Re: [Groff] How to disable page numbering

[Anton Shepelev]

Werner LEMBERG:

> Mhmm.  I don't think so.  Compare this to gcc's -W
> switches which are off by  default  too.  I  don't
> see  an immediate need to change a behaviour which
> has been unmodified for more than 20 years.

But there is a difference compared to  gcc.  Missing
(undefined)  macros  are  considered by groff not as
errors but as problems that may or may not,  depend-
ing  on  the  settings, be reported as warnings, but
that in no way cause a  "compilation  error",  which
makes groff (with default settings) chew and swallow
almost any input without a mumbling word.

The question is, how to distinguish between a  warn-
ing  and  an  error.  As I understand, every problem
that  denies  futher  processing  is  considered  an
error,  and  everything  else goes as warnings. This
approach is useful for it would not  interrupt  pro-
cessing  at the first problem and, by means of warn-
ing messages, let the user know about all the  prob-
lems  in  the  source in one pass. But why would one
want all warnings disabled I cannot imagine.

Therefore, an undefined macro is not an  error  from
groff's  viewpoint,  because the corresponding input
line can be omitted, but it is  an  error  from  the
user's viewpoint, because the result is a digression
from what is intended.

All macro packages that I have tried do enable warn-
ings  if  they  are  not explicitly enabled from the
command line.

Chris Velevitch, the original poster, seems to  have
not  included  a  macro package and all his calls to
package-specific macros were silently ignored.

Anton

P.S.: Thought I'd just let you know my viewpoint.