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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>J.6. Style Guide</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet.css" /><link rev="made" href="pgsql-docs@lists.postgresql.org" /><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets Vsnapshot" /><link rel="prev" href="docguide-authoring.html" title="J.5. Documentation Authoring" /><link rel="next" href="limits.html" title="Appendix K. PostgreSQL Limits" /></head><body id="docContent" class="container-fluid col-10"><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="5" align="center">J.6. Style Guide</th></tr><tr><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="docguide-authoring.html" title="J.5. Documentation Authoring">Prev</a> </td><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="u" href="docguide.html" title="Appendix J. Documentation">Up</a></td><th width="60%" align="center">Appendix J. Documentation</th><td width="10%" align="right"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 16.3 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="10%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="limits.html" title="Appendix K. PostgreSQL Limits">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr /></div><div class="sect1" id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">J.6. Style Guide <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE" class="id_link">#</a></h2></div></div></div><div class="toc"><dl class="toc"><dt><span class="sect2"><a href="docguide-style.html#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES">J.6.1. Reference Pages</a></span></dt></dl></div><div class="sect2" id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h3 class="title">J.6.1. Reference Pages <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES" class="id_link">#</a></h3></div></div></div><p>
Reference pages should follow a standard layout. This allows
users to find the desired information more quickly, and it also
encourages writers to document all relevant aspects of a command.
Consistency is not only desired among
<span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> reference pages, but also
with reference pages provided by the operating system and other
packages. Hence the following guidelines have been developed.
They are for the most part consistent with similar guidelines
established by various operating systems.
</p><p>
Reference pages that describe executable commands should contain
the following sections, in this order. Sections that do not apply
can be omitted. Additional top-level sections should only be used
in special circumstances; often that information belongs in the
<span class="quote">“<span class="quote">Usage</span>”</span> section.
</p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-NAME"><span class="term">Name</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-NAME" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
This section is generated automatically. It contains the
command name and a half-sentence summary of its functionality.
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-SYNOPSIS"><span class="term">Synopsis</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-SYNOPSIS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
This section contains the syntax diagram of the command. The
synopsis should normally not list each command-line option;
that is done below. Instead, list the major components of the
command line, such as where input and output files go.
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-DESCRIPTION"><span class="term">Description</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-DESCRIPTION" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
Several paragraphs explaining what the command does.
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-OPTIONS"><span class="term">Options</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-OPTIONS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
A list describing each command-line option. If there are a
lot of options, subsections can be used.
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-EXIT-STATUS"><span class="term">Exit Status</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-EXIT-STATUS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
If the program uses 0 for success and non-zero for failure,
then you do not need to document it. If there is a meaning
behind the different non-zero exit codes, list them here.
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-USAGE"><span class="term">Usage</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-USAGE" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
Describe any sublanguage or run-time interface of the program.
If the program is not interactive, this section can usually be
omitted. Otherwise, this section is a catch-all for
describing run-time features. Use subsections if appropriate.
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-ENVIRONMENT"><span class="term">Environment</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-ENVIRONMENT" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
List all environment variables that the program might use.
Try to be complete; even seemingly trivial variables like
<code class="envar">SHELL</code> might be of interest to the user.
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-FILES"><span class="term">Files</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-FILES" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
List any files that the program might access implicitly. That
is, do not list input and output files that were specified on
the command line, but list configuration files, etc.
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-DIAGNOSTICS"><span class="term">Diagnostics</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-DIAGNOSTICS" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
Explain any unusual output that the program might create.
Refrain from listing every possible error message. This is a
lot of work and has little use in practice. But if, say, the
error messages have a standard format that the user can parse,
this would be the place to explain it.
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-NOTES"><span class="term">Notes</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-NOTES" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
Anything that doesn't fit elsewhere, but in particular bugs,
implementation flaws, security considerations, compatibility
issues.
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-EXAMPLES"><span class="term">Examples</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-EXAMPLES" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
Examples
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-HISTORY"><span class="term">History</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-HISTORY" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
If there were some major milestones in the history of the
program, they might be listed here. Usually, this section can
be omitted.
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-AUTHOR"><span class="term">Author</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-AUTHOR" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
Author (only used in the contrib section)
</p></dd><dt id="DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-SEE-ALSO"><span class="term">See Also</span> <a href="#DOCGUIDE-STYLE-REF-PAGES-SEE-ALSO" class="id_link">#</a></dt><dd><p>
Cross-references, listed in the following order: other
<span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> command reference pages,
<span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> SQL command reference
pages, citation of <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span>
manuals, other reference pages (e.g., operating system, other
packages), other documentation. Items in the same group are
listed alphabetically.
</p></dd></dl></div><p>
</p><p>
Reference pages describing SQL commands should contain the
following sections: Name, Synopsis, Description, Parameters,
Outputs, Notes, Examples, Compatibility, History, See
Also. The Parameters section is like the Options section, but
there is more freedom about which clauses of the command can be
listed. The Outputs section is only needed if the command returns
something other than a default command-completion tag. The Compatibility
section should explain to what extent
this command conforms to the SQL standard(s), or to which other
database system it is compatible. The See Also section of SQL
commands should list SQL commands before cross-references to
programs.
</p></div></div><div class="navfooter"><hr /><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="docguide-authoring.html" title="J.5. Documentation Authoring">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="docguide.html" title="Appendix J. Documentation">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="limits.html" title="Appendix K. PostgreSQL Limits">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">J.5. Documentation Authoring </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 16.3 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> Appendix K. <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> Limits</td></tr></table></div></body></html>
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