From 924a07dc227b69b53e3f43d2d08996d33b364c92 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Doron Behar Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2023 18:47:43 +0300 Subject: nixos/doc: Improve documentation of documentation - Move contents of README.md from nixos/modules/installer/tools/manpages/ to nixos/doc/manual/contributing-to-this-manual.chapter.md. - Don't mention DocBook as its obsolete and too specific. - Rename derivation attribute name of configuration.nix(5) manual page, both on the `contributing-to-this-manual.chapter.md`, and in other places. --- .../manual/contributing-to-this-manual.chapter.md | 91 +++++++++++++++++++--- 1 file changed, 82 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-) (limited to 'nixos/doc/manual/contributing-to-this-manual.chapter.md') diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/contributing-to-this-manual.chapter.md b/nixos/doc/manual/contributing-to-this-manual.chapter.md index 4633c7e1b058f..b7282d65c41e4 100644 --- a/nixos/doc/manual/contributing-to-this-manual.chapter.md +++ b/nixos/doc/manual/contributing-to-this-manual.chapter.md @@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ You can quickly check your edits with the following: ```ShellSession $ cd /path/to/nixpkgs +$ $EDITOR doc/nixos/manual/... # edit the manual $ nix-build nixos/release.nix -A manual.x86_64-linux ``` @@ -13,24 +14,96 @@ If the build succeeds, the manual will be in `./result/share/doc/nixos/index.htm There's also [a convenient development daemon](https://nixos.org/manual/nixpkgs/unstable/#sec-contributing-devmode). -**Contributing to the man pages** +The above instructions don't deal with the appendix of available `configuration.nix` options, and the manual pages related to NixOS. These are built, and written in a different location and in a different format, as explained in the next sections. -The man pages are written in [DocBook] which is XML. +## Contributing to the `configuration.nix` options documentation {#sec-contributing-options} -To see what your edits look like: +The documentation for all the different `configuration.nix` options is automatically generated by reading the `description`s of all the NixOS options defined at `nixos/modules/`. If you want to improve such `description`, find it in the `nixos/modules/` directory, and edit it and open a pull request. + +To see how your changes render on the web, run again: + +```ShellSession +$ nix-build nixos/release.nix -A manual.x86_64-linux +``` + +And you'll see the changes to the appendix in the path `result/share/doc/nixos/options.html`. + +You can also build only the `configuration.nix(5)` manual page, via: ```ShellSession $ cd /path/to/nixpkgs -$ nix-build nixos/release.nix -A manpages.x86_64-linux +$ nix-build nixos/release.nix -A nixos-configuration-reference-manpage.x86_64-linux ``` -You can then read the man page you edited by running +And observe the result via: ```ShellSession -$ man --manpath=result/share/man nixos-rebuild # Replace nixos-rebuild with the command whose manual you edited +$ man --local-file result/share/man/man5/configuration.nix.5 +``` + +If you're on a different architecture that's supported by NixOS (check file `nixos/release.nix` on Nixpkgs' repository) then replace `x86_64-linux` with the architecture. `nix-build` will complain otherwise, but should also tell you which architecture you have + the supported ones. + +## Contributing to `nixos-*` tools' manpages {#sec-contributing-nixos-tools} + +The manual pages for the tools available in the installation image can be found in Nixpkgs' by running (e.g for `nixos-rebuild`): + +```ShellSession +$ git ls | grep nixos-rebuild.8 +``` + +Man pages are written in [`mdoc(7)` format](https://mandoc.bsd.lv/man/mdoc.7.html) and should be portable between mandoc and groff for rendering (though minor differences may occur, mandoc and groff seem to have slightly different spacing rules.) + +For previewing edited files, you can just run `man --local-file path/to/file.8` and you will see it rendered. + +Being written in `mdoc`, these manpages use semantic markup. This file provides a guideline on where to apply which of the semantic elements of `mdoc`. + +### Command lines and arguments {#ssec-contributing-nixos-tools-cli-and-args} + +In any manpage, commands, flags and arguments to the *current* executable should be marked according to their semantics. Commands, flags and arguments passed to *other* executables should not be marked like this and should instead be considered as code examples and marked with `Ql`. + +- Use `Fl` to mark flag arguments, `Ar` for their arguments. +- Repeating arguments should be marked by adding ellipses (`...`). +- Use `Cm` to mark literal string arguments, e.g. the `boot` command argument passed to `nixos-rebuild`. +- Optional flags or arguments should be marked with `Op`. This includes optional repeating arguments. +- Required flags or arguments should not be marked. +- Mutually exclusive groups of arguments should be enclosed in curly brackets, preferably created with `Bro`/`Brc` blocks. + +When an argument is used in an example it should be marked up with `Ar` again to differentiate it from a constant. For example, a command with a `--host name` flag that calls ssh to retrieve the host's local time would signify this thusly: +``` +This will run +.Ic ssh Ar name Ic time +to retrieve the remote time. ``` -If you're on a different architecture that's supported by NixOS (check nixos/release.nix) then replace `x86_64-linux` with the architecture. -`nix-build` will complain otherwise, but should also tell you which architecture you have + the supported ones. +### Paths, NixOS options, environment variables {#ssec-contributing-nixos-tools-options-and-environment} + +Constant paths should be marked with `Pa`, NixOS options with `Va`, and environment variables with `Ev`. + +Generated paths, e.g. `result/bin/run-hostname-vm` (where `hostname` is a variable or arguments) should be marked as `Ql` inline literals with their variable components marked appropriately. + + - Taking `hostname` from an argument become `.Ql result/bin/run- Ns Ar hostname Ns -vm` + - Taking `hostname` from a variable otherwise defined becomes `.Ql result/bin/run- Ns Va hostname Ns -vm` + +### Code examples and other commands {#ssec-contributing-nixos-tools-code-examples} -[DocBook]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DocBook +In free text names and complete invocations of other commands (e.g. `ssh` or `tar -xvf src.tar`) should be marked with `Ic`, fragments of command lines should be marked with `Ql`. + +Larger code blocks or those that cannot be shown inline should use indented literal display block markup for their contents, i.e. + +``` +.Bd -literal -offset indent +... +.Ed +``` + +Contents of code blocks may be marked up further, e.g. if they refer to arguments that will be substituted into them: + +``` +.Bd -literal -offset indent +{ + options.hostname = "\c +.Ar hostname Ns \c +"; +} +.Ed +``` -- cgit 1.4.1