I would say stick with Markdownas it's easier to write. Also it's more readable in raw state.
this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2022
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Traditionally README files have been the plainest of plain text to facilitate their widest accessibility.
Markdown does seem to provide some opportunity for optional formatting without too much ugliness when viewed as plain text.
Markdown is generally accepted as standard these days
YES. Absolutely the correct choice.
Do note, however, that troff is generally used to output PostScript or PDF files, while nroff is used for the internal manpage formatting. The GNU version, groff, combines them into one. If one makes a README meant to be read in a terminal, the following will present a formatted version to the viewer, eliminating the need to view the raw source:
man ./README
There, no markdown pager, or reading of raw markdown necessary. Do not heed those others, who speak of "accepted standards." :P
man ./README
eliminating the need to view the raw source
What about servers where only required softwares are installed.
If one chooses to forgo the manual pages and the manual page viewer, that's one's own problem to solve.
What about servers where only required softwares are installed.
Um, what? I don't get what you mean.
In production servers, you don't usually install anything you don't need to run the services as it increases the attack surface.
However, manpages is something that comes preinstalled in most server OSes with a few cases out there.
Sometimes it also comes as dependency of one of the software you need to install by default so, these little cases are even less.
And, applying the own definition to "install what you need" you would need the man pages and you would install it and it comes in the OS so this doesn't even make sense.
About the example of Woefucks, I don't think that is an example of a case which doesn't as it also doesn't come with Markdown reader preinstalled and, in any case, doesn't matter at all.
Oh. I see what you mean.
Anyway, groff output can be converted to ASCII or UTF-8 (with ANSI escape sequences) through grotty, so there's no need to use man.
Markdownreader pre installed
There is no such thing as markdown Reader. Markdown can be read by cat command.
However, manpages is something that comes preinstalled in most server OSes with a few cases out there.
It doesn't. See the link i posted in previous reply. Also windows.
Sometimes it also comes as dependency of one of the software you need to install by default so, these little cases are even less.
This question was about Readme not documentation.
Please, don't use aggressive language here, no-one is attacking you.
There is no such thing as markdown Reader. Markdown can be read by cat command.
For the first thing, there is but I put it explicitly in Woefucks section.
For the second, you can also use a cat to read a README written in groff and the result could be similar to reading a markdown based one, which is having difficulties to differenciate some sections which could be debatable because it is true that markdown is simpler and most HTML tags for extension purposes are known by some people.
It doesn’t. See the link i posted in previous reply. Also windows.
Discarding Woefucks here as it was covered before, yeah, they come. Most server OSes are custom images by IaaS providers with them.
Main OSes in servers also come with it as result of main software used, and other times as secondary software in dependencies.
Best example are Red Hat and Debian families. Suse one can also come with it. I work on this.
Where you could not see it? in a Docker container using default Docker images for several OSes including Debian family. But you don't usually check man there but in the outside OS in which you edit the source code containing that README in order to prepare your custom Docker container or image with it.
Please, don't use aggressive language here, no-one is attacking you.
I don't know when i was aggressive. You can see yourself that my previous replies(before i editied last one)it contained words like Please. I only removed please when someone downvoted my whole profile without specifying any reason.
yeah, they come. Most server OSes are custom images by IaaS providers with them.
You completely ignored Alpine,Arch,Gentoo and Windows.
Where you could not see it? in a Docker container using default Docker image.
Docker uses Alpine.
Where you could not see it? in a Docker container using default Docker images for several OSes including Debian family. But you don’t usually check man there but in the outside OS in which you edit the source code containing that README in order to prepare your custom Docker container or image with it.
That was there. I recognized this in Docker.
Howerver, in Docker, Alpine is not the only nor the main provider of images nor almost the main used.
There are quite a lot based in Debian as I use it even as base for custom images and download images using it.
Technically, there's no need for man either; I could just output the input into grotty as ASCII or UTF-8.
Oh, that's another way to do it--neat! :)
Why?
Largely because I both like it and think it under-utilized.