| 1 | LTTng-UST man pages |
| 2 | =================== |
| 3 | |
| 4 | This directory contains the sources of the LTTng-UST man pages. |
| 5 | |
| 6 | LTTng-UST man pages are written in |
| 7 | [AsciiDoc](http://www.methods.co.nz/asciidoc/), and then converted to |
| 8 | DocBook (XML) using the `asciidoc` command, and finally to troff using |
| 9 | the appropriate DocBook XSL stylesheet (using the `xmlto` command). |
| 10 | |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Custom XSL stylesheets |
| 13 | ---------------------- |
| 14 | |
| 15 | There are a few custom XSL stylesheets applied for customizing the |
| 16 | generated man pages in the `xsl` directory. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Macros |
| 20 | ------ |
| 21 | |
| 22 | AsciiDoc is configured with `asciidoc.conf` which contains a few |
| 23 | macro definitions used everywhere in the man page sources. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | |
| 26 | ### `man` |
| 27 | |
| 28 | The `man` macro is used to specify a reference to another man page. |
| 29 | Using the provided `asciidoc.conf` configuration file, the man page |
| 30 | name is rendered in bold and the section is normal. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | Usage example: `man:lttng-enable-channel(1)`, `man:dlopen(3)` |
| 33 | |
| 34 | |
| 35 | ### `option` |
| 36 | |
| 37 | The option macro is used to write a command-line option which is |
| 38 | **defined in the same man page**. |
| 39 | |
| 40 | Usage example: `option:--output`, `option:--verbose` |
| 41 | |
| 42 | |
| 43 | ### `nloption` |
| 44 | |
| 45 | Command-line option generating no link. This is used when writing |
| 46 | about an option which is **not defined in the same man page**. |
| 47 | |
| 48 | Usage example: `nloption:-finstrument-functions` |
| 49 | |
| 50 | |
| 51 | ### `not` |
| 52 | |
| 53 | The `:not:` macro is used to emphasize on _not_. |
| 54 | |
| 55 | |
| 56 | Includes |
| 57 | -------- |
| 58 | |
| 59 | * `common-authors.txt`: common authors section of the LTTng-UST |
| 60 | project. Only use this for man pages which describe |
| 61 | a command/library/function written by the main authors of LTTng-UST. |
| 62 | * `common-copyright.txt`: common copyrights section of the LTTng-UST |
| 63 | project. Only use this for man pages which describe |
| 64 | a command/library/function having the common LTTng-UST license. |
| 65 | * `common-footer.txt`: common footer for all man pages. This goes |
| 66 | before the copyrights section. |
| 67 | * `log-levels.txt`: definition list of LTTng-UST log levels. |
| 68 | * `tracef-tracelog-limitations.txt`: limitations that apply to both |
| 69 | the `lttng_ust_tracef(3)` and `lttng_ust_tracelog(3)` man pages. |
| 70 | |
| 71 | |
| 72 | Convention |
| 73 | ---------- |
| 74 | |
| 75 | Please follow those rules when updating the current man pages or writing |
| 76 | new ones: |
| 77 | |
| 78 | * Always use macros when possible (man page references, command-line |
| 79 | options, _not_, etc.). |
| 80 | * Use callouts with the `term` role for command-line examples. |
| 81 | * Use a verse, possibly with the `term` role, in the synopsis section. |
| 82 | * Always refer to _long_ options in the text. |
| 83 | * Use the `option:--option='PARAM'` format (with `=`) when providing a |
| 84 | parameter to long options. |
| 85 | * Prefer writing _user space_ rather than _userspace_, _user-space_, |
| 86 | or _user land_. |
| 87 | * Write _file system_, not _filesystem_. |
| 88 | * Prefer writing _use case_ rather than _use-case_ or _usecase_. |
| 89 | * Write _log level_, not _loglevel_. |
| 90 | * Write complete LTTng project names: _LTTng-modules_, _LTTng-UST_, |
| 91 | and _LTTng-tools_, not _modules_, _UST_ and _tools_. |
| 92 | * Prefer simple emphasis to strong emphasis for emphasizing text. |
| 93 | * Try to stay behind the 72th column mark if possible, and behind the |
| 94 | 80th column otherwise. |
| 95 | * Do not end directory paths with a forward slash (good: |
| 96 | `include/trace/events`, bad: `include/trace/events/`). |
| 97 | * Minimize the use of the future tense (_will_). |
| 98 | * Use an active voice, and prefer using the second person (_you_) when |
| 99 | referring to the user. |
| 100 | * Avoid using Latin abbreviations (_e.g._, _i.e._, _etc._). |