gbranden pushed a commit to branch master
in repository groff.
commit aca8b56f4ae36a367b92950329f27b35d5fb77cd
Author: G. Branden Robinson <[email protected]>
AuthorDate: Wed Jul 30 19:00:58 2025 -0500
doc/groff.texi.in: Expand `ab`, `fl` discussion.
Fixes <https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?67380>. Thanks to Dave Kemper for
bringing details of `ab` behavior to my attention.
---
ChangeLog | 7 +++++++
doc/groff.texi.in | 17 +++++++++++++++++
2 files changed, 24 insertions(+)
diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 89f7a26c3..e29776453 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
+2025-07-30 G. Branden Robinson <[email protected]>
+
+ * doc/groff.texi.in (Debugging): Expand `ab`, `fl` discussion.
+
+ Fixes <https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?67380>. Thanks to Dave
+ Kemper for bringing details of `ab` behavior to my attention.
+
2025-07-27 G. Branden Robinson <[email protected]>
[troff]: Make `pev` request report previous and current stroke
diff --git a/doc/groff.texi.in b/doc/groff.texi.in
index 9a28cb2ce..1bcfff721 100644
--- a/doc/groff.texi.in
+++ b/doc/groff.texi.in
@@ -18738,6 +18738,13 @@ and then abort GNU
@command{troff}; @c GNU
that is,
stop processing and terminate with a failure status.
+Aborting does not flush a partially collected line,
+a potentially significant fact if you're using
+@code{ab}
+to ``bisect'' a troublesome document or macro definition;
+see the
+@code{fl}
+request below.
@endDefreq
@Defreq {ex, }
@@ -18979,6 +18986,16 @@ bar \c
The timing of a flush is most easily perceived in GNU @command{troff}'s
device-independent output.
+Use of
+@samp{'fl}
+may be desirable immediately prior to an
+@code{ab}
+request
+when troubleshooting a document or macro definition line by line,
+because a significant number of formatting operations
+can accumulate on a partially collected output line,
+misleading you about ``where'' the abort ``really'' took place.
+
Historically, @code{fl} was used with @code{rd} to produce interactive
@command{nroff} documents. GNU @command{troff} does not easily support
that mode of operation, because its output for terminals is first
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