MAN(7)

NAME
man - nroff macro package for manual pages

SYNOPSIS
nroff -man file ...

DESCRIPTION
These macros are used to lay out reference pages for manuals.

Any text argument t may be zero to six words. Quotes may be used to include blanks in a 'word'. Text can be empty, but unlike normal Unix macros, the next line is not used.

A prevailing indent distance is remembered between successive indented paragraphs, and is reset to default value upon reaching a non-indented paragraph (i.e. at .SH or .SS). In contrast with normal Unix procedure, all indents (tabs) are 8 spaces instead of 5. This can be changed by modifying tmac.an.

FILES
brary nroff(1), man(1)

REQUEST SUMMARY
Request        Cause    Explanation
               Break?
t no Text t is bold. Quote to imbed blanks.
t no Text t is italic. Quote to imbed blanks.

x                           indented paragraph with hanging tag
                            given by first argument. Tag x is
                            always placed on a separate line.

                        indent to 8.
                        indent to amount of starting .RS.
                        end the section with .RE.
                            in distance 8.

t yes Subhead. Quote to imbed blanks.

  t yes Subsection. Quote to imbed blanks. No
n(s)

                        indent for t.
                        the chapter name; d is the date of the
                        most recent change; v is version number.
                        Sets prevailing indent and tabs to 8. +cc .

EXAMPLE
The following illustrates some of the requests available with this macro package:
DEMO(1)

NAME
demo - show how to use -man package \" this is a comment

SYNOPSIS
demo [options] file [...]

DESCRIPTION
This is a test for showing how to use the nroff(1) man package. It shows how to use .TH, .SH, .PP, .I, and .IP commands.

This will be a new paragraph. You can also use normal nroff(1) commands in the text.

  NROFF COMMANDS:

'\\"'
    This is the comment command. Note how you have to quote this sucker! You'll probably never have to write an nroff(1) manpage, so don't worry about it.

nf  No fill mode (the normal mode is fill mode where things get justified right and left).

fi  Re-enter fill mode.

br  Break line here no matter what.

sp  Vertical space (also causes a break to occur).

    Note that to continue an indent and make a new paragraph (as is the case here), just put in a space (.sp).

Now we should be at a new paragraph. +cc .
Executing 'nroff -man demo.man' results in the following output:
    DEMO (1)                Commands Manual                DEMO (1)
    NAME
         demo - show how to use -man package
    SYNOPSIS
         demo [options] file [...]
    DESCRIPTION
         This is a test  for  showing  how  to  use the nroff(1)
         man package.    It  shows how to use .TH, .SH, .PP, .I,
         and .IP commands.
         This will be a new paragraph.  You can also use  normal
         nroff(1) commands in the text.
         NROFF COMMANDS:
         \"
              This is the comment command.  Note how you have to
              quote this  sucker!  You'll probably never have to
              write an nroff(1)  manpage,  so  don't worry about
              it.
         nf
              No  fill  mode (the normal mode is fill mode where
              things get justified right and left).
         fi
              Re-enter fill mode.
         br
              Break line here no matter what.
         sp
              Vertical space (also causes a break to occur).
              Note that to continue an indent  and  make  a  new
              paragraph  (as  is  the  case here), just put in a
              space (.sp).
         Now we should be at a new paragraph.
    Version 1.0             23:33:57 2/25/90                       1
    +cc .

CONVENTIONS
A typical manual page for a command or function is laid out as follows:

  .TH TITLE [1-8]
The name of the command or function in upper-case, which serves as the title of the manual page. This is followed by the number of the section in which it appears.

  .SH NAME
name - one-line summary

The name, or list of names, by which the command is called, followed by a dash and then a one-line summary of the action performed. All in roman font, this section contains no troff(1) commands or escapes, and no macro requests. It is used to generate the whatis(1) database.

  .SH SYNOPSIS
Commands:

    The syntax of the command and its arguments as typed on the command line. When in boldface, a word must be typed exactly as printed. When in italics, a word can be replaced with text that you supply. Syntactic symbols appear in roman face: An argument, when surrounded by brackets is optional.
Arguments separated by a vertical bar are exclusive. You can supply only item from such a list.
Arguments followed by an elipsis can be repeated. When an elipsis follows a bracketed set, the expression within the brackets can be repeated.

Functions:

    If required, the data declaration, or #include directive, is shown first, followed by the function declaration. Otherwise, the function declaration is shown.

  .SH DESCRIPTION
A narrative description of the command or function in detail, including how it interacts with files or data, and how it handles the standard input, standard output and standard error.

Filenames, and references to commands or functions described elswhere in the manual, are italicised. The names of options, variables and other literal terms are in boldface.

  .SH OPTIONS
The list of options along with a description of how each affects the commands operation.

  .SH FILES
A list of files associated with the command or function.

  '.SH SEE ALSO '
A comma-separated list of related manual pages, followed by references to other published materials. This section contains no troff(1) escapes or commands, and no macro requests.

  .SH DIAGNOSTICS
A list of diagnostic messages and an explanation of each.

  .SH NOTES
Any additional notes such as installation-dependent functionality.

  .SH BUGS
A description of limitations, known defects, and possible problems associated with the command or function.

  .SH AUTHOR
The program's author and any pertinent release info.

  .SH VERSION
The program's current version number and release date.

AUTHOR
Adapted for Atari ST (TOS) and Minix by Bill Rosenkranz
net:    rosenkra@convex.com
CIS:    71460,17
GENIE:  W.ROSENKRANZ