&
2960 .\" .\".Cw (ax+bx+c) \&.Va_by_) \&_and_\& \&[?/]m_b1_e1_f1[?/]\&
2977 .\" .Em is produced by
2993 .\" This example shows the same equation in a different format.
2997 .\" signs were forced with
3001 .\" .Cw (ax\ +\ bx\ +\ c) \ is\ produced\ by\ \&
3002 .\" .\".Cw (ax+bx+c) \&.Va_by_) \&_and_\& \&[?/]m_b1_e1_f1[?/]\&
3013 .\" .Li \&.Cx \e\ +\e\ \e&
3024 .\" .Em is produced by
3032 .\" .Li \&.Cx \e\ +\e\ \e&
3043 .\" The incantation below was
3049 .\" .Cw \&[?/]m_b1_e1_f1[?/]\& is\ produced\ by
3051 .\" .Li \&.Cx Op Sy ?/
3061 .\" .Em is produced by
3063 .\" .Li \&.Ar \e\ b1 e1 f1
3077 The only keep that is implemented at this time is for words.
3084 The only option that
3086 accepts currently is
3088 (this is also the default if no option is given) which is useful for
3089 preventing line breaks in the middle of options.
3090 In the example for the make command line arguments (see
3091 .Sx What's in a Name ) ,
3094 from placing up the flag and the argument on separate lines.
3096 Both macros are neither callable nor parsed.
3098 More work needs to be done with the keep macros; specifically, a
3100 option should be added.
3102 .Ss "Examples and Displays"
3104 There are seven types of displays.
3106 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .D1"
3109 Display one line of indented text.
3110 This macro is parsed but not callable.
3114 The above was produced by:
3115 .Li ".D1 Fl ldghfstru" .
3119 Display one line of indented
3124 example macro has been used throughout this file.
3125 It allows the indentation (display) of one line of text.
3126 Its default font is set to constant width (literal).
3128 is parsed but not callable.
3130 .Dl % ls -ldg /usr/local/bin
3132 The above was produced by:
3133 .Li ".Dl % ls -ldg /usr/local/bin" .
3139 display must be ended with the
3142 It has the following syntax:
3144 .Bd -ragged -compact
3145 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bd" -offset indent
3147 .Bro \-literal | \-filled | \-unfilled | \-ragged | \-centered Brc
3148 .Oo \-offset Ao string Ac Oc Oo \-file Ao file name Ac Oc Oo \-compact Oc Xc
3153 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl file Ao Ar file name Ac " -compact
3155 Fill, but do not adjust the right margin (only left-justify).
3157 Center lines between the current left and right margin.
3158 Note that each single line is centered.
3160 Do not fill; display a block of text as typed, using line breaks as
3161 specified by the user.
3162 This can produce overlong lines without warning messages.
3164 Display a filled block.
3165 The block of text is formatted (i.e., the text is justified on both the left
3168 Display block with literal font (usually fixed-width).
3169 Useful for source code or simple tabbed or spaced text.
3170 .It Fl file Ao Ar file name Ac
3171 The file whose name follows the
3173 flag is read and displayed before any data enclosed with
3177 using the selected display type.
3179 .Xr troff/ Ns Nm \-mdoc
3180 commands in the file will be processed.
3181 .It Fl offset Ao Ar string Ac
3184 is specified with one of the following strings, the string is interpreted to
3185 indicate the level of indentation for the forthcoming block of text:
3188 .Bl -tag -width ".Ar indent-two" -compact
3190 Align block on the current left margin; this is the default mode of
3193 Supposedly center the block.
3194 At this time unfortunately, the block merely gets left aligned about an
3195 imaginary center margin.
3197 Indent by one default indent value or tab.
3198 The default indent value is also used for the
3202 macros, so one is guaranteed the two types of displays will line up.
3203 The indentation value is normally set to\~6n or about two thirds of an inch
3204 (six constant width characters).
3206 Indent two times the default indent value.
3210 aligns the block about two inches from the right side of the page.
3211 This macro needs work and perhaps may never do the right thing within
3218 is a valid numeric expression instead
3219 .Pf ( Em with a scale indicator other than
3221 use that value for indentation.
3222 The most useful scale indicators are
3226 specifying the so-called
3230 This is approximately the width of the letters
3235 of the current font (for nroff output, both scale indicators give the same
3239 isn't a numeric expression, it is tested whether it is an
3241 macro name, and the default offset value associated with this macro is used.
3242 Finally, if all tests fail,
3245 (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the offset.
3247 Suppress insertion of vertical space before begin of display.
3251 End display (takes no arguments).
3254 .Ss "Lists and Columns"
3256 There are several types of lists which may be initiated with the
3259 Items within the list are specified with the
3261 item macro, and each list must end with the
3264 Lists may be nested within themselves and within displays.
3265 The use of columns inside of lists or lists inside of columns is unproven.
3267 In addition, several list attributes may be specified such as the width of a
3268 tag, the list offset, and compactness (blank lines between items allowed or
3270 Most of this document has been formatted with a tag style list
3273 It has the following syntax forms:
3276 .Bd -ragged -compact
3277 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bl" -offset indent -compact
3279 .Bro \-hang | \-ohang | \-tag | \-diag | \-inset Brc
3280 .Oo \-width Ao string Ac Oc
3281 .Oo \-offset Ao string Ac Oc Oo \-compact Oc Xc
3283 .No \-column Oo \-offset Ao string Ac Oc
3284 .Ao string1 Ac Ao string2 Ac ... Xc
3286 .Bro \-item | \-enum Oo \-nested Oc | \-bullet | \-hyphen | \-dash Brc
3287 .Oo \-offset Ao string Ac Oc Oo \-compact Oc Xc
3292 And now a detailed description of the list types.
3295 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl column" -compact
3299 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3300 \&.Bl -bullet -offset indent -compact
3302 Bullet one goes here.
3312 .Bl -bullet -offset indent -compact
3314 Bullet one goes here.
3320 .It Fl dash No ( or Fl hyphen )
3323 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3324 \&.Bl -dash -offset indent -compact
3336 .Bl -dash -offset indent -compact
3347 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3348 \&.Bl -enum -offset indent -compact
3360 .Bl -enum -offset indent -compact
3368 If you want to nest enumerated lists, use the
3370 flag (starting with the second-level list):
3372 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3373 \&.Bl -enum -offset indent -compact
3376 \&.Bl -enum -nested -compact
3380 And item three here.
3391 .Bl -enum -offset indent -compact
3394 .Bl -enum -nested -compact
3398 And item three here.
3408 without list markers.
3410 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3411 \&.Bl -item -offset indent
3427 .Bl -item -offset indent
3443 to specify the tag width.
3446 .Bl -tag -width "PPID" -compact -offset indent
3448 sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
3452 resulting from references by the process
3453 to pages not loaded in core.
3455 numerical user-id of process owner
3457 numerical id of parent of process priority
3458 (non-positive when in non-interruptible wait)
3464 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3465 \&.Bl -tag -width "PPID" -compact -offset indent
3467 sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
3471 resulting from references by the process
3472 to pages not loaded in core.
3474 numerical user-id of process owner
3476 numerical id of parent of process priority
3477 (non-positive when in non-interruptible wait)
3483 Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists and are similar to inset
3484 lists except callable macros are ignored.
3487 flag is not meaningful in this context.
3491 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3493 \&.It You can't use Sy here.
3494 The message says all.
3502 .It You can't use Sy here.
3503 The message says all.
3508 A list with hanging tags.
3510 .Bl -hang -offset indent
3512 labels appear similar to tagged lists when the
3513 label is smaller than the label width.
3514 .It Em Longer hanged list labels
3515 blend into the paragraph unlike
3516 tagged paragraph labels.
3519 And the unformatted text which created it:
3521 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3522 \&.Bl -hang -offset indent
3524 labels appear similar to tagged lists when the
3525 label is smaller than the label width.
3526 \&.It Em Longer hanged list labels
3527 blend into the paragraph unlike
3528 tagged paragraph labels.
3534 Lists with overhanging tags do not use indentation for the items; tags are
3535 written to a separate line.
3537 .Bl -ohang -offset indent
3539 sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
3543 resulting from references by the process
3544 to pages not loaded in core.
3546 numerical user-id of process owner
3548 numerical id of parent of process priority
3549 (non-positive when in non-interruptible wait)
3555 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3556 \&.Bl -ohang -offset indent
3558 sleep time of the process (seconds blocked)
3562 resulting from references by the process
3563 to pages not loaded in core.
3565 numerical user-id of process owner
3567 numerical id of parent of process priority
3568 (non-positive when in non-interruptible wait)
3574 Here is an example of inset labels:
3575 .Bl -inset -offset indent
3577 The tagged list (also called a tagged paragraph)
3578 is the most common type of list used in the
3582 attribute as described below.
3584 Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists
3585 and are similar to inset lists except callable
3588 Hanged labels are a matter of taste.
3590 Overhanging labels are nice when space is constrained.
3592 Inset labels are useful for controlling blocks of
3593 paragraphs and are valuable for converting
3595 manuals to other formats.
3598 Here is the source text which produced the above example:
3600 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3601 \&.Bl -inset -offset indent
3603 The tagged list (also called a tagged paragraph)
3604 is the most common type of list used in the
3607 Diag lists create section four diagnostic lists
3608 and are similar to inset lists except callable
3611 Hanged labels are a matter of taste.
3613 Overhanging labels are nice when space is constrained.
3615 Inset labels are useful for controlling blocks of
3616 paragraphs and are valuable for converting
3618 manuals to other formats.
3624 This list type generates multiple columns.
3625 The number of columns and the width of each column is determined by the
3636 (dot) immediately followed by a valid
3638 macro name, interpret
3640 and use the width of the result.
3641 Otherwise, the width of
3643 (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the
3649 argument is parsed to make a row, each column within the row is a separate
3650 argument separated by a tab or the
3656 .Bl -column -offset indent ".Sy String" ".Sy Nroff" ".Sy Troff"
3657 .It Sy String Ta Sy Nroff Ta Sy Troff
3658 .It Li <= Ta <= Ta \*(<=
3659 .It Li >= Ta >= Ta \*(>=
3666 \&.Bl -column -offset indent ".Sy String" ".Sy Nroff" ".Sy Troff"
3667 \&.It Sy String Ta Sy Nroff Ta Sy Troff
3668 \&.It Li <= Ta <= Ta \e*(<=
3669 \&.It Li >= Ta >= Ta \e*(>=
3677 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl indent Ao Ar string Ac"
3678 .It Fl width Ao Ar string Ac
3683 (dot) immediately followed by a valid
3685 macro name, interpret
3687 and use the width of the result.
3688 Almost all lists in this document use this option.
3692 .Bd -literal -offset indent
3693 \&.Bl -tag -width ".Fl test Ao Ar string Ac"
3694 \&.It Fl test Ao Ar string Ac
3695 This is a longer sentence to show how the
3697 flag works in combination with a tag list.
3704 .Bl -tag -width ".Fl test Ao Ar string Ac"
3705 .It Fl test Ao Ar string Ac
3706 This is a longer sentence to show how the
3708 flag works in combination with a tag list.
3712 (Note that the current state of
3716 is interpreted; afterwards, all variables are restored again.
3717 However, boxes (used for enclosures) can't be saved in
3720 as a consequence, arguments must always be
3722 to avoid nasty errors.
3723 For example, do not write
3726 .Ql ".Ao Ar string Xc"
3727 instead if you really need only an opening angle bracket.)
3731 is a valid numeric expression
3732 .Em ( with a scale indicator other than
3734 use that value for indentation.
3735 The most useful scale indicators are
3739 specifying the so-called
3743 This is approximately the width of the letters
3748 of the current font (for nroff output, both scale indicators give the same
3752 isn't a numeric expression, it is tested whether it is an
3754 macro name, and the default width value associated with this macro is used.
3755 Finally, if all tests fail,
3758 (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the width.
3760 If a width is not specified for the tag list type, every time
3762 is invoked, an attempt is made to determine an appropriate width.
3763 If the first argument to
3765 is a callable macro, the default width for that macro will be used;
3766 otherwise, the default width of
3769 .It Fl offset Ao Ar string Ac
3774 a default indent value (normally set to\~6n, similar to the value used in
3781 is a valid numeric expression instead
3782 .Pf ( Em with a scale indicator other than
3784 use that value for indentation.
3785 The most useful scale indicators are
3789 specifying the so-called
3793 This is approximately the width of the letters
3798 of the current font (for nroff output, both scale indicators give the same
3802 isn't a numeric expression, it is tested whether it is an
3804 macro name, and the default offset value associated with this macro is used.
3805 Finally, if all tests fail,
3808 (typeset with a fixed-width font) is taken as the offset.
3810 Suppress insertion of vertical space before the list and between list items.
3814 .Sh "MISCELLANEOUS MACROS"
3816 Here a list of the remaining macros which do not fit well into one of the
3818 We couldn't find real examples for the following macros:
3822 They are documented here for completeness \- if you know how to use them
3823 properly please send a mail to
3824 .Mt bug-groff@gnu.org
3825 (including an example).
3827 .Bl -tag -width ".Li .Bt"
3831 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
3835 It is neither callable nor parsed and takes no arguments.
3839 .Dl Usage: .Fr Ao function return value Ac ...
3841 Don't use this macro.
3842 It allows a break right before the return value (usually a single digit)
3843 which is bad typographical behaviour.
3846 to tie the return value to the previous word.
3849 Use this macro to include a (header) file literally.
3852 followed by the file name, then the contents of
3855 .Dl Usage: .Hf Ao file Ac
3857 It is neither callable nor parsed.
3863 Exact usage unknown.
3864 The documentation in the
3866 source file describes it as a macro for
3867 .Dq "menu entries" .
3869 Its default width is 6n.
3875 Exact usage unknown.
3876 The documentation in the
3878 source file describes it as
3879 .Dq old function type (fortran) .
3882 Activate (toggle) space mode.
3884 .Dl Usage: .Sm Oo on | off Oc ...
3886 If space mode is off, no spaces between macro arguments are inserted.
3887 If called without a parameter (or if the next parameter is neither
3897 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
3901 It is neither callable nor parsed and takes no arguments.
3905 .Sh "PREDEFINED STRINGS"
3907 The following strings are predefined:
3909 .Bl -column String infinity "Troff " "straight double quote" -offset indent
3910 .It Sy String Ta Sy Nroff Ta Sy Troff Ta Sy Meaning
3911 .It Li <= Ta <= Ta \*[<=] Ta "less equal"
3912 .It Li >= Ta >= Ta \*[>=] Ta "greater equal"
3913 .It Li Rq Ta '' Ta \*[Rq] Ta "right double quote"
3914 .It Li Lq Ta `` Ta \*[Lq] Ta "left double quote"
3915 .It Li ua Ta ^ Ta \*[ua] Ta "upwards arrow"
3916 .It Li aa Ta \' Ta \*[aa] Ta "acute accent"
3917 .It Li ga Ta \` Ta \*[ga] Ta "grave accent"
3918 .It Li q Ta \&" Ta \*[q] Ta "straight double quote"
3919 .It Li Pi Ta pi Ta \*[Pi] Ta "greek pi"
3920 .It Li Ne Ta != Ta \*[Ne] Ta "not equal"
3921 .It Li Le Ta <= Ta \*[Le] Ta "less equal"
3922 .It Li Ge Ta >= Ta \*[Ge] Ta "greater equal"
3923 .It Li Lt Ta < Ta \*[Lt] Ta "less than"
3924 .It Li Gt Ta > Ta \*[Gt] Ta "greater than"
3925 .It Li Pm Ta +\- Ta \*[Pm] Ta "plus minus"
3926 .It Li If Ta infinity Ta \*[If] Ta "infinity"
3927 .It Li Am Ta \*[Am] Ta \*[Am] Ta "ampersand"
3928 .It Li Na Ta \*[Na] Ta \*[Na] Ta "not a number"
3929 .It Li Ba Ta \*[Ba] Ta \*[Ba] Ta "vertical bar"
3932 The names of the columns
3936 are a bit misleading;
3940 representation, while
3942 gives the best glyph form available.
3943 For example, a Unicode enabled
3945 device will have proper glyph representations for all strings, whereas the
3946 enhancement for a Latin1
3948 device is only the plus-minus sign.
3950 String names which consist of two characters can be written as
3952 string names which consist of one character can be written as
3954 A generic syntax for a string name of any length is
3963 \#=====================================================================
3969 available in previous versions of
3971 has been removed since
3974 provides better facilities to check parameters; additionally, many error and
3975 warning messages have been added to this macro package, making it both more
3978 The only remaining debugging macro is
3980 which yields a register dump of all global registers and strings.
3981 A normal user will never need it.
3984 .Sh "FORMATTING WITH GROFF, TROFF, AND NROFF"
3986 By default, the package inhibits page breaks, headers, and footers if
3993 to make the manual more efficient for viewing on-line.
3994 This behaviour can be changed (e.g.\& to create a hardcopy of the
3996 output) by setting the register
3998 to zero while calling
4000 resulting in multiple pages instead of a single, very long page:
4002 .Dl groff -Tlatin1 -rcR=0 -mdoc foo.man > foo.txt
4004 For double-sided printing, set register
4008 .Dl groff -Tps -rD1 -mdoc foo.man > foo.ps
4010 To change the document font size to 11pt or 12pt, set register
4014 .Dl groff -Tdvi -rS11 -mdoc foo.man > foo.dvi
4022 The line and title length can be changed by setting the registers
4028 .Dl groff -Tutf8 -rLL=100n -rLT=100n -mdoc foo.man | less
4030 If not set, both registers default to 78n for TTY devices and 6.5i
4036 .Bl -tag -width mdoc/doc-ditroff -compact
4038 The main manual macro package.
4040 A wrapper file to call
4042 .It Pa mdoc/doc-common
4043 Common strings, definitions, stuff related typographic output.
4044 .It Pa mdoc/doc-nroff
4045 Definitions used for a
4048 .It Pa mdoc/doc-ditroff
4049 Definitions used for all other devices.
4051 Local additions and customizations.
4053 This file checks whether the
4057 package should be used.
4071 Section 3f has not been added to the header routines.
4074 font should be changed in
4079 needs to have a check to prevent splitting up
4080 if the line length is too short.
4082 separates the last parenthesis, and sometimes
4083 looks ridiculous if a line is in fill mode.
4085 The list and display macros do not do any keeps
4086 and certainly should be able to.
4087 .\" Note what happens if the parameter list overlaps a newline
4089 .\" to make sure a line boundary is crossed:
4091 .\" \&.Fn struct\e\ dictionarytable\e\ *dictionarylookup struct\e\ dictionarytable\e\ *tab[]
4094 .\" produces, nudge nudge,
4095 .\" .Fn struct\ dictionarytable\ *dictionarylookup char\ *h struct\ dictionarytable\ *tab[] ,
4096 .\" .Fn struct\ dictionarytable\ *dictionarylookup char\ *h struct\ dictionarytable\ *tab[] ,
4098 .\" .Fn struct\ dictionarytable\ *dictionarylookup char\ *h struct\ dictionarytable\ *tab[] .
4100 .\" If double quotes are used, for example:
4102 .\" \&.Fn \*qstruct dictionarytable *dictionarylookup\*q \*qchar *h\*q \*qstruct dictionarytable *tab[]\*q
4105 .\" produces, nudge nudge,
4106 .\" .Fn "struct dictionarytable *dictionarylookup" "char *h" "struct dictionarytable *tab[]" ,
4108 .\" .Fn "struct dictionarytable *dictionarylookup" "char *h" "struct dictionarytable *tab[]" ,
4110 .\" .Fn "struct dictionarytable *dictionarylookup" "char *h" "struct dictionarytable *tab[]" .
4112 .\" Not a pretty sight...
4113 .\" In a paragraph, a long parameter containing unpaddable spaces as
4114 .\" in the former example will cause
4116 .\" to break the line and spread
4117 .\" the remaining words out.
4118 .\" The latter example will adjust nicely to
4119 .\" justified margins, but may break in between an argument and its
4123 .\" the right margin adjustment is normally ragged and the problem is
4126 .\" Local Variables: