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authorIngo Schwarze <schwarze@cvs.openbsd.org>2009-07-26 00:56:54 +0000
committerIngo Schwarze <schwarze@cvs.openbsd.org>2009-07-26 00:56:54 +0000
commitf349d68795f94fc6db05400eb7743004ae5587e2 (patch)
tree4dd49b34ed40d0e6679fbcad395529cf616a3a2d
parent4a329c946c07596adc52cd23af09cd89b113aacb (diff)
sync to 1.8.1: small clarity updates;
while here, strip trailing white space
-rw-r--r--usr.bin/mandoc/manuals.786
1 files changed, 29 insertions, 57 deletions
diff --git a/usr.bin/mandoc/manuals.7 b/usr.bin/mandoc/manuals.7
index 4373c85bbc1..a7d309ce1be 100644
--- a/usr.bin/mandoc/manuals.7
+++ b/usr.bin/mandoc/manuals.7
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.\" $Id: manuals.7,v 1.3 2009/07/07 00:27:10 schwarze Exp $
+.\" $Id: manuals.7,v 1.4 2009/07/26 00:56:53 schwarze Exp $
.\"
.\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@kth.se>
.\"
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@
.\" WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN
.\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
.\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
-.\"
-.Dd $Mdocdate: July 7 2009 $
+.\"
+.Dd $Mdocdate: July 26 2009 $
.Dt MANUALS 7
.Os
.\" SECTION
@@ -28,15 +28,15 @@
.Pp
A system component's documentation describes the utility of that
component, whether it's a device driver, an executable or, most
-importantly, a game.
+importantly, a game.
.Pp
-This document serves as a tutorial to writing
-.Ux
+This document serves as a tutorial to writing
+.Ux
documentation
.Pq Dq manuals .
.\" SECTION
-.Sh COMPOSITION
-First, copy over the manual template from
+.Sh ENVIRONMENT
+First, copy over the manual template from
.Pa /usr/share/misc/mdoc.template
into your source directory.
.Pp
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ file and wire protocol formats
games
.It 7
tutorials, documents and papers
-.It 8
+.It 8
administrator utilities
.It 9
in-kernel routines
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ other manuals by that same name before committing:
.Pp
.Dl % apropos myname
.Pp
-Manual files are named
+Manual files are named
.Pa myname.mysection ,
such as
.Pa manuals.7
@@ -103,36 +103,6 @@ for this document. Rename the template file:
.Pp
.Dl % mv mdoc.template myname.mysection
.\" SUBSECTION
-.Ss Input Language
-Manuals should
-.Em always
-be written in the
-.Xr mdoc 7
-formatting language.
-.Pp
-There exist other documentation-specific languages, such as the
-historical
-.Xr man 7
-package of
-.Xr roff 7 ;
-newer languages such as DocBook or texinfo; or even ad-hoc conventions
-such as README files.
-.Em Avoid these formats .
-.Pp
-There are two canonical references for writing mdoc. Read them.
-.Pp
-.\" LIST
-.Bl -tag -width XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -offset indent -compact
-.It Xr mdoc 7
-formal language reference
-.It Xr mdoc.samples 7
-macro reference
-.El
-.Pp
-Open the template you've copied into
-.Pa myname.mysection
-and begin editing.
-.\" SUBSECTION
.Ss Development Tools
While writing, make sure that your manual is correctly structured:
.Pp
@@ -142,23 +112,23 @@ You may spell-check your work as follows:
.Pp
.Dl % deroff name.1 | spell
.Pp
-If
+If
.Xr ispell 1
is installed, it has a special mode for manuals:
.Pp
.Dl % ispell \-n name.1
.Pp
-Use
+Use
.Xr cvs 1
or
.Xr rcs 1
to version-control your work. If you wish the last check-in to effect
your document's date, use the following RCS tag for the date macro:
.Pp
-.Dl \&.Dd $Mdocdate: July 7 2009 $
+.Dl \&.Dd $Mdocdate: July 26 2009 $
.\" SUBSECTION
.Ss Viewing
-mdoc documents may be paged to your terminal with
+mdoc documents may be paged to your terminal with
.Xr mandoc 1 .
If you plan on distributing your work to systems without this tool,
check it against
@@ -169,7 +139,7 @@ check it against
.Ed
.\" SUBSECTION
.Ss Automation
-Consider adding your mdoc documents to
+Consider adding your mdoc documents to
.Xr make 1
Makefiles in order to automatically check your input:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
@@ -184,18 +154,20 @@ Makefiles in order to automatically check your input:
Your manual must have a license. It should be listed at the start of
your document, just as in source code.
.\" SECTION
-.Sh BEST PRACTICES
-The
+.Sh COMPOSITION
+Manuals should
+.Em always
+be written in the
.Xr mdoc 7
-and
-.Xr mdoc.samples 7
-files are indispensable in guiding composition. In this section, we
-introduce some
-.Ux
-manual best practises:
+formatting language.
+.\" PARAGRAPH
+.Pp
+Open the template you've copied into
+.Pa myname.mysection
+and begin editing.
.\" SUBSECTION
.Ss Language
-.Bl -enum
+.Bl -enum
.It
Use clear, concise language. Favour simplicity.
.It
@@ -215,15 +187,15 @@ symbols and so on), use the escapes dictated in
.Ss Style
The structure of the mdoc language makes it very hard to have any
particular format style. Keep your lines under 72 characters in length.
-If you must have long option lines, use
+If you must have long option lines, use
.Sq \&Oo/Oc .
The same goes for function prototypes.
.Em \&Do not
-use
+use
.Sq \&Xo/Xc .
Find another way to structure your line.
.\" SUBSECTION
-.Ss References
+.Ss References
Other components may be referenced with the
.Sq \&Xr
and