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@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@ + + + + + + + + + + Xroff, an alternative troff syntax + + + John Ankarström + + +Introduction + +Xroff is an alternative syntax for troff, visually inspired +by SGML/XML. It differs from troff's default syntax in the +following ways: + +1. Xroff requests begin with a less-than sign and end with a + greater-than sign, e.g., <SH 1>. These symbols may be es- + caped with a backslash.* + +2. Xroff requests may be used inline. The following works as + expected: (<ft B>bold<ft R>).** + +3. Xroff ignores empty lines. + +4. Default troff syntax may be used between <![ and ]>. + +The similarities with XML end at the visual level. Unlike +XML, xroff is unstructured and imperative. There is no con- +cept of closing tags. + +Example + + <de b>\\fB\\$*\\fR<.> + + <TL>Example document + <AU>John Doe + + <AB>Pellentesque dapibus suscipit ligula. Donec posuere augue in quam. + Etiam vel tortor sodales tellus ultricies commodo. Suspendisse + potenti. Aenean in sem ac leo mollis blandit. Donec neque quam, + dignissim in, mollis nec, sagittis eu, wisi.<AE> + + <SH 1>Introduction + <LP><b Nullam eu ante> vel est convallis dignissim. Fusce suscipit, + wisi nec facilisis facilisis, est dui fermentum leo, quis tempor + ligula erat quis odio. Nunc porta vulputate tellus. + +----------- + * For comparison, default troff requests begin +with a newline and a control character, usually a +period or an apostrophe, and end with another new- +line. + ** Before an inline request, xroff automatically +inserts a \c escape when appropriate. + + + + 10 June 2022 + + + + + + -2- + + +Xroff + +The program xroff translates xroff source to troff source. + +Xroff-mode + +For Emacs users, there is a major mode named xroff-mode that +provides syntax highlighting for xroff source. To further +improve the writing experience, I also recommend olivetti- +mode. + +Caveats + +Xroff does not treat indented lines specially. As such, in- +dentation cannot be used to convey structure. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 10 June 2022 + + |