Conventions

A typical manual page for a command or function is laid out as follows:

<#73#>header<#73#>{TITLE}{1-8}

The name of the command or function in upper-case, which serves as the title of the manual page. This is followed by the number of the section in which it appears.

<#74#>version<#74#>{VERSION}{DATE}

The version number and last modification of this manual page.

<#75#>section<#75#>{NAME}

<#76#>name<#76#> (or comma-separated list of names) -- one-line summary

The name, or list of names, by which the command is called, followed by a dash and then a one-line summary of the action performed. The summary should contain no L^ATEX macros since it is used to contribute to the `whatis' database.

<#77#>section<#77#>{SYNOPSIS}

<#78#>Commands:<#78#>

The syntax of the command and its arguments, as typed on the command line. When in boldface, a word must be typed exactly as printed. When in italics, a word can be replaced with an argument that you supply. References to bold or italicized items are not capitalized in other sections, even when they begin a sentence.

Syntactic symbols appear in roman face:

<#443#>

#math7#

 

<#443#>

An argument, when surrounded by brackets is optional.

<#444#><#444#>

Arguments separated by a vertical bar are exclusive. You can supply only item from such a list.

<#445#>...<#445#>

Arguments followed by an elipsis can be repeated. When an elipsis follows a bracketed set, the expression within the brackets can be repeated.

<#81#>Functions:<#81#>

If required, the data declaration, or #include directive, is shown first, followed by the function declaration. Otherwise, the function declaration is shown.

<#82#>section<#82#>{DESCRIPTION}

A narrative overview of the command or function's external behavior. This includes how it interacts with files or data, and how it handles the standard input, standard output and standard error. Internals and implementation details are normally omitted. This section attempts to provide a succinct overview in answer to the question, ``what does it do?''

Literal text from the synopsis appears in boldface, as do literal filenames and references to items that appear elsewhere in a reference manual. Arguments are italicized.

If a command interprets either subcommands or an input grammar, its command interface or input grammar is normally described in a USAGE section, which follows the OPTIONS section. (The DESCRIPTION section only describes the behavior of the command itself, not that of subcommands.)

<#83#>section<#83#>{OPTIONS}

The list of options along with a description of how each affects the command's operation. These should be formatted within an <#84#>options<#84#> environment.

<#85#>section<#85#>{FILES}

A list of files associated with the command or function. These should be formatted within a <#86#>filelist<#86#> environment.

<#87#>section<#87#>{SEE ALSO}

A comma-separated list of related manual pages, followed by references to other published materials.

<#88#>section<#88#>{DIAGNOSTICS}

A list of diagnostic messages and an explanation of each.

<#89#>section<#89#>{BUGS}

A description of limitations, known defects, and possible problems associated with the command or function.