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authorDaniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>2024-04-15 19:44:05 +0000
committerDaniel Baumann <daniel.baumann@progress-linux.org>2024-04-15 19:44:05 +0000
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+<title>Calling Macros (The GNU Troff Manual)</title>
+
+<meta name="description" content="Calling Macros (The GNU Troff Manual)">
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+<div class="subsection-level-extent" id="Calling-Macros">
+<div class="nav-panel">
+<p>
+Next: <a href="Using-Escape-Sequences.html" accesskey="n" rel="next">Using Escape Sequences</a>, Previous: <a href="Invoking-Requests.html" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Invoking Requests</a>, Up: <a href="Formatter-Instructions.html" accesskey="u" rel="up">Formatter Instructions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Request-Index.html" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
+</div>
+<hr>
+<h4 class="subsection" id="Calling-Macros-1">5.6.3 Calling Macros</h4>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-calling-macros"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-macro-arguments"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-arguments-to-macros"></a>
+
+<p>If a macro of the desired name does not exist when called, it is
+created, assigned an empty definition, and a warning in category
+&lsquo;<samp class="samp">mac</samp>&rsquo; is emitted. Calling an undefined macro <em class="emph">does</em> end a
+macro definition naming it as its end macro (see <a class="pxref" href="Writing-Macros.html">Writing Macros</a>).
+</p>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-spaces_002c-in-a-macro-argument"></a>
+<p>To embed spaces <em class="emph">within</em> a macro argument, enclose the argument in
+neutral double quotes <code class="code">&quot;</code>. Horizontal motion escape sequences are
+sometimes a better choice for arguments to be formatted as text.
+</p>
+<p>Consider calls to a hypothetical section heading macro &lsquo;<samp class="samp">uh</samp>&rsquo;.
+</p>
+<div class="example">
+<div class="group"><pre class="example-preformatted">.uh The Mouse Problem
+.uh &quot;The Mouse Problem&quot;
+.uh The\~Mouse\~Problem
+.uh The\ Mouse\ Problem
+</pre></div></div>
+
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_005c_007e_002c-difference-from-_005cSP"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_005cSP_002c-difference-from-_005c_007e"></a>
+<p>The first line calls <code class="code">uh</code> with three arguments: &lsquo;<samp class="samp">The</samp>&rsquo;,
+&lsquo;<samp class="samp">Mouse</samp>&rsquo;, and &lsquo;<samp class="samp">Problem</samp>&rsquo;. The remainder call the <code class="code">uh</code>
+macro with one argument, &lsquo;<samp class="samp">The Mouse Problem</samp>&rsquo;. The last solution,
+using escaped spaces, can be found in documents prepared for
+<abbr class="acronym">AT&amp;T</abbr> <code class="code">troff</code>. It can cause surprise when text is
+adjusted, because <code class="code">\<kbd class="key">SP</kbd></code> inserts a <em class="emph">fixed-width</em>,
+non-breaking space. GNU <code class="code">troff</code>&rsquo;s <code class="code">\~</code> escape sequence
+inserts an adjustable, non-breaking space.<a class="footnote" id="DOCF44" href="groff.html_fot.html#FOOT44"><sup>44</sup></a>
+</p>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_0022_002c-embedding-in-a-macro-argument"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-double-quote_002c-embedding-in-a-macro-argument"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-_005c_002c-embedding-in-a-macro-argument"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-backslash_002c-embedding-in-a-macro-argument"></a>
+<p>The foregoing raises the question of how to embed neutral double quotes
+or backslashes in macro arguments when <em class="emph">those</em> characters are
+desired as literals. In GNU <code class="code">troff</code>, the special character escape
+sequence <code class="code">\[rs]</code> produces a backslash and <code class="code">\[dq]</code> a neutral
+double quote.
+</p>
+<p>In GNU <code class="code">troff</code>&rsquo;s <abbr class="acronym">AT&amp;T</abbr> compatibility mode, these
+characters remain available as <code class="code">\(rs</code> and <code class="code">\(dq</code>,
+respectively. <abbr class="acronym">AT&amp;T</abbr> <code class="code">troff</code> did not consistently define
+these special characters,
+but its descendants can be made to support them. See <a class="xref" href="Device-and-Font-Description-Files.html">Device and Font Description Files</a>.
+</p>
+<p>If even that is not feasible, options remain. To obtain a literal
+escape character in a macro argument, you can simply type it if you
+change or disable the escape character first. See <a class="xref" href="Using-Escape-Sequences.html">Using Escape Sequences</a>. Otherwise, you must escape the escape character repeatedly
+to a context-dependent extent. See <a class="xref" href="Copy-Mode.html">Copy Mode</a>.
+</p>
+<p>For the (neutral) double quote, you have recourse to an obscure
+syntactical feature of <abbr class="acronym">AT&amp;T</abbr> <code class="code">troff</code>. Because a double
+quote can begin a macro argument, the formatter keeps track of whether
+the current argument was started thus, and doesn&rsquo;t require a space after
+the double quote that ends it.<a class="footnote" id="DOCF45" href="groff.html_fot.html#FOOT45"><sup>45</sup></a> In
+the argument list to a macro, a double quote that <em class="emph">isn&rsquo;t</em> preceded
+by a space <em class="emph">doesn&rsquo;t</em> start a macro argument. If not preceded by a
+double quote that began an argument, this double quote becomes part of
+the argument. Furthermore, within a quoted argument, a pair of adjacent
+double quotes becomes a literal double quote.
+</p>
+<div class="example">
+<div class="group"><pre class="example-preformatted">.de eq
+. tm arg1:\\$1 arg2:\\$2 arg3:\\$3
+. tm arg4:\\$4 arg5:\\$5 arg6:\\$6
+.. \&quot; 4 backslashes on the next line
+.eq a&quot; &quot;b c&quot; &quot;de&quot;f\\\\g&quot; h&quot;&quot;i &quot;j&quot;&quot;k&quot;
+ error&rarr; arg1:a&quot; arg2:b c arg3:de
+ error&rarr; arg4:f\g&quot; arg5:h&quot;&quot;i arg6:j&quot;k
+</pre></div></div>
+
+<p>Apart from the complexity of the rules, this traditional solution has
+the disadvantage that double quotes don&rsquo;t survive repeated argument
+expansion in <abbr class="acronym">AT&amp;T</abbr> <code class="code">troff</code> or GNU <code class="code">troff</code>&rsquo;s
+compatibility mode. This can frustrate efforts to pass such arguments
+intact through multiple macro calls.
+</p>
+<div class="example">
+<div class="group"><pre class="example-preformatted">.cp 1
+.de eq
+. tm arg1:\\$1 arg2:\\$2 arg3:\\$3
+. tm arg4:\\$4 arg5:\\$5 arg6:\\$6
+..
+.de xe
+. eq \\$1 \\$2 \\$3 \\$4 \\$5 \\$6
+.. \&quot; 8 backslashes on the next line
+.xe a&quot; &quot;b c&quot; &quot;de&quot;f\\\\\\\\g&quot; h&quot;&quot;i &quot;j&quot;&quot;k&quot;
+ error&rarr; arg1:a&quot; arg2:b arg3:c
+ error&rarr; arg4:de arg5:f\g&quot; arg6:h&quot;&quot;i
+</pre></div></div>
+
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-input-level"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-level_002c-input"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-interpolation-depth"></a>
+<a class="index-entry-id" id="index-depth_002c-interpolation"></a>
+<p>Outside of compatibility mode, GNU <code class="code">troff</code> doesn&rsquo;t exhibit this
+problem because it tracks the nesting depth of interpolations.
+See <a class="xref" href="Implementation-Differences.html">Implementation Differences</a>.
+</p>
+
+</div>
+<hr>
+<div class="nav-panel">
+<p>
+Next: <a href="Using-Escape-Sequences.html">Using Escape Sequences</a>, Previous: <a href="Invoking-Requests.html">Invoking Requests</a>, Up: <a href="Formatter-Instructions.html">Formatter Instructions</a> &nbsp; [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Request-Index.html" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
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