Package: symlinks
Version: 1.4-4
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 "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?
an.tmac:<stdin>:12: misuse, warning: .BI is for at least 2 arguments, got 1
Use macro '.B' for one argument or split argument.
troff:<stdin>:108: warning: trailing space in the line
troff:<stdin>:110: 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 6.12.6-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 symlinks depends on:
ii libc6 2.40-5
symlinks recommends no packages.
symlinks suggests no packages.
-- no debconf information
Input file is symlinks.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 symlinks.1": (shortened list)
2 input text line longer than 80 bytes
3 skipping paragraph macro
7 whitespace at end of input line
-.-.
Output from "test-groff -mandoc -t -ww -z symlinks.1": (shortened list)
1 Use macro '.B' for one argument or split argument.
1 .BI is for at least 2 arguments, got 1
2 trailing space in the line
-.-.
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
7
-.-.
Change two HYPHEN-MINUSES (code 0x2D) to an em-dash (\(em),
if one is intended.
" \(em " creates a too big gap in the text (in "troff").
An en-dash is usually surrounded by a space,
while an em-dash is used without spaces.
"man" (1 byte characters in input) transforms an en-dash (\(en) to one
HYPHEN-MINUS,
and an em-dash to two HYPHEN-MINUSES without considering the space
around it.
If "--" are two single "-"
(begin of an option or end of options)
then use "\-\-".
symlinks.1:69:point used for the filesystem -- a desirable setup in most cases.
-.-.
Use the correct macro for the font change of a single argument or
split the argument into two.
12:.BI symlinks
-.-.
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.
8:.B -cdorstv
46:.B -c
51:(eg. /bin/vi -> ../bin/vim)
53:.B -s
55:.B -c
61:.B -r
66:.I -c
69:point used for the filesystem -- a desirable setup in most cases.
73:.B -s
78:.B -c
83:.I -d
88:.I -o
92:.I -r
95:.I -s
100:.I -t
104:.B -c
107:.I -v
111:.B -v
-.-.
Split lines longer than 80 characters into two or more lines.
Appropriate break points are the end of a sentence and a subordinate
clause; after punctuation marks.
Line 120, length 86
has been written by Mark Lord <ml...@pobox.com>, the original developer and
maintainer
Line 121, length 114
of the IDE Performance Package for linux, the Linux IDE Driver subsystem,
hdparm, and a current day libata hacker.
-.-.
Split a punctuation from a single argument, if a two-font macro is meant.
19:.B relative,
20:.B absolute,
21:.B dangling,
22:.B messy,
23:.B lengthy,
25:.B other_fs.
-.-.
Put a parenthetical sentence, phrase on a separate line,
if not part of a code.
See man-pages(7), item "semantic newline".
symlinks.1:67:convert absolute links (within the same filesystem) to relative
links.
-.-.
Use a character "\(->" instead of plain "->"
51:(eg. /bin/vi -> ../bin/vim)
-.-.
Put a subordinate sentence (after a comma) on a new line.
29:the links reside, usually independent of the mount point of the filesystem.
54:is specified, and are only cleaned up when
72:links to be cleaned up, and, if
74:was also specified, then
90:Normally, other filesystems encountered are not modified by symlinks.
105:were specified, but without really changing anything.
108:show all symbolic links. By default,
120:has been written by Mark Lord <ml...@pobox.com>, the original developer and
maintainer
121:of the IDE Performance Package for linux, the Linux IDE Driver subsystem,
hdparm, and a current day libata hacker.
-.-.
Output from "test-groff -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=10 -ww -z
":
an.tmac:<stdin>:12: misuse, warning: .BI is for at least 2 arguments, got 1
Use macro '.B' for one argument or split argument.
troff:<stdin>:108: warning: trailing space in the line
troff:<stdin>:110: warning: trailing space in the line
--- symlinks.1 2025-01-14 00:41:45.475948405 +0000
+++ symlinks.1.new 2025-01-14 01:01:24.061693712 +0000
@@ -5,28 +5,29 @@ symlinks \- symbolic link maintenance ut
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B symlinks
[
-.B -cdorstv
+.B \-cdorstv
]
dirlist
.SH DESCRIPTION
-.BI symlinks
+.B symlinks
is a useful utility for maintainers of FTP sites, CDROMs,
and Linux software distributions.
It scans directories for symbolic links and lists them on stdout,
often revealing flaws in the filesystem tree.
.PP
Each link is output with a classification of
-.B relative,
-.B absolute,
-.B dangling,
-.B messy,
-.B lengthy,
+.BR relative ,
+.BR absolute ,
+.BR dangling ,
+.BR messy ,
+.BR lengthy ,
or
-.B other_fs.
+.BR other_fs .
.PP
.B relative
links are those expressed as paths relative to the directory in which
-the links reside, usually independent of the mount point of the filesystem.
+the links reside,
+usually independent of the mount point of the filesystem.
.PP
.B absolute
links are those given as an absolute path from the root directory
@@ -43,81 +44,89 @@ mounted at /mnt after booting from alter
.B messy
links are links which contain unnecessary slashes or dots in the path.
These are cleaned up as well when
-.B -c
+.B \-c
is specified.
.PP
.B lengthy
links are links which use "../" more than necessary in the path
-(eg. /bin/vi -> ../bin/vim)
+(eg. /bin/vi \(-> ../bin/vim)
These are only detected when
-.B -s
-is specified, and are only cleaned up when
-.B -c
+.B \-s
+is specified,
+and are only cleaned up when
+.B \-c
is also specified.
.PP
.B other_fs
are those links whose target currently resides on a different filesystem
from where symlinks was run (most useful with
-.B -r
+.B \-r
).
-.PP
.SH OPTIONS
.TP
-.I -c
-convert absolute links (within the same filesystem) to relative links.
+.I \-c
+convert absolute links
+(within the same filesystem)
+to relative links.
This permits links to maintain their validity regardless of the mount
-point used for the filesystem -- a desirable setup in most cases.
+point used for the filesystem \(en a desirable setup in most cases.
This option also causes any
.B messy
-links to be cleaned up, and, if
-.B -s
-was also specified, then
+links to be cleaned up,
+and, if
+.B \-s
+was also specified,
+then
.B lengthy
links are also shortened.
Links affected by
-.B -c
+.B \-c
are prefixed with
.B changed
in the output.
.TP
-.I -d
+.I \-d
causes
.B dangling
links to be removed.
.TP
-.I -o
+.I \-o
fix links on other filesystems encountered while recursing.
-Normally, other filesystems encountered are not modified by symlinks.
+Normally,
+other filesystems encountered are not modified by symlinks.
.TP
-.I -r
+.I \-r
recursively operate on subdirectories within the same filesystem.
.TP
-.I -s
+.I \-s
causes
.B lengthy
links to be detected.
.TP
-.I -t
+.I \-t
is used to test for what
.B symlinks
would do if
-.B -c
-were specified, but without really changing anything.
-.TP
-.I -v
-show all symbolic links. By default,
+.B \-c
+were specified,
+but without really changing anything.
+.TP
+.I \-v
+show all symbolic links.
+By default,
.B relative
-links are not shown unless
-.B -v
+links are not shown unless
+.B \-v
is specified.
-.PP
.SH BUGS
.B symlinks
does not recurse or change links across filesystems.
-.PP
.SH AUTHOR
-.B symlinks
-has been written by Mark Lord <ml...@pobox.com>, the original developer and
maintainer
-of the IDE Performance Package for linux, the Linux IDE Driver subsystem,
hdparm, and a current day libata hacker.
+.B symlinks
+has been written by Mark Lord <ml...@pobox.com>,
+the original developer
+and maintainer of the IDE Performance Package for linux,
+the Linux IDE Driver subsystem,
+hdparm, and a current day libata hacker.
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR symlink (2)
