[bug #62593] clarify description of end-of-sentence detection

[G. Branden Robinson]

Update of bug #62593 (project groff):

                  Status:                    None => Postponed              

    _______________________________________________________

Follow-up Comment #5:


[comment #0 original submission:]
> Another "bookmark" bug report; Ingo already suggested this in email
(http://lists.gnu.org/r/groff/2022-06/msg00030.html), but that message might
easily get lost in the deluge of that highly active thread.
> 
> In Ingo's words:
> 
> the documentation is indeed slightly fuzzy regarding this point; "info
groff" tells me:
> 
>   5.1.2 Sentences
>   ---------------
>   [...]
>   GNU 'troff' does this by flagging certain characters (normally '!',
>   '?', and '.') as potentially ending a sentence.  When GNU 'troff'
>   encounters one of these "end-of-sentence characters" at the end of a
>   line, or one of them is followed by two spaces on the same input line,
>   it appends an inter-word space followed by an inter-sentence space in
>   the formatted output.
>   [...]
> 
> Branden, please consider improving the words "followed by two spaces".
> 
> Anything like
> 
>   followed by two ordinary space characters ("  ")
>   followed by two unescaped space characters ("  ")
> 
> might do.
> 
> You might also consider saying "at the end of an input line" rather than
just "at the end of a line".

It's difficult to make either of the suggested changes at this location in the
manual.  This is §5.1.2.  I introduce an escape sequence later in the same
section for the sake of `\&`, but not formally until §5.6.2.  I notice that I
do not formally define "ordinary character" or "input line".  Those should
probably be done.

I might see if I can squeeze the latter into §5.1.1, "Filling", but page
space (in DVI and PDF) is at a premium in this part of the manual.

A CSTR#54-ish definition of sentence-ending detection that has free recourse
to the panoply of *roff jargon is better situated in groff(7).  (It's portable
enough to be in roff(7), but that page similarly concerns itself with
introducing concepts.)


    _______________________________________________________

Reply to this item at:

  <https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?62593>

_______________________________________________
Message sent via Savannah
https://savannah.gnu.org/