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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!seismo!ut-sally!utastro!nather
From: nather@utastro.UUCP (Ed Nather)
Newsgroups: net.flame
Subject: 4.2BSD ms macros screwed up
Message-ID: <130@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 18-Feb-84 12:52:47 EST
Article-I.D.: utastro.130
Posted: Sat Feb 18 12:52:47 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 19-Feb-84 05:43:20 EST
Organization: UTexas Astronomy Dept., Austin, Texas
Lines: 55

{}
The "new, improved" nroff -ms macro package distributed with the 4.2BSD
release of Unix is so screwed up it can't even format the document that
describes the "improvements."  Further, the claim that all the old macros
still work as before is wrong; simple footnotes don't work at all.
Here are excerpts from the blue-sky document, as formatted by the nroff
formatter and -ms macros included in the distribution:
[editorial comments in brackets are added sarcasm]
======================================================================

The old version of -ms is still available as -mos.

There  are  a few extensions to previous -ms macros, and a number
of new macros, but all  the  documented  -ms  macros  still  work
exactly  as  they  did before, and have the same names as before.
Output produced with -ms should look like  output  produced  with
-mos.
[True: -mos also fails on simple footnotes.  -mos is *not* 4.1bsd -ms.]

                                          If you use \** to indi-
cate numbered footnotes, then the .FS  macro  will  automatically
include  the  footnote  number  at  the bottom of the page.  This
footnote, for example, was produced as follows:[1]

        This footnote, for example, was produced as follows:\**
        .FS
                ...
        .FE

If you are using \** to number footnotes, but want  a  particular
_________________________
[oops - no footnote]


                        February 18, 1984
==========================================================================
There are other problems as well -- the definitions for the footnote macros
(in use in older documents), .FE and .FS no longer work. nroff swallows the
footnote but never gives it back.  Two macros called .FJ and .FK replace the
old .FE and .FS AFTER THE THESIS COVER PAGE IS PRINTED according to the
comments, and I suspect it works if you are formatting a Berkeley thesis in
Computer Science (sic) but not otherwise.

We switched from 4.1bsd to 4.2bsd to improve things.  So far the "improvements"
are so costly we have experienced a net loss.  (dbx talks a good game but fails
miserably on both C and Fortran programs.  Our benchmarks all run slower under
the new, faster file system than they did before.  But not to worry:  the new
file system wastes more disk space to make up for it.)

Ultrix, anyone?
-- 

                                       Ed Nather
                                       ihnp4!{ut-sally,kpno}!utastro!nather
                                       Astronomy Dept., U. of Texas, Austin