Bug#1128006: fc-query.1: Some remarks and a patch with editorial changes for this man page
Bjarni Ingi Gislason
bjarniig at simnet.is
Sun Feb 15 02:22:28 GMT 2026
Package: fontconfig
Version: 2.17.1-4
Severity: minor
Tags: patch
Email (Steve Cheng <steve at ggi-project.org>) in the man page is not
usable.
Dear Maintainer,
>From "/usr/share/doc/debian/bug-reporting.txt.gz":
Don't file bugs upstream
If you file a bug in Debian, don't send a copy to the upstream software
maintainers yourself, as it is possible that the bug exists only in
Debian. If necessary, the maintainer of the package will forward the
bug upstream.
-.-
I do not send reports upstream if I have to get an account there.
The Debian maintainers have one already.
If I get a negative (or no) response from upstream, I send henceforth
bugs to Debian.
-.-
* What led up to the situation?
Checking for defects with a new version
test-[g|n]roff -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=0 -ww -z < "man page"
[Use
grep -n -e ' $' -e '\\~$' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <file>
to find (most) trailing spaces.]
["test-groff" is a script in the repository for "groff"; is not shipped]
(local copy and "troff" slightly changed by me).
[The fate of "test-nroff" was decided in groff bug #55941.]
* What was the outcome of this action?
Output from "test-nroff -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=0 -ww -z ":
troff:<stdin>:1050: warning [page 1, line 1048]: cannot break line in l adjust mode; overset by 1n
* What outcome did you expect instead?
No output (no warnings).
-.-
General remarks and further material, if a diff-file exist, are in the
attachments.
-- System Information:
Debian Release: forky/sid
APT prefers testing
APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Kernel: Linux 6.18.9+deb14-amd64 (SMP w/2 CPU threads; PREEMPT)
Locale: LANG=is_IS.iso88591, LC_CTYPE=is_IS.iso88591 (charmap=ISO-8859-1), LANGUAGE not set
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /usr/bin/dash
Init: sysvinit (via /sbin/init)
Versions of packages fontconfig depends on:
ii fontconfig-config 2.17.1-4
ii libc6 2.42-11+b1
ii libfontconfig1 2.17.1-4
ii libfreetype6 2.14.1+dfsg-2
fontconfig recommends no packages.
fontconfig suggests no packages.
-- no debconf information
-------------- next part --------------
Input file is fc-query.1
Output from "mandoc -T lint fc-query.1": (shortened list)
1 STYLE: input text line longer than 80 bytes:
1 STYLE: normalizing date format to: TH August 13, 2008
3 STYLE: whitespace at end of input line
5 WARNING: skipping paragraph macro: PP after SH
Find most trailing spaces with:
grep -n -e ' $' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <man page>
-.-.
Output from
test-nroff -mandoc -t -Kutf8 -ww -z fc-query.1: (shortened list)
6 line(s) with a trailing space
Find most trailing spaces with:
grep -n -e ' $' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <man page>
-.-.
Input file is fc-query.1
Show if docman-to-man created this.
1:.\" This manpage has been automatically generated by docbook2man
2:.\" from a DocBook document. This tool can be found at:
3:.\" <http://shell.ipoline.com/~elmert/comp/docbook2X/>
-.-.
Remove space characters (whitespace) at the end of lines.
Use "git apply ... --whitespace=fix" to fix extra space issues, or use
global configuration "core.whitespace".
Number of lines affected is
3
-.-.
Change two HYPHEN-MINUSES (code 0x2D) to an em-dash (\(em),
if one is intended.
" \(em " creates a too big gap in the text (in "troff").
An en-dash is usually surrounded by a space,
while an em-dash is used without spaces.
"man" (1 byte characters in input) transforms an en-dash (\(en) to one
HYPHEN-MINUS,
and an em-dash to two HYPHEN-MINUSES without considering the space
around it.
If "--" are two single "-"
(begin of an option or end of options)
then use "\-\-".
fc-query.1:13: [ \fB-b\fR | \fB--ignore-blanks\fR ] [ \fB-i \fIindex\fB\fR | \fB--index \fIindex\fB\fR ] [ \fB-f \fIformat\fB\fR | \fB--format \fIformat\fB\fR ] [ \fB--version\fR ] [ \fB--help\fR ] \fB\fIfont-file\fB\fR\fI ...\fR
fc-query.1:20:If \fB--index\fR is given, only one face of each file is
fc-query.1:28:\fB-b --ignore-blanks \fR
fc-query.1:31:\fB-i --index \fIindex\fB \fR
fc-query.1:35:\fB-f --format \fIformat\fB \fR
fc-query.1:39:\fB-V --version \fR
fc-query.1:42:\fB-h --help \fR
-.-.
Change -- in x--y to \(em (em-dash), or, if an
option, to \-\-
13: [ \fB-b\fR | \fB--ignore-blanks\fR ] [ \fB-i \fIindex\fB\fR | \fB--index \fIindex\fB\fR ] [ \fB-f \fIformat\fB\fR | \fB--format \fIformat\fB\fR ] [ \fB--version\fR ] [ \fB--help\fR ] \fB\fIfont-file\fB\fR\fI ...\fR
20:If \fB--index\fR is given, only one face of each file is
28:\fB-b --ignore-blanks \fR
31:\fB-i --index \fIindex\fB \fR
35:\fB-f --format \fIformat\fB \fR
39:\fB-V --version \fR
42:\fB-h --help \fR
-.-.
Change a HYPHEN-MINUS (code 0x2D) to a minus(-dash) (\-),
if it
is in front of a name for an option,
is a symbol for standard input,
is a single character used to indicate an option,
or is in the NAME section (man-pages(7)).
N.B. - (0x2D), processed as a UTF-8 file, is changed to a hyphen
(0x2010, groff \[u2010] or \[hy]) in the output.
12:\fBfc-query\fR [ \fB-Vh\fR ]
13: [ \fB-b\fR | \fB--ignore-blanks\fR ] [ \fB-i \fIindex\fB\fR | \fB--index \fIindex\fB\fR ] [ \fB-f \fIformat\fB\fR | \fB--format \fIformat\fB\fR ] [ \fB--version\fR ] [ \fB--help\fR ] \fB\fIfont-file\fB\fR\fI ...\fR
20:If \fB--index\fR is given, only one face of each file is
25:with long options starting with two dashes (`-'). A summary of
28:\fB-b --ignore-blanks \fR
31:\fB-i --index \fIindex\fB \fR
35:\fB-f --format \fIformat\fB \fR
39:\fB-V --version \fR
42:\fB-h --help \fR
-.-.
Strings longer than 3/4 of a standard line length (80).
Use "\:" to split the string at the end of an output line, for example a
long URL (web address).
This is a groff extension.
62 The fontconfig user's guide <URL:https://fontconfig.pages.freedesktop.org/fontconfig/fontconfig-user.html>
-.-.
Split lines longer than 80 characters (fill completely
an A4 sized page line on a terminal)
into two or more lines.
Appropriate break points are the end of a sentence and a subordinate
clause; after punctuation marks.
Add "\:" to split the string for the output, "\<newline>" in the source.
[List of affected lines removed.]
Line 13, length 218
[ \fB-b\fR | \fB--ignore-blanks\fR ] [ \fB-i \fIindex\fB\fR | \fB--index \fIindex\fB\fR ] [ \fB-f \fIformat\fB\fR | \fB--format \fIformat\fB\fR ] [ \fB--version\fR ] [ \fB--help\fR ] \fB\fIfont-file\fB\fR\fI ...\fR
Line 62, length 106
The fontconfig user's guide <URL:https://fontconfig.pages.freedesktop.org/fontconfig/fontconfig-user.html>
Longest line is number 13 with 218 characters
-.-.
Remove unnecessary double font change (e.g., \fR\fI) in a row or (better)
use a two-fonts macro.
o13: [ \fB-b\fR | \fB--ignore-blanks\fR ] [ \fB-i \fIindex\fB\fR | \fB--index \fIindex\fB\fR ] [ \fB-f \fIformat\fB\fR | \fB--format \fIformat\fB\fR ] [ \fB--version\fR ] [ \fB--help\fR ] \fB\fIfont-file\fB\fR\fI ...\fR
45:\fB\fIfont-file\fB \fR
-.-.
No need for '\&' to be in front of a period (.),
if there is a character in front of it.
Remove with "sed -e 's/\(.\)\\&\./\1./g'".
[List of affected lines removed.]
37:\fIformat\fR\&.
65:This manual page was updated by Behdad Esfahbod <behdad at behdad.org>\&.
-.-.
Remove quotes when there is a printable
but no space character between them
and the quotes are not for emphasis (markup),
for example as an argument to a macro.
fc-query.1:6:.TH "FC-QUERY" "1" "Aug 13, 2008" "" ""
fc-query.1:15:.SH "DESCRIPTION"
fc-query.1:22:.SH "OPTIONS"
fc-query.1:63:.SH "AUTHOR"
-.-.
Use "\-" instead of "-" in web addresses.
62:The fontconfig user's guide <URL:https://fontconfig.pages.freedesktop.org/fontconfig/fontconfig-user.html>
-.-.
Put a (long) web address on a new output line to reduce the posibility of
splitting the address between two output lines.
Or inhibit hyphenation with "\%" in front of the name.
62:The fontconfig user's guide <URL:https://fontconfig.pages.freedesktop.org/fontconfig/fontconfig-user.html>
-.-.
Add "\&" after an ellipsis, when it does not end a sentence.
13: [ \fB-b\fR | \fB--ignore-blanks\fR ] [ \fB-i \fIindex\fB\fR | \fB--index \fIindex\fB\fR ] [ \fB-f \fIformat\fB\fR | \fB--format \fIformat\fB\fR ] [ \fB--version\fR ] [ \fB--help\fR ] \fB\fIfont-file\fB\fR\fI ...\fR
-.-.
Output from "test-groff -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=0 -ww -z ":
troff:<stdin>:28: warning: trailing space in the line
troff:<stdin>:31: warning: trailing space in the line
troff:<stdin>:35: warning: trailing space in the line
troff:<stdin>:39: warning: trailing space in the line
troff:<stdin>:42: warning: trailing space in the line
troff:<stdin>:45: warning: trailing space in the line
-.-
Generally:
Split (sometimes) lines after a punctuation mark; before a conjunction.
-.-
Tables:
Use the preprocessor 'tbl' to make tables.
Put data, that are wider than the header in the (centered) last column,
in a "T{...\nT}" block(, when the table gets wider than the output line).
Table headers, that are wider than any data in the corresponding column,
do not need to be centered, so left adjustment (l, L) is sufficient.
-------------- next part --------------
--- fc-query.1 2026-02-11 20:37:03.660653575 +0000
+++ fc-query.1.new 2026-02-11 21:11:28.643503686 +0000
@@ -1,65 +1,74 @@
-.\" This manpage has been automatically generated by docbook2man
+.\" This manpage has been automatically generated by docbook2man
.\" from a DocBook document. This tool can be found at:
-.\" <http://shell.ipoline.com/~elmert/comp/docbook2X/>
-.\" Please send any bug reports, improvements, comments, patches,
+.\" <http://shell.ipoline.com/~elmert/comp/docbook2X/>
+.\" Please send any bug reports, improvements, comments, patches,
.\" etc. to Steve Cheng <steve at ggi-project.org>.
-.TH "FC-QUERY" "1" "Aug 13, 2008" "" ""
+.TH FC-QUERY 1 "Aug 13, 2008" "" ""
.SH NAME
fc-query \- query font files
.SH SYNOPSIS
-\fBfc-query\fR [ \fB-Vh\fR ]
- [ \fB-b\fR | \fB--ignore-blanks\fR ] [ \fB-i \fIindex\fB\fR | \fB--index \fIindex\fB\fR ] [ \fB-f \fIformat\fB\fR | \fB--format \fIformat\fB\fR ] [ \fB--version\fR ] [ \fB--help\fR ] \fB\fIfont-file\fB\fR\fI ...\fR
+\fBfc-query\fR [ \fB\-Vh\fR ]
+.RS 5n
+[ \fB\-b\fR | \fB\-\-ignore-blanks\fR ] [ \fB\-i \fIindex\fR |
+\fB\-\-index \fIindex\fR ] [ \fB\-f \fIformat\fR |
+\fB\-\-format \fIformat\fR ] [ \fB\-\-version\fR ] [ \fB\-\-help\fR ]
+\fB\fIfont-file\fB\fR \&...
+.RE
-.SH "DESCRIPTION"
-.PP
+.SH DESCRIPTION
\fBfc-query\fR queries
\fIfont-file\fR(s) using the normal fontconfig
rules and prints out font pattern for each face found.
-If \fB--index\fR is given, only one face of each file is
+If \fB\-\-index\fR is given, only one face of each file is
queried, otherwise all faces are queried.
-.SH "OPTIONS"
-.PP
+.SH OPTIONS
This program follows the usual GNU command line syntax,
-with long options starting with two dashes (`-'). A summary of
+with long options starting with two dashes (`\-'). A summary of
options is included below.
.TP
-\fB-b --ignore-blanks \fR
+\fB\-b \-\-ignore-blanks\fR
Ignore blanks to compute languages
.TP
-\fB-i --index \fIindex\fB \fR
+\fB\-i \-\-index \fIindex\fB\fR
Only query face indexed \fIindex\fR of
each file.
.TP
-\fB-f --format \fIformat\fB \fR
+\fB\-f \-\-format \fIformat\fB\fR
Format output according to the format specifier
-\fIformat\fR\&.
+\fIformat\fR.
.TP
-\fB-V --version \fR
+\fB\-V \-\-version\fR
Show version of the program and exit.
.TP
-\fB-h --help \fR
+\fB\-h \-\-help\fR
Show summary of options.
.TP
-\fB\fIfont-file\fB \fR
+\fB\fIfont-file\fB\fR
Query \fIfont-file\fR for font faces.
.SH "RETURN CODES"
-.PP
\fBfc-query\fR returns error code 0 for successful parsing,
or 1 if any errors occurred or if at least one font face could not be opened.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
-.PP
-\fBfc-scan\fR(1)
-\fBFcFreeTypeQuery\fR(3)
-\fBFcPatternFormat\fR(3)
-\fBfc-cat\fR(1)
-\fBfc-cache\fR(1)
-\fBfc-list\fR(1)
-\fBfc-match\fR(1)
+\fBfc-scan\fR(1),
+\fBFcFreeTypeQuery\fR(3),
+\fBFcPatternFormat\fR(3),
+\fBfc-cat\fR(1),
+\fBfc-cache\fR(1),
+\fBfc-list\fR(1),
+\fBfc-match\fR(1),
\fBfc-pattern\fR(1)
.PP
-The fontconfig user's guide <URL:https://fontconfig.pages.freedesktop.org/fontconfig/fontconfig-user.html>
-.SH "AUTHOR"
-.PP
-This manual page was updated by Behdad Esfahbod <behdad at behdad.org>\&.
+The fontconfig user's guide
+.br
+.\" if groff formatter
+.ie \n(.g \{\
+<URL:https://fontconfig.pages.freedesktop.org/\:fontconfig/\:fontconfig\-user.html>
+.\}
+.el \{\
+<URL:https://fontconfig.pages.freedesktop.org/fontconfig/
+fontconfig\-user.html>
+.\}
+.SH AUTHOR
+This manual page was updated by Behdad Esfahbod <behdad at behdad.org>.
-------------- next part --------------
Any program (person), that produces man pages, should check the output
for defects by using (both groff and nroff)
[gn]roff -mandoc -t -ww -b -z -K utf8 <man page>
To find trailing space use
grep -n -e ' $' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <man page>
The same goes for man pages that are used as an input.
-.-
For a style guide use
mandoc -T lint
-.-
For general input conventions consult the man page "nroff(7)" (item
"Input conventions") or the Texinfo manual about the same item.
-.-
Any "autogenerator" should check its products with the above mentioned
'groff', 'mandoc', and additionally with 'nroff ...'.
It should also check its input files for too long (> 80) lines.
This is just a simple quality control measure.
The "autogenerator" may have to be corrected to get a better man page,
the source file may, and any additional file may.
-.-
Common defects:
Not removing trailing spaces (in in- and output).
The reason for these trailing spaces should be found and eliminated.
"git" has a "tool" to point out whitespace,
see for example "git-apply(1)" and git-config(1)")
-.-
Not beginning each input sentence on a new line.
Line length and patch size should thus be reduced when that has been fixed.
The script "reportbug" uses 'quoted-printable' encoding when a line is
longer than 1024 characters in an 'ascii' file.
See man-pages(7), item "semantic newline".
-.-
The difference between the formatted output of the original
and patched file can be seen with:
nroff -mandoc <file1> > <out1>
nroff -mandoc <file2> > <out2>
diff -d -u <out1> <out2>
and for groff, using
\"printf '%s\n%s\n' '.kern 0' '.ss 12 0' | groff -mandoc -Z - \"
instead of 'nroff -mandoc'
Add the option '-t', if the file contains a table.
Read the output from 'diff -d -u ...' with 'less -R' or similar.
-.-.
If 'man' (man-db) is used to check the manual for warnings,
the following must be set:
The option "-warnings=w"
The environmental variable:
export MAN_KEEP_STDERR=yes (or any non-empty value)
or
(produce only warnings):
export MANROFFOPT="-ww -b -z"
export MAN_KEEP_STDERR=yes (or any non-empty value)
-.-
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