GNU bug report logs - #62853
Man page “Name” section should be revised to be conformant to the POSIX man specification

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From: help-debbugs <at> gnu.org (GNU bug Tracking System)
To: Sebastian Carlos <sebaaa1754 <at> gmail.com>
Subject: bug#62854: closed (Re: bug#62853: Man page “Name”
 section should be revised to be conformant to the POSIX man specification)
Date: Tue, 30 May 2023 00:57:03 +0000

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Your bug report

#62853: aclocal: Man page “Name” section should be revised to be conformant to the POSIX man specification

which was filed against the automake package, has been closed.

The explanation is attached below, along with your original report.
If you require more details, please reply to 62854 <at> debbugs.gnu.org.

-- 
62853: https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=62853
GNU Bug Tracking System
Contact help-debbugs <at> gnu.org with problems

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From: Karl Berry <karl <at> freefriends.org>
To: sebaaa1754 <at> gmail.com
Cc: 62853 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, 62854 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#62853: Man page “Name” section should
 be revised to be conformant to the POSIX man specification
Date: Mon, 29 May 2023 18:56:05 -0600

Hi Sebastian,

    Currently, the "Name" section of the automake man

I just committed a change to set the Name section, as you suggested.
We'll now have (based on the --help message):

aclocal - Generate aclocal.m4 by scanning configure.ac
automake - Generate Makefile.in files for configure from Makefile.am

Thanks again for the report,
Karl

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From: Sebastian Carlos <sebaaa1754 <at> gmail.com>
To: bug-automake <at> gnu.org
Subject: aclocal: Man page “Name” section should be revised to be conformant to the POSIX man specification
Date: Fri, 14 Apr 2023 17:43:37 +0200

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Hello,

Currently, the "Name" section of the aclocal man page reads "aclocal -
manual page for aclocal 1.16.5" This is problematic for two reasons:

- It is redundant, as there is no need to mention that it is a manual page.
Also, the version is already available in the footer of the man page.
- More importantly, the text is non-conformant to the POSIX man
specification because the "name" sections is used to generate the
"utilities summary database" (used for the "man -k" or the "apropos"
command), which should be a "terse description of the purpose of the
utility". The current text does not describe what aclocal does or how it
can be used.

POSIX specification for the man command:
https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/9699919799/utilities/man.html

Thanks for your time.

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