Re: [Groff] surprise, surprise

[Ted Harding]

On 26-Aug-01 Andrew Koenig wrote:
> Ted> One possibility is that because ".test" is a four-character name,
> Ted> the definition ".de test ..." and/or the invocation ".test" are
> Ted> not being recognised as macros. Could someone with "UNIX troff"
> Ted> re-try with a two-character name, e.g.
> 
> Ted>   .de jK
> Ted>   Hallo!
> Ted>   ..
> Ted>   \fB.jK\fP
> 
> Wow!  It really does interpret .jK as a macro invocation!
> That's truly bizarre...
> 
> The output is "Hallo!" in bold font.
> 
> Under groff, the output appears in roman font.

Now that _is_ interesting. So, in UNIX troff, the \fB is
indeed transparent where "." at the start of a line is
concerned, and also in groff; while in UNIX troff the
result is Bold, but not in groff.

Also interesting is that with "-C" (compatibility)
the groff behaviour does not change, so apparently
it's not compatible in that respect!

Even more interesting is (in groff):

a) .de jK
   Hallo!
   ..
   This is supposed to say
   \fB.jK\fP

   --> "Hallo!" in Roman (not Bold)

b) This is supposed to say
   \fB.jK \fP

   --> "Hallo!" in Bold

   (i.e. a space between ".jK" and "\fP")

And even more interesting still are:

c) \fB\s15.jK\s0\fP

   --> "Hallo" in Roman, no size change

d) \fB\s15.jK \s0\fP

   --> "Hallo" in 15 point Bold

e) \fB\s15.jK\s0 \fP

   --> "Hallo in Bold, no size change.

Well, I'll stop there; but it does look as though you could
use a lot of different "\..." escape sequences without "hiding"
the "." at the start of the line.

Well, I'll save you the trouble: the ones which are transparent
for "." are \f, \s as above, \H'N' (font height N points),
and \S'N' (slope by N degrees) -- in fact, those which have to
do with font appearance.

Ted.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
E-Mail: (Ted Harding) <address@hidden>
Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 167 1972
Date: 26-Aug-01                                       Time: 18:51:26
------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------