Re: macOS Terminal man page URL format

[John Gardner]

Hi Branden,


Having a configurable prefix/schema isn't going to cut it.
>

Then how about a callback? It could be called with the relevant parameters,
and authors can use plain ol' Roff to specify the hyperlink format.

but I have to say I really hate this and I want macOS to get its act
> together.
>

I think we're on two different pages here. That last list of URL formats
was intended to illustrate the potential for variation amidst software
authors. It's very easy for somebody to "invent" their own man page URL
scheme, one that may be partially- or wholly-incompatible with other,
better-established schemes.

Ultimately, only Terminal.app's scheme (x-man-page://) should be taken
seriously by Groff.

apropos(1) is not in groff's department.
>

Right, sorry. I keep getting my wires crossed when discussing man(1) and
Groff at once…

On Tue, 7 Feb 2023 at 05:36, G. Branden Robinson <
g.branden.robinson@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi John,
>
> At 2023-02-06T18:53:10+1100, John Gardner wrote:
> > While I *strongly* advocate for the man:name(section) syntax (because
> > it essentially dates right back to the earliest man pages), it would
> > be remiss of me to ignore the other formats listed above.
> >
> > > But...ugh!  I don't remember this coming up before, but it could
> > > have.
> >
> > I vaguely recall mentioning it some time ago, although you dismissed
> > it in favour of enforcing a single, consistent URL syntax.
>
> I remember now why I wanted to cast the issue aside, and I'd have
> remembered last night if my brain hadn't wanted me to just go to bed.
>
> > man:name.section          - Bwana        (macOS)
> > man:name(section)         - GNOME, KDE   (Linux)
> > x-man-doc://3/printf(3)   - ManOpen      (macOS)
> > x-man-page://section/name - Terminal.app (macOS 10.3+)
>
> Having a configurable prefix/schema isn't going to cut it.  The entire
> form of the URL has to be changed.  Double ugh!  And the schema doesn't
> unambiguously indicate the remainder of the URL format.  Triple ugh!
>
> I'll do something simple to limp us over the finish line, but I have to
> say I really hate this and I want macOS to get its act together.  Which
> Apple will almost certainly do by contriving the most rest-of-world-
> ostile and -incompatible alternative it can.  (Whither went that
> that boldly conformist, "let's embrace the world's worst ISA" attitude
> of the 2005 WWDC?)
>
> Well, at least BSD partisans will get a kick out of that, even if it's
> Pareto-shitty for everyone else.  Somewhere, Charles Hannum laughs.
>
> Regards,
> Branden
>