GNU bug report logs - #78628
Typo in cat synopsis?

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: A Kiloev <kiloev.akram <at> gmail.com>
To: bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org
Subject: Typo in cat synopsis?
Date: Thu, 29 May 2025 16:39:53 +0300

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

Hi, i am not sure is it a typo, but shouldn't be ellipsis after OPTION in
cat synopsis* https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#cat-invocation
<https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#cat-invocation> ?*
I asked before on (
https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/796402/should-my-cat-utility-support-multiple-keys-simultaneously#
)
and they say :
* "The synopsis in the GNU manual feels like an oversight — the man page
synopsis comes from GNU cat’s --help option, maintained by the same people,
and most other commands in the GNU coreutils manual (tac etc.) do include
an ellipsis. – *
*Stephen Kitt* <https://unix.stackexchange.com/users/86440/stephen-kitt>
* ". *
So is it a type or not?

[Message part 2 (text/html, inline)]

Message #10 received at 78628-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Pádraig Brady <P <at> draigBrady.com>
To: A Kiloev <kiloev.akram <at> gmail.com>, 78628-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#78628: Typo in cat synopsis?
Date: Thu, 29 May 2025 15:50:44 +0100

On 29/05/2025 14:39, A Kiloev wrote:
> Hi, i am not sure is it a typo, but shouldn't be ellipsis after OPTION in
> cat synopsis* https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#cat-invocation
> <https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/coreutils.html#cat-invocation> ?*
> I asked before on (
> https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/796402/should-my-cat-utility-support-multiple-keys-simultaneously#
> )
> and they say :
> * "The synopsis in the GNU manual feels like an oversight — the man page
> synopsis comes from GNU cat’s --help option, maintained by the same people,
> and most other commands in the GNU coreutils manual (tac etc.) do include
> an ellipsis. – *
> *Stephen Kitt* <https://unix.stackexchange.com/users/86440/stephen-kitt>
> * ". *
> So is it a type or not?
Indeed, there are a few inconsistencies in the manual:

$ grep '\[@var{option}\] ' doc/coreutils.texi
cat [@var{option}] [@var{file}]@dots{}
split [@var{option}] [@var{input} [@var{prefix}]]
tsort [@var{option}] [@var{file}]
mkfifo [@var{option}] @var{name}@dots{}
sync [@var{option}] [@var{file}]@dots{}
dirname [@var{option}] @var{name}@dots{}
stty [@var{option}] [@var{setting}]@dots{}
printenv [@var{option}] [@var{variable}]@dots{}
@command{who} [@var{option}] [@var{file}] [am i]
@command{pinky} [@var{option}] [@var{username}]@dots{}
timeout [@var{option}] @var{duration} @var{command} [@var{arg}]@dots{}

I'll fix these up.

Marking this as done.

thanks!

Padraig

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