indent [-bad] [-bap] [-bbb] [-bc] [-bl] [-bliN] [-br] [-cN] [-cdN] [-cdb]
[-ce] [-ciN] [-cliN] [-cpN] [-cs] [-bs] [-dN] [-diN] [-fc1] [-fca]
[-gnu] [-iN] [-ipN] [-kr] [-lN] [-lp] [-nbad] [-nbap] [-nbbb]
[-nbc] [-ncdb] [-nce] [-ncs] [-nfc1] [-nfca] [-nip] [-nlp] [-npcs]
[-npsl] [-nsc] [-nsob] [-nss] [-nv] [-orig] [-npro] [-pcs] [-psl]
[-sc] [-sob] [-ss] [-st] [-T] [-tsN] [-v] [-version] [file]
Copyright (C) 1989, 1992 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
`indent' understands a substantial amount about the syntax of C, but it also attempts to cope with incomplete and misformed syntax.
In version 1.2 and more recent versions, the GNU style of indenting is the default.
As of version 1.3, the format of the `indent' command is:
indent [OPTIONS] [INPUT-FILES]
indent [OPTIONS] [SINGLE-INPUT-FILE] [-o OUTPUT-FILE]
This format is different from earlier versions and other versions of `indent'.
In the first form, one or more input files are specified. `indent' makes a backup copy of each file, and the original file is replaced with its indented version. *Note Backup files::, for an explanation of how backups are made.
In the second form, only one input file is specified. In this case, or when the standard input is used, you may specify an output file after the `-o' option.
To cause `indent' to write to standard output, use the `-st' option. This is only allowed when there is only one input file, or when the standard input is used.
If no input files are named, the standard input is read for input. Also, if a filename named `-' is specified, then the standard input is read.
As an example, each of the following commands will input the program `slithy_toves.c' and write its indented text to `slithy_toves.out':
indent slithy_toves.c -o slithy_toves.out
indent -st slithy_toves.c > slithy_toves.out
cat slithy_toves.c | indent -o slithy_toves.out
Most other options to `indent' control how programs are formatted. As of version 1.2, `indent' also recognizes a long name for each option name. Long options are prefixed by either `--' or `+'. `+' is being superseded by `--' to maintain consistency with the POSIX standard. In most of this document, the traditional, short names are used for the sake of brevity.
Here is another example:
indent -br test/metabolism.c -l85
This will indent the program `test/metabolism.c' using the `-br' and `-l85' options, write the output back to `test/metabolism.c', and write the original contents of `test/metabolism.c' to a backup file in the directory `test'.
Equivalent invocations using long option names for this example would be:
indent --braces-on-if-line --line-length185 test/metabolism.c
indent +braces-on-if-line +line-length185 test/metabolism.c
If you find that you often use `indent' with the same options, you may put those options into a file called `.indent.pro'. `indent' will first look for `.indent.pro' in the current directory and use that if found. Otherwise, `indent' will search your home directory for `.indent.pro' and use that file if it is found. This behaviour is different from that of other versions of `indent', which load both files if they both exist.
Command line switches are handled *after* processing `.indent.pro'. Options specified later override arguments specified earlier, with one exception: Explicitly specified options always override background options (*note Common styles::.). You can prevent `indent' from reading an `.indent.pro' file by specifying the `-npro' option.
Simple backup file names are generated by appending a suffix to the original file name. The default for the this suffix is the one-character string `~' (tilde). Thus, the backup file for `python.c' would be `python.c~'.
Instead of the default, you may specify any string as a suffix by setting the environment variable `SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX' to your preferred suffix.
Numbered backup versions of a file `momewraths' look like `momewraths.c.~23~', where 23 is the version of this particular backup. When making a numbered backup of the file `src/momewrath.c', the backup file will be named `src/momewrath.c.~V~', where V is one greater than the highest version currently existing in the directory `src'.
The type of backup file made is controlled by the value of the environment variable `VERSION_CONTROL'. If it is the string `simple', then only simple backups will be made. If its value is the string `numbered', then numbered backups will be made. If its value is `numbered-existing', then numbered backups will be made if there *already exist* numbered backups for the file being indented; otherwise, a simple backup is made. If `VERSION_CONTROL' is not set, then `indent' assumes the behaviour of `numbered-existing'.
Other versions of `indent' use the suffix `.BAK' in naming backup files. This behaviour can be emulated by setting `SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX' to `.BAK'.
Note also that other versions of `indent' make backups in the current directory, rather than in the directory of the source file as GNU `indent' now does.
As of version 1.2, the default style of GNU `indent' is the GNU style. Thus, it is no longer neccessary to specify the option `-gnu' to obtain this format, although doing so will not cause an error. Option settings which correspond to the GNU style are:
-nbad -bap -nbbb -nbc -bl -bli2 -c33 -cd33 -ncdb -nce -cli0 -cp1 -di0 -nfc1 -nfca -i2 -ip5 -lp -pcs -psl -nsc -nsob -nss -ts8
The GNU coding style is that preferred by the GNU project. It is the style that the GNU Emacs C mode encourages and which is used in the C portions of GNU Emacs. (People interested in writing programs for Project GNU should get a copy of `The GNU Coding Standards', which also covers semantic and portability issues such as memory usage, the size of integers, etc.)
The Kernighan & Ritchie style is used throughout their well-known book `The C Programming Language'. It is enabled with the `-kr' option. The Kernighan & Ritchie style corresponds to the following set of options:
-nbad -bap -nbbb -nbc -br -c33 -cd33 -ncdb -ce -ci4 -cli0 -cp33 -d0 -di1 -nfc1 -nfca -i4 -ip0 -l75 -lp -npcs -npsl -nsc -nsob -nss -ts8
Kernighan & Ritchie style does not put comments to the right of code in the same column at all times (nor does it use only one space to the right of the code), so for this style `indent' has arbitrarily chosen column 33.
The style of the original Berkeley `indent' may be obtained by specifying `-orig' (or by specifyfying `--original', using the long option name). This style is equivalent to the following settings:
-nbap -nbad -nbbb -bc -br -c33 -cd33 -cdb -ce -ci4 -cli0 -cp33 -d4 -di16 -fc1 -fca -i4 -ip4 -l75 -lp -npcs -psl -sc -nsob -nss -ts8
The `-bad' option causes `indent' to force a blank line after every block of declarations. The `-nbad' option causes `indent' not to force such blank lines.
The `-bap' option forces a blank line after every procedure body. The `-nbap' option forces no such blank line.
The `-bbb' option forces a blank line before every block comment. A block comment is one which starts in column one when formatting of such comments is disabled, or one with `-' or `*' immediately following the `/*'. The `-nbbb' option does not force such blank lines.
The `-sob' option causes `indent' to swallow optional blank lines (that is, any optional blank lines present in the input will be removed from the output). If the `-nsob' is specified, any blank lines present in the input file will be copied to the output file.
The `-bad' option forces a blank line after every block of declarations. The `-nbad' option does not add any such blank lines.
For example, given the input
char *foo;
char *bar;
/* This separates blocks of declarations. */
int baz;
`indent -bad' produces
char *foo;
char *bar;
/* This separates blocks of declarations. */
int baz;
and `indent -nbad' produces
char *foo;
char *bar;
/* This separates blocks of declarations. */
int baz;
The `-bap' option forces a blank line after every procedure body.
For example, given the input
int
foo ()
{
puts("Hi");
}
/* The procedure bar is even less interesting. */
char *
bar ()
{
puts("Hello");
}
`indent -bap' produces
int
foo ()
{
puts ("Hi");
}
/* The procedure bar is even less interesting. */
char *
bar ()
{
puts ("Hello");
}
and `indent -nbap' produces
int
foo ()
{
puts ("Hi");
}
/* The procedure bar is even less interesting. */
char *
bar ()
{
puts ("Hello");
}
No blank line will be added after the procedure `foo'.
The `-fc1' option enables the formatting of comments which begin in the first column. The `-nfc1' option disables the formatting of first column comments. When comment formatting is disabled, overall comment indentation may still be adjusted.
The indentation of comments which do not appear to the right of code is set by the `-d' option, which specifies the number of spaces to the left of the surrounding code that the comment appears. For example, `-d2' places comments two spaces to the left of code; `-d0' lines up comments with the code. The `-cdb' option controls whether the `/*' and `*/' are placed on blank lines. With `-cdb', comments look like this:
/*
* this is a comment
*/
With `-ncdb', comments look like this:
/* this is a comment */`-cdb' only affects block comments, not comments to the right of code. The default is `-ncdb'.
Comments which appear on the same line as code are placed to the right. The column in which comments on code start is controlled by the `-c' option. The column in which comments to the right of declarations start is controlled by the `-cd' option. By default, they start in the same column as comments to the right of code, which is column 33. The column number for comments to the right of `#else' and `#endif' statements is controlled by the `-cp' option. If the code on a line extends past the comment column, the comment starts further to the right, and the right margin may be automatically extended in extreme cases.
If the `-sc' option is specified, `*' is placed at the left edge of all comments. For example:
/* This is a comment which extends from one line
* onto the next line, thus causing us to consider
* how it should continue. */
instead of
/* This is a comment which extends from one line
onto the next line, thus causing us to consider
how it should continue. */
if (x > 0) {
x--;
}
The `-bl' option formats them like this:
if (x > 0)
{
x--;
}
If you use the `-bl' option, you may also want to specify the `-bli'
option. This option specifies the number of spaces by which braces are
indented. `-bli2', the default, gives the result shown above. `-bli0'
results in the following:
if (x > 0)
{
x--;
}
If you are using the `-br' option, you probably want to also use the
`-ce' option. This causes the `else' in an if-then-else construct to
cuddle up to the immediately preceding `}'. For example, with `-br
-ce' you get the following:
if (x > 0) {
x--;
} else {
fprintf (stderr, "...something wrong?);
}
With `-br -nce' that code would appear as
if (x > 0) {
x--;
}
else {
fprintf (stderr, "...something wrong?);
}
The `-cli' option specifies the number of spaces that case labels
should be indented to the right of the containing `switch' statement.
If a semicolon is on the same line as a `for' or `while' statement, the `-ss' option will cause a space to be placed before the semicolon. This emphasizes the semicolon, making it clear that the body of the `for' or `while' statement is an empty statement. `-nss' disables this feature.
The `-pcs' option causes a space to be placed between the name of the procedure being called and the `(' (for example, `puts ("Hi");'. The `-npcs' option would give `puts("Hi");').
If the `-cs' option is specified, `indent' puts a space after a cast operator.
The `-bs' option ensures that there is a space between the keyword `sizeof' and its argument. In some versions, this is known as the `Bill_Shannon' option.
int foo;
char *bar;
Using a small value (such as one or two) for the `-di' option can be
used to cause the indentifiers to be placed in the first available
position, for example
int foo;
char *bar;
The value given to the `-di' option will still affect variables
which are put on separate lines from their types, for example `-di2'
will lead to
int
foo;
If the `-bc' option is specified, a newline is forced after each
comma in a declaration. For example,
int a,
b,
c;
With the `-nbc' option this would look like
int a, b, c;The `-psl' option causes the type of a procedure being defined to be placed on the line before the name of the procedure. This style is required for the `etags' program to work correctly, as well as some of the `c-mode' functions of Emacs.
If you are not using the `-di1' option to place variables being declared immediately after their type, you need to use the `-T' option to tell `indent' the name of all the typenames in your program that are defined by `typedef'. `-T' can be specified more than once, and all names specified are used. For example, if your program contains
typedef unsigned long CODE_ADDR;
typedef enum {red, blue, green} COLOR;
you would use the options `-T CODE_ADDR -T COLOR'.
p1 = first_procedure (second_procedure (p2, p3),
third_procedure (p4, p5));
With `-lp' in effect the code looks somewhat clearer:
p1 = first_procedure (second_procedure (p2, p3),
third_procedure (p4, p5));
`indent' assumes that tabs are placed at regular intervals of both
input and output character streams. These intervals are by default 8
columns wide, but (as of version 1.2) may be changed by the `-ts'
option. Tabs are treated as the equivalent number of spaces.
The indentation of type declarations in old-style function definitions is controlled by the `-ip' parameter. This is a numeric parameter specifying how many spaces to indent type declarations. For example, the default `-ip5' makes definitions look like this:
char *
create_world (x, y, scale)
int x;
int y;
float scale;
{
. . .
}
For compatibility with other versions of indent, the option `-nip'
is provided, which is equivalent to `-ip0'.
The `-v' option can be used to turn on verbose mode. When in verbose mode, `indent' reports when it splits one line of input into two more more lines of output, and gives some size statistics at completion.
Copyright (c) 1989, 1992 Free Software Foundation
Copyright (c) 1985 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Copyright (c) 1980 The Regents of the University of California.
Copyright (c) 1976 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted
provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
duplicated in all such forms and that any documentation,
advertising materials, and other materials related to such
distribution and use acknowledge that the software was developed
by the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Illinois,
Urbana, and Sun Microsystems, Inc. The name of either University
or Sun Microsystems may not be used to endorse or promote products
derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
PURPOSE.
`-bad'
`--blank-lines-after-declarations'
Force blank lines after the declarations.
`-bap'
`--blank-lines-after-procedures'
Force blank lines after procedure bodies.
`-bbb'
`--blank-lines-after-block-comments'
Force blank lines after block comments.
`-bc'
`--blank-lines-after-commas'
Force newline after comma in declaration.
`-bl'
`--braces-after-if-line'
Put braces on line after `if', etc.
`-bliN'
`--brace-indentN'
Indent braces N spaces.
`-br'
`--braces-on-if-line'
Put braces on line with `if', etc.
`-cN'
`--comment-indentationN'
Put comments to the right of code in column N.
`-cdN'
`--declaration-comment-columnN'
Put comments to the right of the declarations in column N.
`-cdb'
`--comment-delimiters-on-blank-lines'
Put comment delimiters on blank lines.
`-ce'
`--cuddle-else'
Cuddle else and preceeding `}'.
`-ciN'
`--continuation-indentationN'
Continuation indent of N spaces.
`-cliN'
`--case-indentationN'
Case label indent of N spaces.
`-cpN'
`--else-endif-columnN'
Put comments to the right of `#else' and `#endif' statements in
column N.
`-cs'
`--space-after-cast'
Put a space after a cast operator.
`-bs'
`--blank-before-sizeof'
Put a space between `sizeof' and its argument.
`-dN'
`--line-comments-indentationN'
Set indentation of comments not to the right of code to N spaces.
`-diN'
`--declaration-indentationN'
Put variables in column N.
`-fc1'
`--format-first-column-comments'
Format comments in the first column.
`-fca'
`--format-all-comments'
Do not disable all formatting of comments.
`-gnu'
`--gnu-style'
Use GNU coding style. This is the default.
`-iN'
`--indent-levelN'
Set indentation level to N spaces.
`-ipN'
`--parameter-indentationN'
Indent parameter types in old-style function definitions by N
spaces.
`-kr'
`--k-and-r-style'
Use Kernighan & Ritchie coding style.
`-lN'
`--line-lengthN'
Set maximum line length to N.
`-lp'
`--continue-at-parentheses'
Line up continued lines at parentheses.
`-nbad'
`--no-blank-lines-after-declarations'
Do not force blank lines after declarations.
`-nbap'
`--no-blank-lines-after-procedures'
Do not force blank lines after procedure bodies.
`-nbbb'
`--no-blank-lines-after-block-comments'
Do not force blank-lines after block comments.
`-nbc'
`--no-blank-lines-after-commas'
Do not force newlines after commas in declarations.
`-ncdb'
`--no-comment-delimiters-on-blank-lines'
Do not put comment delimiters on blank lines.
`-nce'
`--dont-cuddle-else'
Do not cuddle `}' and `else'.
`-ncs'
`--no-space-after-casts'
Do not put a space after cast operators.
`-nfc1'
`--dont-format-first-column-comments'
Do not format comments in the first column as normal.
`-nfca'
`--dont-format-comments'
Do not format any comments.
`-nip'
`--no-parameter-indentation'
Zero width indentation for parameters.
`-nlp'
`--dont-line-up-parentheses'
Do not line up parentheses.
`-npcs'
`--no-space-after-function-call-names'
Do not put space after the function in function calls.
`-npsl'
`--dont-break-procedure-type'
Put the type of a procedure on the same line as its name.
`-nsc'
`--dont-star-comments'
Do not put the `*' character at the left of comments.
`-nsob'
`--leave-optional-blank-lines'
Do not swallow optional blank lines.
`-nss'
`--dont-space-special-semicolon'
Do not force a space before the semicolon after certain statements.
Disables `-ss'.
`-nv'
`--no-verbosity'
`-orig'
`--original'
Use the original Berkeley coding style.
`-npro'
`--ignore-profile'
Do not read `.indent.pro' files.
`-pcs'
`--space-after-procedure-calls'
Insert a space between the name of the procedure being called and
the `('.
`-psl'
`--procnames-start-lines'
Put the type of a procedure on the line before its name.
`-sc'
`--start-left-side-of-comments'
Put the `*' character at the left of comments.
`-sob'
`--swallow-optional-blank-lines'
Swallow optional blank lines.
`-ss'
`--space-special-semicolon'
On one-line `for' and `while' statments, force a blank before the
semicolon.
`-st'
`--standard-output'
Write to standard output.
`-T'
Tell `indent' the name of typenames.
`-tsN'
`--tab-sizeN'
Set tab size to N spaces.
`-v'
`--verbose'
Enable verbose mode.
`-version'
Output the version number of `indent'.
--blank-lines-after-block-comments -bbb
--blank-lines-after-commas -bc
--blank-lines-after-declarations -bad
--blank-lines-after-procedures -bap
--braces-after-if-line -bl
--brace-indent -bli
--braces-on-if-line -br
--case-indentation -cliN
--comment-delimiters-on-blank-lines -cdb
--comment-indentation -cN
--continuation-indentation -ciN
--continue-at-parentheses -lp
--cuddle-else -ce
--declaration-comment-column -cdN
--declaration-indentation -diN
--dont-break-procedure-type -npsl
--dont-cuddle-else -nce
--dont-format-comments -nfca
--dont-format-first-column-comments -nfc1
--dont-line-up-parentheses -nlp
--dont-space-special-semicolon -nss
--dont-star-comments -nsc
--else-endif-column -cpN
--format-all-comments -fca
--format-first-column-comments -fc1
--gnu-style -gnu
--ignore-profile -npro
--indent-level -iN
--k-and-r-style -kr
--leave-optional-blank-lines -nsob
--line-comments-indentation -dN
--line-length -lN
--no-blank-lines-after-block-comments -nbbb
--no-blank-lines-after-commas -nbc
--no-blank-lines-after-declarations -nbad
--no-blank-lines-after-procedures -nbap
--no-comment-delimiters-on-blank-lines -ncdb
--no-space-after-casts -ncs
--no-parameter-indentation -nip
--no-space-after-function-call-names -npcs
--no-verbosity -nv
--original -orig
--parameter-indentation -ipN
--procnames-start-lines -psl
--space-after-cast -cs
--space-after-procedure-calls -pcs
--space-special-semicolon -ss
--standard-output -st
--start-left-side-of-comments -sc
--swallow-optional-blank-lines -sob
--tab-size -tsN
--verbose -v
$HOME/.indent.pro holds default options for indent.