Re: groff 1.23.0.rc2 status report (was: [BUG] gropdf, tbl: Completely broken table)

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

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[self-follow-up to clarify two points]

At 2022-12-18T23:32:51-0600, G. Branden Robinson wrote:
> I plan to fiddle various groff mdoc(7) internal register settings so
> that Courier is only used with ".Bd -literal" and ".Bd -literal".

Brainfart here.  I was thinking of ".Bd -literal" and ".Dl".

I observe that the list-begin macro (`Bl`) lacks a "-literal" option, I
suppose because without further parameterization there would be
ambiguity whether the typeface applied to literals should apply to the
definiendum, the definiens,[1] or both.  (If both, you don't need the
option; use one of the other macros above.)

> Probably not a lot of this will be visible to terminal-only users.

I will add that it's possible that some of the problems with the
groff_mdoc(7) page can be overcome with better use of the package's own
macros.  I would have assumed that the page was written in the first
place by an mdoc(7) expert, but I no longer have confidence in that
assumption.[2]  Some time ago Ingo Schwarze made some suggestions
regarding macro selection when I was making a small change to the page,
and while I did not understand his advice in detail at the time, I now
do, and agree with it.  It's a shame when a document about documentation
is deficient as an exemplar of its own subject.

Regards,
Branden

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition#Basic_terminology
[2] It originates in the mdoc.samples document from the BSD Net-2
    release.  Perhaps this was not written by Livingston (who authored
    the package) but by someone else.

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