nonbreaking spaces (was: [patch] nscd.conf.5: describe reloading, clarifications)

["G. Branden Robinson" <g.branden.robinson@gmail.com>]

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Hi, Alex!

At 2021-07-28T22:31:26+0200, Alejandro Colomar (man-pages) wrote:
> Also from man-pages(7):
[...]
>        If the command is short, then it can be included inline  in
>        the  text,  in italic format, for example, man 7 man‐pages.
>        In this case, it may  be  worth  using  nonbreaking  spaces
>        ("\ ")  at suitable places in the command.  Command options
>        should be written in italics (e.g., -l).

I'd like to note that \~ is a superior escape sequence to use for this
purpose in most siutations.  The problem is that "\ " does, or rather
doesn't do, two things: it doesn't break and it doesn't adjust (that
is, it doesn't participate in widening when a line is justified to both
the left and right margins, a common typesetting practice).  It's also,
in my opinion, confusing to see and to write and speak about.

\~ is, admittedly, a groffism, but it is one that has been supported by
other actively maintained troff implementations and man page
rendererers.

Heirloom Doctools troff has supported it since its 2005-09-15
release[1].  mandoc has supported it since 2018-12-15[2], released
2019-03-10[3].

(Support in groff itself goes at least as far back as version 1.02, in
June 1991[4].)

What do you think about updating this guidance?

Regards,
Branden

[1] https://github.com/n-t-roff/heirloom-doctools/blob/master/CHANGES_GR#L1143
[2] https://cvsweb.bsd.lv/mandoc/mandoc.c.diff?r1=1.110&r2=1.111
[3] https://mandoc.bsd.lv/
[4] https://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/groff.git/tree/troff/input.c?id=351da0dcdf702cf243d26ffa998961bce2aa8653#n1270

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