Package: lintian
Version: 2.122.0
Severity: minor
Tags: patch
* What led up to the situation?
Checking for defects with a new version
test-[g|n]roff -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=10 -ww -z < "man
page"
[Use
grep -n -e ' $' -e '\\~$' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <file>
to find (most) trailing spaces.]
["test-groff" is a script in the repository for "groff"; is not shipped]
(local copy and "troff" slightly changed by me).
[The fate of "test-nroff" was decided in groff bug #55941.]
* What was the outcome of this action?
troff:<stdin>:223: warning: trailing space in the line
* What outcome did you expect instead?
No output (no warnings).
-.-
General remarks and further material, if a diff-file exist, are in the
attachments.
-- System Information:
Debian Release: trixie/sid
APT prefers testing
APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Kernel: Linux 6.12.21-amd64 (SMP w/2 CPU threads; PREEMPT)
Locale: LANG=is_IS.iso88591, LC_CTYPE=is_IS.iso88591 (charmap=ISO-8859-1),
LANGUAGE not set
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /usr/bin/dash
Init: sysvinit (via /sbin/init)
Versions of packages lintian depends on:
ii appstream 1.0.4-1
ii binutils 2.44-3
ii bzip2 1.0.8-6
ii diffstat 1.67-1
ii dpkg 1.22.18
ii dpkg-dev 1.22.18
ii file 1:5.45-3+b1
ii gettext 0.23.1-1
ii gpg 2.2.46-6
ii intltool-debian 0.35.0+20060710.6
ii iso-codes 4.17.0-1
ii libapt-pkg-perl 0.1.41
ii libarchive-zip-perl 1.68-1
ii libberkeleydb-perl 0.66-1
ii libcapture-tiny-perl 0.50-1
ii libclass-xsaccessor-perl 1.19-4+b5
ii libclone-perl 0.47-1+b1
ii libconfig-tiny-perl 2.30-1
ii libconst-fast-perl 0.014-2
ii libcpanel-json-xs-perl 4.39-1
ii libdata-dpath-perl 0.60-1
ii libdata-validate-domain-perl 0.15-1
ii libdata-validate-uri-perl 0.07-3
ii libdevel-size-perl 0.84-1+b1
pn libdigest-sha-perl <none>
ii libdpkg-perl 1.22.18
ii libemail-address-xs-perl 1.05-1+b4
pn libencode-perl <none>
ii libfile-basedir-perl 0.09-2
ii libfile-find-rule-perl 0.34-3
ii libfont-ttf-perl 1.06-2
ii libhtml-html5-entities-perl 0.004-3
ii libhtml-tokeparser-simple-perl 3.16-4
ii libio-interactive-perl 1.026-1
ii libipc-run3-perl 0.049-1
ii libjson-maybexs-perl 1.004008-1
ii liblist-compare-perl 0.55-2
ii liblist-someutils-perl 0.59-1
ii liblist-utilsby-perl 0.12-2
ii libmldbm-perl 2.05-4
ii libmoo-perl 2.005005-1
ii libmoox-aliases-perl 0.001006-2
ii libnamespace-clean-perl 0.27-2
ii libpath-tiny-perl 0.146-1
ii libperlio-gzip-perl 0.20-1+b4
ii libperlio-utf8-strict-perl 0.010-1+b3
ii libproc-processtable-perl 0.636-1+b3
ii libregexp-wildcards-perl 1.05-3
ii libsereal-decoder-perl 5.004+ds-1+b3
ii libsereal-encoder-perl 5.004+ds-1+b3
ii libsort-versions-perl 1.62-3
ii libsyntax-keyword-try-perl 0.30-1+b1
ii libterm-readkey-perl 2.38-2+b4
ii libtext-levenshteinxs-perl 0.03-5+b4
ii libtext-markdown-discount-perl 0.18-1
ii libtext-xslate-perl 3.5.9-2+b1
ii libtime-duration-perl 1.21-2
ii libtime-moment-perl 0.44-2+b4
ii libtimedate-perl 2.3300-2
ii libunicode-utf8-perl 0.62-2+b3
ii liburi-perl 5.30-1
ii libwww-mechanize-perl 2.19-1
ii libwww-perl 6.78-1
ii libxml-libxml-perl 2.0207+dfsg+really+2.0134-5+b2
ii libyaml-libyaml-perl 0.903.0+ds-1
ii lzip [lzip-decompressor] 1.25-3
ii lzop 1.04-2
ii man-db 2.13.0-1
ii patchutils 0.4.2-1
ii perl [libversion-perl] 5.40.1-2
ii t1utils 1.41-4
ii unzip 6.0-29
ii xz-utils 5.6.4-1
lintian recommends no packages.
Versions of packages lintian suggests:
pn binutils-multiarch <none>
pn libtext-template-perl <none>
-- no debconf information
Input file is Test::Lintian.3
Output from "mandoc -T lint Test::Lintian.3": (shortened list)
1 : Test::Lintian.3:128:2: WARNING: empty block: RS
1 : Test::Lintian.3:181:2: WARNING: empty block: RS
-.-.
Output from
test-nroff -mandoc -t -ww -z Test::Lintian.3: (shortened list)
1 line(s) with a trailing space
Find trailing space with:
grep -n -e ' $' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <man page>
-.-.
Show if Pod::Man generated this.
Who is actually creating this man page? Debian or upstream?
Is the generating software out of date?
2:.\" Automatically generated by Pod::Man 5.0102 (Pod::Simple 3.45)
-.-.
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".
Number of lines affected is
1
-.-.
Add a "\&" (or a comma (Oxford comma)) after an abbreviation
or use English words
(man-pages(7)).
Abbreviation points should be marked as such and protected against being
interpreted as an end of sentence, if they are not, and that independent
of the current place on the line.
122:only be processed if it has the proper extension (i.e. with \fI.desc\fR).
179:only be processed if it has the proper extension (i.e. with \fI.desc\fR).
204:Map the program name (e.g. \f(CW$0\fR) to a list of directories or/and
-.-.
Wrong distance (not two spaces) 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"
122:only be processed if it has the proper extension (i.e. with \fI.desc\fR).
179:only be processed if it has the proper extension (i.e. with \fI.desc\fR).
204:Map the program name (e.g. \f(CW$0\fR) to a list of directories or/and
-.-.
Split lines longer than 80 characters into two or more lines.
Appropriate break points are the end of a sentence and a subordinate
clause; after punctuation marks.
Add "\:" to split the string for the output, "\<newline>" in the source.
Line 78, length 102
\& load_profile_for_test(\*(Aqvendor/profile\*(Aq, \*(Aqsome/path\*(Aq,
\*(Aq/usr/share/lintian\*(Aq);
Longest line is number 78 with 102 characters
-.-.
Remove unnecessary double font change (e.g., \fR\fI) in a row or (better)
use a two-fonts macro.
195:\&\fR\f(CI$ENV\fR\fI{'LINTIAN_BASE'}\fR and \fI/usr/share/lintian\fR (in
order).
-.-.
Add a zero (0) in front of a decimal fraction that begins with a period
(.)
7:.if t .sp .5v
-.-.
Put a parenthetical sentence, phrase on a separate line,
if not part of a code.
See man-pages(7), item "semantic newline".
Test::Lintian.3:78:\& load_profile_for_test(\*(Aqvendor/profile\*(Aq,
\*(Aqsome/path\*(Aq, \*(Aq/usr/share/lintian\*(Aq);
Test::Lintian.3:93:Test check desc files (and the tags in them) for common
errors.
Test::Lintian.3:107:This sub uses a Data file (see "load_profile_for_test
([PROFNAME[, INC...]])").
Test::Lintian.3:115:false otherwise. \f(CW$_\fR will be the path to the
current file (or dir)
Test::Lintian.3:122:only be processed if it has the proper extension (i.e. with
\fI.desc\fR).
Test::Lintian.3:156:10 elements, then 21 tests will be done (2 * 10 + 1).
Filtered out
Test::Lintian.3:172:false otherwise. \f(CW$_\fR will be the path to the
current file (or dir)
Test::Lintian.3:179:only be processed if it has the proper extension (i.e. with
\fI.desc\fR).
Test::Lintian.3:193:INC is a list of extra "include dirs" (or Lintian "roots")
to be used
Test::Lintian.3:195:\&\fR\f(CI$ENV\fR\fI{'LINTIAN_BASE'}\fR and
\fI/usr/share/lintian\fR (in order).
Test::Lintian.3:204:Map the program name (e.g. \f(CW$0\fR) to a list of
directories or/and
-.-.
Use a character "\(->" instead of plain "->" or "\->".
214:\& checks.t \-> runner.pl
215:\& collection.t \-> runner.pl
-.-.
Only one space character is after a possible end of sentence
(after a punctuation, that can end a sentence).
Test::Lintian.3:122:only be processed if it has the proper extension (i.e. with
\fI.desc\fR).
Test::Lintian.3:179:only be processed if it has the proper extension (i.e. with
\fI.desc\fR).
Test::Lintian.3:204:Map the program name (e.g. \f(CW$0\fR) to a list of
directories or/and
-.-.
Remove quotes when there is a printable
but no space character between them
and the quotes are not for emphasis (markup),
for example as an argument to a macro.
Test::Lintian.3:66:.IX Header "SYNOPSIS"
Test::Lintian.3:86:.IX Header "DESCRIPTION"
Test::Lintian.3:90:.IX Header "FUNCTIONS"
-.-.
Use ".na" (no adjustment) instead of ".ad l" (and ".ad" to begin the
same adjustment again as before).
61:.if n .ad l
-.-.
Add lines to use the CR font for groff instead of CW.
.if t \{\
. ie \\n(.g .ft CR
. el .ft CW
.\}
11:.ft CW
-.-.
.\" Define a fallback for font CW with
.if t \{\
. ie \n(.g .ds fC \f(CR
. el .ds fC \f(CW
.\}
.
.if n \{\
. ds fC \fR
.\}
Change \f(CW to \*(fC
113:If defined, it is a filter function that examines \f(CW$_\fR (or its first
114:argument) and returns a truth value if \f(CW$_\fR should be considered or
115:false otherwise. \f(CW$_\fR will be the path to the current file (or dir)
170:If defined, it is a filter function that examines \f(CW$_\fR (or its first
171:argument) and returns a truth value if \f(CW$_\fR should be considered or
172:false otherwise. \f(CW$_\fR will be the path to the current file (or dir)
204:Map the program name (e.g. \f(CW$0\fR) to a list of directories or/and
-.-.
Add "\&" after an ellipsis, when it does not end a sentence
91:.IP "test_check_desc(OPTS, CHECKS...)" 4
92:.IX Item "test_check_desc(OPTS, CHECKS...)"
107:This sub uses a Data file (see "load_profile_for_test ([PROFNAME[,
INC...]])").
130:.IP "test_load_profiles(ROOT, INC...)" 4
131:.IX Item "test_load_profiles(ROOT, INC...)"
140:.IP "test_load_checks(OPTS, DIR[, CHECKNAMES...])" 4
141:.IX Item "test_load_checks(OPTS, DIR[, CHECKNAMES...])"
164:INC...]])")
183:.IP "load_profile_for_test ([PROFNAME[, INC...]])" 4
184:.IX Item "load_profile_for_test ([PROFNAME[, INC...]])"
216:\& ...
-.-.
Output from "test-groff -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=10 -ww -z
":
troff:<stdin>:223: warning: trailing space in the line
-.-.
Generally:
Split (sometimes) lines after a punctuation mark; before a conjunction.
--- Test::Lintian.3 2025-04-08 17:15:35.193724810 +0000
+++ Test::Lintian.3.new 2025-04-08 17:21:38.687496101 +0000
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ And then in runner.pl:
.Sp
.Vb 1
\& use Test::Lintian;
-\&
+\&
\& my @paths = program_name_to_perl_paths($0);
\& # test all files/dirs listed in @paths
.Ve
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 trailing space 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
-.-
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.
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)
-.-
