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# doctools_lang_cmdref(n) 1.0 tcllib "Documentation tools"

## Name

doctools_lang_cmdref - doctools language command reference

## Synopsis

- arg text
- arg_def type name ?mode?
- bullet
- call args
- category text
- class text
- cmd text
- cmd_def command
- comment plaintext
- const text
- copyright text
- def text
- description
- enum
- emph text
- example text
- example_begin
- example_end
- file text
- fun text
- image name ?label?
- include filename
- item
- keywords args
- lb
- list_begin what
- list_end
- lst_item text
- manpage_begin command section version
- manpage_end
- method text
- moddesc text
- namespace text
- nl
- opt text
- opt_def name ?arg?
- option text
- package text
- para
- rb
- require package ?version?
- section name
- sectref id ?text?
- sectref-external text
- see_also args
- strong text
- subsection name
- syscmd text
- term text
- titledesc desc
- tkoption_def name dbname dbclass
- type text
- uri text ?text?
- usage args
- var text
- vset varname value
- vset varname
- widget text

## Description

This document specifies both names and syntax of all the commands which together are the doctools markup language, version 1. As this document is intended to be a reference the commands are listed in alphabetical order, and the descriptions are relatively short. A beginner should read the much more informally written doctools language introduction first.

## Commands

arg text

  Text markup. The argument text is marked up as the argument of a command. Main uses are the highlighting of command arguments in free-form text, and for the argument parameters of the markup commands call and usage.

arg_def type name ?mode?

  Text structure. List element. Argument list. Automatically closes the previous list element. Specifies the data-type of the described argument of a command, its name and its i/o-mode. The latter is optional.

bullet

  Deprecated. Text structure. List element. Itemized list. See item for the canonical command to open a list item in an itemized list.

call args

  Text structure. List element. Definition list. Automatically closes the previous list element. Defines the term as a command and its arguments. The first argument is the name of the command described by the following free-form text, and all arguments coming after that are descriptions of the command's arguments. It is expected that the arguments are marked up with arg, method, option etc., as is appropriate, and that the command itself is marked up with cmd. It is expected that the formatted term is not only printed in place, but also in the table of contents of the document, or synopsis, depending on the output format.

category text

  Document information. Anywhere. This command registers its plain text arguments as the category this document belongs to. If this command is used multiple times the last value specified is used.

class text

  Text markup. The argument is marked up as the name of a class. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of class names in free-form text.

cmd text

  Text markup. The argument text is marked up as the name of a Tcl command. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main uses are the highlighting of commands in free-form text, and for the command parameters of the markup commands call and usage.

cmd_def command

  Text structure. List element. Command list. Automatically closes the previous list element. The argument specifies the name of the Tcl command to be described by the list element. Expected to be marked up in the output as if it had been formatted with cmd.

comment plaintext

  Text markup. The argument text is marked up as a comment standing outside of the actual text of the document. Main use is in free-form text.

const text

  Text markup. The argument is marked up as a constant value. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of constants in free-form text.

copyright text

  Document information. Anywhere. The command registers the plain text argument as a copyright assignment for the manpage. When invoked more than once the assignments are accumulated.

def text

  Text structure. List element. Definition list. Automatically closes the previous list element. The argument text is the term defined by the new list element. Text markup can be applied to it.

description

  Document structure. This command separates the header from the document body. Implicitly starts a section named "DESCRIPTION" (See command section).

enum

  Text structure. List element. Enumerated list. Automatically closes the previous list element.

emph text

  Text markup. The argument text is marked up as emphasized. Main use is for general highlighting of pieces of free-form text without attaching special meaning to the pieces.

example text

  Text structure, Text markup. This command marks its argument up as an example. Main use is the simple embedding of examples in free-form text. It should be used if the example does not need special markup of its own. Otherwise use a sequence of example_begin ... example_end.

example_begin

  Text structure. This commands starts an example. All text until the next example_end belongs to the example. Line breaks, spaces, and tabs have to be preserved literally. Examples cannot be nested.

example_end

  Text structure. This command closes the example started by the last example_begin.

file text

  Text markup. The argument is marked up as a file or directory, i.e. in general a path. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of paths in free-form text.

fun text

  Text markup. The argument is marked up as the name of a function. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of function names in free-form text.

image name ?label?

  Text markup. The argument is the symbolic name of an image and replaced with the image itself, if a suitable variant is found by the backend. The second argument, should it be present, will be interpreted the human-readable description of the image, and put into the output in a suitable position, if such is supported by the format. The HTML format, for example, can place it into the alt attribute of image references.

include filename

  Templating. The contents of the named file are interpreted as text written in the doctools markup and processed in the place of the include command. The markup in the file has to be self-contained. It is not possible for a markup command to cross the file boundaries.

item

  Text structure. List element. Itemized list. Automatically closes the previous list element.

keywords args

  Document information. Anywhere. This command registers all its plain text arguments as keywords applying to this document. Each argument is a single keyword. If this command is used multiple times all the arguments accumulate.

lb

  Text. The command is replaced with a left bracket. Use in free-form text. Required to avoid interpretation of a left bracket as the start of a markup command.

list_begin what

  Text structure. This command starts a list. The exact nature of the list is determined by the argument what of the command. This further determines which commands are have to be used to start the list elements. Lists can be nested, i.e. it is allowed to start a new list within a list element.

  The allowed types (and their associated item commands) are:

  arguments

    arg_def.

  commands

    cmd_def.

  definitions

    def and call.

  enumerated

    enum

  itemized

    item

  options

    opt_def

  tkoptions

    tkoption_def

  Additionally the following names are recognized as shortcuts for some of the regular types:

  args

    Short for arguments.

  cmds

    Short for commands.

  enum

    Short for enumerated.

  item

    Short for itemized.

  opts

    Short for options.

  At last the following names are still recognized for backward compatibility, but are otherwise considered to be deprecated.

  arg

    Deprecated. See arguments.

  bullet

    Deprecated. See itemized.

  cmd

    Deprecated. See commands.

  opt

    Deprecated. See options.

  tkoption

    Deprecated. See tkoptions.

list_end

  Text structure. This command closes the list opened by the last list_begin command coming before it.

lst_item text

  Deprecated. Text structure. List element. Definition list. See def for the canonical command to open a general list item in a definition list.

manpage_begin command section version

  Document structure. The command to start a manpage. The arguments are the name of the command described by the manpage, the section of the manpages this manpage resides in, and the version of the module containing the command. All arguments have to be plain text, without markup.

manpage_end

  Document structure. Command to end a manpage/document. Anything in the document coming after this command is in error.

method text

  Text markup. The argument text is marked up as the name of an object method, i.e. subcommand of a Tcl command. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main uses are the highlighting of method names in free-form text, and for the command parameters of the markup commands call and usage.

moddesc text

  Document information. Header. Registers the plain text argument as a short description of the module the manpage resides in.

namespace text

  Text markup. The argument text is marked up as a namespace name. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of namespace names in free-form text.

nl

  Deprecated. Text structure. See para for the canonical command to insert paragraph breaks into the text.

opt text

  Text markup. The argument text is marked up as optional. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of optional arguments, see the command arg arg.

opt_def name ?arg?

  Text structure. List element. Option list. Automatically closes the previous list element. Specifies name and arguments of the option described by the list element. It is expected that the name is marked up using option.

option text

  Text markup. The argument is marked up as option. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of options, also known as command-switches, in either free-form text, or the arguments of the call and usage commands.

package text

  Text markup. The argument is marked up as the name of a package. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of package names in free-form text.

para

  Text structure. This command breaks free-form text into paragraphs. Each command closes the paragraph coming before it and starts a new paragraph for the text coming after it. Higher-level forms of structure are sections and subsections.

rb

  Text. The command is replaced with a right bracket. Use in free-form text. Required to avoid interpretation of a right bracket as the end of a markup command.

require package ?version?

  Document information. Header. This command registers its argument package as the name of a package or application required by the described package or application. A minimum version can be provided as well. This argument can be marked up. The usual markup is opt.

section name

  Text structure. This command starts a new named document section. The argument has to be plain text. Implicitly closes the last paragraph coming before it and also implicitly opens the first paragraph of the new section.

sectref id ?text?

  Text markup. Formats a reference to the section identified by id. If no text is specified the title of the referenced section is used in the output, otherwise text is used.

sectref-external text

  Text markup. Like sectref, except that the section is assumed to be in a different document and therefore doesn't need to be identified, nor are any checks for existence made. Only the text to format is needed.

see_also args

  Document information. Anywhere. The command defines direct cross-references to other documents. Each argument is a plain text label identifying the referenced document. If this command is used multiple times all the arguments accumulate.

strong text

  Deprecated. Text markup. See emph for the canonical command to emphasize text.

subsection name

  Text structure. This command starts a new named subsection of a section. The argument has to be plain text. Implicitly closes the last paragraph coming before it and also implicitly opens the first paragraph of the new subsection.

syscmd text

  Text markup. The argument text is marked up as the name of an external command. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of external commands in free-form text.

term text

  Text markup. The argument is marked up as unspecific terminology. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of important terms and concepts in free-form text.

titledesc desc

  Document information. Header. Optional. Registers the plain text argument as the title of the manpage. Defaults to the value registered by moddesc.

tkoption_def name dbname dbclass

  Text structure. List element. Widget option list. Automatically closes the previous list element. Specifies the name of the option as used in scripts, the name used by the option database (dbname), and its class (dbclass), i.e. its type. It is expected that the name is marked up using option.

type text

  Text markup. The argument is marked up as the name of a data type. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of data types in free-form text.

uri text ?text?

  Text markup. The argument is marked up as an uri (i.e. a uniform resource identifier. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of uris in free-form text. The second argument, should it be present, will be interpreted the human-readable description of the uri. In other words, as its label. Without an explicit label the uri will be its own label.

usage args

  Text markup. See call for the full description, this command is syntactically identical, as it is in its expectations for the markup of its arguments. In contrast to call it is however not allowed to generate output where this command occurs in the text. The command is silent. The formatted text may only appear in a different section of the output, for example a table of contents, or synopsis, depending on the output format.

var text

  Text markup. The argument is marked up as the name of a variable. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of variables in free-form text.

vset varname value

  Templating. In this form the command sets the named document variable to the specified value. It does not generate output. I.e. the command is replaced by the empty string.

vset varname

  Templating. In this form the command is replaced by the value of the named document variable

widget text

  Text markup. The argument is marked up as the name of a widget. The text may have other markup already applied to it. Main use is the highlighting of widget names in free-form text.

## Bugs, Ideas, Feedback

This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain bugs and other problems. Please report such in the category doctools of the Tcllib Trackers. Please also report any ideas for enhancements you may have for either package and/or documentation.

When proposing code changes, please provide unified diffs, i.e the output of diff -u.

Note further that attachments are strongly preferred over inlined patches. Attachments can be made by going to the Edit form of the ticket immediately after its creation, and then using the left-most button in the secondary navigation bar.

## See Also

doctools_intro, doctools_lang_faq, doctools_lang_intro, doctools_lang_syntax

## Keywords

doctools commands, doctools language, doctools markup, markup, semantic markup

## Category

Documentation tools

## Copyright

Copyright © 2007-2010 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users.sourceforge.net>