[groff] 32/38: roff(7): Fix content and style nits.

[G. Branden Robinson]

gbranden pushed a commit to branch master
in repository groff.

commit f535f91e41ba31ea41a2ed1bcb1ae86ee9ac8d6c
Author: G. Branden Robinson <g.branden.robinson@gmail.com>
AuthorDate: Thu Sep 1 13:22:55 2022 -0500

    roff(7): Fix content and style nits.
    
    Content:
    * The higher device resolution for PostScript devices in groff vs. AT&T
      troff is not really a consequence of increased hardware capability;
      720 dots per inch is still a respectable performance.  This has been
      bothering me for a while; recast.  As far as I can tell, groff uses
      bigger resolutions because (1) they reduce rounding error in integer
      arithmetic; (2) we don't use a binary format for device and font
      description files (see groff_font(5)); and (3) we don't experience the
      performance and storage bottlenecks that Kernighan did in 1980, which
      drove him to implement the "nng" move-and-draw command that optimized
      a common case of glyph output.  (This is discussed in groff_out(5),
      albeit murkily due to Bernd editorializing more than eludicating.
      Also see CSTR #97.)  With high device resolutions, two digits in basic
      units don't move you far enough to write the next glyph.  By 1989,
      bottlenecks had shifted, so James Clark ditched the binary format,
      increased the device resolution (in most cases), and added the "t"
      (and "u") extensions to groff's device-independent output language.
    
    Style:
    * Use a proper thousands separator.
    * Fix awkward wording around color support.  I remember when a 4-pen
      plotter was considered colorful printing...
    * Say that registers store "measurements", not "sizes".
    
    Markup:
    * Set one-word parenthetical on same line as surrounding text.
---
 man/roff.7.man | 27 +++++++++++++++------------
 1 file changed, 15 insertions(+), 12 deletions(-)

diff --git a/man/roff.7.man b/man/roff.7.man
index 2aa1901d5..81e779345 100644
--- a/man/roff.7.man
+++ b/man/roff.7.man
@@ -1700,19 +1700,23 @@ CSTR\~#54 was first written in the 1970s.
 Such hardware is no longer used in production environments,
 and device capabilities
 (including resolution,
-color drawing,
+support for multiple colors,
 and font repertoire)
 have tended to increase.
 .
-The PostScript output driver
-.MR dpost 1
-from an AT&T
-.I troff
-of 1980s vintage had a resolution of 720 units per inch,
-whereas
+Further,
+to reduce file size and processing time,
+AT&T
+.IR troff 's
+device-independent output format placed low limits on the magnitudes of
+quantities it could represent in some cases.
+.
+Its PostScript output driver,
+.MR dpost 1 ,
+had a resolution of 720 units per inch;
 .IR groff 's
 .MR grops @MAN1EXT@
-uses 72 000.
+uses 72,000.
 .
 .
 .\".P
@@ -1856,9 +1860,8 @@ and escape sequences
 .IR "ad libitum" .
 .
 .
-A document writer will not
-(usually)
-note any difference in usage for requests or macros;
+A document writer will not (usually) note any difference in usage for
+requests or macros;
 both are written on a line on their own starting with a dot.
 .
 However,
@@ -1931,7 +1934,7 @@ escape sequence.
 .
 .P
 .I Registers
-store numbers and sizes.
+store numbers and measurements.
 .
 A register can be set with the request
 .B .nr