The
As entered in a text editor SGML document consists of text interspersed with tags denoting the start and end of elements.
Tags take the form <element> to start the element element and </element> to finish it.
There are some shorthands you can use: <element/contents/ specifies an element element with contents contents - but the contents may not contain a slash /. </> closes the innermost currently open element.
Some types of element start tag can have attributes; these appear inside the closing angle bracket, and are separated from the element name by whitespace. The attributes allowed in a particular element's start tag are described along with the element.
If you want to include SGML's markup characters (angle brackets < > and ampersands &) as text you must refer to them by name (this is called an entity reference in SGML-speak). &name; produces the character whose name is name.
Some useful character names are:
less than sign (left angle bracket) <
greater than sign (right angle bracket) >
ampersand &
copyright symbol ©
DebianDoc-SGML supports the full set of ISO entities as defined
in the files
You can also use &#number; to refer to the character whose number is number (in ISO-LATIN-1). number should be in decimal.
Debiandoc SGML is a set of SGML rules. The text file conforming
to this Debiandoc SGML can be processed by
See more on manpage
This appendix contains an overview of the ISO 8879:1986 character
entities and their equivalents in the output formats that
DebianDoc-SGML supports.
á => á Á => Á â => â Â => Â à => à À => À å => å Å => Å ã => ã Ã => Ã ä => ä Ä => Ä æ => æ Æ => Æ ç => ç Ç => Ç ð => ð Ð => Ð é => é É => É ê => ê Ê => Ê è => è È => È ë => ë Ë => Ë í => í Í => Í î => î Î => Î ì => ì Ì => Ì ï => ï Ï => Ï ñ => ñ Ñ => Ñ ó => ó Ó => Ó ô => ô Ô => Ô ò => ò Ò => Ò ø => ø Ø => Ø õ => õ Õ => Õ ö => ö Ö => Ö ß => ß þ => þ Þ => Þ ú => ú Ú => Ú û => û Û => Û ù => ù Ù => Ù ü => ü Ü => Ü ý => ý Ý => Ý ÿ => ÿ
ă => ă Ă => Ă ā => ā Ā => Ā ą => ą Ą => Ą ć => ć Ć => Ć č => č Č => Č ĉ => ĉ Ĉ => Ĉ ċ => ċ Ċ => Ċ ď => ď Ď => Ď đ => đ Đ => Đ ě => ě Ě => Ě ė => ė Ė => Ė ē => ē Ē => Ē ę => ę Ę => Ę ǵ => ǵ ğ => ğ Ğ => Ğ Ģ => Ģ ĝ => ĝ Ĝ => Ĝ ġ => ġ Ġ => Ġ ĥ => ĥ Ĥ => Ĥ ħ => ħ Ħ => Ħ İ => İ Ī => Ī ī => ī ij => ij IJ => IJ ı => ı į => į Į => Į ĩ => ĩ Ĩ => Ĩ ĵ => ĵ Ĵ => Ĵ ķ => ķ Ķ => Ķ ĸ => ĸ ĺ => ĺ Ĺ => Ĺ ľ => ľ Ľ => Ľ ļ => ļ Ļ => Ļ ŀ => ŀ Ŀ => Ŀ ł => ł Ł => Ł ń => ń Ń => Ń ŋ => ŋ Ŋ => Ŋ ʼn => ʼn ň => ň Ň => Ň ņ => ņ Ņ => Ņ ő => ő Ő => Ő ō => ō Ō => Ō œ => œ Œ => Œ ŕ => ŕ Ŕ => Ŕ ř => ř Ř => Ř ŗ => ŗ Ŗ => Ŗ ś => ś Ś => Ś š => š Š => Š ş => ş Ş => Ş ŝ => ŝ Ŝ => Ŝ ť => ť Ť => Ť ţ => ţ Ţ => Ţ ŧ => ŧ Ŧ => Ŧ ŭ => ŭ Ŭ => Ŭ ű => ű Ű => Ű ū => ū Ū => Ū ų => ų Ų => Ų ů => ů Ů => Ů ũ => ũ Ũ => Ũ ŵ => ŵ Ŵ => Ŵ ŷ => ŷ Ŷ => Ŷ Ÿ => Ÿ ź => ź Ź => Ź ž => ž Ž => Ž ż => ż Ż => Ż
&agr; => &agr; &Agr; => &Agr; &bgr; => &bgr; &Bgr; => &Bgr; &ggr; => &ggr; &Ggr; => &Ggr; &dgr; => &dgr; &Dgr; => &Dgr; &egr; => &egr; &Egr; => &Egr; &zgr; => &zgr; &Zgr; => &Zgr; &eegr; => &eegr; &EEgr; => &EEgr; &thgr; => &thgr; &THgr; => &THgr; &igr; => &igr; &Igr; => &Igr; &kgr; => &kgr; &Kgr; => &Kgr; &lgr; => &lgr; &Lgr; => &Lgr; &mgr; => &mgr; &Mgr; => &Mgr; &ngr; => &ngr; &Ngr; => &Ngr; &xgr; => &xgr; &Xgr; => &Xgr; &ogr; => &ogr; &Ogr; => &Ogr; &pgr; => &pgr; &Pgr; => &Pgr; &rgr; => &rgr; &Rgr; => &Rgr; &sgr; => &sgr; &Sgr; => &Sgr; &sfgr; => &sfgr; &tgr; => &tgr; &Tgr; => &Tgr; &ugr; => &ugr; &Ugr; => &Ugr; &phgr; => &phgr; &PHgr; => &PHgr; &khgr; => &khgr; &KHgr; => &KHgr; &psgr; => &psgr; &PSgr; => &PSgr; &ohgr; => &ohgr; &OHgr; => &OHgr;
&aacgr; => &aacgr; &Aacgr; => &Aacgr; &eacgr; => &eacgr; &Eacgr; => &Eacgr; &eeacgr; => &eeacgr; &EEacgr; => &EEacgr; &idigr; => &idigr; &Idigr; => &Idigr; &iacgr; => &iacgr; &Iacgr; => &Iacgr; &idiagr; => &idiagr; &oacgr; => &oacgr; &Oacgr; => &Oacgr; &udigr; => &udigr; &Udigr; => &Udigr; &uacgr; => &uacgr; &Uacgr; => &Uacgr; &udiagr; => &udiagr; &ohacgr; => &ohacgr; &OHacgr; => &OHacgr;
а => а А => А б => б Б => Б в => в В => В г => г Г => Г д => д Д => Д е => е Е => Е ё => ё Ё => Ё ж => ж Ж => Ж з => з З => З и => и И => И й => й Й => Й к => к К => К л => л Л => Л м => м М => М н => н Н => Н о => о О => О п => п П => П р => р Р => Р с => с С => С т => т Т => Т у => у У => У ф => ф Ф => Ф х => х Х => Х ц => ц Ц => Ц ч => ч Ч => Ч ш => ш Ш => Ш щ => щ Щ => Щ ъ => ъ Ъ => Ъ ы => ы Ы => Ы ь => ь Ь => Ь э => э Э => Э ю => ю Ю => Ю я => я Я => Я № => №
ђ => ђ Ђ => Ђ ѓ => ѓ Ѓ => Ѓ є => є Є => Є ѕ => ѕ Ѕ => Ѕ і => і І => І ї => ї Ї => Ї ј => ј Ј => Ј љ => љ Љ => Љ њ => њ Њ => Њ ћ => ћ Ћ => Ћ ќ => ќ Ќ => Ќ ў => ў Ў => Ў џ => џ Џ => Џ
½ => ½ ½ => ½ ¼ => ¼ ¾ => ¾ ⅛ => ⅛ ⅜ => ⅜ ⅝ => ⅝ ⅞ => ⅞ ¹ => ¹ ² => ² ³ => ³ + => + ± => ± < => < = => = > => > ÷ => ÷ × => × ¤ => ¤ £ => £ $ => $ ¢ => ¢ ¥ => ¥ # => # % => % & => & * => * @ => @ [ => [ \ => \ ] => ] { => { ― => ― | => | } => } µ => µ Ω => Ω ° => ° º => º ª => ª § => § ¶ => ¶ · => · ← => ← → => → ↑ => ↑ ↓ => ↓ © => © ® => ® ™ => ™ ¦ => ¦ ¬ => ¬ ♪ => ♪ ! => ! ¡ => ¡ " => " ' => ' ( => ( ) => ) , => , _ => _ ‐ => ‐ . => . / => / : => : ; => ; ? => ? ¿ => ¿ « => « » => » ‘ => ‘ ’ => ’ “ => “ ” => ” => ­ =>
´ => ´ ˘ => ˘ ˇ => ˇ ¸ => ¸ ˆ => ˆ ˝ => ˝ ¨ => ¨ ˙ => ˙ ` => ` ¯ => ¯ ˛ => ˛ ˚ => ˚ ˜ => ˜ ¨ => ¨
  =>   =>   =>   =>   =>   =>   =>   => — => — – => – ‐ => ‐ ␣ => ␣ … => … ‥ => ‥ ⅓ => ⅓ ⅔ => ⅔ ⅕ => ⅕ ⅖ => ⅖ ⅗ => ⅗ ⅘ => ⅘ ⅙ => ⅙ ⅚ => ⅚ ℅ => ℅ █ => █ ▀ => ▀ ▄ => ▄ ░ => ░ ▒ => ▒ ▓ => ▓ ▮ => ▮ ○ => ○ □ => □ ▭ => ▭ ▵ => ▵ ▿ => ▿ ☆ => ☆ • => • ▪ => ▪ ▴ => ▴ ▾ => ▾ ◂ => ◂ ▸ => ▸ ♣ => ♣ ♦ => ♦ ♥ => ♥ ♠ => ♠ ✠ => ✠ † => † ‡ => ‡ ✓ => ✓ ✗ => ✗ ♯ => ♯ ♭ => ♭ ♂ => ♂ ♀ => ♀ ☎ => ☎ ⌕ => ⌕ ℗ => ℗ ⁁ => ⁁ ‚ => ‚ „ => „ ff => ff fi => fi fj => fj ffi => ffi ffl => ffl fl => fl … => … ” => ” ’ => ’ ⋮ => ⋮ ⁃ => ⁃ ◊ => ◊ ⧫ => ⧫ ◃ => ◃ ▹ => ▹ ★ => ★ ♮ => ♮ ℞ => ℞ ✶ => ✶ ⌖ => ⌖ ⌍ => ⌍ ⌌ => ⌌ ⌏ => ⌏ ⌎ => ⌎
─ => ─ │ => │ └ => └ ┘ => ┘ ┐ => ┐ ┌ => ┌ ├ => ├ ┴ => ┴ ┤ => ┤ ┬ => ┬ ┼ => ┼ ╞ => ╞ ╨ => ╨ ╡ => ╡ ╥ => ╥ ╪ => ╪ ═ => ═ ║ => ║ ╚ => ╚ ╝ => ╝ ╗ => ╗ ╔ => ╔ ╠ => ╠ ╩ => ╩ ╣ => ╣ ╦ => ╦ ╬ => ╬ ╟ => ╟ ╧ => ╧ ╢ => ╢ ╤ => ╤ ╫ => ╫ ╘ => ╘ ╜ => ╜ ╕ => ╕ ╓ => ╓ ╙ => ╙ ╛ => ╛ ╖ => ╖ ╒ => ╒
ℵ => ℵ ∧ => ∧ &ang90; => &ang90; ∢ => ∢ ≈ => ≈ ∵ => ∵ ⊥ => ⊥ ∩ => ∩ ≅ => ≅ ∮ => ∮ ∪ => ∪ ≡ => ≡ ∃ => ∃ ∀ => ∀ ƒ => ƒ ≥ => ≥ ⇔ => ⇔ ∞ => ∞ ∫ => ∫ ∈ => ∈ ⟨ => ⟨ ⇐ => ⇐ ≤ => ≤ − => − ∓ => ∓ ∇ => ∇ ≠ => ≠ ∋ => ∋ ∨ => ∨ ∥ => ∥ ∂ => ∂ ‰ => ‰ ⊥ => ⊥ ′ => ′ ″ => ″ ∝ => ∝ √ => √ ⟩ => ⟩ ⇒ => ⇒ ∼ => ∼ ≃ => ≃ □ => □ ⊂ => ⊂ ⊆ => ⊆ ⊃ => ⊃ ⊇ => ⊇ ∴ => ∴ ‖ => ‖ Å => Å ℬ => ℬ ∘ => ∘ ¨ => ¨ ⃜ => ⃜ ℋ => ℋ ℒ => ℒ ∗ => ∗ ∉ => ∉ ℴ => ℴ ℳ => ℳ ⃛ => ⃛ ‴ => ‴ ≙ => ≙
α => α β => β γ => γ Γ => Γ ϝ => ϝ δ => δ Δ => Δ ε => ε ϵ => ϵ &epsis; => &epsis; ζ => ζ η => η &thetas; => &thetas; Θ => Θ ϑ => ϑ ι => ι κ => κ ϰ => ϰ λ => λ Λ => Λ μ => μ ν => ν ξ => ξ Ξ => Ξ π => π ϖ => ϖ Π => Π ρ => ρ ϱ => ϱ σ => σ Σ => Σ ς => ς τ => τ υ => υ ϒ => ϒ &phis; => &phis; Φ => Φ ϕ => ϕ χ => χ ψ => ψ Ψ => Ψ ω => ω Ω => Ω
&b.alpha; => &b.alpha; &b.beta; => &b.beta; &b.gamma; => &b.gamma; &b.Gamma; => &b.Gamma; &b.gammad; => &b.gammad; &b.delta; => &b.delta; &b.Delta; => &b.Delta; &b.epsi; => &b.epsi; &b.epsiv; => &b.epsiv; &b.epsis; => &b.epsis; &b.zeta; => &b.zeta; &b.eta; => &b.eta; &b.thetas; => &b.thetas; &b.Theta; => &b.Theta; &b.thetav; => &b.thetav; &b.iota; => &b.iota; &b.kappa; => &b.kappa; &b.kappav; => &b.kappav; &b.lambda; => &b.lambda; &b.Lambda; => &b.Lambda; &b.mu; => &b.mu; &b.nu; => &b.nu; &b.xi; => &b.xi; &b.Xi; => &b.Xi; &b.pi; => &b.pi; &b.piv; => &b.piv; &b.Pi; => &b.Pi; &b.rho; => &b.rho; &b.rhov; => &b.rhov; &b.sigma; => &b.sigma; &b.Sigma; => &b.Sigma; &b.sigmav; => &b.sigmav; &b.tau; => &b.tau; &b.upsi; => &b.upsi; &b.Upsi; => &b.Upsi; &b.phis; => &b.phis; &b.Phi; => &b.Phi; &b.phiv; => &b.phiv; &b.chi; => &b.chi; &b.psi; => &b.psi; &b.Psi; => &b.Psi; &b.omega; => &b.omega; &b.Omega; => &b.Omega;
∠ => ∠ ∡ => ∡ ℶ => ℶ ‵ => ‵ ∁ => ∁ ℸ => ℸ ℓ => ℓ ∅ => ∅ ℷ => ℷ ℑ => ℑ ı => ı &jnodot; => &jnodot; ∄ => ∄ Ⓢ => Ⓢ ℏ => ℏ ℜ => ℜ &sbsol; => &sbsol; &vprime; => &vprime; ℘ => ℘
⨿ => ⨿ ⌆ => ⌆ ⌅ => ⌅ ⋒ => ⋒ ⋓ => ⋓ ⋎ => ⋎ ⋏ => ⋏ ⋄ => ⋄ ⋇ => ⋇ ⊺ => ⊺ ⋋ => ⋋ ⋉ => ⋉ ⊟ => ⊟ ⊛ => ⊛ ⊚ => ⊚ ⊝ => ⊝ ⊙ => ⊙ ⊖ => ⊖ ⊕ => ⊕ ⊘ => ⊘ ⊗ => ⊗ ⊞ => ⊞ ∔ => ∔ ⋌ => ⋌ ⋊ => ⋊ ⋅ => ⋅ ⊡ => ⊡ ∖ => ∖ ⊓ => ⊓ ⊔ => ⊔ ∖ => ∖ ⋆ => ⋆ ⊠ => ⊠ ⊤ => ⊤ ⊎ => ⊎ ≀ => ≀ ◯ => ◯ ▽ => ▽ △ => △ ∐ => ∐ ∏ => ∏ ∑ => ∑
≊ => ≊ ≈ => ≈ ≌ => ≌ ϶ => ϶ ⋈ => ⋈ ∽ => ∽ ⋍ => ⋍ ≎ => ≎ ≏ => ≏ ≗ => ≗ ≔ => ≔ ⋞ => ⋞ ⋟ => ⋟ &cupre; => &cupre; ⊣ => ⊣ ≖ => ≖ ≕ => ≕ ≑ => ≑ ≐ => ≐ ≒ => ≒ ⪖ => ⪖ ⪕ => ⪕ ≓ => ≓ ⋔ => ⋔ ⌢ => ⌢ ⪆ => ⪆ &gsdot; => &gsdot; ≧ => ≧ ⋛ => ⋛ ⪌ => ⪌ ⩾ => ⩾ ⋙ => ⋙ ≷ => ≷ ≳ => ≳ ≫ => ≫ ⪅ => ⪅ &ldot; => &ldot; ≦ => ≦ ⪋ => ⪋ ⋚ => ⋚ ⩽ => ⩽ ≶ => ≶ ⋘ => ⋘ ≲ => ≲ ≪ => ≪ ⊴ => ⊴ ∣ => ∣ ⊧ => ⊧ ≺ => ≺ ⪷ => ⪷ ⪯ => ⪯ ≾ => ≾ ⊵ => ⊵ &samalg; => &samalg; ≻ => ≻ ⪸ => ⪸ ≽ => ≽ ⪰ => ⪰ ≿ => ≿ ⌢ => ⌢ ∣ => ∣ ⌣ => ⌣ ∥ => ∥ ⊏ => ⊏ ⊑ => ⊑ ⊐ => ⊐ ⊒ => ⊒ ⌣ => ⌣ ⋐ => ⋐ ⫅ => ⫅ ⋑ => ⋑ ⫆ => ⫆ ≈ => ≈ ∼ => ∼ ≜ => ≜ ≬ => ≬ ⊢ => ⊢ ⊩ => ⊩ ⊨ => ⊨ ⊻ => ⊻ ⊲ => ⊲ ∝ => ∝ ⊳ => ⊳ ⊪ => ⊪
⪊ => ⪊ ⪈ => ⪈ ≩ => ≩ ⋧ => ⋧ ≩︀ => ≩︀ ⪉ => ⪉ ≨ => ≨ ⪇ => ⪇ ⋦ => ⋦ ≨︀ => ≨︀ ≉ => ≉ ≇ => ≇ ≢ => ≢ ≧̸ => ≧̸ ≱ => ≱ ⩾̸ => ⩾̸ ≯ => ≯ ≰ => ≰ ≦̸ => ≦̸ ⩽̸ => ⩽̸ ≮ => ≮ ⋪ => ⋪ ⋬ => ⋬ ∤ => ∤ ∦ => ∦ ⊀ => ⊀ ⪯̸ => ⪯̸ ⋫ => ⋫ ⋭ => ⋭ ⊁ => ⊁ ⪰̸ => ⪰̸ ≁ => ≁ ≄ => ≄ ∤ => ∤ ∦ => ∦ ⊄ => ⊄ ⊈ => ⊈ ⫅̸ => ⫅̸ ⊅ => ⊅ ⫆̸ => ⫆̸ ⊉ => ⊉ ⊬ => ⊬ ⊭ => ⊭ ⊯ => ⊯ ⊮ => ⊮ ⪹ => ⪹ ⪵ => ⪵ ⋨ => ⋨ ⪺ => ⪺ ⪶ => ⪶ ⋩ => ⋩ ⊊ => ⊊ ⫋ => ⫋ ⊋ => ⊋ ⫌ => ⫌ ⫋︀ => ⫋︀ ⊊︀ => ⊊︀ ⊋︀ => ⊋︀ ⫌︀ => ⫌︀
↶ => ↶ ↷ => ↷ ⇓ => ⇓ &darr2; => &darr2; ⇃ => ⇃ ⇂ => ⇂ ⇚ => ⇚ ↞ => ↞ &larr2; => &larr2; ↩ => ↩ ↫ => ↫ ↢ => ↢ ↽ => ↽ ↼ => ↼ ⇔ => ⇔ ↔ => ↔ &lrarr2; => &lrarr2; &rlarr2; => &rlarr2; ↭ => ↭ &rlhar2; => &rlhar2; &lrhar2; => &lrhar2; ↰ => ↰ ↦ => ↦ ⊸ => ⊸ ↗ => ↗ ⇍ => ⇍ ↚ => ↚ ⇎ => ⇎ ↮ => ↮ ↛ => ↛ ⇏ => ⇏ ↖ => ↖ ↺ => ↺ ↻ => ↻ ⇛ => ⇛ ↠ => ↠ &rarr2; => &rarr2; ↪ => ↪ ↬ => ↬ ↣ => ↣ ↝ => ↝ ⇁ => ⇁ ⇀ => ⇀ ↱ => ↱ &drarr; => &drarr; &dlarr; => &dlarr; ⇑ => ⇑ &uarr2; => &uarr2; ⇕ => ⇕ ↕ => ↕ ↿ => ↿ ↾ => ↾ ⟸ => ⟸ ⟺ => ⟺ ⟷ => ⟷ ⟹ => ⟹
⌉ => ⌉ ⌋ => ⌋ ⦔ => ⦔ ⌝ => ⌝ ⌟ => ⌟ ⌈ => ⌈ ⌊ => ⌊ &lpargt; => &lpargt; ⌜ => ⌜ ⌞ => ⌞
Each chapter starts with a <chapt> tag, followed by the chapter's title. The title may contain marked-up inline text, but no cross-references (see ). The start of the title may be optionally marked with <heading> tag. The end of the title may be marked by <heading> tag explicitly or implicitly defined by the start of <p> tag. The same applies for an appendix, except that it starts with a <appendix> tag.
The body of the chapter or an appendix is zero or more paragraphs, the first of which must be indicated by a <p> tag to distinguish it from the title, and then zero or more sections.
A section starts with <sect>, and has a similar structure: title, optionally some paragraphs, and then optionally some subsections.
Subsections are <sect1>; there are also smaller divisions <sect2>, <sect3> and <sect4>.
Paragraphs are introduced by <p>. Sometimes the start of paragraph tag can be omitted, but it is mandatory after <chapt>, <sect> and so forth. It is never necessary to mark the end of a paragraph with </p>.
Paragraphs can contain marked up inline text (see ) and also lists and examples ().
There are three kinds of lists:
<list> - ordinary (bulleted) list
<enumlist> - numbered list
<taglist> - tagged list
Each entry in an ordinary or numbered list is an item introduced by <item>. Each entry in a tagged list is one or more <tag>s followed by an <item>.
It is not necessary to mark the end of <tag> or <item> elements.
All three types of list come in two flavours, depending on whether you specify the compact attribute (eg, <taglist compact>) or not (eg, <enumlist>). The <tag> may contain only marked-up inline text.
The compact versions are intended for use within paragraphs. The
formatter will not put gaps around the list or between
entries. There is a problem with this in HTML. The
HTML formatter tries not to, by using HTML lists'
compact attribute on the lists it generates, but not
many browsers understand it properly.
The non-compact versions are intended to stand as paragraphs themselves. Each entry in such a list may contain more than one paragraph (once again, the start of the first paragraph need not be marked). The list is separated from the surrounding text, and the entries from each other, by blank lines as would be expected for paragraph breaks.
Examples - multi-line code fragments, scripts, and similar pieces of computer text - are introduced with <example> and finish with </example>.
The example will be formatted exactly as it is typed in, with spacing and newlines reproduced. It will be displayed in a fixed-width font, usually the one used for the <tt> character style, even if the formatter usually uses a proportional font. Any indentation which is appropriate will be added by the formatter; the example should be entered starting in the left hand column.
Examples may contain marked up character text but may not contain cross-references or the character style elements <em>, <strong>, <package>, <prgn>, <file>, and <tt>. See .
An example does not produce a paragraph break; examples are considered parts of paragraphs. If an example is to be a paragraph on its own then paragraph start tags should be added as appropriate.
Any SGML markup characters in the example must be escaped as usual - see . <example> does not work like TeX's verbatim environment.
Due to limitations of the LaTeX backend it is not recommended to make the contents of the <tag> elements of a <taglist> long. The LaTeX backend cannot wrap long tags nicely to the next line(s). Instead they simply keep on going over the right side of the page.
Ordinary text (called `inline text' in this document) may contain a elements for special formatting and cross-referencing. Inline text appears in chapter, appendix and section titles, in the copyright summary, inside paragraphs and in other similar places.
There are a number of elements for denoting special significance of certain pieces of text. For all of them the end of the special text must be marked up explicitly, by using an explicit end tag <element>, the abbreviated end tag for closing the innermost element </> or the slash / which finishes the most abbreviated form of element markup (see ).
Indicates that the contained text is more important or
more significant than that surrounding it.
Typically this will be represented by italics if
available, or emboldened or underlined text, or in plain
text formats with no character highlighting available by
surrounding the text with asterisks like *this*.
Indicates that the contained text is even more important
or even more significant than that surrounding it.
Typically this will be represented by bold if available or
in plain text formats with no character highlighting
available by surrounding the text with asterisks like
*this*.
Indicates that the contained text is a metasyntactic
variable. Ie, it is the name of an object or piece of
syntax which when actually used would have a real value
substituted.
Typically this will be represented by italics, or in plain
text formats by surrounding the text with angle brackets
like <this>. If several metasyntactic variables
appear one after the other they should each be given their
own <var> element.
Indicates that the contained text is the name of a Debian
package.
This will usually be rendered using a fixed-width font; in
plain-text formats quotes may be used around the element.
Indicates that the contained text is the name of a
program, a well-known filename (usually without paths), a
function or some similar thing which has a name in the
computer.
In output formats where character highlighting and various
font styles are available this is usually represented by
using a fixed-width font. In plain text output formats
quotes may be used around the element.
Indicates that the contained text is the full pathname of
a file, buffer, directory, etc.
This will usually be rendered using a fixed-width font; in
plain-text formats quotes may be used around the element.
Indicates that the contained text is a general string
which came out of or is going in to a computer. It should
be used for command strings or code fragments that should
be displayed inline and wordrapped (see also for an alternative), and so forth. It is
frequently necessary to introduce metasyntactic variables
into these strings, in which case they should be made part
of the <tt> element rather than elements
alongside it.
This will usually be rendered using a fixed-width font; in
plain-text formats quotes may be used around the element.
Produces a `quiet reference' to the named reference id
(see ). This should be used where a
cross-reference would be useful if not intrusive, but
where it is not essential and should be left out if it
would need to intrude on the text.
In formats where cross-references can be made
non-intrusively by making a region of text a hyperlink
without introducing in-line text this element will cause
its contained text to become a hyperlink to the target of
the cross-reference. In other formats this element will
not have any effect.
There are a number of elements for introducing cross-references either to other parts of the same document or to other documents.
The intra-document cross-references are based on a scheme of reference identifiers. Each chapter, appendix, section, subsection etc. may have an id attribute giving its reference id - for example <chapt id="spong"> specifies that the chapter or appendix being started has reference id spong. This reference id can then be referred to in other parts of the document using the special cross-referencing elements.
The reference identifier will also be used for generating filenames and reference tokens for formats such as HTML which produce several output files; if no reference ids are specified then the chapter, appendix and section numbers will be used. It is a good idea to give at least all your chapter and appendix reference ids so that the filenames will not change if you change the order of the chapters, appendices or sections in your document.
This generates a cross-reference within the same document
to the chapter, appendix or section with id
refid.
The <ref> element does not have any
contents; the chapter, appendix or section number and
title and its page number or whatever is appropriate for
the output format will be inserted into the text at the
point where the tag appears.
Syntactically the cross reference is a noun phrase,
suitable for uses like (see <ref
id="...">) or further info is in
<ref id="...">..
Generates a cross-reference to the manpage for
name in section section. This tag
does not have any contents; text describing the page,
typically name(section),
will be inserted at the point where
<manref> appears.
Indicates that the contained text is an email address. The
contents of the tag should be just the text of the email
address itself; character style markup and
cross-references are forbidden. Usually the end tag
</email> may not be omitted, but it may be
left out when it appears in an <author> as
the end of the <author>, implied by the
start of the next element, will imply the end of the email
address.
In some formats this will generate a true cross-reference
which might (for example) be used to send email to the
address quoted. In others it will just mark the text
specially, usually including angle brackets <
> around it.
<ftpsite> indicates that the content of the
element is the DNS name of an anonymous FTP site, and
<ftppath> that it is a pathname on that
site. Both elements may not contain any character style
markup or cross-references.
Typically both elements will be rendered in a fixed width
font; if possible, the <ftppath> will be
made into a functional hyperlink to the named file or
directory on the most recent <ftpsite>.
<ftppath> must always have been preceded by
a <ftpsite> in the same chapter or
appendix, but once one site has been named several paths
may be appear.
<httpsite> indicates that the content of
the element is the DNS name of an HTTP site, and
<httppath> that it is a pathname on that
site. Both elements may not contain any character style
markup or cross-references.
Typically both elements will be rendered in a fixed width
font; if possible, the <httppath> will be
made into a functional hyperlink to the named file or
directory on the most recent <httpsite>.
<httppath> must always have been preceded
by a <httpsite> in the same chapter or
appendix, but once one site has been named several paths
may be appear.
Generates a cross-reference to the URL with the indicated
id and uses the optional name in the
document as reference indicator. This tag does not have
any contents.
Typically this element will be rendered in a fixed width
font; if possible, id will be made into a
functional hyperlink using name as place
holder.
Do not put this tag between <file> and </file>.
This is known to break relative link in PDF format.
Footnotes may appear in most inline text, and are indicated by <footnote>...</footnote>. The text of the footnote itself will be removed and placed elsewhere (where depends on the format), and replaced with a reference or hyperlink to the footnote.
The contents of the footnote should be one or more paragraphs; the start of the first paragraph need not be marked explicitly. Inline markup elements such as character style do not take effect on the contents of footnotes defined inside them - the footnote gets a `clean slate'.
Footnotes may be nested, but this is rarely a good idea.
Comments may appear in most inline text, and are indicated by <comment editor="foo">...</comment>. The text of the comment itself will be removed and placed elsewhere (where depends on the format), and replaced with a reference or hyperlink to the footnote if -m option is used to enable this.
The contents of the comment should be one or more paragraphs; the start of the first paragraph need not be marked explicitly.
The first line of the document should be
The document should start with the <book> tag and end with </book>. This may optionally be enclosed between <debiandoc> tag and </debiandoc>.
This should be followed by the <title>, one or more <author>s or <translator>s (each consisting of a <name> and an optional<email>), and optionally a <version>. Each of these is a piece of marked-up inline text - see . The <version> may also contain a <date> which stands for the date at the time the document is formatted.
Then may come an <abstract>, a <copyright> notice, and a <toc> marker.
The <abstract> contains a single paragraph.
The <copyright> notice contains one or more copyright summaries marked with <copyrightsummary> and </copyrightsummary> followed by one or more paragraphs, the first of which must be indicated by a <p> tag to distinguish it from the summaries.
The <toc> marker specifies that a table of contents is to be produced. The <toc> doesn't contain anything in the SGML source - its contents are generated by the processing systems. The <toc> can have an attribute saying how detailed it should be; for example, <toc sect1> says that subsections should be included, whereas <toc chapt> says that only chapters and appendices should be included. The values allowed are chapt, sect, sect1 and sect2.
Following these parts comes the body of the document - one or more chapters <chapt>, optionally followed by one or more appendices <appendix>.
It is not necessary to mark the end of the <title>, <author>, <version>, <abstract> and <copyright> elements - they are implicitly ended by the start of the next element.
Here is an example of simple Debiandoc SGML file.
Now debiandoc-sgml package offers conversion to Docbook XML format for its user to smoothly migrate to the newer well maintained tool set called Docbook XML.
This appendix was written by Osamu Aoki (GPL2) in 2005.
No particular preparation of debiandoc-sgml SGML source is needed
to use the conversion tool
To make a single XML file from valid debiandoc-sgml source, issue
the following commands:
The generated XML file is named as
In order to make generated file manageable, you may want to have them
split into separate files for each chapter and preserve external
ENTITY definitions as separate file. They are quite easy.
When issuing
Some SGML sources use external file to manage common information
across the documentation source and maintain good coherence.
Creating this ENTITY definitions in a separate file named
In order to simplify this conversion, you need to simplify
Then, you tweak
Then use this alternative
For each generated XML files with this alternative
You can test the generated XML file with Emacs and psgml, or nsgmls:
This manual_is free software; you may redistribute it and/or
modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as
published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or
(at your option) any later version.
This is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
without any warranty; without even the implied warranty
of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
A copy of the GNU General Public License is available as
/usr/share/common-licenses/GPL in the Debian GNU/Linux
distribution or on the World Wide Web at