Re: mdoc EXIT STATUS (Was: pending open issues)

[Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>]

>> There's a discussion on mandoc's discuss@ list about the EXIT STATUS 
>> situation across the BSDs.  We're trying to unify the documentation in 
>> mandoc's mdoc.7 page (enclosed).
>>
>> Basically, everybody seems to have a different convention of where to 
>> put `Ex'.  Can you weigh in on FreeBSD's stance?
> 
> Traditionally BSD used DIAGNOSTICS for both exit statuses and diagnostic
> messages.  Then POSIX took BSD manpages to form their document base.
> They invented EXIT STATUS.  In 2000, I participated in mdoc(7) macro
> package rewrite in Groff, including massive updates of FreeBSD manpages.
> As part of this work, FreeBSD received permission from Austin Group to
> use POSIX texts in their manpages.  I've then "introduced" EXIT STATUS
> to FreeBSD manpages, in 2005, splitting the existing DIAGNOSTICS section
> into two: EXIT STATUS for documenting program's exit statuses, and
> DIAGNOSTICS for program/driver diagnostic messages.  The current
> manpage skeletons are there:
> 
> http://svn.freebsd.org/viewvc/base/head/share/misc/mdoc.template
> http://svn.freebsd.org/viewvc/base/head/share/examples/mdoc/
> 
> Note: We didn't modify the mdoc(7) manpage, it comes verbatim (without
> FreeBSD local changes) as found in the Groff distribution.  
> 
>> Jason McIntyre wrote:
>>> On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 12:03:21PM +0200, Kristaps Dzonsons wrote:
>>>> So, from what I gather
>>>>
>>>>  (1) Net uses EXIT STATUS
>>>>  (2) DragonFly/Free uses DIAGNOSTICS
>>>>  (3) Open uses DESCRIPTION
>>>>  (4) GNU/Linux uses chaos
>>>>
>>>> Is that correct?
>>> no. i can't speak for dragonfly, but netbsd and freebsd both use EXIT
>>> VALUES and DIAGNOSTICS. however i cannot find anywhere in their
>>> documentation that says EXIT STATUS is valid (mdoc.template perhaps
>>> being an exception, but that is not documentation).
>>>
>>> from what sacha said earlier, it sounds like dragonfly do this too.
>>>
>>> openbsd use DIAGNOSTICS, but not EXIT STATUS.
>>>
>>> i am deliberating whether it's worth reinstating EXIT STATUS, but i
>>> can;t get anyone authorative from these projects to say what "official
>>> policy" is. at least:
>>>
>>> 	net: wiz? joerg?
>>> 	free: i have no real contact with freebsd people. i don;t know
>>> 		who to ask.
>>> 	dragon: sacha, who is at least replying to this thread ;)
>>>
>>> it would be nice if between us we could agree on sth sane.

Ruslan, thanks!

So we have Free and DragonFly using EXIT STATUS (which is not documented
in mdoc.7 on either system).

From what I see of their manuals, NetBSD does the same, but let's wait
for an official word from wiz@ and/or joerg@.

Kristaps
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