[bug #61070] [troff] want to drop default "User Abort." text from .ab request

[G. Branden Robinson]

URL:
  <https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?61070>

                 Summary: [troff] want to drop default "User Abort." text from
.ab request
                 Project: GNU troff
            Submitted by: gbranden
            Submitted on: Mon 23 Aug 2021 01:21:39 AM UTC
                Category: Core
                Severity: 1 - Wish
              Item Group: None
                  Status: Need Info
                 Privacy: Public
             Assigned to: gbranden
             Open/Closed: Open
         Discussion Lock: Any
         Planned Release: None

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Details:

The default text emitted to the standard error stream by the .ab request when
it is given no arguments feels like a relic to me.

1. It is idiosyncratically capitalized.
2. It is not a complete sentence, yet ends with a period.
3. It does not identify the program that is aborting.
4. It combines poorly with user leverage of the .tm family of requests.  The
.tm1 and .tmc variants offer great control over the formatting of diagnostic
output, enough that one doesn't really need .ab to do anything _except_ exit
(without the write to stderr).

A few solutions are possible.

A1. Change .ab to stop writing this default message.  This is the solution
least (slavishly) compatible with AT&T troff.
A2. Change .ab to stop writing this default message only outside of
compatibility mode.
B1. Add a new .abort request that implements the semantics I desire.
B2. Add a new .abort request that accepts an optional initial argument to
define the exit status (before the optional message arguments).
C3. Modify the .ex request to accept an optional argument to define the exit
status.

My preference is for A1, because I have doubt that anyone parses or is wedded
to the precise string "User Abort.", which communicates almost nothing that
troff's own exit status does not.




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