[CC += Ingo] Hi Branden,
On Fri, Aug 15, 2025 at 05:43:03PM +0200, Alejandro Colomar wrote: > Hi Branden, > > On Fri, Aug 15, 2025 at 09:30:30AM -0500, G. Branden Robinson wrote: > > > $ grep -m1 -B3 -A8 ^$ man/man7/inode.7 > > > .TS > > > lB l l. > > > S_IFMT 0170000 bit mask for the file type bit field > > > > > > S_IFSOCK 0140000 socket > > > S_IFLNK 0120000 symbolic link > > > S_IFREG 0100000 regular file > > > S_IFBLK 0060000 block device > > > S_IFDIR 0040000 directory > > > S_IFCHR 0020000 character device > > > S_IFIFO 0010000 FIFO > > > .TE > > > > > > Is there a way to avoid these blanks in tbl code? > > > > Certainly. You can use the *roff dummy character `\&` to make the table > > row non-blank according to the formatter. > > > > This makes no difference even on typesetters, because the (default) > > meaning of a blank input line is a 1v space on the output. A text line > > with only a dummy character on it behaves the same way. Thus, I > > wouldn't call these false positives, but true ones.* > > Ahh, I was thinking tbl(1) would need a real blank line. Then it's all > good. Thanks! Hmmm, I get now a conflicting diagnostic: mandoc: .tmp/man/man7/man-pages.7:852:1: ERROR: ignoring data in spanned tbl cell: \& What do you think of this diagnostic? Have a lovely day! Alex > > $ printf 'foo\n.TS\nL.\n\n.TE\nbar\n' | groff -tZ > /tmp/blank > > $ printf 'foo\n.TS\nL.\n\\&\n.TE\nbar\n' | groff -tZ > /tmp/dummy > > $ diff -u /tmp/blank /tmp/dummy && echo SAME > > SAME > > GNU diff(1) has this: > > $ man diff | sed -n '/identical/,/^$/p' > -s, --report-identical-files > report when two files are the same > > Which works like this: > > $ printf 'foo\n.TS\nL.\n\n.TE\nbar\n' | groff -tZ > /tmp/blank > $ printf 'foo\n.TS\nL.\n\\&\n.TE\nbar\n' | groff -tZ > /tmp/dummy > $ diff -s -u /tmp/blank /tmp/dummy > Files /tmp/blank and /tmp/dummy are identical > > (Although you may prefer the more portable &&) > > > Cheers, > Alex > > > In principle, we could change GNU tbl to _transform_ blank lines (inside > > tbl regions only) to consist of only a dummy character and newline--that > > should have zero impact on any document's formatting anywhere. > > > > On the other hand, I think it might make more sense to leave things as > > they are, and encourage a discipline of explicit `\&` usage. The odds > > of someone accidentally typing that digraph are vanishingly small,** and > > in a tbl context (or any *roff scenario where filling is disabled) it is > > easy to interpret as "I want a blank line here; I know what I'm doing". > > > > Regards, > > Branden > > > > * Recall that on typesetters, in man(7) and other full-service macro > > packages generally, the inter-paragraph space amount is _not_ 1v, > > but somewhat less. If you want a break in your table, it's wise to > > be explicit about how big you want that break to be. Sometimes you > > can use a package's paragraphing macros inside a tbl region, but no > > one guarantees this. What you _can_ do is insert `sp` requests, and > > this seems to be a countenanced practice judging from documents I've > > seen prepared by seasoned practitioners. On the third hand, that > > trick won't work in general in ".TS H/.TH" tables because they are > > formatted in diversions, where the rules about vertical spacing are > > different.*** And on the fourth hand, that doesn't matter for > > man(7) because it doesn't support ".TS H/.TH" tables anyway. If > > it's ever going to, we'll need a synonym for tbl's ".TH" because > > that token collides with existing man(7) usage like the McLennan > > County locomotive crash of 1896. > > > > ** contrast with the odds of accidentally--or, more likely, > > thoughtlessly--whacking the Enter key > > > > *** > > https://www.gnu.org/software/groff/manual/groff.html.node/Manipulating-Spacing.html > > > > -- > <https://www.alejandro-colomar.es/> -- <https://www.alejandro-colomar.es/>
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