Bug#1104820: gapplication.1: Some remarks and a patch with editorial changes for this man page

Tue May 6 23:10:27 BST 2025

Package: libglib2.0-bin
Version: 2.84.1-2
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 

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-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 6.12.25-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            2.41-7
ii  libelf1t64       0.192-4
ii  libglib2.0-0t64  2.84.1-2
ii  libglib2.0-data  2.84.1-2

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)

      6 input text line longer than 80 bytes
      1 missing date, using ""
      6 skipping paragraph macro
      1 whitespace at end of input line


Find trailing space with:
grep -n -e ' $' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <man page>

-.-.

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

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


Find trailing space with:
grep -n -e ' $' -e ' \\f.$' -e ' \\"' <man page>

-.-.

Show if generated from reStructuredText or rd2

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

Is the generating software out of date?

1:.\" Man page generated from reStructuredText.
263:.\" Generated by docutils manpage writer.

Latest version: docutils (Docutils 0.21.2, Python 3.13.3, on linux)

-.-.

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;
Or use ".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)> 

-.-.

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.

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

-.-.

Add a "\&" (or a comma (Oxford comma)) after an abbreviation
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.

-.-.

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.  

[List of affected lines removed.]


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/>


Longest line is number 258 with 95 characters

-.-.

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

-.-.

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'".

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.

-.-.

Only one space character is 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.

-.-.

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" "" "" ""

-.-.

Use "\-" instead of "-" in web addresses.

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

-.-.

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.


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

-.-.

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

-.-.

Generally:

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

--- gapplication.1	2025-05-05 11:05:28.857603541 +0000
+++ gapplication.1.new	2025-05-06 22:01:36.477825734 +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`:
@@ -46,22 +46,22 @@ gapplication \- D-Bus application launch
 .fi
 .sp
 .SH DESCRIPTION
-.sp
 \fBgapplication\fP is a commandline implementation of the client\-side of the
 \fBorg.freedesktop.Application\fP interface as specified by the freedesktop.org
 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
+\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
 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
-.sp
 \fBhelp [COMMAND]\fP
 .INDENT 0.0
 .INDENT 3.5
@@ -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
@@ -91,8 +91,9 @@ current \fBXDG_DATA_DIRS\fP\&.
 .INDENT 3.5
 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.
+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.
 .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 +104,7 @@ 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 +113,7 @@ 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.
@@ -123,7 +124,6 @@ format, given as a single argument.  Mak
 .UNINDENT
 .SH EXAMPLES
 .SS From the commandline
-.sp
 Launching an application:
 .INDENT 0.0
 .INDENT 3.5
@@ -173,10 +173,9 @@ gapplication action org.example.fooview
 .EE
 .UNINDENT
 .UNINDENT
-.SS From the \fBExec\fP lines of a \fB\&.desktop\fP file
-.sp
+.SS From the \fBExec\fP lines of a \fB.desktop\fP file
 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
@@ -207,13 +206,13 @@ Exec=gapplication action org.example.foo
 .UNINDENT
 .UNINDENT
 .SS From a script
-.sp
 If installing an application that supports D\-Bus activation you may still want
 to put a file in \fB/usr/bin\fP so that your program can be started from a
 terminal.
 .sp
 It is possible for this file to be a shell script.  The script can handle
-arguments such as \fB\-\-help\fP and \fB\-\-version\fP directly.  It can also parse
+arguments such as \fB\-\-help\fP and \fB\-\-version\fP directly.
+It can also parse
 other command line arguments and convert them to uses of \fBgapplication\fP to
 activate the application, open files, or invoke actions.
 .sp
@@ -254,11 +253,15 @@ esac
 .UNINDENT
 .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)> 
+.ie \n(.g \{\
+Desktop Entry Specification <https://specifications.freedesktop.org/\:desktop\-entry\-spec/latest/>,
+.\}
+.el \{\
+Desktop Entry Specification
+<https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop\-entry\-spec/latest/>,
+.\}
+<gdbus(1)>,
+<xdg\-open(1)>,
+<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>

  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

-.-

  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)

-.-
