Bug#1099861: gapplication.1: Some remarks and a patch with editorial changes for this man page

[Bjarni Ingi Gislason]

Package: libglib2.0-bin
Version: 2.83.4-1
Severity: minor
Tags: patch

   * 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=10 -ww -z < "man page"

  [Use "groff -e ' $' -e '\\~$' <file>" to find obvious 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-groff  -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=10 -ww -z ":

troff:<stdin>:30: warning: start (0) and end (0) index of substring out of range
an.tmac:<stdin>:30: warning: TH: second argument is not a numeric expression: 
an.tmac:<stdin>:30: style: .TH missing third argument; consider document modification date in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)
an.tmac:<stdin>:30: style: .TH missing fourth argument; consider package/project name and version (e.g., "groff 1.23.0")
troff:<stdin>:30: warning: name 'an-extra3' not defined
an.tmac:<stdin>:30: style: .TH missing fifth argument and second argument '' not a recognized manual section; specify its title
an.tmac:<stdin>:260: style: 1 leading space(s) on input line
an.tmac:<stdin>:261: style: 1 leading space(s) on input line
an.tmac:<stdin>:262: style: 1 leading space(s) on input line
troff:<stdin>:262: warning: trailing space in the line


   * 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: trixie/sid
  APT prefers testing
  APT policy: (500, 'testing')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)

Kernel: Linux 6.12.12-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 libglib2.0-bin depends on:
ii  libc6            2.40-7
ii  libelf1t64       0.192-4
ii  libglib2.0-0t64  2.83.4-1
ii  libglib2.0-data  2.83.4-1

libglib2.0-bin recommends no packages.

libglib2.0-bin suggests no packages.

-- no debconf information
-------------- next part --------------
Input file is gapplication.1

Output from "mandoc -T lint  gapplication.1": (shortened list)

      1 input text line longer than 80 bytes: Desktop Entry Specif...
      1 input text line longer than 80 bytes: List the actions dec...
      1 input text line longer than 80 bytes: The first parameter ...
      1 input text line longer than 80 bytes: activation.  This li...
      1 input text line longer than 80 bytes: arguments such as \f...
      1 input text line longer than 80 bytes: set to \fBtrue\fP in...
      1 missing date, using "": TH
      3 skipping paragraph macro: sp after SH
      3 skipping paragraph macro: sp after SS
      1 whitespace at end of input line

Remove trailing space with: sed -e 's/  *$//'

-.-.

Output from "test-nroff -mandoc -t -ww -z gapplication.1": (shortened list)


      1 name 'an-extra3' not defined
      1 start (0) and end (0) index of substring out of range
      1 trailing space in the line

Remove trailing space with: sed -e 's/  *$//'

-.-.

Show if generated from reStructuredText.

Who is actually generating this man page?  Debian or upstream?

Is the generating software out of date?

1:.\" Man page generated from reStructuredText.

-.-.

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

1

-.-.

Remove space in the first column, if not indented.
Use ".in +<number>n" and ".in" to end it; ".nf" and ".fi" to end
it, for an extra indention.

gapplication.1:260: <gdbus(1)> ,
gapplication.1:261: <xdg\-open(1)> ,
gapplication.1:262: <desktop\-file\-validate(1)> 

-.-.

Add a "\&" (or a comma (Oxford comma)) after "e.g." and "i.e.",
or use English words
(man-pages(7)).
Abbreviation points should be marked as such and protected against being
interpreted as an end of sentence, if they are not, and that independent
of the current place on the line.

95:(e.g. \fBorg.gnome.app\fP) without the \fB\&.desktop\fP suffix.

-.-.

Wrong distance (not two spaces) between sentences in the input file.

  Separate the sentences and subordinate clauses; each begins on a new
line.  See man-pages(7) ("Conventions for source file layout") and
"info groff" ("Input Conventions").

  The best procedure is to always start a new sentence on a new line,
at least, if you are typing on a computer.

Remember coding: Only one command ("sentence") on each (logical) line.

E-mail: Easier to quote exactly the relevant lines.

Generally: Easier to edit the sentence.

Patches: Less unaffected text.

Search for two adjacent words is easier, when they belong to the same line,
and the same phrase.

  The amount of space between sentences in the output can then be
controlled with the ".ss" request.

Mark a final abbreviation point as such by suffixing it with "\&".

Some sentences (etc.) do not begin on a new line.

Split (sometimes) lines after a punctuation mark; before a conjunction.

  Lines with only one (or two) space(s) between sentences could be split,
so latter sentences begin on a new line.

Use

#!/usr/bin/sh

sed -e '/^\./n' \
-e 's/\([[:alpha:]]\)\.  */\1.\n/g' $1

to split lines after a sentence period.
Check result with the difference between the formatted outputs.
See also the attachment "general.bugs"

95:(e.g. \fBorg.gnome.app\fP) without the \fB\&.desktop\fP suffix.

-.-.

Split lines longer than 80 characters 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.  

Line 54, length 84

\fBgapplication\fP can be used to start applications that have \fBDBusActivatable\fP

Line 55, length 85

set to \fBtrue\fP in their \fB\&.desktop\fP files and can be used to send messages to

Line 84, length 81

activation.  This list is generated by scanning \fB\&.desktop\fP files as per the

Line 94, length 81

The first parameter is the application ID in the familiar ???reverse DNS??? style

Line 172, length 81

gapplication action org.example.fooview show\-item \(aq\(dqitem_id_828739\(dq\(aq

Line 216, length 83

arguments such as \fB\-\-help\fP and \fB\-\-version\fP directly.  It can also parse

Line 258, length 95

Desktop Entry Specification <https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/latest/>


-.-.

The name of a man page is typeset in bold and the section in roman
(see man-pages(7)).

260: <gdbus(1)> ,
261: <xdg\-open(1)> ,
262: <desktop\-file\-validate(1)> 

-.-.

Put a parenthetical sentence, phrase on a separate line,
if not part of a code.
See man-pages(7), item "semantic newline".

gapplication.1:117:The application ID (as above) is the first parameter.  The action name

-.-.

Change a HYPHEN-MINUS (code 0x55, 2D) to a dash
(\-, minus) if it matches "[[:alph:]]-[[:alpha:]]" in the name of an
option).
Facilitates the copy and paste of
a) an option in UTF-8 text
b) web addresses (URL).

Is not needed in ordinary words like "mother-in-law", that are not
copied and pasted to a command line (which needs ASCII code)

258:Desktop Entry Specification <https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/latest/>

-.-.

No need for '\&' to be in front of a period (.),
if there is a character in front of it.

Remove with "sed -e 's/\\&\././g'".


55:set to \fBtrue\fP in their \fB\&.desktop\fP files and can be used to send messages to
59:line of their \fB\&.desktop\fP file to maintain backwards compatibility with
60:implementations that do not directly support \fBDBusActivatable\fP\&.
84:activation.  This list is generated by scanning \fB\&.desktop\fP files as per the
85:current \fBXDG_DATA_DIRS\fP\&.
95:(e.g. \fBorg.gnome.app\fP) without the \fB\&.desktop\fP suffix.
106:List the actions declared in the application???s \fB\&.desktop\fP file.  The
115:action specified in the \fB\&.desktop\fP file).
176:.SS From the \fBExec\fP lines of a \fB\&.desktop\fP file
179:used directly from the \fBExec\fP line of a \fB\&.desktop\fP file.

-.-.

One space only after a possible end of sentence
(after a punctuation, that
can end a sentence).

gapplication.1:95:(e.g. \fBorg.gnome.app\fP) without the \fB\&.desktop\fP suffix.

-.-.

Put a subordinate sentence (after a comma) on a new line.

[List of affected lines removed.]


-.-.

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.

gapplication.1:30:.TH "GAPPLICATION" "" "" ""

-.-.

Output from "test-groff  -mandoc -t -K utf8 -rF0 -rHY=0 -rCHECKSTYLE=10 -ww -z ":

troff:<stdin>:30: warning: start (0) and end (0) index of substring out of range
an.tmac:<stdin>:30: warning: TH: second argument is not a numeric expression: 
an.tmac:<stdin>:30: style: .TH missing third argument; consider document modification date in ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)
an.tmac:<stdin>:30: style: .TH missing fourth argument; consider package/project name and version (e.g., "groff 1.23.0")
troff:<stdin>:30: warning: name 'an-extra3' not defined
an.tmac:<stdin>:30: style: .TH missing fifth argument and second argument '' not a recognized manual section; specify its title
an.tmac:<stdin>:260: style: 1 leading space(s) on input line
an.tmac:<stdin>:261: style: 1 leading space(s) on input line
an.tmac:<stdin>:262: style: 1 leading space(s) on input line
troff:<stdin>:262: warning: trailing space in the line

-.-.

Additionally:

Add the section number as an argument to the ".TH" macro call.

-.-

Generally:

Split (sometimes) lines after a punctuation mark; before a conjunction.
-------------- next part --------------
--- gapplication.1	2025-03-09 03:59:00.450763666 +0000
+++ gapplication.1.new	2025-03-09 04:19:48.648435003 +0000
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ level margin: \\n[rst2man-indent\\n[rst2
 .\" new: \\n[rst2man-indent\\n[rst2man-indent-level]]
 .in \\n[rst2man-indent\\n[rst2man-indent-level]]u
 ..
-.TH "GAPPLICATION" "" "" ""
+.TH GAPPLICATION 1 "" ""
 .SH NAME
 gapplication \- D-Bus application launcher
 .\" This has to be duplicated from above to make it machine-readable by `reuse`:
@@ -52,12 +52,12 @@ gapplication \- D-Bus application launch
 Desktop Entry Specification.
 .sp
 \fBgapplication\fP can be used to start applications that have \fBDBusActivatable\fP
-set to \fBtrue\fP in their \fB\&.desktop\fP files and can be used to send messages to
+set to \fBtrue\fP in their \fB.desktop\fP files and can be used to send messages to
 already\-running instances of other applications.
 .sp
 It is possible for applications to refer to \fBgapplication\fP in the \fBExec\fP
-line of their \fB\&.desktop\fP file to maintain backwards compatibility with
-implementations that do not directly support \fBDBusActivatable\fP\&.
+line of their \fB.desktop\fP file to maintain backwards compatibility with
+implementations that do not directly support \fBDBusActivatable\fP.
 .sp
 \fBgapplication\fP ships as part of GLib.
 .SH COMMANDS
@@ -81,8 +81,8 @@ Prints the GLib version whence \fBgappli
 .INDENT 0.0
 .INDENT 3.5
 Prints a list of all application IDs that are known to support D\-Bus
-activation.  This list is generated by scanning \fB\&.desktop\fP files as per the
-current \fBXDG_DATA_DIRS\fP\&.
+activation.  This list is generated by scanning \fB.desktop\fP files as per the
+current \fBXDG_DATA_DIRS\fP.
 .UNINDENT
 .UNINDENT
 .sp
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ current \fBXDG_DATA_DIRS\fP\&.
 Launches an application.
 .sp
 The first parameter is the application ID in the familiar ???reverse DNS??? style
-(e.g. \fBorg.gnome.app\fP) without the \fB\&.desktop\fP suffix.
+(e.g.\& \fBorg.gnome.app\fP) without the \fB.desktop\fP suffix.
 .sp
 Optionally, if additional parameters are given, they are treated as the names
 of files to open and may be filenames or URIs.  If no files are given then the
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ application is simply activated.
 \fBlist\-actions <APP\-ID>\fP
 .INDENT 0.0
 .INDENT 3.5
-List the actions declared in the application???s \fB\&.desktop\fP file.  The
+List the actions declared in the application???s \fB.desktop\fP file.  The
 parameter is the application ID, as above.
 .UNINDENT
 .UNINDENT
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ parameter is the application ID, as abov
 .INDENT 0.0
 .INDENT 3.5
 Invokes the named action (in the same way as would occur when activating an
-action specified in the \fB\&.desktop\fP file).
+action specified in the \fB.desktop\fP file).
 .sp
 The application ID (as above) is the first parameter.  The action name
 follows.
@@ -173,10 +173,10 @@ gapplication action org.example.fooview
 .EE
 .UNINDENT
 .UNINDENT
-.SS From the \fBExec\fP lines of a \fB\&.desktop\fP file
+.SS From the \fBExec\fP lines of a \fB.desktop\fP file
 .sp
 The commandline interface of \fBgapplication\fP was designed so that it could be
-used directly from the \fBExec\fP line of a \fB\&.desktop\fP file.
+used directly from the \fBExec\fP line of a \fB.desktop\fP file.
 .sp
 You might want to do this to allow for backwards compatibility with
 implementations of the specification that do not understand how to do D\-Bus
@@ -255,10 +255,9 @@ esac
 .UNINDENT
 .SH SEE ALSO
 .sp
-Desktop Entry Specification <https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/latest/>
-,
- <gdbus(1)> ,
- <xdg\-open(1)> ,
- <desktop\-file\-validate(1)> 
+Desktop Entry Specification
+<https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop\-entry\-spec/latest/>,
+.BR gdbus (1),
+.BR xdg\-open (1),
+.BR desktop\-file\-validate (1)
 .\" Generated by docutils manpage writer.
-.
-------------- 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>

  The same goes for man pages that are used as an input.

  For a style guide use

  mandoc -T lint

-.-

  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.

  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)

-.-