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[PATCH 2/4] man/MKncu_config.in: Revise.


From: G. Branden Robinson
Subject: [PATCH 2/4] man/MKncu_config.in: Revise.
Date: Tue, 26 Sep 2023 07:03:31 -0500

* Recast synopsis and description to say more about what the
  ncurses6-config tool _does_, and less about how it's implemented.
  (Does anyone care if it's a shell script?)
* Stop marking "options" as optional.  For this command, they are not.
* Synopsize distinct operation modes separately.
* Say "reports" instead of "echos" [sic].  (It's spelled "echoes".)
* End sentences with periods.  This was being done inconsistently.
* Set "ncurses", "termcap", and "terminfo" in italics.  (Except in man
  page cross reference--I'm holding my `MR` fire for now.)
* Drop hyphens from adjective-noun phrases.  We don't say "fast-car" or
  "tasty-food" in ordinary prose, so we do not say "package-prefix".
  One might defend the existing usage as two juxtaposed nouns, with one
  _functioning_ as an adjective, argue that the hyphen is necessary to
  suggest an altered grammatical role for the earlier word, then point
  to examples like "man-beast" or "foot-pound".  I counter with "stage
  manager", "head waiter", "insurance salesman", "escape sequence", and
  "process identifier".  As a rule, we omit the hyphen from such noun
  phrases, with an irregular set of exceptions because...it's English.
  See, for instance, <https://www.grammarly.com/blog/hyphen/>.  Many
  other authorities exist.
* Favor English words over Latin abbreviations.
* Set environment variable names in bold, not roman (though I prefer
  italics for them), and without a leading "$" sigil.
* Clarify descriptions of search path-related options.
* Set file names in italics, and protect them from hyphenation using a
  *roff feature (`\%`) instead of breaking and indenting them.
* Recast description of `--help`.
* Protect literal from hyphenation in man page cross reference.
---
 man/MKncu_config.in | 58 +++++++++++++++++++++++++--------------------
 1 file changed, 32 insertions(+), 26 deletions(-)

diff --git a/man/MKncu_config.in b/man/MKncu_config.in
index a9372453..61d718f6 100644
--- a/man/MKncu_config.in
+++ b/man/MKncu_config.in
@@ -31,70 +31,76 @@
 .TH @LIB_NAME@@DFT_ARG_SUFFIX@@cf_cv_abi_version@-config 1 2023-09-17 "ncurses 
@NCURSES_MAJOR@.@NCURSES_MINOR@" "User commands"
 .SH NAME
 \fB\%@LIB_NAME@@DFT_ARG_SUFFIX@@cf_cv_abi_version@-config\fP \-
-helper script for \fIncurses\fR libraries
+configuration helper for \fIncurses\fR libraries
 .SH SYNOPSIS
 .B @LIB_NAME@@DFT_ARG_SUFFIX@@cf_cv_abi_version@-config
-[\fIoptions\fP]
+.I option
+\&.\|.\|.
+.PP
+.B "@LIB_NAME@@DFT_ARG_SUFFIX@@cf_cv_abi_version@-config \-\-version"
+.PP
+.B "@LIB_NAME@@DFT_ARG_SUFFIX@@cf_cv_abi_version@-config \-\-help"
 .SH DESCRIPTION
-This is a shell script which simplifies configuring applications against
-a particular set of ncurses libraries.
+This program development aid simplifies the process of configuring
+applications against a particular set of \fIncurses\fP libraries.
 .SH OPTIONS
 .TP
 \fB\-\-prefix\fP
-echos the package\-prefix of ncurses
+reports the package prefix of \fIncurses\fP.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-exec\-prefix\fP
-echos the executable\-prefix of ncurses
+reports the executable prefix of \fIncurses\fP.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-cflags\fP
-echos the C compiler flags needed to compile with ncurses
+reports the C compiler flags needed to compile with \fIncurses\fP.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-libs\fP
-echos the libraries needed to link with ncurses
+reports the libraries needed to link with \fIncurses\fP.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-version\fP
-echos the release+patchdate version of ncurses
+reports the release and patch date information of \fIncurses\fP and
+exits successfully.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-abi\-version\fP
-echos the ABI version of ncurses
+reports the ABI version of \fIncurses\fP.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-mouse\-version\fP
-echos the mouse\-interface version of ncurses
+reports the mouse\-interface version of \fIncurses\fP.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-bindir\fP
-echos the directory containing ncurses programs
+reports the directory containing \fIncurses\fP programs.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-datadir\fP
-echos the directory containing ncurses data
+reports the directory containing \fIncurses\fP data.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-includedir\fP
-echos the directory containing ncurses header files
+reports the directory containing \fIncurses\fP header files.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-libdir\fP
-echos the directory containing ncurses libraries
+reports the directory containing \fIncurses\fP libraries.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-mandir\fP
-echos the directory containing ncurses manpages
+reports the directory containing \fIncurses\fP man pages.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-terminfo\fP
-echos the $TERMINFO terminfo database path, e.g.,
-.RS
-@TERMINFO@
+reports the \fBTERMINFO\fP \fIterminfo\fP database path,
+for example \fI\%@TERMINFO@\fP.
 .RE
 .TP
 \fB\-\-terminfo\-dirs\fP
-echos the $TERMINFO_DIRS directory list, e.g.,
-.RS
-@TERMINFO_DIRS@
-.RE
+reports the \fBTERMINFO_DIRS\fP supplemental search path for the
+\fIterminfo\fP database,
+for example \fI\%@TERMINFO_DIRS@\fP.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-termpath\fP
-echos the $TERMPATH termcap list, if support for termcap is configured.
+reports the \fBTERMPATH\fP supplemental search path for the
+\fItermcap\fP database,
+if support for \fItermcap\fP is configured.
 .TP
 \fB\-\-help\fP
-prints this message
+issues a usage message and exits successfully.
 .SH "SEE ALSO"
-\fBcurses\fP(3X)
+\fB\%curses\fP(3X)
 .PP
 This describes \fBncurses\fP
 version @NCURSES_MAJOR@.@NCURSES_MINOR@ (patch @NCURSES_PATCH@).
-- 
2.30.2

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