Re: [groff] 01/08: mdoc: Accept mixed-case section headings.

[John Gardner]

For output destined for terminal display, it's easy to uphold this
convention:

.if n \{\
.tr aAbBcCdDeEfFgGhHiIjJkKlLmMnNoOpPqQrRsStTuUvVwWxXyYzZ
\\$1
.tr aabbccddeeffgghhiijjkkllmmnnooppqqrrssttuuvvwwxxyyzz
.\}


The important part is that the source argument be expressed using "proper"
capitalisation. This simply isn't possible if it's originally uppercase:

.SH "INTRODUCTION TO HTML" \" BAAAAAD

.SH "Introduction to HTML" \" Good


The man(7) and mdoc(7) macros should be updated to do this, provided
they've not been updated more recently to do so.

— John



On Tue, 15 Sep 2020 at 23:53, Steffen Nurpmeso <steffen@sdaoden.eu> wrote:

> Hallo Ingo.
>
> Ingo Schwarze wrote in
>  <20200915133505.GI1272@athene.usta.de>:
>  |Hi Steffen,
>  |
>  |Steffen Nurpmeso wrote on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 01:59:04PM +0200:
>  |
>  |> Just out of interest: why do you change an omnipresent idiom that
>  |> is in use for standard section headers in Unix manual pages since
>  |> at least fourty years?  This commit changes the world and will
>  |> affect the generations of programmers to come, shall they
>  |> experience it.  I mean, it is ok, why not, it only strives me as
>  |> mysterious.  And i think i will unsubscribe now, shall i ever find
>  |> time for my groff clone, .. i do not know.  Not that it matters
>  |> anyway.
>  |
>  |The advantages of "Name" compared to "NAME" for separation of content
>  |and presentation, for typographic quality, and in particular for
>  |accessibility were discussed at length on this list, please consult
>  |the archives.
>
> Well, now that you say it have fuzzy memories .. and refreshed
> them.  Used to and living in text consoles only (though in
> graphical environment, again) i .. have mixed feelings, because
> now i am used to this notation for over twenty years.  I think it
> does make sense for several output devices, notably PDF, maybe
> even HTML, or markdown even, but for manual page output i feel
> differently.  Anyhow, if i make it, maybe i even follow but place
> a switch in site- and user-local configurations, for noone to find
> it ^_^.
>
> Ciao,
>
> --steffen
> |
> |Der Kragenbaer,                The moon bear,
> |der holt sich munter           he cheerfully and one by one
> |einen nach dem anderen runter  wa.ks himself off
> |(By Robert Gernhardt)
>
>