Bug#1112658: Lintian::Pool.3: Some remarks and a patch with editorial changes for this man page
Package: lintian
Version: 2.123.0
Severity: minor
Tags: patch
* What led up to the situation?
Checking for defects with a new version
test-[g|n]roff -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=10 -ww -z < "man page"
[Use
grep -n -e ' $' -e '\\~$' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <file>
to find (most) trailing spaces.]
["test-groff" is a script in the repository for "groff"; is not shipped]
(local copy and "troff" slightly changed by me).
[The fate of "test-nroff" was decided in groff bug #55941.]
* What was the outcome of this action?
Output from "test-groff -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=0 -ww -z ":
troff:<stdin>:69: warning: trailing space in the line
* What outcome did you expect instead?
No output (no warnings).
-.-
General remarks and further material, if a diff-file exist, are in the
attachments.
-- System Information:
Debian Release: forky/sid
APT prefers testing
APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Kernel: Linux 6.16.3+deb14-amd64 (SMP w/2 CPU threads; PREEMPT)
Locale: LANG=is_IS.iso88591, LC_CTYPE=is_IS.iso88591 (charmap=ISO-8859-1), LANGUAGE not set
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /usr/bin/dash
Init: sysvinit (via /sbin/init)
Versions of packages lintian depends on:
ii appstream 1.0.6-2
ii binutils 2.45-4
ii bzip2 1.0.8-6
ii diffstat 1.67-1
ii dpkg 1.22.21
ii dpkg-dev 1.22.21
ii file 1:5.46-5
ii gettext 0.23.1-2+b1
ii gpg 2.4.8-3
ii intltool-debian 0.35.0+20060710.6
ii iso-codes 4.18.0-1
ii libapt-pkg-perl 0.1.42
ii libarchive-zip-perl 1.68-1
ii libberkeleydb-perl 0.66-1
ii libcapture-tiny-perl 0.50-1
ii libclass-xsaccessor-perl 1.19-4+b5
ii libclone-perl 0.47-1+b1
ii libconfig-tiny-perl 2.30-1
ii libconst-fast-perl 0.014-2
ii libcpanel-json-xs-perl 4.39-1
ii libdata-dpath-perl 0.60-1
ii libdata-validate-domain-perl 0.15-1
ii libdata-validate-uri-perl 0.07-3
ii libdevel-size-perl 0.85-1
pn libdigest-sha-perl <none>
ii libdpkg-perl 1.22.21
ii libemail-address-xs-perl 1.05-1+b4
pn libencode-perl <none>
ii libfile-basedir-perl 0.09-2
ii libfile-find-rule-perl 0.34-4
ii libfont-ttf-perl 1.06-2
ii libhtml-html5-entities-perl 0.004-3
ii libhtml-tokeparser-simple-perl 3.16-4
ii libio-interactive-perl 1.027-1
ii libipc-run3-perl 0.049-1
ii libjson-maybexs-perl 1.004008-1
ii liblist-compare-perl 0.55-2
ii liblist-someutils-perl 0.59-1
ii liblist-utilsby-perl 0.12-2
ii libmldbm-perl 2.05-4
ii libmoo-perl 2.005005-1
ii libmoox-aliases-perl 0.001006-2
ii libnamespace-clean-perl 0.27-2
ii libpath-tiny-perl 0.148-1
ii libperlio-gzip-perl 0.20-1+b4
ii libperlio-utf8-strict-perl 0.010-1+b3
ii libproc-processtable-perl 0.637-1
ii libregexp-wildcards-perl 1.05-3
ii libsereal-decoder-perl 5.004+ds-1+b3
ii libsereal-encoder-perl 5.004+ds-1+b3
ii libsort-versions-perl 1.62-3
ii libsyntax-keyword-try-perl 0.30-1+b1
ii libterm-readkey-perl 2.38-2+b4
ii libtext-levenshteinxs-perl 0.03-5+b4
ii libtext-markdown-discount-perl 0.18-1
ii libtext-xslate-perl 3.5.9-2+b1
ii libtime-duration-perl 1.21-2
ii libtime-moment-perl 0.44-2+b4
ii libtimedate-perl 2.3300-2
ii libunicode-utf8-perl 0.62-3
ii liburi-perl 5.30-1
ii libwww-mechanize-perl 2.19-1
ii libwww-perl 6.78-1
ii libxml-libxml-perl 2.0207+dfsg+really+2.0134-6
ii libyaml-libyaml-perl 0.903.0+ds-1
ii lzip [lzip-decompressor] 1.25-3
ii lzop 1.04-2
ii man-db 2.13.1-1
ii patchutils 0.4.2-1
ii perl [libversion-perl] 5.40.1-6
ii t1utils 1.41-4
ii unzip 6.0-29
ii xz-utils 5.8.1-1
lintian recommends no packages.
Versions of packages lintian suggests:
pn binutils-multiarch <none>
pn libtext-template-perl <none>
-- no debconf information
Input file is Lintian::Pool.3
Output from
test-nroff -mandoc -t -ww -z Lintian::Pool.3: (shortened list)
1 line(s) with a trailing space
Find most trailing spaces with:
grep -n -e ' $' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <man page>
-.-.
Show if Pod::Man generated this.
2:.\" Automatically generated by Pod::Man 5.0102 (Pod::Simple 3.45)
Latest version in Debian testing:
This is perl 5, version 40, subversion 1 (v5.40.1) built for x86_64-linux-gnu-thread-multi
(with 48 registered patches, see perl -V for more detail)
-.-.
Remove space characters (whitespace) at the end of lines.
Use "git apply ... --whitespace=fix" to fix extra space issues, or use
global configuration "core.whitespace".
Number of lines affected is
1
-.-.
Wrong distance (not two spaces) between sentences in the input file.
Separate the sentences and subordinate clauses; each begins on a new
line. See man-pages(7) ("Conventions for source file layout") and
"info groff" ("Input Conventions").
The best procedure is to always start a new sentence on a new line,
at least, if you are typing on a computer.
Remember coding: Only one command ("sentence") on each (logical) line.
E-mail: Easier to quote exactly the relevant lines.
Generally: Easier to edit the sentence.
Patches: Less unaffected text.
Search for two adjacent words is easier, when they belong to the same line,
and the same phrase.
The amount of space between sentences in the output can then be
controlled with the ".ss" request.
Mark a final abbreviation point as such by suffixing it with "\&".
Some sentences (etc.) do not begin on a new line.
Split (sometimes) lines after a punctuation mark; before a conjunction.
Lines with only one (or two) space(s) between sentences could be split,
so latter sentences begin on a new line.
Use
#!/usr/bin/sh
sed -e '/^\./n' \
-e 's/\([[:alpha:]]\)\. */\1.\n/g' $1
to split lines after a sentence period.
Check result with the difference between the formatted outputs.
See also the attachment "general.bugs"
86:in the pool. The key is a unique identifier based on name and version.
95:Returns the base directory for the pool. Most likely it's a temporary directory.
-.-.
Add a zero (0) in front of a decimal fraction that begins with a period
(.)
7:.if t .sp .5v
-.-.
Use a character "\(->" instead of plain "->" or "\->".
70:\& my $pool = Lintian::Pool\->new;
71:\& $pool\->add_file(\*(Aqfoo.changes\*(Aq);
72:\& $pool\->add_file(\*(Aqbar.dsc\*(Aq);
73:\& $pool\->add_file(\*(Aqbaz.deb\*(Aq);
74:\& $pool\->add_file(\*(Aqqux.buildinfo\*(Aq);
75:\& foreach my $gname ($pool\->get_group_names){
76:\& my $group = $pool\->get_group($gname);
82:.ie n .IP $pool\->groups 4
83:.el .IP \f(CW$pool\fR\->groups 4
84:.IX Item "$pool->groups"
91:.ie n .IP $pool\->basedir 4
92:.el .IP \f(CW$pool\fR\->basedir 4
93:.IX Item "$pool->basedir"
96:.ie n .IP $pool\->add_group($group) 4
97:.el .IP \f(CW$pool\fR\->add_group($group) 4
98:.IX Item "$pool->add_group($group)"
100:.ie n .IP $pool\->process 4
101:.el .IP \f(CW$pool\fR\->process 4
102:.IX Item "$pool->process"
107:.ie n .IP $pool\->get_group_names 4
108:.el .IP \f(CW$pool\fR\->get_group_names 4
109:.IX Item "$pool->get_group_names"
114:.ie n .IP $pool\->get_group($name) 4
115:.el .IP \f(CW$pool\fR\->get_group($name) 4
116:.IX Item "$pool->get_group($name)"
119:.ie n .IP $pool\->empty 4
120:.el .IP \f(CW$pool\fR\->empty 4
121:.IX Item "$pool->empty"
-.-.
Only one space character is after a possible end of sentence
(after a punctuation, that can end a sentence).
Lintian::Pool.3:86:in the pool. The key is a unique identifier based on name and version.
Lintian::Pool.3:95:Returns the base directory for the pool. Most likely it's a temporary directory.
-.-.
Output from "test-groff -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=0 -ww -z ":
troff:<stdin>:69: warning: trailing space in the line
-.-
Generally:
Split (sometimes) lines after a punctuation mark; before a conjunction.
--- Lintian::Pool.3 2025-08-31 14:23:02.473184199 +0000
+++ Lintian::Pool.3.new 2025-08-31 15:32:53.806646395 +0000
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ Lintian::Pool \-\- Pool of processables
.IX Header "SYNOPSIS"
.Vb 1
\& use Lintian::Pool;
-\&
+\&
\& my $pool = Lintian::Pool\->new;
\& $pool\->add_file(\*(Aqfoo.changes\*(Aq);
\& $pool\->add_file(\*(Aqbar.dsc\*(Aq);
Any program (person), that produces man pages, should check the output
for defects by using (both groff and nroff)
[gn]roff -mandoc -t -ww -b -z -K utf8 <man page>
To find trailing space use
grep -n -e ' $' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <man page>
The same goes for man pages that are used as an input.
-.-
For a style guide use
mandoc -T lint
-.-
For general input conventions consult the man page "nroff(7)" (item
"Input conventions") or the Texinfo manual about the same item.
-.-
Any "autogenerator" should check its products with the above mentioned
'groff', 'mandoc', and additionally with 'nroff ...'.
It should also check its input files for too long (> 80) lines.
This is just a simple quality control measure.
The "autogenerator" may have to be corrected to get a better man page,
the source file may, and any additional file may.
Common defects:
Not removing trailing spaces (in in- and output).
The reason for these trailing spaces should be found and eliminated.
"git" has a "tool" to point out whitespace,
see for example "git-apply(1)" and git-config(1)")
Not beginning each input sentence on a new line.
Line length and patch size should thus be reduced.
The script "reportbug" uses 'quoted-printable' encoding when a line is
longer than 1024 characters in an 'ascii' file.
See man-pages(7), item "semantic newline".
-.-
The difference between the formatted output of the original
and patched file can be seen with:
nroff -mandoc <file1> > <out1>
nroff -mandoc <file2> > <out2>
diff -d -u <out1> <out2>
and for groff, using
\"printf '%s\n%s\n' '.kern 0' '.ss 12 0' | groff -mandoc -Z - \"
instead of 'nroff -mandoc'
Add the option '-t', if the file contains a table.
Read the output from 'diff -d -u ...' with 'less -R' or similar.
-.-.
If 'man' (man-db) is used to check the manual for warnings,
the following must be set:
The option "-warnings=w"
The environmental variable:
export MAN_KEEP_STDERR=yes (or any non-empty value)
or
(produce only warnings):
export MANROFFOPT="-ww -b -z"
export MAN_KEEP_STDERR=yes (or any non-empty value)
-.-
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