[Groff] Re: Blank line macro (.blm) evil with `groff -ms'

[Werner LEMBERG]

> I would like to report a problem with groff compilation when the
> "blank line macro" request (.blm) is used.  [...]

Your analysis is wrong.  The problem is completely unrelated to the
blank line macro.  It is possible to reduce your example to this:

  .ev 1
  .br
  .ev
  .LP
  x

The call to `.br' invokes groff's output routine.  This in turn
invokes the address@hidden' macro which is called only once in the whole
document.  Its function is to initialize the global state of the
various ms macros, and it assumes that it is in environment 0 (the
top-level environment).  In the given example, the assumption fails,
and environment 0 isn't initialized correctly.

I'm not sure whether I should classify the current behaviour as a bug
or as a feature.  I tend to say it's a feature, and I would like to
document that the first action which causes vertical movement in the
output must happen in the top-level environment.  Anything else makes
the initialization unreliable IMHO.

Comments, please.


    Werner