Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83 (MC830919); site haring.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!mcvax!haring!jaap
From: jaap@haring.UUCP (Jaap Akkerhuis)
Newsgroups: net.bugs
Subject: Re: output from tbl
Message-ID: <129@haring.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 5-Jan-84 09:15:47 EST
Article-I.D.: haring.129
Posted: Thu Jan  5 09:15:47 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 6-Jan-84 03:01:51 EST
References: <905@sunybcs.UUCP>
Organization: CWI, Amsterdam
Lines: 22

<Well known line>

		\&\h'...'^B^Calpha^B\h'...'^Bbeta^C^B
		...
	
	... Obviously the delimiters should not be there.
	The fix ought to be to change t8.c to just not print the delimiters.
	But will that kill something?

Well, that will kill tbl completely...
Tbl uses the field capabilities of troff. The ^B and the ^C are just the
padding indicators and field delimiters, so they have to be there.
(See chapter 9 of N/Troff User's Manual, for an explanation of the
field mechanism).

	Troff badly misplaces the -me special characters

Do you mean the characters like u\*: (chapter 13 -me reference manual)?
Well they work only properly if:
	1) You have the Berkeley version of n/troff
	2) The definitions of string  like \*: is matched to your
	   output device.