Re: [PATCH 3/4] console_codes.4: mention caveats for xterm's ESC ] 50 command

[Alejandro Colomar <alx@kernel.org>]

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Hi Jan,

On 2026-07-08T21:03:01+0200, Jan Engelhardt wrote:
> 
> On Wednesday 2026-07-08 17:29, Alejandro Colomar wrote:
> >>
> >> -ESC ] 50 ; \f[I]fn\f[] ST	Set font to \f[I]fn\f[].
> >> +ESC ] 50 ; \f[I]fn\f[] ST	T{
> >> +Set font to \f[I]fn\f[] (normally disabled; cf. the "allowFontOps" resource)
> >
> >Please replace "cf." by English words.
> 
> But I was just following precedent:
> 
> man-pages$ git grep '\be\.g\.'|wc -l
> 481
> $ git grep '\bi\.e\.'|wc -l
> 516
> $ git grep '\bcf\.'|wc -l
> 10
> $ git grep '\bN\.?B\.'|wc -l
> 0

There are still some uses, but we're trying to reduce them (and
especially, not add more).  See man-pages(7):

$ MANWIDTH=72 man man-pages | awk '/Use of e.g.,/,/^$/'
   Use of e.g., i.e., etc., a.k.a., and similar
     In  general,  the  use  of  abbreviations  such as "e.g.", "i.e.",
     "etc.", "cf.", and "a.k.a." should be avoided, in favor  of  suit‐
     able  full  wordings ("for example", "that is", "and so on", "com‐
     pare to", "also known as").

Compare the numbers with:

$ grep -rio for.example man/ | wc -l
585
$ grep -rio that.is man/ | wc -l
808
$ grep -rio compare.to | wc -l
2

> and the Linux kernel source for completeness:
> 
> $ git grep '\be\.g\.'|wc -l
> 9582
> $ git grep '\bi\.e\.'|wc -l
> 7397
> $ git grep '\bN\.?B\.'|wc -l
> 235
> $ git grep '\bcf\.'|wc -l
> 165
> 
> 
> >Also, where is "allowFontOps" documented?
> 
> The console_codes.4 manpage section that is being edited talks
> extensively about *xterm*, so it felt obvious that, if a term was
> unclear, the reader need look no further than into the xterm manpage
> to resolve his quest.

Hmmm, I'd append something like "in xterm(1)".  It's not much text, and
helps know where to search for its documentation.   wdyt?


Have a lovely day!
Alex

> In fact, the xterm manpage even declares what constitutes "dynamic"
> colors (now that I happen to look for that term which tripped me up
> earlier).
> 
> Does that sound reasonable?
> 

-- 
<https://www.alejandro-colomar.es>

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