Package: xxd
Version: 2:9.1.0967-2
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 -rCHECKSTYLE=10 -ww -z < "man
page"
[Use "groff -e ' $' -e '\\~$' <file>" to find obvious 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>:86: misuse, warning: .IR is for at least 2 arguments, got 1
Use macro '.I' for one argument or split argument.
troff:<stdin>:151: warning: trailing space in the line
an.tmac:<stdin>:152: misuse, warning: .BR is for at least 2 arguments, got 1
Use macro '.B' for one argument or split argument.
troff:<stdin>:279: 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 6.12.10-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 xxd depends on:
ii libc6 2.40-5
xxd recommends no packages.
xxd suggests no packages.
-- no debconf information
Input file is xxd.1
Output from "mandoc -T lint xxd.1": (shortened list)
2 skipping paragraph macro: PP after SH
3 skipping paragraph macro: PP empty
7 skipping paragraph macro: br after PP
1 skipping paragraph macro: br after SH
2 skipping paragraph macro: br after sp
2 skipping paragraph macro: br at the end of SH
2 skipping paragraph macro: br before sp
1 unterminated quoted argument
2 whitespace at end of input line
-.-.
Output from "test-groff -mandoc -t -ww -z xxd.1": (shortened list)
1 Use macro '.B' for one argument or split argument.
1 Use macro '.I' for one argument or split argument.
1 .BR is for at least 2 arguments, got 1
1 .IR is for at least 2 arguments, got 1
2 trailing space in the line
-.-.
Lines containing '\c' (' \c' does not make sense):
374:\%(\c
-.-
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
2
-.-.
Change '-' (\-) to '\(en' (en-dash) for a (numeric) range.
GNU gnulib has recently (2023-06-18) updated its
"build_aux/update-copyright" to recognize "\(en" in man pages.
xxd.1:400:(c) 1990-1997 by Juergen Weigert
-.-.
Change (or include a "FIXME" paragraph about) misused SI (metric)
numeric prefixes (or names) to the binary ones, like Ki (kibi), Mi
(mebi), Gi (gibi), or Ti (tebi), if indicated.
If the metric prefixes are correct, add the definitions or an
explanation to avoid misunderstanding.
220:the 1k where dd left off.
-.-.
Add a (no-break, "\ " or "\~") space between a number and a unit,
as these are not one entity.
220:the 1k where dd left off.
-.-.
Use the correct macro for the font change of a single argument or
split the argument into two.
86:.IR \-e
152:.BR $NO_COLOR
-.-.
Use "\e" to print the escape character instead of "\\" (which gets
interpreted in copy mode).
277:00000024: 7220 7878 6422 0a2e 5c22 0a2e r xxd"..\\"..
279:00000030: 5c22 2032 3173 7420 4d61 7920 \\" 21st May
281:0000003c: 3139 3936 0a2e 5c22 204d 616e 1996..\\" Man
285:00000054: 3a0a 2e5c 2220 2020 2054 6f6e :..\\" Ton
-.-.
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 final abbreviation point as such by suffixing it with "\&".
65:hexadecimal dump. Each line is preceded by a line number in hexadecimal and
66:followed by an ASCII (or EBCDIC) representation. The command line switch
67:\-p does not work with this mode. Can be combined with \-i.
72:octets per line. Default 16 (\-i: 12, \-ps: 30, \-b: 6). Max 256.
73:No maximum for \-ps. With \-ps, 0 results in one long line of output.
83:This does not change the hexadecimal representation. The option is
111:Output in C include file style. A complete static array definition is
written
112:(named after the input file), unless xxd reads from stdin. Can be combined
121:Override the variable name output when \-i is used. The array is named
130:Output in PostScript continuous hex dump style. Also known as plain hex dump
136:it. Use the combination
139:particular column layout. Additional whitespace and line breaks are allowed
140:anywhere. Use the combination
146:depending on the hex-value. Mostly helping to differentiate printable and
165:bytes abs. (or rel.) infile offset.
173:Use upper-case hex letters. Default is lower-case.
182:hex dump line may be out of order, lines may be missing, or overlapping. In
183:these cases xxd will lseek(2) to the next position. If the output file is
not
187:never generates parse errors. Garbage is silently skipped.
192:data (see option \-c). This also means that changes to the printable ASCII
(or
193:EBCDIC) columns are always ignored. Reverting a plain (or PostScript) style
394:Use entirely at your own risk. Copy files. Trace it. Become a wizard.
-.-.
The name of a man page is typeset in bold and the section in roman
(see man-pages(7)).
183:these cases xxd will lseek(2) to the next position. If the output file is
not
208:as lseek(2) is used to "rewind" input. A '+'
229:The author prefers to monitor the effect of xxd with strace(1) or truss(1),
341:.B vim(1)
347:.B vim(1)
353:.B vim(1)
390:uuencode(1), uudecode(1), patch(1)
-.-.
Output from "test-groff -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=10 -ww -z
":
an.tmac:<stdin>:86: misuse, warning: .IR is for at least 2 arguments, got 1
Use macro '.I' for one argument or split argument.
troff:<stdin>:151: warning: trailing space in the line
an.tmac:<stdin>:152: misuse, warning: .BR is for at least 2 arguments, got 1
Use macro '.B' for one argument or split argument.
troff:<stdin>:279: warning: trailing space in the line
-.-
Additionally:
Add '\&' after a space at the end of a line
if it is a part of an output line (example).
--- xxd.1 2025-01-28 05:09:00.217076075 +0000
+++ xxd.1.new 2025-01-28 06:00:13.595152621 +0000
@@ -26,27 +26,32 @@ and
.BR uudecode (1)
it allows the transmission of binary data in a `mail-safe' ASCII
representation,
but has the advantage of decoding to standard output.
-Moreover, it can be used to perform binary file patching.
+Moreover,
+it can be used to perform binary file patching.
.SH OPTIONS
If no
.I infile
-is given, standard input is read.
+is given,
+standard input is read.
If
.I infile
is specified as a
.RB \` \- '
-character, then input is taken from standard input.
+character,
+then input is taken from standard input.
If no
.I outfile
is given (or a
.RB \` \- '
-character is in its place), results are sent to standard output.
+character is in its place),
+results are sent to standard output.
.PP
Note that a "lazy" parser is used which does not check for more than the first
-option letter, unless the option is followed by a parameter.
+option letter,
+unless the option is followed by a parameter.
Spaces between a single option letter and its parameter are optional.
-Parameters to options can be specified in decimal, hexadecimal or octal
-notation.
+Parameters to options can be specified in decimal,
+hexadecimal or octal notation.
Thus
.BR \-c8 ,
.BR "\-c 8" ,
@@ -54,42 +59,49 @@ Thus
and
.B \-cols 8
are all equivalent.
-.PP
.TP
.IR \-a " | " \-autoskip
Toggle autoskip: A single '*' replaces NUL-lines. Default off.
.TP
.IR \-b " | " \-bits
-Switch to bits (binary digits) dump, rather than hex dump.
+Switch to bits (binary digits) dump,
+rather than hex dump.
This option writes octets as eight digits "1"s and "0"s instead of a normal
-hexadecimal dump. Each line is preceded by a line number in hexadecimal and
-followed by an ASCII (or EBCDIC) representation. The command line switch
-\-p does not work with this mode. Can be combined with \-i.
+hexadecimal dump.
+Each line is preceded by a line number in hexadecimal and
+followed by an ASCII (or EBCDIC) representation.
+The command line switch \-p does not work with this mode.
+Can be combined with \-i.
.TP
.IR "\-c cols " | " \-cols cols"
Format
.RI < cols >
-octets per line. Default 16 (\-i: 12, \-ps: 30, \-b: 6). Max 256.
-No maximum for \-ps. With \-ps, 0 results in one long line of output.
+octets per line.
+Default 16 (\-i: 12, \-ps: 30, \-b: 6).
+Max 256.
+No maximum for \-ps.
+With \-ps,
+0 results in one long line of output.
.TP
.IR \-C " | " \-capitalize
-Capitalize variable names in C include file style, when using \-i.
+Capitalize variable names in C include file style,
+when using \-i.
.TP
.I \-d
show offset in decimal instead of hex.
.TP
.IR \-E " | " \-EBCDIC
Change the character encoding in the righthand column from ASCII to EBCDIC.
-This does not change the hexadecimal representation. The option is
-meaningless in combinations with \-r, \-p or \-i.
+This does not change the hexadecimal representation.
+The option is meaningless in combinations with \-r, \-p or \-i.
.TP
-.IR \-e
+.I \-e
Switch to little-endian hex dump.
This option treats byte groups as words in little-endian byte order.
The default grouping of 4 bytes may be changed using
.RI "" \-g .
-This option only applies to the hex dump, leaving the ASCII (or EBCDIC)
-representation unchanged.
+This option only applies to the hex dump,
+leaving the ASCII (or EBCDIC) representation unchanged.
The command line switches
\-r, \-p, \-i do not work with this mode.
.TP
@@ -101,16 +113,20 @@ Specify
.I \-g 0
to suppress grouping.
.RI < Bytes "> defaults to " 2
-in normal mode, \fI4\fP in little-endian mode and \fI1\fP in bits mode.
+in normal mode,
+\fI4\fP in little-endian mode
+and \fI1\fP in bits mode.
Grouping does not apply to PostScript or include style.
.TP
.IR \-h " | " \-help
Print a summary of available commands and exit. No hex dumping is performed.
.TP
.IR \-i " | " \-include
-Output in C include file style. A complete static array definition is written
-(named after the input file), unless xxd reads from stdin. Can be combined
-with \-b.
+Output in C include file style.
+A complete static array definition is written
+(named after the input file),
+unless xxd reads from stdin.
+Can be combined with \-b.
.TP
.IR "\-l len " | " \-len len"
Stop after writing
@@ -118,7 +134,8 @@ Stop after writing
octets.
.TP
.I "\-n name " | " \-name name"
-Override the variable name output when \-i is used. The array is named
+Override the variable name output when \-i is used.
+The array is named
\fIname\fP and the length is named \fIname\fP_len.
.TP
.I \-o offset
@@ -127,30 +144,36 @@ Add
to the displayed file position.
.TP
.IR \-p " | " \-ps " | " \-postscript " | " \-plain
-Output in PostScript continuous hex dump style. Also known as plain hex dump
-style.
+Output in PostScript continuous hex dump style.
+Also known as plain hex dump style.
.TP
.IR \-r " | " \-revert
Reverse operation: convert (or patch) hex dump into binary.
-If not writing to stdout, xxd writes into its output file without truncating
-it. Use the combination
+If not writing to stdout,
+xxd writes into its output file without truncating
+it.
+Use the combination
.I \-r \-p
to read plain hexadecimal dumps without line number information and without a
-particular column layout. Additional whitespace and line breaks are allowed
-anywhere. Use the combination
+particular column layout.
+Additional whitespace and line breaks are allowed
+anywhere.
+Use the combination
.I \-r \-b
to read a bits dump instead of a hex dump.
.TP
.IR \-R " " when
In the output the hex-value and the value are both colored with the same color
-depending on the hex-value. Mostly helping to differentiate printable and
+depending on the hex-value.
+Mostly helping to differentiate printable and
non-printable characters.
.I \fIwhen\fP
is
-.BR never ", " always ", or " auto " (default: auto).
-When the
-.BR $NO_COLOR
-environment variable is set, colorization will be disabled.
+.BR never ", " always ", or " auto " (default: auto)."
+When the
+.B $NO_COLOR
+environment variable is set,
+colorization will be disabled.
.TP
.I \-seek offset
When used after
@@ -162,37 +185,49 @@ added to file positions found in hex dum
.I \-s [+][\-]seek
Start at
.RI < seek >
-bytes abs. (or rel.) infile offset.
+bytes abs.\& (or rel.\&) infile offset.
\fI+ \fRindicates that the seek is relative to the current stdin file position
(meaningless when not reading from stdin). \fI\- \fRindicates that the seek
should be that many characters from the end of the input (or if combined with
\fI+\fR: before the current stdin file position).
-Without \-s option, xxd starts at the current file position.
+Without \-s option,
+xxd starts at the current file position.
.TP
.I \-u
-Use upper-case hex letters. Default is lower-case.
+Use upper-case hex letters.
+Default is lower-case.
.TP
.IR \-v " | " \-version
Show version string.
.SH CAVEATS
-.PP
.I xxd \-r
has some built-in magic while evaluating line number information.
-If the output file is seekable, then the line numbers at the start of each
-hex dump line may be out of order, lines may be missing, or overlapping. In
-these cases xxd will lseek(2) to the next position. If the output file is not
-seekable, only gaps are allowed, which will be filled by null-bytes.
+If the output file is seekable,
+then the line numbers at the start of each
+hex dump line may be out of order,
+lines may be missing, or overlapping.
+In these cases xxd will
+.BR lseek (2)
+to the next position.
+If the output file is not seekable,
+only gaps are allowed,
+which will be filled by null-bytes.
.PP
.I xxd \-r
-never generates parse errors. Garbage is silently skipped.
+never generates parse errors.
+Garbage is silently skipped.
.PP
-When editing hex dumps, please note that
+When editing hex dumps,
+please note that
.I xxd \-r
skips everything on the input line after reading enough columns of hexadecimal
-data (see option \-c). This also means that changes to the printable ASCII (or
-EBCDIC) columns are always ignored. Reverting a plain (or PostScript) style
+data (see option \-c).
+This also means that changes to the printable ASCII (or
+EBCDIC) columns are always ignored.
+Reverting a plain (or PostScript) style
hex dump with xxd \-r \-p does not depend on the correct number of columns.
-Here, anything that looks like a pair of hex digits is interpreted.
+Here,
+anything that looks like a pair of hex digits is interpreted.
.PP
Note the difference between
.br
@@ -205,9 +240,14 @@ and
.I xxd \-s +seek
may be different from
.IR "xxd \-s seek" ,
-as lseek(2) is used to "rewind" input. A '+'
-makes a difference if the input source is stdin, and if stdin's file position
-is not at the start of the file by the time xxd is started and given its input.
+as
+.BR lseek (2)
+is used to "rewind" input.
+A '+' makes a difference
+if the input source is stdin,
+and if stdin's file position
+is not at the start of the file by the time xxd is started
+and given its input.
The following examples may help to clarify (or further confuse!):
.PP
Rewind stdin before reading; needed because the `cat' has already read to the
@@ -216,8 +256,9 @@ end of stdin.
\fI% sh \-c "cat > plain_copy; xxd \-s 0 > hex_copy" < file\fR
.PP
Hex dump from file position 0x480 (=1024+128) onwards.
-The `+' sign means "relative to the current position", thus the `128' adds to
-the 1k where dd left off.
+The `+' sign means "relative to the current position",
+thus the `128' adds to
+the 1\~KiB where dd left off.
.br
\fI% sh \-c "dd of=plain_snippet bs=1k count=1; xxd \-s +128 > hex_snippet" <
file\fR
.PP
@@ -225,18 +266,19 @@ Hex dump from file position 0x100 (=1024
.br
\fI% sh \-c "dd of=plain_snippet bs=1k count=1; xxd \-s +\-768 > hex_snippet"
< file\fR
.PP
-However, this is a rare situation and the use of `+' is rarely needed.
-The author prefers to monitor the effect of xxd with strace(1) or truss(1),
+However,
+this is a rare situation and the use of `+' is rarely needed.
+The author prefers to monitor the effect of xxd with
+.BR strace (1)
+or
+.BR truss (1),
whenever \-s is used.
.SH EXAMPLES
-.PP
-.br
Print everything but the first three lines (hex 0x30 bytes) of
.BR file .
.br
\fI% xxd \-s 0x30 file\fR
.PP
-.br
Print 3 lines (hex 0x30 bytes) from the end of
.BR file .
.br
@@ -245,7 +287,6 @@ Print 3 lines (hex 0x30 bytes) from the
Note: The results of the examples below are relevant to the xxd.1 man page as
of
May 2024
.PP
-.br
Print 120 bytes as a continuous hex dump with 20 octets per line.
.br
\fI% xxd \-l 120 \-ps \-c 20 xxd.1\fR
@@ -261,9 +302,7 @@ Print 120 bytes as a continuous hex dump
74686f723a0a2e5c2220202020546f6e79204e75
.br
67656e74203c746f6e79407363746e7567656e2e
-.br
-.br
Hex dump the first 120 bytes of this man page with 12 octets per line.
.br
\fI% xxd \-l 120 \-c 12 xxd.1\fR
@@ -274,28 +313,26 @@ Hex dump the first 120 bytes of this man
.br
00000018: 6e75 616c 2070 6167 6520 666f nual page fo
.br
-00000024: 7220 7878 6422 0a2e 5c22 0a2e r xxd"..\\"..
+00000024: 7220 7878 6422 0a2e 5c22 0a2e r xxd"..\e"..
.br
-00000030: 5c22 2032 3173 7420 4d61 7920 \\" 21st May
+00000030: 5c22 2032 3173 7420 4d61 7920 \e" 21st May \&
.br
-0000003c: 3139 3936 0a2e 5c22 204d 616e 1996..\\" Man
+0000003c: 3139 3936 0a2e 5c22 204d 616e 1996..\e" Man
.br
00000048: 2070 6167 6520 6175 7468 6f72 page author
.br
-00000054: 3a0a 2e5c 2220 2020 2054 6f6e :..\\" Ton
+00000054: 3a0a 2e5c 2220 2020 2054 6f6e :..\e" Ton
.br
00000060: 7920 4e75 6765 6e74 203c 746f y Nugent <to
.br
0000006c: 6e79 4073 6374 6e75 6765 6e2e ny@sctnugen.
.PP
-.br
Display just the date from the file xxd.1
.br
\fI% xxd \-s 0x33 \-l 13 \-c 13 xxd.1\fR
.br
00000033: 3231 7374 204d 6179 2031 3939 36 21st May 1996
.PP
-.br
Copy
.B input_file
to
@@ -303,9 +340,7 @@ to
and prepend 100 bytes of value 0x00.
.br
\fI% xxd input_file | xxd \-r \-s 100 > output_file\fR
-.br
-.br
Patch the date in the file xxd.1
.br
\fI% echo "0000034: 3574 68" | xxd \-r \- xxd.1\fR
@@ -314,13 +349,11 @@ Patch the date in the file xxd.1
.br
00000033: 3235 7468 204d 6179 2031 3939 36 25th May 1996
.PP
-.br
Create a 65537 byte file with all bytes 0x00,
except for the last one which is 'A' (hex 0x41).
.br
\fI% echo "010000: 41" | xxd \-r > file\fR
.PP
-.br
Hex dump this file with autoskip.
.br
\fI% xxd \-a \-c 12 file\fR
@@ -333,24 +366,25 @@ Hex dump this file with autoskip.
.PP
Create a 1 byte file containing a single 'A' character.
The number after '\-r \-s' adds to the line numbers found in the file;
-in effect, the leading bytes are suppressed.
+in effect,
+the leading bytes are suppressed.
.br
\fI% echo "010000: 41" | xxd \-r \-s \-0x10000 > file\fR
.PP
Use xxd as a filter within an editor such as
-.B vim(1)
+.BR vim (1)
to hex dump a region marked between `a' and `z'.
.br
\fI:'a,'z!xxd\fR
.PP
Use xxd as a filter within an editor such as
-.B vim(1)
+.BR vim (1)
to recover a binary hex dump marked between `a' and `z'.
.br
\fI:'a,'z!xxd \-r\fR
.PP
Use xxd as a filter within an editor such as
-.B vim(1)
+.BR vim (1)
to recover one line of a hex dump. Move the cursor over the line and type:
.br
\fI!!xxd \-r\fR
@@ -362,7 +396,6 @@ Read single characters from a serial lin
\fI% stty < /dev/term/b \-echo \-opost \-isig \-icanon min 1\fR
.br
\fI% echo \-n foo > /dev/term/b\fR
-.PP
.SH "RETURN VALUES"
The following error values are returned:
.TP
@@ -371,8 +404,7 @@ no errors encountered.
.TP
\-1
operation not supported
-\%(\c
-.I \%xxd \-r \-i
+.RI \%( "\%xxd \-r \-i"
still impossible).
.TP
1
@@ -387,17 +419,17 @@ problems with output file.
4,5
desired seek position is unreachable.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
-uuencode(1), uudecode(1), patch(1)
-.br
+.BR uuencode "(1), " uudecode "(1), " patch (1)
.SH WARNINGS
The tool's weirdness matches its creator's brain.
-Use entirely at your own risk. Copy files. Trace it. Become a wizard.
-.br
+Use entirely at your own risk.
+Copy files.
+Trace it.
+Become a wizard.
.SH VERSION
This manual page documents xxd version 1.7 from 2024-05.
.SH AUTHOR
-.br
-(c) 1990-1997 by Juergen Weigert
+(c) 1990\(en1997 by Juergen Weigert
.br
<jnwei...@informatik.uni\-erlangen.de>
.LP
@@ -413,4 +445,3 @@ Manual page started by Tony Nugent
.br
Small changes by Bram Moolenaar.
Edited by Juergen Weigert.
-.PP
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
-.-
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.
Not beginning each input sentence on a new line.
Line length 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 -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 -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)
-.-
