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Date:      Mon, 5 Aug 1996 11:58:48 -0700 (MST)
From:      Don Yuniskis <dgy@rtd.com>
To:        james@nexis.net (James FitzGibbon)
Cc:        ports@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Writing man pages
Message-ID:  <199608051858.LAA18283@seagull.rtd.com>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSI.3.94.960805142554.9795A-100000@bdd.net> from "James FitzGibbon" at Aug 5, 96 02:26:51 pm

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> Question: if the author of a program provides no manpage-style
> documentation, is it customary for the porter to create one ?  If so, can
> someone point be to a resource on writing man pages ?

[Wow... what a great opportunity to mislead this guy, eh???]

Seriously, though, it would be *great* if you (the porter) would
write a man page!!  And, send it back to the author of the original
software, too -- I'm sure it would be appreciated.

But, to answer your question, no, it isn't "customary".  Writing a man
page is usually a thankless job.  Often, you can piece one together
from sections of the READMEs and code fragments (e.g., usage())
Or, there may be a "manual" (in TeX format, etc.) that you can bend
into shape (I've done this twice in the past week).  It's not ideal
but is better than nothing!

Look at 'man mdoc.samples' for some hints...

--don



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