Re: [Groff] RE: Small bug in groff 1.19.2 footnote number contro

[M Bianchi]

On Mon, Sep 17, 2007 at 12:25:20AM +0100, Ted Harding wrote:
> On 16-Sep-07 22:15:55, Werner LEMBERG wrote:
> >> > I don't think classic troff mm's ":p" has ever been in groff's mm,
> >> > which has used "ft*nr" as long as I've known it (about 1990)!
> >> 
> >> The obvious "solution" to that "problem" is to add:
> >> 
> >>      .als :p ft*nr
> >> 
> >> to the mm macros like is done for other obscure number registers.
> > 
> > In case this fixes the problem I'll apply this change to the source
> > file.  Luke, can you verify it?
> > 
> >     Werner
> 
> I would like to suggest that, before anything is done generally
> in groff, we should get to the bottom of where this ":p" is
> coming from.
> 
> I don't have access to macro files for other troffs at the
> moment, but I've browsed around in such documentation as
> I can find, without seeing a reference to a number register
> ":p" in mm. Not that this disproves its existence, since
> a lot of troff documentation (indeed like a lot of groff's)
> doe not refer much to "internal registers"; nor have I got
> access to much documentation!
> 
> Perhaps ":p" is specific to a particular version of troff,
> as used by Luke's wife for her thesis. If it's not generic,
> then I doubt we should add too many such "special patches"
> to groff.
> 
> So let's wait for Luke to tell us more detail! In particular,
> which "make" of troff, what year, version of mm macros?
> 
> Best wishes to all,
> Ted.

I'll state it stronger than Ted did.  Number register  :p  is undocumented in
the "baby blocks" Bell Labs manual from 1980.  Making it an alias to  ft*nr  in
the  mm  macro package just invites some other even more obsure problem when
 :p  shows up in some other place.  (Ah, the bad old days when _all_ tokens in
troff/nroff where 1 or 2 characters!  ... some of the "bugs" I have know.)

The correct solution would be adding documented features to restart various
numbering sequences in  mm .

I volunteered to be an  mm  maintainer a couple of months ago and then got
buried with business.  I'll look into this, eventually, at least documenting
the  ft*nr  register.

-- 
 Mike Bianchi
 Foveal Systems

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