Man pages cleanup:

- Unify ellipsis, argument searator, and remove redundant program name
  preceding the options.

debian/changelog

@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ dpkg (1.14.6) UNRELEASED; urgency=low
   [ Guillem Jover ]
   * Man pages cleanup:
     - Some italics and bold fixes.
+    - Unify ellipsis, argument searator, and remove redundant program name
+      preceding the options.
 
   [ Updated scripts translations ]
   * French (Frédéric Bothamy, Christian Perrier).

man/ChangeLog

@@ -1,3 +1,11 @@
+2007-07-18  Guillem Jover  <guillem@debian.org>
+
+	* dpkg-deb.1: Remove space before ellipsis in parameters.
+	* dpkg-query.1: Likewise.
+	* update-alternatives.8: Likewise.
+	* dpkg.1: Likewise. Use commas instead if pipes to separate
+	alternative options. Remove redundant preceding 'dpkg' from options.
+
 2007-07-18  Guillem Jover  <guillem@debian.org>
 
 	* dpkg.1: Fix italics and bold usage.

man/dpkg-deb.1

@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ option may not be used (since
 needs to read and parse the package control file to determine which
 filename to use).
 .TP
-.BR \-I ", " \-\-info " \fIarchive\fP [\fIcontrol-file-name\fP ...]"
+.BR \-I ", " \-\-info " \fIarchive\fP [\fIcontrol-file-name\fP...]"
 Provides information about a binary package archive.
 
 If no
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ specified by the
 argument. The default format displays the package's name and version
 on one line, seperated by a tabulator.
 .TP
-.BR \-f ", " \-\-field " \fIarchive\fP [\fIcontrol-field-name\fP ...]"
+.BR \-f ", " \-\-field " \fIarchive\fP [\fIcontrol-field-name\fP...]"
 Extracts control file information from a binary package archive.
 
 If no

man/dpkg-query.1

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-.TH dpkg\-query 1 "2007-03-06" "Debian Project" "dpkg suite"
+.TH dpkg\-query 1 "2007-07-18" "Debian Project" "dpkg suite"
 .SH NAME
 dpkg\-query \- a tool to query the dpkg database
 .
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ the \fBdpkg\fP database.
 .
 .SH COMMANDS
 .TP
-.BR \-l ", " \-\-list " \fIpackage-name-pattern\fP ..."
+.BR \-l ", " \-\-list " \fIpackage-name-pattern\fP..."
 List packages matching given pattern. If no \fIpackage-name-pattern\fP
 is given, list all packages in \fI/var/lib/dpkg/status\fP, excluding
 the ones marked with state purge. Normal shell wildchars are allowed
@@ -31,29 +31,29 @@ automatically to fit the terminal width. It is intended for human
 readers, and is not easily machine-readable. See \fB\-W\fP (\fB\-\-show\fP)
 and \fB\-\-showformat\fP for a way to configure the output format.
 .TP
-.BR \-W ", " \-\-show " \fIpackage-name-pattern\fP ..."
+.BR \-W ", " \-\-show " \fIpackage-name-pattern\fP..."
 Just like the \fB\-\-list\fP option this will list all packages matching
 the given pattern. However the output can be customized using the
 \fB\-\-showformat\fP option.
 The default output format gives one line per matching package, each line
 having the name and installed version of the package, separated by a tab.
 .TP
-.BR \-s ", " \-\-status " \fIpackage-name\fP ..."
+.BR \-s ", " \-\-status " \fIpackage-name\fP..."
 Report status of specified package. This just displays the entry in
 the installed package status database.
 .TP
-.BR \-L ", " \-\-listfiles " \fIpackage-name\fP ..."
+.BR \-L ", " \-\-listfiles " \fIpackage-name\fP..."
 List files installed to your system from \fIpackage-name\fP.
 However, note that files created by package-specific
 installation-scripts are not listed.
 .TP
-.BR \-S ", " \-\-search " \fIfilename-search-pattern\fP ..."
+.BR \-S ", " \-\-search " \fIfilename-search-pattern\fP..."
 Search for a filename from installed packages. All standard shell
 wildchars can be used in the pattern. This command will not list
 extra files created by maintainer scripts, nor will it list
 alternatives.
 .TP
-.BR \-p ", " \-\-print\-avail " \fIpackage-name\fP ..."
+.BR \-p ", " \-\-print\-avail " \fIpackage-name\fP..."
 Display details about \fIpackage-name\fP, as found in
 \fI/var/lib/dpkg/available\fP.
 .TP

man/dpkg.1

@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ option \fB\-\-force\-remove\-reinstreq\fP.
 .
 .SH ACTIONS
 .TP
-\fBdpkg \-i\fP | \fB\-\-install\fP \fIpackage_file\fP...
+\fB\-i\fP, \fB\-\-install\fP \fIpackage_file\fP...
 Install the package. If \fB\-\-recursive\fP or \fB\-R\fP option is
 specified, \fIpackage_file\fP must refer to a directory instead.
 
@@ -122,12 +122,12 @@ time old files are removed.
 \fB6.\fP Configure the package. See \fB\-\-configure\fP for detailed
 information about how this is done.
 .TP
-\fBdpkg \-\-unpack \fP\fIpackage_file\fP ...
+\fB\-\-unpack \fP\fIpackage_file\fP...
 Unpack the package, but don't configure it. If \fB\-\-recursive\fP or
 \fB\-R\fP option is specified, \fIpackage_file\fP must refer to a
 directory instead.
 .TP
-\fBdpkg \-\-configure \fP\fIpackage\fP ... | \fB\-a\fP | \fB\-\-pending\fP
+\fB\-\-configure \fP\fIpackage\fP...|\fB\-a\fP|\fB\-\-pending\fP
 Reconfigure an unpacked package. If \fB\-a\fP or \fB\-\-pending\fP is
 given instead of \fIpackage\fP, all unpacked but unconfigured
 packages are configured.
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ something goes wrong.
 
 \fB2.\fP Run \fIpostinst\fP script, if provided by the package.
 .TP
-\fBdpkg \-r\fP | \fB\-\-remove\fP | \fB\-P\fP | \fB\-\-purge \fP\fIpackage\fP ... | \fB\-a\fP | \fB\-\-pending\fP
+\fB\-r\fP, \fB\-\-remove\fP, \fB\-P\fP, \fB\-\-purge \fP\fIpackage\fP...|\fB\-a\fP|\fB\-\-pending\fP
 Remove an installed package. \fB\-r\fP or \fB\-\-remove\fP remove
 everything except configuration files. This may avoid having to
 reconfigure the package if it is reinstalled later. (Configuration
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ Removing of a package consists of the following steps:
 \fB3.\fP Run \fIpostrm\fP script
 .br
 .TP
-\fBdpkg \-\-update\-avail\fP | \fB\-\-merge\-avail\fP \fIPackages-file\fP
+\fB\-\-update\-avail\fP, \fB\-\-merge\-avail\fP \fIPackages-file\fP
 Update \fBdpkg\fP's and \fBdselect\fP's idea of which packages are
 available. With action \fB\-\-merge\-avail\fP, old information is
 combined with information from \fIPackages-file\fP. With action
@@ -177,47 +177,47 @@ record of available packages in \fI/var/lib/dpkg/available\fP.
 A simpler one-shot command to retrieve and update the \fIavailable\fR
 file is \fBdselect update\fR.
 .TP
-\fBdpkg \-A\fP | \fB\-\-record\-avail\fP \fIpackage_file\fP ...
+\fB\-A\fP, \fB\-\-record\-avail\fP \fIpackage_file\fP...
 Update \fBdpkg\fP and \fBdselect\fP's idea of which packages are
 available with information from the package \fIpackage_file\fP. If
 \fB\-\-recursive\fP or \fB\-R\fP option is specified, \fIpackage_file\fP
 must refer to a directory instead.
 .TP
-.B dpkg \-\-forget\-old\-unavail
+.B \-\-forget\-old\-unavail
 Forget about uninstalled unavailable packages.
 .TP
-.B dpkg \-\-clear\-avail
+.B \-\-clear\-avail
 Erase the existing information about what packages are available.
 .TP
-\fBdpkg \-C\fP | \fB\-\-audit\fP
+\fB \-C\fP, \fB\-\-audit\fP
 Searches for packages that have been installed only partially on your
 system. \fBdpkg\fP will suggest what to do with them to get them
 working.
 .TP
-\fBdpkg \-\-get\-selections\fP [\fIpackage-name-pattern\fP...]
+\fB\-\-get\-selections\fP [\fIpackage-name-pattern\fP...]
 Get list of package selections, and write it to stdout. Without a pattern,
 packages marked with state purge will not be shown.
 .TP
-.B dpkg \-\-set\-selections
+.B \-\-set\-selections
 Set package selections using file read from stdin. This file should be
 in the format '<package> <state>', where state is one of install, hold,
 deinstall or purge. Blank lines and comment lines beginning with '#'
 are also permitted.
 .TP
-.B dpkg \-\-clear\-selections
+.B \-\-clear\-selections
 Set the requested state of every non-essential package to deinstall.
 This is intended to be used immediately before \-\-set\-selections, to
 deinstall any packages not in list given to \-\-set\-selections.
 .TP
-.B dpkg \-\-yet\-to\-unpack
+.B \-\-yet\-to\-unpack
 Searches for packages selected for installation, but which for some
 reason still haven't been installed.
 .TP
 .TP
-.B dpkg \-\-print\-architecture
+.B \-\-print\-architecture
 Print architecture of packages \fBdpkg\fP installs (for example, "i386").
 .TP
-.B dpkg \-\-compare\-versions \fIver1 op ver2\fP
+.B \-\-compare\-versions \fIver1 op ver2\fP
 Compare version numbers, where \fIop\fP is a binary operator. \fBdpkg\fP
 returns success (zero result) if the specified condition is satisfied,
 and failure (nonzero result) otherwise. There are
@@ -228,47 +228,47 @@ than any version: \fBlt\-nl le\-nl ge\-nl gt\-nl\fP. These are provided
 only for compatibility with control file syntax: \fB< << <= = >= >>
 >\fP.
 .TP
-.B dpkg \-\-command\-fd \fI<n>\fP
+.B \-\-command\-fd \fI<n>\fP
 Accept a series of commands on input file descriptor \fI<n>\fP. Note:
 additional options set on the command line, and thru this file descriptor,
 are not reset for subsequent commands executed during the same run.
 .TP
-.B dpkg \-\-help
+.B \-\-help
 Display a brief help message.
 .TP
-.B dpkg \-\-force\-help
+.B \-\-force\-help
 Give help about the \fB\-\-force\-\fP\fIthing\fP options.
 .TP
-.BR "dpkg \-Dh " | " \-\-debug=help"
+.BR \-Dh  ", " \-\-debug=help
 Give help about debugging options.
 .TP
-\fBdpkg \-\-licence\fP | \fBdpkg \-\-license\fP
+\fB\-\-licence\fP, \fB\-\-license\fP
 Display \fBdpkg\fP licence.
 .TP
-\fBdpkg \-\-version\fP
+\fB\-\-version\fP
 Display \fBdpkg\fP version information.
 .TP
 \fBdpkg\-deb actions\fP
 See \fBdpkg\-deb\fP(1) for more information about the following actions.
 
 .nf
-\fBdpkg \-b\fP | \fB\-\-build\fP \fIdirectory\fP [\fIarchive\fP|\fIdirectory\fP]
+\fB\-b\fP, \fB\-\-build\fP \fIdirectory\fP [\fIarchive\fP|\fIdirectory\fP]
     Build a deb package.
-\fBdpkg \-c\fP | \fB\-\-contents\fP \fIarchive\fP
+\fB\-c\fP, \fB\-\-contents\fP \fIarchive\fP
     List contents of a deb package.
-\fBdpkg \-e\fP | \fB\-\-control\fP \fIfilename\fP [\fIdirectory\fP]
+\fB\-e\fP, \fB\-\-control\fP \fIfilename\fP [\fIdirectory\fP]
     Extract control-information from a package.
-\fBdpkg \-x\fP | \fB\-\-extract\fP \fIarchive directory\fP
+\fB\-x\fP, \fB\-\-extract\fP \fIarchive directory\fP
     Extract the files contained by package.
-\fBdpkg \-X\fP | \fB\-\-vextract\fP \fIarchive directory\fP
+\fB\-X\fP, \fB\-\-vextract\fP \fIarchive directory\fP
     Extract and display the filenames contained by a
     package.
-\fBdpkg \-f\fP | \fB\-\-field\fP  \fIarchive\fP [\fIcontrol-field\fP ...]
+\fB\-f\fP, \fB\-\-field\fP  \fIarchive\fP [\fIcontrol-field\fP...]
     Display control field(s) of a package.
-\fBdpkg \-\-fsys\-tarfile\fP \fIarchive\fP
+\fB\-\-fsys\-tarfile\fP \fIarchive\fP
     Display the filesystem tar-file contained by a
     Debian package.
-\fBdpkg \-I\fP | \fB\-\-info\fP \fIarchive\fP [\fIcontrol-file\fP ...]
+\fB\-I\fP, \fB\-\-info\fP \fIarchive\fP [\fIcontrol-file\fP...]
     Show information about a package.
 .fi
 
@@ -278,15 +278,15 @@ See \fBdpkg\-query\fP(1) for more information about the following actions.
 
 .nf
 
-\fBdpkg \-l\fP | \fB\-\-list\fP \fIpackage-name-pattern\fP ...
+\fB\-l\fP, \fB\-\-list\fP \fIpackage-name-pattern\fP...
     List packages matching given pattern.
-\fBdpkg \-s\fP | \fB\-\-status\fP \fIpackage-name\fP ...
+\fB\-s\fP, \fB\-\-status\fP \fIpackage-name\fP...
     Report status of specified package.
-\fBdpkg \-L\fP | \fB\-\-listfiles\fP \fIpackage-name\fP ...
+\fB\-L\fP, \fB\-\-listfiles\fP \fIpackage-name\fP...
     List files installed to your system from \fIpackage-name\fP.
-\fBdpkg \-S\fP | \fB\-\-search\fP \fIfilename-search-pattern\fP ...
+\fB\-S\fP, \fB\-\-search\fP \fIfilename-search-pattern\fP...
     Search for a filename from installed packages.
-\fBdpkg \-p\fP | \fB\-\-print\-avail\fP \fIpackage-name\fP ...
+\fB\-p\fP, \fB\-\-print\-avail\fP \fIpackage-name\fP...
     Display details about \fIpackage-name\fP, as found in
     \fI/var/lib/dpkg/available\fP.
 .fi
@@ -301,13 +301,13 @@ without leading dashes) or a comment (if it starts with a \fB#\fR).
 \fB\-\-abort\-after=\fP\fInumber\fP
 Change after how many errors \fBdpkg\fP will abort. The default is 50.
 .TP
-.BR \-B | \-\-auto\-deconfigure
+.BR \-B ", " \-\-auto\-deconfigure
 When a package is removed, there is a possibility that another
 installed package depended on the removed package. Specifying this
 option will cause automatic deconfiguration of the package which
 depended on the removed package.
 .TP
-\fB\-D\fIoctal\fP | \fB\-\-debug=\fP\fIoctal\fP
+\fB\-D\fIoctal\fP, \fB\-\-debug=\fP\fIoctal\fP
 Switch debugging on. \fIoctal\fP is formed by bitwise-orring desired
 values together from the list below (note that these values may change
 in future releases). \fB\-Dh\fP or \fB\-\-debug=help\fP display these
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ debugging values.
  1000   Lots of drivel about e.g. the dpkg/info dir
  2000   Insane amounts of drivel
 .TP
-\fB\-\-force\-\fP\fIthings\fP | \fB\-\-no\-force\-\fP\fIthings\fP | \fB\-\-refuse\-\fP\fIthings\fP
+\fB\-\-force\-\fP\fIthings\fP, \fB\-\-no\-force\-\fP\fIthings\fP, \fB\-\-refuse\-\fP\fIthings\fP
 
 Force or refuse (\fBno\-force\fP and \fBrefuse\fP mean the same thing)
 to do some things. \fIthings\fP is a comma separated list of things
@@ -423,7 +423,7 @@ Install a package even if it fails authenticity check.
 Ignore dependency-checking for specified packages (actually, checking is
 performed, but only warnings about conflicts are given, nothing else).
 .TP
-\fB\-\-new\fP | \fB\-\-old\fP
+\fB\-\-new\fP, \fB\-\-old\fP
 Select new or old binary package format. This is a \fBdpkg\-deb\fP(1)
 option.
 .TP
@@ -431,7 +431,7 @@ option.
 Don't read or check contents of control file while building a package.
 This is a \fBdpkg\-deb\fP(1) option.
 .TP
-\fB\-\-no\-act\fP | \fB\-\-dry\-run\fP | \fB\-\-simulate\fP
+\fB\-\-no\-act\fP, \fB\-\-dry\-run\fP, \fB\-\-simulate\fP
 Do everything which is supposed to be done, but don't write any
 changes. This is used to see what would happen with the specified
 action, without actually modifying anything.
@@ -441,7 +441,7 @@ end up with undesirable results. (e.g. \fBdpkg \-\-purge foo
 \-\-no\-act\fP will first purge package foo and then try to purge package
 \-\-no\-act, even though you probably expected it to actually do nothing)
 .TP
-\fB\-R\fP | \fB\-\-recursive\fP
+\fB\-R\fP, \fB\-\-recursive\fP
 Recursively handle all regular files matching pattern \fB*.deb\fP
 found at specified directories and all of its subdirectories. This can
 be used with \fB\-i\fP, \fB\-A\fP, \fB\-\-install\fP, \fB\-\-unpack\fP and
@@ -451,7 +451,7 @@ be used with \fB\-i\fP, \fB\-A\fP, \fB\-\-install\fP, \fB\-\-unpack\fP and
 Don't install a package if a newer version of the same package is already
 installed. This is an alias of \fB\-\-refuse\-downgrade\fP.
 .TP
-\fB\-\-root=\fP\fIdir\fP | \fB\-\-admindir=\fP\fIdir\fP | \fB\-\-instdir=\fP\fIdir\fP
+\fB\-\-root=\fP\fIdir\fP, \fB\-\-admindir=\fP\fIdir\fP, \fB\-\-instdir=\fP\fIdir\fP
 Change default directories. \fBadmindir\fP defaults to
 \fI/var/lib/dpkg\fP and contains many files that give information
 about status of installed or uninstalled packages, etc. \fBinstdir\fP
@@ -462,13 +462,13 @@ means that the scripts see \fBinstdir\fP as a root directory.
 Changing \fBroot\fP changes \fBinstdir\fP to \fIdir\fP and
 \fBadmindir\fP to \fIdir\fP\fB/var/lib/dpkg\fP.
 .TP
-\fB\-O\fP | \fB\-\-selected\-only\fP
+\fB\-O\fP, \fB\-\-selected\-only\fP
 Only process the packages that are selected for installation. The
 actual marking is done with \fBdselect\fP or by \fBdpkg\fP, when it
 handles packages. For example, when a package is removed, it will
 be marked selected for deinstallation.
 .TP
-.BR \-E " | " \-\-skip\-same\-version
+.BR \-E ", " \-\-skip\-same\-version
 Don't install the package if the same version of the package is already
 installed.
 .TP

man/update-alternatives.8

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
 .\" by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
 .\" (at your option) any later version.  There is NO WARRANTY.  You can
 .\" find the GNU GPL in /usr/share/common-licenses/GPL on any Debian system.
-.TH update\-alternatives 8 "2007-06-12" "Debian Project" "dpkg utilities"
+.TH update\-alternatives 8 "2007-07-18" "Debian Project" "dpkg utilities"
 .SH NAME
 update\-alternatives \- maintain symbolic links determining default commands
 .
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ to the system administrator's settings.
 .
 .SH COMMANDS
 .TP
-\fB\-\-install\fR \fIgenname symlink altern priority\fR [\fB\-\-slave\fR \fIgenname symlink altern\fR] ...
+\fB\-\-install\fR \fIgenname symlink altern priority\fR [\fB\-\-slave\fR \fIgenname symlink altern\fR]...
 Add a group of alternatives to the system.
 .I genname
 is the generic name for the master link,