dvipos.1: Some remarks and a patch with editorial changes for this man page

Input file is dvipos.1

Output from "mandoc -T lint  dvipos.1": (shortened list)

      5 STYLE: whitespace at end of input line

Find trailing whitespace with:
grep -n -e ' $' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <man page>

-.-.

Output from
test-nroff -mandoc -t -Kutf8 -ww -z dvipos.1: (shortened list)

      5 trailing whitespace [-w trail]

Find trailing whitespace with:
grep -n -e ' $' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <man page>

-.-.

Remove space characters (whitespace) at the end of lines.
Use "git apply ... --whitespace=fix" to fix extra space issues, or use
global configuration "core.whitespace".

See more information in the attachment "trailing whitespace".

Number of lines affected is

5

-.-.

Change two HYPHEN-MINUSES (code 0x2D) to an em-dash (\(em),
if one is intended.
  " \(em " creates a too big gap in the text (in "troff").

An en-dash is usually surrounded by a space,
while an em-dash is used without spaces.
"man" (1 byte characters in input) transforms an en-dash (\(en) to one
HYPHEN-MINUS,
and an em-dash to two HYPHEN-MINUSES without considering the space
around it.
If "--" are two single "-"
(begin of an option or end of options)
then use "\-\-".

dvipos.1:46:\fB-h, --help\fR
dvipos.1:49:\fB-W, --warning\fR
dvipos.1:52:\fB-v, --verbose\fR
dvipos.1:55:\fB-d, --debug\fR
dvipos.1:60:\fB-s, --smashchars\fR
dvipos.1:63:\fB-o, --output=\fIFILE\fR
dvipos.1:66:\fB-b, --bbox[=\fP\fIFILE\fP]\fR
dvipos.1:69:\fB-f, --framed[=\fP\fIBASE\fP]\fR
dvipos.1:72:\fB--framesize\fP option.
dvipos.1:74:\fB-m, --mag=\fIINT\fR
dvipos.1:79:\fB-w, --framesize=\fIINT\fR
dvipos.1:82:\fB-p, --pages=\fIX:Y\fR

-.-.

Change -- in x--y to \(em (em-dash), or, if an
option, to \-\-

46:\fB-h, --help\fR
49:\fB-W, --warning\fR
52:\fB-v, --verbose\fR
55:\fB-d, --debug\fR
60:\fB-s, --smashchars\fR
63:\fB-o, --output=\fIFILE\fR
66:\fB-b, --bbox[=\fP\fIFILE\fP]\fR
69:\fB-f, --framed[=\fP\fIBASE\fP]\fR
72:\fB--framesize\fP option.
74:\fB-m, --mag=\fIINT\fR
79:\fB-w, --framesize=\fIINT\fR
82:\fB-p, --pages=\fIX:Y\fR

-.-.

Change a HYPHEN-MINUS (code 0x2D) to a minus(-dash) (\-),
if it
is in front of a name for an option,
is a symbol for standard input,
is a single character used to indicate an option,
or is in the NAME section (man-pages(7)).
N.B. - (0x2D), processed as a UTF-8 file, is changed to a hyphen
(0x2010, groff \[u2010] or \[hy]) in the output.

12:.in -3
46:\fB-h, --help\fR
49:\fB-W, --warning\fR
52:\fB-v, --verbose\fR
55:\fB-d, --debug\fR
60:\fB-s, --smashchars\fR
63:\fB-o, --output=\fIFILE\fR
66:\fB-b, --bbox[=\fP\fIFILE\fP]\fR
69:\fB-f, --framed[=\fP\fIBASE\fP]\fR
72:\fB--framesize\fP option.
74:\fB-m, --mag=\fIINT\fR
79:\fB-w, --framesize=\fIINT\fR
82:\fB-p, --pages=\fIX:Y\fR
117:\f(CWdvipos -o doc.loc doc.dvi\fP
120:\f(CWdvipos -b -o doc.loc doc.dvi\fP
123:\f(CWdvipos -b=/tmp/debug.pos -o doc.loc doc.dvi\fP
138:If you specify a file for the \fB-b\fP option, you must join the
141:dvipos -b=/tmp/debug.pos notes.dvi
145:dvipos -b /tmp/debug.pos notes.dvi

-.-.

Wrong distance (not two spaces, not a new line character (\n)) between
sentences in the input file.

  Separate the sentences and subordinate clauses; each begins on a new
line.  See man-pages(7) ("Conventions for source file layout") and
"info groff" ("Input Conventions").

  The best procedure is to always start a new sentence on a new line,
at least, if you are typing on a computer.

Remember coding: Only one command ("sentence") on each (logical) line.

E-mail: Easier to quote exactly the relevant lines.

Generally: Easier to edit the sentence.

Patches: Less unaffected text.

Search for two adjacent words is easier, when they belong to the same line,
and the same phrase.

  The amount of space between sentences in the output can then be
controlled with the ".ss" request.

Mark a final abbreviation point as such by suffixing it with "\&".

Some sentences (etc.) do not begin on a new line.

Split (sometimes) lines after a punctuation mark; before a conjunction.

  Lines with only one (or two) space(s) between sentences could be split,
so latter sentences begin on a new line.

Use

#!/usr/bin/sh

sed -e '/^\./n' \
-e 's/\([[:alpha:]]\)\.  */\1.\n/g' $1

to split lines after a sentence period.
Check result with the difference between the formatted outputs.
See also the attachment "general.bugs"

[List of affected lines removed.]

21:\fBdvipos\fP [ \fIOPTION\fP... ] \fIinfile[.dvi]\fP

-.-.

Add a zero (0) in front of a decimal fraction that begins with a period
(.)

80:set frame rule size by INT (default 6554 = .1pt).

-.-.

Put a parenthetical sentence, phrase on a separate line,
if not part of a code.
See man-pages(7), item "semantic newline".

dvipos.1:67:send bounding box to FILE (default FILE is \fIinfile.pos\fP).
dvipos.1:71:\fBframed\fP (default FILE is \fIinfile_frames.dvi\fP).  See the
dvipos.1:80:set frame rule size by INT (default 6554 = .1pt).
dvipos.1:97:\fBdvipos\fP is not used (or needed) in PDF-output mode but is
dvipos.1:139:option and name with \fB=\fP rather than (the more common) space:
dvipos.1:152:software (GPLv2 or later).  This manpage was written by Sanjoy

-.-.

Only one space character is after a possible end of sentence
(after a punctuation, that can end a sentence).

dvipos.1:21:\fBdvipos\fP [ \fIOPTION\fP... ] \fIinfile[.dvi]\fP

-.-.

Remove quotes when there is a printable
but no space character between them
and the quotes are not for emphasis (markup),
for example as an argument to a macro.

dvipos.1:1:.TH "DVIPOS" "1" "30 August 2022" "dvipos 20070107 (KPATHSEA)" "ConTeXt"
dvipos.1:135:.URL "https://wiki.contextgarden.net/MetaFun" "ConTeXt wiki" .

-.-.

Add "\&" after an ellipsis, when it does not end a sentence.

21:\fBdvipos\fP [ \fIOPTION\fP... ] \fIinfile[.dvi]\fP

-.-.

Output from "test-nroff  -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=0 -ww -z ":

troff:<stdin>:34: warning: trailing whitespace [-w trail]
troff:<stdin>:56: warning: trailing whitespace [-w trail]
troff:<stdin>:75: warning: trailing whitespace [-w trail]
troff:<stdin>:89: warning: trailing whitespace [-w trail]
troff:<stdin>:98: warning: trailing whitespace [-w trail]

-.-

Generally:

Split (sometimes) lines after a punctuation mark; before a conjunction.

-.-

Tables:

  Use the preprocessor 'tbl' to make tables.

  Put data, that are wider than the header in the (centered) last column,
in a "T{...\nT}" block(, when the table gets wider than the output line).

  Table headings, that are wider than any data in the corresponding
column, do not need to be centered, so left adjustment (l, L) is
sufficient.

--- dvipos.1	2026-06-03 21:07:28.321887970 +0000
+++ dvipos.1.new	2026-06-03 21:18:51.117345095 +0000
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.TH "DVIPOS" "1" "30 August 2022" "dvipos 20070107 (KPATHSEA)" "ConTeXt"
+.TH DVIPOS 1 "30 August 2022" "dvipos 20070107 (KPATHSEA)" ConTeXt
 .de URL
 \\$2 \(laURL: \\$1 \(ra\\$3
 ..
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
 dvipos \- compute positions in a DVI file
 
 .SH SYNOPSIS
-\fBdvipos\fP [ \fIOPTION\fP... ] \fIinfile[.dvi]\fP
+\fBdvipos\fP [ \fIOPTION\fP...\& ] \fIinfile[.dvi]\fP
 
 .SH DESCRIPTION
 \fBdvipos\fP parses a DVI file looking for \fIpos:\fP specials.  It
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ location.  The output looks like:
 .EX
 \\pospxywhd{text:54}{54}{10663sp}{8535sp}{21326sp}{34081sp}{0sp}
 .EE
-and is suitable for including in a 
+and is suitable for including in a
 .BR tex (1)
 or
 .BR pdftex (1)
@@ -43,50 +43,50 @@ or similar typesetting engine.
 .SH OPTIONS
 
 .TP
-\fB-h, --help\fR
+\fB\-h, \-\-help\fR
 print usage.
 .TP
-\fB-W, --warning\fR
+\fB\-W, \-\-warning\fR
 print warnings.
 .TP
-\fB-v, --verbose\fR
+\fB\-v, \-\-verbose\fR
 print verbose output.
 .TP
-\fB-d, --debug\fR
-print 
+\fB\-d, \-\-debug\fR
+print
 .BR dvitype (1)
 debugging data.
 .TP
-\fB-s, --smashchars\fR
+\fB\-s, \-\-smashchars\fR
 regard height and depth as zero.
 .TP
-\fB-o, --output=\fIFILE\fR
+\fB\-o, \-\-output=\fIFILE\fR
 send all output to FILE.  Without this option, output goes to stdout.
 .TP
-\fB-b, --bbox[=\fP\fIFILE\fP]\fR
+\fB\-b, \-\-bbox[=\fP\fIFILE\fP]\fR
 send bounding box to FILE (default FILE is \fIinfile.pos\fP).
 .TP
-\fB-f, --framed[=\fP\fIBASE\fP]\fR
+\fB\-f, \-\-framed[=\fP\fIBASE\fP]\fR
 request copy of DVI file, \fIBASE.dvi\fP, with bounding boxes
 \fBframed\fP (default FILE is \fIinfile_frames.dvi\fP).  See the
-\fB--framesize\fP option.
+\fB\-\-framesize\fP option.
 .TP
-\fB-m, --mag=\fIINT\fR
-override 
+\fB\-m, \-\-mag=\fIINT\fR
+override
 .BR tex (1)
 magnification by INT.
 .TP
-\fB-w, --framesize=\fIINT\fR
-set frame rule size by INT (default 6554 = .1pt).
+\fB\-w, \-\-framesize=\fIINT\fR
+set frame rule size by INT (default 6554 = 0.1pt).
 .TP
-\fB-p, --pages=\fIX:Y\fR
+\fB\-p, \-\-pages=\fIX:Y\fR
 set page ranges from X to Y.
 
 .SH USAGE
 .B dvipos
 is run mostly behind the scenes by ConTeXt's
 .BR texexec (1)
-between runs of 
+between runs of
 .BR tex (1)
 or
 .BR pdftex (1),
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ positional graphics.  These graphics are
 interface to
 .BR mpost (1).
 \fBdvipos\fP is not used (or needed) in PDF-output mode but is
-needed for DVI-output mode.  
+needed for DVI-output mode.
 .BR pdftex (1)
 starting with version 1.40 can produce position information even in
 DVI mode, so once the ConTeXt macros take advantage of this feature,
@@ -114,13 +114,13 @@ run.
 .SH EXAMPLES
 .TP
 Extract positions from \fIdoc.dvi\fP, with output to \fIdoc.loc\fP:
-\f(CWdvipos -o doc.loc doc.dvi\fP
+\f(CWdvipos \-o doc.loc doc.dvi\fP
 .TP
 Same as above, but also send bbox information to \fIdoc.pos\fP:
-\f(CWdvipos -b -o doc.loc doc.dvi\fP
+\f(CWdvipos \-b \-o doc.loc doc.dvi\fP
 .TP
 Instead send bbox information to \fI/tmp/debug.pos\fP:
-\f(CWdvipos -b=/tmp/debug.pos -o doc.loc doc.dvi\fP
+\f(CWdvipos \-b=/tmp/debug.pos \-o doc.loc doc.dvi\fP
 
 .SH "SEE ALSO"
 .BR dvips (1),
@@ -132,17 +132,17 @@ Instead send bbox information to \fI/tmp
 
 For more about positional graphics, see the MetaFun documentation on
 the
-.URL "https://wiki.contextgarden.net/MetaFun" "ConTeXt wiki" .
+.URL https://wiki.contextgarden.net/MetaFun "ConTeXt wiki" .
 
 .SH BUGS
-If you specify a file for the \fB-b\fP option, you must join the
+If you specify a file for the \fB\-b\fP option, you must join the
 option and name with \fB=\fP rather than (the more common) space:
 .EX
-dvipos -b=/tmp/debug.pos notes.dvi
+dvipos \-b=/tmp/debug.pos notes.dvi
 .EE
 works, but
 .EX
-dvipos -b /tmp/debug.pos notes.dvi
+dvipos \-b /tmp/debug.pos notes.dvi
 .EE
 does not.

  Check the output from "lintian" in the Debian distribution.

  Any program (person), that produces man pages, should check the output
for defects by using (both groff and nroff)

[gn]roff -mandoc -t -ww -b -z -K utf8 <man page>

  To find most trailing spaces use

grep -n -e ' $' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <man page>

  The same goes for man pages that are used as an input.

-.-

  For a style guide use

  mandoc -T lint

-.-

  For general input conventions consult the man page "nroff(7)" (item
"Input conventions") or the Texinfo manual about the same item.

-.-

  Any "autogenerator" should check its products with the above mentioned
'groff', 'mandoc', and additionally with 'nroff ...'.

  It should also check its input files for too long (> 80) lines.

  This is just a simple quality control measure.

  The "autogenerator" may have to be corrected to get a better man page,
the source file may, and any additional file may.

-.-

  Common defects:

  Not removing trailing spaces (in in- and output).
  The reason for these trailing spaces should be found and eliminated.

  "git" has a "tool" to point out whitespace,
see for example "git-apply(1)" and git-config(1)")

-.-

  Not beginning each input sentence on a new line.

Line length and patch size should thus be reduced when that has been fixed.

  The script "reportbug" uses 'quoted-printable' encoding when a line is
longer than 1024 characters in an 'ascii' file.

  See man-pages(7), item "semantic newline".

-.-

The difference between the formatted output of the original
and patched file can be seen with:

  nroff -mandoc <file1> > <out1>
  nroff -mandoc <file2> > <out2>
  diff -d -u <out1> <out2>

and for groff, using

\"printf '%s\n%s\n' '.kern 0' '.ss 12 0' | groff -mandoc -Z - \"

instead of 'nroff -mandoc'

  Add the option '-t', if the file contains a table.

  Read the output from 'diff -d -u ...' with 'less -R' or similar.

-.-.

  If 'man' (man-db) is used to check the manual for warnings,
the following must be set:

  The option "-warnings=w"

  The environmental variable:

export MAN_KEEP_STDERR=yes (or any non-empty value)

  or

  (produce only warnings):

export MANROFFOPT="-ww -b -z"

export MAN_KEEP_STDERR=yes (or any non-empty value)

-.-