On Sun, Aug 2, 2026 at 7:42 PM G. Branden Robinson <[email protected]> wrote: > GNU troff, the formatter, _doesn't_ emit output in such cases. > > But any file that the formatter loads, from a macro package to the > troffrc to the input, can cause output to start.
True, and if the sentence in the manual read "GNU 'troff' does not emit output if its input does not cause output to start," I'd have no quibble. But the sentence says "GNU 'troff' does not emit output if it has nothing to format." The command "echo . | groff -mom" has nothing to format, but it emits output. So this sentence in the manual is not true as an absolute. But this counterexample is a corner case. A modified phrasing like "typically does not emit output" allows for such corner cases while making a useful point about normal behavior, and not getting bogged down in the esoterica of what "causes output to start" means.
