elf.5: Document compressed section headers

[markj]

Summary

MFC after: 1 week
Sponsored by: The FreeBSD Foundation

[emaste]

share/man/man5/elf.5

1077

an Elf64_...?

[debdrup]

I think it'd be nice to get all other functions marked up properly too, unless they're part of display blocks (Bd Ed macros in mdoc).

share/man/man5/elf.5

1077

These are functions and need .Fn in front of them as is documented in mdoc(7).

You might also wanna reflow the sentence.

1077

an Elf64_...?

Nope, it's "a structure" even if it's a specific type of structure.

[danfe]

share/man/man5/elf.5

1077

an Elf64_...?

Nope, it's "a structure" even if it's a specific type of structure.

I think he just meant that an a in front of Elf should really be an an.

[emaste]

share/man/man5/elf.5

1077

Is .Fn correct, or should this be .Vt?

[debdrup]

share/man/man5/elf.5

1077

an Elf64_...?

Nope, it's "a structure" even if it's a specific type of structure.

I think he just meant that an a in front of Elf should really be an an.

No, it's still 'a structure', not 'an structure'.

1077

Is .Fn correct, or should this be .Vt?

Oh, you're right that it's not a function - but is it a variable name (Va) rather than a vatiable type (Vt)?

[danfe]

share/man/man5/elf.5

1077

No, it's still 'a structure', not 'an structure'.

This is really news to me, a Elf structure doesn't sound quite right, but I'm not a native speaker. I guess I'd have to grep some larger corpus of English text for more examples of similar context.

[imp]

share/man/man5/elf.5

1077

The correct phrase is 'an Elf64_Chrdr or Elf32_Chrdr structure'.

The rule is to use 'a' in front of words that don't start with a vowel sound, and 'an' in front of words that start with a vowel sound. Words further away don't matter. It is the rule I learned in school. I also checked with my wife, who has a masters degree in English and taught college English for a time to confirm this rule.

In this case, it's in front of 'Elf' which starts with the 'E' sounds so it should be 'an Elf'. This is true if you say 'elf' or 'ee el eff' for the name of the structure.

See also https://www.thesaurus.com/e/grammar/a-vs-an/ or https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/is-it-a-or-an for two other references that seem credible.

[pauamma_gundo.com]

share/man/man5/elf.5

1077

I agree with everyone saying "an". Consider:
a structure
a large structure
an awkward structure
an elegant structure
Using "a" in the last two would sound and look wrong to me.

[markj]

a -> an
Use .Vt for referring to an Elf(32|64)_Chdr