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Re: [Groff] Possible bug in -doc
From: |
Ingo Schwarze |
Subject: |
Re: [Groff] Possible bug in -doc |
Date: |
Wed, 5 Oct 2016 18:01:23 +0200 |
User-agent: |
Mutt/1.6.2 (2016-07-01) |
Hi,
Carsten Kunze Heirloom wrote on Mon, Oct 03, 2016 at 12:31:02PM +0200:
> the problem in the document is the missing "-width" argument for .Bl.
> From groff_mdoc:
>
> If a width is not specified for the tag list
> type, every time ?.It? 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; otherwise, the default width of
> ?.No? is used.
Carsten's confusion shows that such behaviour isn't very user-friendly:
Even very experienced users, heck, even one of the main mdoc(7)
language hackers like Carsten, doesn't expect it, and i never noticed
that quirk either, not even after working on a major mdoc(7)
implementation for more than half a decade.
Even if we would want lists with non-uniform indentation, binding
that to the default widths of the first macros renders the feature
practically useless, and besides, i don't consider changing indentation
within a list typographically sound. It will confuse manual readers
about as much as manual writers. On top of that, neither Heirloom -
which is closest to the original 4.4BSD implementation - nor
mandoc(1) - which nowadays is the default mdoc(7) implementation
of all operating systems using the mdoc(7) language by default for
their mainuals - behave that way. So it's also a portability
nuisance.
So i have submitted a patch to remove the feature and simply use a
reasonable, uniform default width for .Bl -tag without -width: 6n,
the same default width as for -hang:
https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?49272
Yours,
Ingo
- [Groff] Possible bug in -doc, Carsten Kunze, 2016/10/02
- Re: [Groff] Possible bug in -doc, Marcin Cieslak, 2016/10/02
- Re: [Groff] Possible bug in -doc, Carsten Kunze, 2016/10/02
- Re: [Groff] Possible bug in -doc, Carsten Kunze, 2016/10/02
- [Groff] 'mm' Spacing Problem, Damian McGuckin, 2016/10/03
- Re: [Groff] Possible bug in -doc, Carsten Kunze, 2016/10/03
- Re: [Groff] Possible bug in -doc,
Ingo Schwarze <=