On Mon, Sep 17, 2007 at 12:25:20AM +0100, Ted Harding wrote: > On 16-Sep-07 22:15:55, Werner LEMBERG wrote: > >> > I don't think classic troff mm's ":p" has ever been in groff's mm, > >> > which has used "ft*nr" as long as I've known it (about 1990)! > >> > >> The obvious "solution" to that "problem" is to add: > >> > >> .als :p ft*nr > >> > >> to the mm macros like is done for other obscure number registers. > > > > In case this fixes the problem I'll apply this change to the source > > file. Luke, can you verify it? > > > > Werner > > I would like to suggest that, before anything is done generally > in groff, we should get to the bottom of where this ":p" is > coming from. > > I don't have access to macro files for other troffs at the > moment, but I've browsed around in such documentation as > I can find, without seeing a reference to a number register > ":p" in mm. Not that this disproves its existence, since > a lot of troff documentation (indeed like a lot of groff's) > doe not refer much to "internal registers"; nor have I got > access to much documentation! > > Perhaps ":p" is specific to a particular version of troff, > as used by Luke's wife for her thesis. If it's not generic, > then I doubt we should add too many such "special patches" > to groff. > > So let's wait for Luke to tell us more detail! In particular, > which "make" of troff, what year, version of mm macros? > > Best wishes to all, > Ted.
I'll state it stronger than Ted did. Number register :p is undocumented in the "baby blocks" Bell Labs manual from 1980. Making it an alias to ft*nr in the mm macro package just invites some other even more obsure problem when :p shows up in some other place. (Ah, the bad old days when _all_ tokens in troff/nroff where 1 or 2 characters! ... some of the "bugs" I have know.) The correct solution would be adding documented features to restart various numbering sequences in mm . I volunteered to be an mm maintainer a couple of months ago and then got buried with business. I'll look into this, eventually, at least documenting the ft*nr register. -- Mike Bianchi Foveal Systems 973 822-2085 call to arrange Fax [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.AutoAuditorium.com http://www.FovealMounts.com
