diplodocus.org Git - nmh/blob - docs/README.manpages

   1 NMH MANPAGE STYLE GUIDE
   2
   3 nmh manpages should be in this general form:
   4
   5 .TH COMP %manext1% "DATE" "%nmhversion%"
   6 .\"
   7 .\" %nmhwarning%
   8 .\"
   9 .SH NAME
  10 comp \- compose a message
  11 .SH SYNOPSIS
  12 .B comp
  13 .RI [ +folder ]
  14 .RI [ msgs ]
  15 .RB [ \-form
  16 .IR formfile ]
  17 .RB [ \-use " | " \-nouse ]
  18 .RB [ \-version ]
  19 .RB [ \-help ]
  20 .SH DESCRIPTION
  21 .B Comp
  22 is used to create a new message to be mailed.  It copies something.
  23 .SH FILES
  24 .TP
  25 filename1
  26 description of filename1
  27 .TP
  28 filename2
  29 description of filename2
  30 .SH "PROFILE COMPONENTS"
  31 .TP
  32 Path
  33 Location of the user's MH folder directory
  34 .TP
  35 moreproc
  36 The pager command name
  37 .SH "SEE ALSO"
  38 .IR dist (1),
  39 .IR forw (1),
  40 .IR repl (1),
  41 .IR send (1),
  42 .IR whatnow (1),
  43 .IR mh-profile (5)
  44 .SH DEFAULTS
  45 .TP
  46 .RI + folder
  47 defaults to the current folder
  48 .\"
  49 .SH CONTEXT
  50 None
  51 .\" Leave out the BUGS section if there are none worth describing.
  52 .SH BUGS
  53 None
  54
  55 ---------------------------------------
  56 The DATE in the .TH macro should reflect the most recent non-trivial
  57 update to the content of the manpage; formatting changes don't count.
  58 Spell out the date (no abbreviations or shortcuts):
  59
  60   January 2, 1904
  61
  62 not the unparseable
  63
  64   01/02/04
  65
  66 Don't abbreviate the month.
  67
  68
  69 In the FILES section, prefer the default .TP indent. The pathnames are
  70 variable and long, so any indentation value that works for you won't
  71 work for someone else.
  72
  73
  74 Source files
  75
  76         There should be no ".so" commands to source an external file,
  77         since these break on Linux, where the man program does not
  78         allow source files outside the man/ hierarchy. Instead, insert
  79         this fragment:
  80
  81                 .PP
  82                 .RS 5
  83                 .nf
  84                 %components%
  85                 .fi
  86                 .RE
  87                 .PP
  88
  89         Of course, replace "components" with a unique identifier that
  90         reflects the content being included, like "mts_conf" for
  91         etc/mts.conf. Then, add two lines to the man.sed target in
  92         Makefile.in like:
  93
  94                 echo '/%components%/r $(top_srcdir)/etc/components' >> $@
  95                 echo ' s,%components%,,g' >> $@
  96
  97         At compile time, the contents of the file will physically
  98         incorporated into the body of the man page. This is somewhat
  99         unfortunate, since later modifications won't be reflected in
 100         the manpage, but on the other hand, the manpage will show the
 101         default configuration and not local modifications.
 102
 103 Program names
 104
 105         All nmh program names should be bolded. If there is punctuation
 106         after the name, use a .BR construct to avoid the automatic
 107         space that's inserted with just a .B:
 108
 109                 .B comp
 110                 .BR comp ,
 111
 112         If this is a manpage reference, use:
 113
 114                 .IR mh-draft (5)
 115
 116 SYNPOSIS section
 117
 118         Literal text (such as flags) should be in bold. Parameters
 119         should be italicized. Mutually exclusive options (like
 120         "-foo" and "-nofoo") should be grouped together and seperated
 121         by a "|":
 122
 123                 .RI [ +folder ]              <---- parameter
 124                 .RI [ msgs ]                 <---- parameter
 125                 .RB [ \-version ]            <---- flag
 126                 .RB [ \-editor               <---- flag with
 127                 .IR editor ]                       parameter
 128                 .RB [ \-use " | " \-nouse ]  <---- exclusive parameters
 129
 130         References to these flags or parameters in the body text of the
 131         manpage should reflect these conventions:
 132
 133                 You may not supply both a
 134                 .B \-form
 135                 .I formfile
 136                 and a
 137                 .I +folder
 138                 or
 139                 .I msg
 140                 argument.
 141
 142         In particular, don't enclose them in single quotes (except
 143         in the DEFAULT section, which might be inconsistent, but
 144         seems a little clearer.
 145
 146         For "-flag param" situations, try to use a .B/.I combination
 147         instead of a single .BI, since it allows more flexibility in
 148         case of punctuation, and we get an automatic space between
 149         flag and param for free, without having to manual force it.
 150
 151 Subsections
 152
 153         Use ".SS" to denote a subsection
 154
 155 Tables
 156
 157         The folder manpage has an example of a table.
 158
 159         .PP
 160         .RS 5
 161         .nf
 162         .ta \w'/rnd/phyl/Mail/EP 'u +\w'has ddd messages 'u +\w'(ddd\-ddd); 'u
 163         FOLDER  \0\0\0\0\0\0# MESSAGES  RANGE   CUR     (OTHERS)
 164         ff      has \0no messages.
 165         inbox+  has \016 messages       (\03\-\022);    cur=\05.
 166         mh      has \076 messages       (15\-\076);     cur=70.
 167         .fi
 168         .RE
 169         .PP
 170
 171 Other italicized text
 172
 173         Italicize file names, profile entries, and folder names:
 174
 175                 If a file named
 176                 .RI \*(lq components \*(rq
 177                 exists in the user's nmh directory,
 178
 179                 If the user's profile contains a
 180                 .RI \*(lq "Msg\-Protect: nnn" \*(rq
 181                 entry, it
 182
 183                 The \*(lq+\*(rq after
 184                 .I inbox
 185                 indicates that it is the current folder.
 186
 187         Enclose the file names and profile entries in lq/rq
 188         quotes, too.
 189
 190 Pointer manpages
 191
 192         Certain manpages are shared between one or more programs
 193         (such as folder/folders). The secondary program should
 194         have a man page that only contains:
 195
 196                 .so man1/folder.1
 197
 198         Also, add this manpage to the appropriate section in Makefile.in
 199
 200
 201 CONTEXT
 202     Don't include a CONTEXT section when contexts are out of context.
 203
 204
 205 AUTHOR and HISTORY sections
 206
 207     These have no place in a manpage.  If you want everlasting glory,
 208     try the release notes.
 209
 210 BUGS
 211
 212     The BUGS section goes last.