Bug#1089859: dvipdf.1: Some remarks and a patch with editorial changes for this man page
Package: ghostscript
Version: 10.04.0~dfsg-2
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 -ww -z < "man page"
[Use "groff -e ' $' <file>" to find 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?
troff:<stdin>:18: 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: trixie/sid
APT prefers testing
APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Kernel: Linux 6.11.10-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 ghostscript depends on:
ii libc6 2.40-4
ii libgs10 10.04.0~dfsg-2
ghostscript recommends no packages.
Versions of packages ghostscript suggests:
ii texlive-binaries 2024.20240313.70630+ds-5
-- no debconf information
Input file is dvipdf.1
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>
The same goes for man pages that are used as an input.
For a style guide use
mandoc -T lint
-.-
So any 'generator' should check its products with the above mentioned
'groff', 'mandoc', and additionally with 'nroff ...'.
This is just a simple quality control measure.
The 'generator' may have to be corrected to get a better man page,
the source file may, and any additional file may.
Common defects:
Input text line longer than 80 bytes.
Not removing trailing spaces (in in- and output).
The reason for these trailing spaces should be found and eliminated.
Not beginning each input sentence on a new line.
Lines should thus be shorter.
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 -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 of 'diff -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)
-.-.
Output from "mandoc -T lint dvipdf.1": (shortened list)
1 whitespace at end of input line
-.-.
Output from "test-groff -mandoc -t -ww -z dvipdf.1": (shortened list)
1 trailing space in the line
-.-.
Output from "mandoc -T lint dvipdf.1":
mandoc: dvipdf.1:18:11: STYLE: whitespace at end of input line
-.-.
Remove space characters at the end of lines.
Use "git apply ... --whitespace=fix" to fix extra space issues, or use
global configuration "core.whitespace".
18:as well as
-.-.
Change a HYPHEN-MINUS (code 0x2D) to a minus(-dash) (\-),
if it
is in front of a name for an option,
is a symbol for standard input,
is a single character used to indicate an option,
or is in the NAME section (man-pages(7)).
N.B. - (0x2D), processed as a UTF-8 file, is changed to a hyphen
(0x2010, groff \[u2010] or \[hy]) in the output.
10:.B -q
16:.B -q -dNOPAUSE -dBATCH -sDEVICE=pdfwrite
19:.B -sOutputFile
-.-.
Wrong distance 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 abbreviation point as such by suffixing them with "\\&".
26:Artifex Software, Inc. are the
-.-.
Output from "test-groff -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=10 -ww -z ":
troff:<stdin>:18: warning: trailing space in the line
-.-
Additionally (general):
Abbreviations get a '\&' added after their final full stop (.) to mark them
as such and not as an end of a sentence.
--- dvipdf.1 2024-12-14 07:45:30.455330996 +0000
+++ dvipdf.1.new 2024-12-14 07:49:23.535204751 +0000
@@ -7,22 +7,22 @@ dvipdf \- Convert TeX DVI file to PDF us
This script invokes
.BR dvips (1)
with the
-.B -q
+.B \-q
option, and pipes its output into
.BR gs (1)
with the following options:
.ce
-.B -q -dNOPAUSE -dBATCH -sDEVICE=pdfwrite
+.B \-q \-dNOPAUSE \-dBATCH \-sDEVICE=pdfwrite
-as well as
-.B -sOutputFile
+as well as
+.B \-sOutputFile
and any options from the command-line.
.SH SEE ALSO
\fBgs\fR(1), \fBdvips\fR(1)
.SH VERSION
This document was last revised for Ghostscript version 10.04.0.
.SH AUTHOR
-Artifex Software, Inc. are the
+Artifex Software, Inc.\& are the
primary maintainers of Ghostscript.
This manpage by George Ferguson.
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