Re: Paths with replaceable components

[Ingo Schwarze <schwarze@usta.de>]

Hi Warren,

Warren Block wrote on Tue, Dec 16, 2014 at 09:41:02AM -0700:
> On Tue, 16 Dec 2014, Ingo Schwarze wrote:
>> Warren Block wrote on Mon, Dec 15, 2014 at 05:19:44PM -0700:

>>> We have another man page for the new autofs.
>>> One of the associated pages refers to this path:
>>>
>>> .Pa /net/nfs-server-ip/share-name/
>>>
>>> "net" is a literal there, but "nfs-server-ip" and "share-name" are not.
>>>
>>> In DocBook, I'd mark them up as <replaceable>, to indicate to the
>>> reader that they are not literal.  Is there a preferred mdoc way to
>>> do that in a path without splitting up the path components?

>> I would mark up the path like this:
>> .Pf /net/ Ar nfs-server-ip Ns / Ns Ar share-name Ns /

> Nice!

Heh, i feared you would consider that "splitting up the path".
All the better you don't.

>> Why do you want to avoid splitting up the path components?

> I tried it, and it just seemed to make it longer.  More
> interpretation was required by the reader, and it was just unwieldy.
> One version:
> 
> Access to files on a remote NFS server is provided through the
> .Pa /net
> directory.
> Inside that directory are subdirectories for each NFS server IP
> address and the exported directories.
> For example, files in the
> .Pa artwork
> directory on the NFS server at 192.168.1.202 will appear in the
> .Pa /net/192.168.1.202/artwork
> directory without any additional configuration.

Yikes!  Indeed, splitting it up in that sense adds nothing
but verbosity.

> Certainly that can be improved, but I prefer the clarity of having
> one full path shown with replaceable arguments.

Indeed.

> Thanks!

You are welcome.

Yours,
  Ingo
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