At 2024-04-02T13:29:08-0500, G. Branden Robinson wrote: > At 2024-04-02T13:42:59-0400, Steve Izma wrote: > > Also for \% at the beginning of a word, I rarely use this. > > I use it frequently in man(7) documents, because the `hw` request is not > portable/reliable (in theory). Also there's no mechanism for removing > these, so if we tolerate/encourage their use, doing so deals a blow to > reliable/predictable batch rendering.[1]
I could expand on this point.
CSTR #54 (1992) says:
.hw word
Specify hyphenation points in words with embedded minus signs.
Versions of a word with a terminal s are implied; i.e., dig-it
implies dig-its. This list is examined initially and after each
suffix stripping. The space available is small--about 128
characters.
I claim "not reliable" because not only do the declared `hw`
hyphenations in document N affect any document N+M formatted in the same
run, but you have to consider the (unspecified) failure mode of
exhausting the amount of space available for these exceptions. And
that's on AT&T troff. GNU troff dynamically sizes this exception list
so there's no problem in that respect.[1] But in both formatters you're
at the mercy of whatever was formatted before your document in the run.
This is true in general--anyone could define a trap or change the
control character and make your life hell--but, still, it strikes me as
a wart, where even well-intentioned, careful documents could cause
trouble for each other.
I expect the second and third sentences don't apply to GNU troff either,
but our documentation says nothing about this. Guess I'll have to
check.
I filed <https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?65549> regarding the "automatic
hyphenation roaring back to life" problem.
Regards,
Branden
[1]
https://www.gnu.org/software/groff/manual/groff.html.node/Other-Differences.html
https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/groff.git/tree/src/roff/troff/env.cpp?h=1.23.0#n3626
https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/groff.git/tree/src/roff/troff/env.cpp?h=1.23.0#n3560
https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/groff.git/tree/src/roff/troff/dictionary.cpp?h=1.23.0#n47
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