[bug #64013] [ms] EQ macro ignores second argument if first empty

[G. Branden Robinson]

URL:
  <https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?64013>

                 Summary: [ms] EQ macro ignores second argument if first empty
                   Group: GNU roff
               Submitter: gbranden
               Submitted: Thu 06 Apr 2023 05:25:31 PM UTC
                Category: Macro ms
                Severity: 3 - Normal
              Item Group: Incorrect behaviour
                  Status: Confirmed
                 Privacy: Public
             Assigned to: gbranden
             Open/Closed: Open
         Discussion Lock: Any
         Planned Release: None


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Follow-up Comments:


-------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu 06 Apr 2023 05:25:31 PM UTC By: G. Branden Robinson <gbranden>
Given this input:


.LP
Here comes an equation.
.EQ "" 1.1
x + y = z
.EN
.LP
All done.


* DWB 3.3 ms does not typeset the equation number.
* Heirloom Doctools ms does.
* groff 1.22.4 does not.
* groff Git does not.

I think the correct thing to do is follow Heirloom's behavior here.  For many,
many years, _groff_ ms's `EQ` macro was not even documented as accepting a
second argument, but the implementation did so.  AT&T ms did so going all the
way back to 1975, but it used a tricky method of argument parsing that I think
might have malfunctioned if the document author had the temerity to label
their equation "L", "I", or "C".

This doesn't seem urgent to fix (for _groff_ 1.23.0 I mean) since it can be
worked around by explicitly giving "C" as the first argument to the `EQ`
macro.







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