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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




 NAME
      indent - changes the appearance of a C program by inserting or
      deleting whitespace.

 SYNOPSIS
      indent [options] [input-files]

      indent [options] [single-input-file] [-o output-file]

      indent --version

 DESCRIPTION
      This man page is generated from the file indent.texinfo.  This is
      Edition  of "The indent Manual", for Indent Version , last updated .

      The indent program can be used to make code easier to read.  It can
      also convert from one style of writing C to another.

      indent understands a substantial amount about but it also attempts to
      cope with incomplete and misformed syntax.

      In version 1.2 and more recent versions, the GNU style of indenting is
      the default.

 OPTIONS
      -bad, --blank-lines-after-declarations
          Force blank lines after the declarations.
          See  BLANK LINES.

      -bap, --blank-lines-after-procedures
          Force blank lines after procedure bodies.
          See  BLANK LINES.

      -bbb, --blank-lines-before-block-comments
          Force blank lines before block comments.
          See  BLANK LINES.

      -bbo, --break-before-boolean-operator
          Prefer to break long lines before boolean operators.
          See  BREAKING LONG LINES.

      -bc, --blank-lines-after-commas
          Force newline after comma in declaration.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -bl, --braces-after-if-line
          Put braces on line after if, etc.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -blf, --braces-after-func-def-line
          Put braces on line following function definition line.



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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -blin, --brace-indentn
          Indent braces n spaces.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -bls, --braces-after-struct-decl-line
          Put braces on the line after struct declaration lines.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -br, --braces-on-if-line
          Put braces on line with if, etc.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -brf, --braces-on-func-def-line
          Put braces on function definition line.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -brs, --braces-on-struct-decl-line
          Put braces on struct declaration line.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -bs, --Bill-Shannon, --blank-before-sizeof
          Put a space between sizeof and its argument.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -cn, --comment-indentationn
          Put comments to the right of code in column n.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -cbin, --case-brace-indentationn
          Indent braces after a case label N spaces.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -cdn, --declaration-comment-columnn
          Put comments to the right of the declarations in column n.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -cdb, --comment-delimiters-on-blank-lines
          Put comment delimiters on blank lines.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -cdw, --cuddle-do-while
          Cuddle while of do {} while; and preceding `}'.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -ce, --cuddle-else
          Cuddle else and preceding `}'.
          See  COMMENTS.





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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      -cin, --continuation-indentationn
          Continuation indent of n spaces.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -clin, --case-indentationn
          Case label indent of n spaces.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -cpn, --else-endif-columnn
          Put comments to the right of #else and #endif statements in column
          n.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -cs, --space-after-cast
          Put a space after a cast operator.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -dn, --line-comments-indentationn
          Set indentation of comments not to the right of code to n spaces.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -bfda, --break-function-decl-args
          Break the line before all arguments in a declaration.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -bfde, --break-function-decl-args
          Break the line after the last argument in a declaration.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -djn, --left-justify-declarations
          If -cd 0 is used then comments after declarations are left
          justified behind the declaration.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -din, --declaration-indentationn
          Put variables in column n.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -fc1, --format-first-column-comments
          Format comments in the first column.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -fca, --format-all-comments
          Do not disable all formatting of comments.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -gnu, --gnu-style
          Use GNU coding style.  This is the default.
          See  COMMON STYLES.





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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      -hnl, --honour-newlines
          Prefer to break long lines at the position of newlines in the
          input.
          See  BREAKING LONG LINES.

      -in, --indent-leveln
          Set indentation level to n spaces.
          See  INDENTATION.

      -iln, --indent-labeln
          Set offset for labels to column n.
          See  INDENTATION.

      -ipn, --parameter-indentationn
          Indent parameter types in old-style function definitions by n
          spaces.
          See  INDENTATION.

      -kr, --k-and-r-style
          Use Kernighan & Ritchie coding style.
          See  COMMON STYLES.

      -ln, --line-lengthn
          Set maximum line length for non-comment lines to n.
          See  BREAKING LONG LINES.

      -lcn, --comment-line-lengthn
          Set maximum line length for comment formatting to n.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -linux, --linux-style
          Use Linux coding style.
          See  COMMON STYLES.

      -lp, --continue-at-parentheses
          Line up continued lines at parentheses.
          See  INDENTATION.

      -lps, --leave-preprocessor-space
          Leave space between `#' and preprocessor directive.
          See  INDENTATION.

      -nbad, --no-blank-lines-after-declarations
          Do not force blank lines after declarations.
          See  BLANK LINES.

      -nbap, --no-blank-lines-after-procedures
          Do not force blank lines after procedure bodies.
          See  BLANK LINES.





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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      -nbbo, --break-after-boolean-operator
          Do not prefer to break long lines before boolean operators.
          See  BREAKING LONG LINES.

      -nbc, --no-blank-lines-after-commas
          Do not force newlines after commas in declarations.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -nbfda, --dont-break-function-decl-args
          Don't put each argument in a function declaration on a separate
          line.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -ncdb, --no-comment-delimiters-on-blank-lines
          Do not put comment delimiters on blank lines.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -ncdw, --dont-cuddle-do-while
          Do not cuddle } and the while of a do {} while;.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -nce, --dont-cuddle-else
          Do not cuddle } and else.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -ncs, --no-space-after-casts
          Do not put a space after cast operators.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -ndjn, --dont-left-justify-declarations
          Comments after declarations are treated the same as comments after
          other statements.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -nfc1, --dont-format-first-column-comments
          Do not format comments in the first column as normal.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -nfca, --dont-format-comments
          Do not format any comments.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -nhnl, --ignore-newlines
          Do not prefer to break long lines at the position of newlines in
          the input.
          See  BREAKING LONG LINES.

      -nip, --no-parameter-indentation
          Zero width indentation for parameters.
          See  INDENTATION.




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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      -nlp, --dont-line-up-parentheses
          Do not line up parentheses.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -npcs, --no-space-after-function-call-names
          Do not put space after the function in function calls.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -nprs, --no-space-after-parentheses
          Do not put a space after every '(' and before every ')'.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -npsl, --dont-break-procedure-type
          Put the type of a procedure on the same line as its name.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -nsaf, --no-space-after-for
          Do not put a space after every for.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -nsai, --no-space-after-if
          Do not put a space after every if.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -nsaw, --no-space-after-while
          Do not put a space after every while.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -nsc, --dont-star-comments
          Do not put the `*' character at the left of comments.
          See  COMMENTS.

      -nsob, --leave-optional-blank-lines
          Do not swallow optional blank lines.
          See  BLANK LINES.

      -nss, --dont-space-special-semicolon
          Do not force a space before the semicolon after certain
          statements.  Disables `-ss'.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -nut, --no-tabs
          Use spaces instead of tabs.
          See  INDENTATION.

      -nv, --no-verbosity
          Disable verbose mode.
          See  MISCELLANEOUS OPTIONS.

      -orig, --original
          Use the original Berkeley coding style.



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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




          See  COMMON STYLES.

      -npro, --ignore-profile
          Do not read `.indent.pro' files.
          See  INVOKING INDENT.

      -pcs, --space-after-procedure-calls
          Insert a space between the name of the procedure being called and
          the `('.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -pin, --paren-indentationn
          Specify the extra indentation per open parentheses '(' when a
          statement is broken.See  STATEMENTS.

      -pmt, --preserve-mtime
          Preserve access and modification times on output files.See
           MISCELLANEOUS OPTIONS.

      -ppin, --preprocessor-indentationn
          Specify the indentation for preprocessor conditional
          statements.See  INDENTATION.

      -prs, --space-after-parentheses
          Put a space after every '(' and before every ')'.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -psl, --procnames-start-lines
          Put the type of a procedure on the line before its name.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -saf, --space-after-for
          Put a space after each for.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -sai, --space-after-if
          Put a space after each if.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -saw, --space-after-while
          Put a space after each while.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -sbin, --struct-brace-indentationn
          Indent braces of a struct, union or enum N spaces.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -sc, --start-left-side-of-comments
          Put the `*' character at the left of comments.
          See  COMMENTS.




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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      -sob, --swallow-optional-blank-lines
          Swallow optional blank lines.
          See  BLANK LINES.

      -ss, --space-special-semicolon
          On one-line for and while statements, force a blank before the
          semicolon.
          See  STATEMENTS.

      -st, --standard-output
          Write to standard output.
          See  INVOKING INDENT.

      -T  Tell indent the name of typenames.
          See  DECLARATIONS.

      -tsn, --tab-sizen
          Set tab size to n spaces.
          See  INDENTATION.

      -ut, --use-tabs
          Use tabs. This is the default.
          See  INDENTATION.

      -v, --verbose
          Enable verbose mode.
          See  MISCELLANEOUS OPTIONS.

      -version
          Output the version number of indent.
          See  MISCELLANEOUS OPTIONS.


 INVOKING INDENT
      As of version 1.3, the format of the indent command is:


           indent [options] [input-files]

           indent [options] [single-input-file] [-o output-file]


      This format is different from earlier versions and other  versions  of
      indent.

      In the first form, one or more  input  files  are  specified.   indent
      makes  a  backup  copy of each file, and the original file is replaced
      with its indented version.  See BACKUP FILES, for  an  explanation  of
      how backups are made.

      In the second form, only one input file is specified.  In  this  case,



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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      or  when  the  standard  input is used, you may specify an output file
      after the `-o' option.

      To cause indent to write to standard output,  use  the  `-st'  option.
      This  is  only  allowed when there is only one input file, or when the
      standard input is used.

      If no input files are named, the standard input  is  read  for  input.
      Also, if a filename named `-' is specified, then the standard input is
      read.

      As an example, each of the following commands will input  the  program
      `slithy_toves.c' and write its indented text to `slithy_toves.out':


           indent slithy_toves.c -o slithy_toves.out

           indent -st slithy_toves.c > slithy_toves.out

           cat slithy_toves.c | indent -o slithy_toves.out


      Most other options to indent control how programs are  formatted.   As
      of  version  1.2,  indent  also recognizes a long name for each option
      name.  Long options are prefixed by either `--'  or  `+'.   [  `+'  is
      being  superseded  by  `--'  to  maintain  consistency  with the POSIX
      standard.]
       In most of this document, the traditional, short names are  used  for
      the  sake  of  brevity.   See  OPTION SUMMARY,  for a list of options,
      including both long and short names.

      Here is another example:

           indent -br test/metabolism.c -l85

      This will indent the program `test/metabolism.c' using the  `-br'  and
      `-l85'  options,  write  the  output  back to `test/metabolism.c', and
      write the original contents of `test/metabolism.c' to a backup file in
      the directory `test'.

      Equivalent invocations using long option names for this example  would
      be:


           indent --braces-on-if-line --line-length185 test/metabolism.c

           indent +braces-on-if-line +line-length185 test/metabolism.c


      If you find that you often use indent with the same options,  you  may
      put  those  options into a file named `.indent.pro'.  indent will look



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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      for a profile the environment variable INDENT_PROFILE. If that  exists
      its  value  is  expected  to  name the file that is to be used. If the
      environment variable does not exist, indent looks for `.indent.pro' in
      the current directory
       and use  that  if  found.   Finally  indent  will  search  your  home
      directory  for  `.indent.pro'  and use that file if it is found.  This
      behaviour is different from that of other versions  of  indent,  which
      load both files if

      The format of `.indent.pro' is simply a list of options, just as  they
      would  appear  on  the  command  line, separated by white space (tabs,
      spaces, and newlines).  Options in `.indent.pro' may be surrounded  by
      C or C++ comments, in which case they are ignored.

      Command line switches  are  handled  after  processing  `.indent.pro'.
      Options specified later override arguments specified earlier, with one
      exception: Explicitly specified  options  always  override  background
      options  (See  COMMON STYLES).  You can prevent indent from reading an
      `.indent.pro' file by specifying the `-npro' option.


 BACKUP FILES
      As of version 1.3, GNU indent makes GNU-style backup files,  the  same
      way  GNU Emacs does.  This means that either simple or numbered backup
      filenames may be made.

      Simple backup file names are generated by appending a  suffix  to  the
      original  file name.  The default for this suffix is the one-character
      string `~' (tilde).  Thus, the backup file  for  `python.c'  would  be
      `python.c~'.

      Instead of the default, you may specify any  string  as  a  suffix  by
      setting   the   environment   variable  SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX  to  your
      preferred suffix.

      Numbered  backup  versions  of  a   file   `momeraths.c'   look   like
      `momeraths.c.~23~', where 23 is the version of this particular backup.
      When making a numbered  backup  of  the  file  `src/momeraths.c',  the
      backup  file  will  be  named  `src/momeraths.c.~V~',  where  V is one
      greater than  the  the  directory  `src'.   The  environment  variable
      VERSION_WIDTH  controls  the number of digits, using left zero padding
      when necessary.  For instance, setting this variable to "2" will  lead
      to the backup file being named `momeraths.c.~04~'.

      The type of backup file  made  is  controlled  by  the  value  of  the
      environment  variable  VERSION_CONTROL.  If it is the string `simple',
      then only simple backups will be made.  If its  value  is  the  string
      `numbered',  then  numbered  backups  will  be  made.  If its value is
      `numbered-existing', then numbered  backups  will  be  made  if  there
      already exist numbered backups for the file being indented; otherwise,
      a simple backup is made.  If VERSION_CONTROL is not set,  then  indent



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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      assumes the behaviour of `numbered-existing'.

      Other versions of indent use the suffix `.BAK' in naming backup files.
      This  behaviour  can  be  emulated  by setting SIMPLE_BACKUP_SUFFIX to
      `.BAK'.

      Note also that other versions of indent make backups  in  the  current
      directory,  rather  than  in  the  directory of the source file as GNU
      indent now does.


 COMMON STYLES
      There are several common styles of C code, including  the  GNU  style,
      the  Kernighan  &  Ritchie  style, and the original Berkeley style.  A
      style may be selected with a single background option, which specifies
      a  set of values for all other options.  However, explicitly specified
      options always override options implied by a background option.

      As of version 1.2, the default style of GNU indent is the  GNU  style.
      Thus, it is no longer necessary to specify the option `-gnu' to obtain
      this format, although doing  so  will  not  cause  an  error.   Option
      settings which correspond to the GNU style are:

           -nbad -bap -nbc -bbo -bl -bli2 -bls -ncdb -nce -cp1 -cs -di2
           -ndj -nfc1 -nfca -hnl -i2 -ip5 -lp -pcs -nprs -psl -saf -sai
           -saw -nsc -nsob

      The GNU coding style is that preferred by the GNU project.  It is  the
      style  that the GNU Emacs C mode encourages and which is used in the C
      portions of GNU Emacs.  (People interested  in  writing  programs  for
      Project  GNU  should  get  a copy of "The GNU Coding Standards", which
      also covers semantic and portability issues such as memory usage,  the
      size of integers, etc.)

      The Kernighan & Ritchie style is used throughout their well-known book
      "The  C  Programming  Language".  It is enabled with the `-kr' option.
      The Kernighan & Ritchie style corresponds  to  the  following  set  of
      options:

           -nbad -bap -bbo -nbc -br -brs -c33 -cd33 -ncdb -ce -ci4 -cli0
           -cp33 -cs -d0 -di1 -nfc1 -nfca -hnl -i4 -ip0 -l75 -lp -npcs
           -nprs -npsl -saf -sai -saw -nsc -nsob -nss

      Kernighan & Ritchie style does not put comments to the right  of  code
      in the same column at all times (nor does it use only one space to the
      right of the code), so for this style indent  has  arbitrarily  chosen
      column 33.

      The  style  of  the  original  Berkeley  indent  may  be  obtained  by
      specifying  `-orig'  (or  by  specifying  `--original', using the long
      option name).  This style is equivalent to the following settings:



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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




           -nbad -nbap -bbo -bc -br -brs -c33 -cd33 -cdb -ce -ci4 -cli0
           -cp33 -di16 -fc1 -fca -hnl -i4 -ip4 -l75 -lp -npcs -nprs -psl
           -saf -sai -saw -sc -nsob -nss -ts8

      The Linux style is used in the linux kernel  code  and  drivers.  Code
      generally  has  to  follow the Linux coding style to be accepted. This
      style is equivalent to the following settings:

           -nbad -bap -nbc -bbo -hnl -br -brs -c33 -cd33 -ncdb -ce -ci4
           -cli0 -d0 -di1 -nfc1 -i8 -ip0 -l80 -lp -npcs -nprs -npsl -sai
           -saf -saw -ncs -nsc -sob -nfca -cp33 -ss -ts8 -il1


 BLANK LINES
      Various programming  styles  use  blank  lines  in  different  places.
      indent has a number of options specific places.

      The `-bad' option causes indent to force  a  blank  line  after  every
      block  of declarations.  The `-nbad' option causes indent not to force
      such blank

      The `-bap' option forces a blank line after every procedure body.  The
      `-nbap' option forces no such blank line.

      The `-bbb' option forces a blank line before every boxed comment  (See
      COMMENTS.) The `-nbbb' option does not force such blank lines.

      The `-sob' option causes indent to swallow optional blank lines  (that
      is, any optional blank lines present in the input will be removed from
      the output).  If the `-nsob' is specified, any blank lines present  in
      the input file will be copied to the output file.



 --blank-lines-after-declarations
      The  `-bad'  option  forces  a  blank  line  after  every   block   of
      declarations.  The `-nbad' option does not add any such blank lines.

      For example, given the input
           char *foo;
           char *bar;
           /* This separates blocks of declarations.  */
           int baz;

      indent -bad produces

           char *foo;
           char *bar;

           /* This separates blocks of declarations.  */
           int baz;



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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      and indent -nbad produces

           char *foo;
           char *bar;
           /* This separates blocks of declarations.  */
           int baz;


 --blank-lines-after-procedures
      The `-bap' option forces a blank line after every procedure body.

      For example, given the input

           int
           foo ()
           {
             puts("Hi");
           }
           /* The procedure bar is even less interesting.  */
           char *
           bar ()
           {
             puts("Hello");
           }

      indent -bap produces

           int
           foo ()
           {
             puts ("Hi");
           }

           /* The procedure bar is even less interesting.  */
           char *
           bar ()
           {
             puts ("Hello");
           }

      and indent -nbap produces

           int
           foo ()
           {
             puts ("Hi");
           }
           /* The procedure bar is even less interesting.  */
           char *
           bar ()
           {



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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




             puts ("Hello");
           }

      No blank line will be added after the procedure foo.


 COMMENTS
      indent formats both C and C++  `/*',  terminated  with  `*/'  and  may
      contain  newline  characters.   C++  comments begin with the delimiter
      `//' and end at the newline.

      indent handles comments differently depending upon indent attempts  to
      distinguish   between   comments  statements,  comments  which  follow
      declarations, comments following preprocessor directives, and comments
      which  are not preceded by code of any sort, i.e., they begin the text
      of the line (although not necessarily in column 1).

      indent further distinguishes between  comments  found  procedures  and
      aggregates,  and  those  found  within  them.  In particular, comments
      beginning a line found within a procedure  will  be  indented  to  the
      column  at which code is currently indented.  The exception to this is
      a comment beginning in the leftmost column;  such a comment is  output
      at that column.

      indent attempts to leave boxed comments general idea of such a comment
      is that it is enclosed in a rectangle or ``box'' of stars or dashes to
      visually set it apart.  More precisely, boxed comments are defined  as
      those  in  which  the  initial  `/*'  is  followed  immediately by the
      character `*', `=', `_', or `-',  or  those  in  which  the  beginning
      comment  delimiter  (`/*')  is  on a line by itself, and the following
      line begins with a `*' in the same column as the star of  the  opening
      delimiter.

      Examples of boxed comments are:

           /**********************
            * Comment in a box!! *
            **********************/

                  /*
                   * A different kind of scent,
                   * for a different kind of comment.
                   */

      indent attempts to leave boxed comments in the source file.  Thus  the
      indentation of the comment is unchanged, and its length is not checked
      in any way.   The  only  alteration  made  is  that  an  embedded  tab
      character may be converted into the appropriate number of spaces.

      If the `-bbb' option is specified, all such  boxed  comments  will  be
      preceded by a blank line, unless such a comment is preceded by code.



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 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      Comments which are not boxed comments may be  formatted,  which  means
      that  the  line is broken to fit within a right margin and left-filled
      with whitespace.  Single newlines are equivalent to a space, but blank
      lines  (two  or  more newlines in a row) are taken to mean a paragraph
      break.  Formatting of comments which begin after the first  column  is
      enabled  with  the `-fca' option.  To format those beginning in column
      one, specify `-fc1'.  Such formatting is disabled by default.

      The right margin for formatting defaults to 78,  but  may  be  changed
      with  the  `-lc'  option.   If the margin specified does not allow the
      comment to be printed, the margin will be automatically  extended  for
      the  duration  of  that  comment.   The margin is not respected if the
      comment is not being formatted.

      If the comment begins a line (i.e., there is no program  text  to  its
      left),  it  will  be indented to the column it was found in unless the
      comment is within a block of code.  In that case, such a comment  will
      be  aligned  with  the indented code of that block (unless the comment
      began in the first column).  This alignment may be affected by the  `-
      d'  option, which specifies an amount by which such comments are moved
      to the left, or unindented.  For example, `-d2'  places  comments  two
      spaces  to  the  left  of code.  By default, comments are aligned with
      code, unless they begin in the first column, in which  case  they  are
      left  there  by default --- to get them aligned with the code, specify
      `-fc1'.

      Comments to the right of code will appear by  default  in  column  33.
      This  may be changed with one of three options.  `-c' will specify the
      column for comments following code, `-cd'  specifies  the  column  for
      comments  following  declarations,  and `-cp' specifies the column for
      comments following preprocessor directives  #else  and  #endif.  `-dj'
      together  with `-cd0' can be used to suppress alignment of comments to
      the right of declarations, causing the comment to follow  one  tabstop
      from the end of the declaration. Normally `-cd0' causes `-c' to become
      effective.

      If the code to the left of the comment exceeds the  beginning  column,
      the  comment  column  will be extended to the next tabstop column past
      the end of the code, or in the case of preprocessor directives, to one
      space  past  the  end of the directive.  This extension lasts only for
      the output of that particular comment.

      The `-cdb' option places the comment delimiters on blank lines.  Thus,
      a single line comment like /* Loving hug */ can be transformed into:

           /*
              Loving hug
            */

      Stars can be placed at the beginning of multi-line comments  with  the
      `-sc'  option.  Thus, the single-line comment above can be transformed



                                   - 15 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      (with `-cdb -sc') into:

           /*
            * Loving hug
            */


 STATEMENTS
      The `-br' or `-bl' option specifies how to format braces.

      The `-br' option formats statement braces like this:

           if (x > 0) {
             x--;
           }

      The `-bl' option formats them like this:

           if (x > 0)
             {
               x--;
             }

      If you use the `-bl' option, you may also want to specify  the  `-bli'
      option.   This  option  specifies the number of spaces by which braces
      are indented.  `-bli2', the default, gives  the  result  shown  above.
      `-bli0' results in the following:

           if (x > 0)
           {
             x--;
           }

      If you are using the `-br' option, you probably want to also  use  the
      `-ce'  option.   This  causes the else in an if-then-else construct to
      cuddle up to the immediately preceding `}'.  For  example,  with  `-br
      -ce' you get the following:

           if (x > 0) {
             x--;
           } else {
             fprintf (stderr, "...something wrong?\n");
           }

      With `-br -nce' that code would appear as

           if (x > 0) {
             x--;
           }
           else {
             fprintf (stderr, "...something wrong?\n");



                                   - 16 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




           }

      This causes the  while  in  a  do-while  loop  to  cuddle  up  to  the
      immediately  preceding  `}'.   For  example,  with  `-cdw' you get the
      following:

           do {
             x--;
           } while (x);

      With `-ncdw' that code would appear as

           do {
             x--;
           }
           while (x);

      The `-cli' option specifies the number  of  spaces  that  case  labels
      should be indented to the right of the containing switch statement.

      The default gives code like:

           switch (i)
             {
             case 0:
               break;
             case 1:
               {
                 ++i;
               }
             default:
               break;
             }

      Using the `-cli2' that would become:

           switch (i)
             {
               case 0:
                 break;
               case 1:
                 {
                   ++i;
                 }
               default:
                 break;
             }

      The indentation of the braces below a case statement can be controlled
      with the `-cbin' option.  For example, using `-cli2 -cbi0' results in:




                                   - 17 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




           switch (i)
             {
               case 0:
                 break;
               case 1:
               {
                 ++i;
               }
               default:
                 break;
             }

      If a semicolon is on the same line as a for or  while  statement,  the
      `-ss'  option  will  cause  a space to be placed before the semicolon.
      This emphasizes the semicolon, making it clear that the  body  of  the
      for  or  while  statement is an empty statement.  `-nss' disables this
      feature.

      The `-pcs' option causes a space to be placed between the name of  the
      procedure  being  called  and the `(' (for example, puts ("Hi");.  The
      `-npcs' option would give puts("Hi");).


      If the `-cs' option is specified, indent puts a  space  after  a  cast
      operator.

      The `-bs' option ensures that there is a  space  between  the  keyword
      sizeof  and  its  argument.   In  some  versions, this is known as the
      `Bill_Shannon' option.

      The `-saf' option forces a space  between  a  for  and  the  following
      parenthesis.  This is the default.

      The `-sai' option forces a  space  between  a  if  and  the  following
      parenthesis.  This is the default.

      The `-saw' option forces a space between a  while  and  the  following
      parenthesis.  This is the default.

      The `-prs' option causes all parentheses to be separated with a  space
      from  whatever  is between them.  For example, using `-prs' results in
      code like:

             while ( ( e_code - s_code ) < ( dec_ind - 1 ) )
               {
                 set_buf_break ( bb_dec_ind );
                 *e_code++ = ' ';
               }






                                   - 18 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




 DECLARATIONS
      By default indent will line up identifiers, in the column specified by
      the `-di' option.  For example, `-di16' makes things look like:

           int             foo;
           char           *bar;

      Using a small value (such as one or two) for the `-di' option  can  be
      used  to  cause  the  identifiers  to be placed in the first available
      position; for example:

           int foo;
           char *bar;

      The value given to the `-di' option will still affect variables  which
      are  put  on  separate lines from their types, for example `-di2' will
      lead to:

           int
             foo;

      If the `-bc' option is specified, a newline is forced after each comma
      in a declaration.  For example,

           int a,
             b,
             c;

      With the `-nbc' option this would look like

           int a, b, c;

      The `-bfda' option causes a newline  to  be  forced  after  the  comma
      separating  the  arguments  of  a function declaration.  The arguments
      will  appear  at  one  indention  level  deeper  than   the   function
      declaration.   This  is  particularly  helpful for functions with long
      argument lists. The option `-bfde'  causes  a  newline  to  be  forced
      before  the  closing  bracket  of  the  function declaration. For both
      options the 'n' setting is the default: -nbdfa and -nbdfe.


      For example,

           void foo (int arg1, char arg2, int *arg3, long arg4, char arg5);
      With the `-bfda' option this would look like

           void foo (
               int arg1,
               char arg2,
               int *arg3,
               long arg4,



                                   - 19 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




               char arg5);

      With, in addition, the `-bfde' option this would look like

           void foo (
               int arg1,
               char arg2,
               int *arg3,
               long arg4,
               char arg5
               );

      The `-psl' option causes the type of a procedure being defined  to  be
      placed  on  the  line before the name of the procedure.  This style is
      required for the etags program to work correctly, as well as  some  of
      the c-mode functions of Emacs.

      You must use the `-T' option to  tell  indent  the  name  of  all  the
      typenames  in  your  program that are defined by typedef.  `-T' can be
      specified more than once, and  all  names  specified  are  used.   For
      example, if your program contains

           typedef unsigned long CODE_ADDR;
           typedef enum {red, blue, green} COLOR;

      you would use the options `-T CODE_ADDR -T COLOR'.


      The `-brs' or `-bls' option specifies how to format braces  in  struct
      declarations.  The `-brs' option formats braces like this:

           struct foo {
             int x;
           };

      The `-bls' option formats them like this:

           struct foo
           {
             int x;
           };


      Similarly to the structure brace `-brs' and `-bls' options,
       the function brace options `-brf' or `-blf' specify how to format the
      braces in function definitions.  The `-brf' option formats braces like
      this:

           int one(void) {
             return 1;
           };



                                   - 20 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      The `-blf' option formats them like this:

           int one(void)
           {
             return 1;
           };


 INDENTATION
      One issue in the formatting of code is how far  each  line  should  be
      indented from the left margin.  When the beginning of a statement such
      as if or for is encountered, the indentation level is increased by the
      value specified by the `-i' option.  For example, use `-i8' to specify
      an eight character indentation for each level.  When  a  statement  is
      broken  across  two  lines, the second line is indented by a number of
      additional spaces specified by the `-ci' option.  `-ci' defaults to 0.
      However,  if  the  `-lp'  option  is  specified, and a line has a left
      parenthesis which is not closed on that line, then continuation  lines
      will  be  lined  up  to start at the character position just after the
      left parenthesis.  This processing also applies to `[' and applies  to
      `{'  when  it occurs in initialization lists.  For example, a piece of
      continued code might look like this with `-nlp -ci3' in effect:

             p1 = first_procedure (second_procedure (p2, p3),
                third_procedure (p4, p5));

      With `-lp' in effect the code looks somewhat clearer:

             p1 = first_procedure (second_procedure (p2, p3),
                                   third_procedure (p4, p5));

      When a statement is broken in between two or more paren  pairs  (...),
      each extra pair causes the indentation level extra indentation:

           if ((((i < 2 &&
                   k > 0) || p == 0) &&
               q == 1) ||
             n = 0)

      The option `-ipN' can be used to set the extra offset per paren.   For
      instance, `-ip0' would format the above as:

           if ((((i < 2 &&
             k > 0) || p == 0) &&
             q == 1) ||
             n = 0)

      indent assumes  that  tabs  are  placed  input  and  output  character
      streams.   These  intervals  are by default 8 columns wide, but (as of
      version 1.2) may be changed by the `-ts' option.  Tabs are treated  as
      the equivalent number of spaces.



                                   - 21 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      The indentation of type declarations in old-style function definitions
      is  controlled  by  the  `-ip' parameter.  This is a numeric parameter
      specifying how many spaces to indent type declarations.  For  example,
      the default `-ip5' makes definitions look like this:

           char *
           create_world (x, y, scale)
                int x;
                int y;
                float scale;
           {
             . . .
           }

      For compatibility with other versions of indent, the option `-nip'  is
      provided, which is equivalent to `-ip0'.

      ANSI C allows white space to be placed on preprocessor  command  lines
      between  the  character  `#' and the command name.  By default, indent
      removes this space, but specifying directs indent to leave this  space
      unmodified. The option `-ppi' overrides  `-nlps' and  `-lps'.

      This option can be  used  to  request  that  preprocessor  conditional
      statements  can  be indented by to given number of spaces, for example
      with the option `-ppi 3'

           #if X
           #if Y
           #define Z 1
           #else
           #define Z 0
           #endif
           #endif
      becomes
           #if X
           #   if Y
           #      define Z 1
           #   else
           #      define Z 0
           #   endif
           #endif

      This option sets the offset at which a label (except case labels) will
      be  positioned.  If  it  is  set  to  zero  or a positive number, this
      indicates how far from the left margin to indent a label.   If  it  is
      set to a negative number, this indicates how far back from the current
      indent level to place the label.  The  default  setting  is  -2  which
      matches  the  behaviour of earlier versions of indent.  Note that this
      parameter does not affect the placing of case labels; see  the  `-cli'
      parameter for that. For example with the option `-il 1'




                                   - 22 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




           group
           function()
           {
               if (do_stuff1() == ERROR)
                   goto cleanup1;

               if (do_stuff2() == ERROR)
                   goto cleanup2;

               return SUCCESS;

             cleanup2:
               do_cleanup2();

             cleanup1:
               do_cleanup1();

               return ERROR;
           }
      becomes
           group
           function()
           {
               if (do_stuff1() == ERROR)
                   goto cleanup1;

               if (do_stuff2() == ERROR)
                   goto cleanup2;

               return SUCCESS;

            cleanup2:
               do_cleanup2();

            cleanup1:
               do_cleanup1();

               return ERROR;
           }


 BREAKING LONG LINES
      With the option `-ln', or `--line-lengthn', it is possible to  specify
      the  maximum  length  of  a  line  of  C  code, not including possible
      comments that follow it.

      When lines become longer than the specified line  length,  GNU  indent
      tries to break the line at a logical place.  This is new as of version
      2.1 however and not very intelligent or flexible yet.

      Currently there are two options that allow one to interfere  with  the



                                   - 23 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      algorithm that determines where to break a line.

      The `-bbo' option causes GNU indent to  prefer  to  break  long  lines
      before the boolean operators && and ||.  The `-nbbo' option causes GNU
      indent not have that preference.  For example, the default  option  `-
      bbo'  (together  with `--line-length60' and `--ignore-newlines') makes
      code look like this:

             if (mask
                 && ((mask[0] == '\0')
                     || (mask[1] == '\0'
                         && ((mask[0] == '0') || (mask[0] == '*')))))

      Using the option `-nbbo' will make it look like this:

             if (mask &&
                 ((mask[0] == '\0') ||
                  (mask[1] == '\0' &&
                   ((mask[0] == '0') || (mask[0] == '*')))))

      The default `-hnl', however, honours newlines in  the  input  file  by
      giving  them  the  highest  possible  priority to break lines at.  For
      example, when the input file looks like this:

             if (mask
                 && ((mask[0] == '\0')
                 || (mask[1] == '\0' && ((mask[0] == '0') || (mask[0] == '*')))))

      then using the option `-hnl', or  `--honour-newlines',  together  with
      the previously mentioned `-nbbo' and `--line-length60', will cause the
      output not to be what is given in the last example  but  instead  will
      prefer  to  break  at  the  positions where the code was broken in the
      input file:

             if (mask
                 && ((mask[0] == '\0')
                     || (mask[1] == '\0' &&
                         ((mask[0] == '0') || (mask[0] == '*')))))

      The idea behind this option is that lines which are too long, but  are
      already  broken  up,  will not be touched by GNU indent.  Really messy
      code should be run through indent at least once using  the  `--ignore-
      newlines' option though.


 DISABLING FORMATTING
      Formatting of C code may be disabled for  portions  of  a  program  by
      embedding  special  control  comments  in  the  program.   To turn off
      formatting for a section of a program,  place  the  disabling  control
      comment  /*  *INDENT-OFF*  */  on  a  line  by itself just before that
      section.  Program text scanned after this control  comment  is  output



                                   - 24 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      precisely  as  input  with  no  modifications  until the corresponding
      enabling comment is scanned  on  a  line  by  itself.   The  disabling
      control  comment  is  /*  *INDENT-ON*  */,  and any text following the
      comment on the line is also  output  unformatted.   Formatting  begins
      again with the input line following the enabling control comment.

      More  precisely,  indent  does  not  attempt  to  verify  the  closing
      delimiter (*/) for these C comments, and any whitespace on the line is
      totally transparent.

      These control comments also function in their C++ formats,  namely  //
      *INDENT-OFF* and // *INDENT-ON*.

      It should be noted that the internal state of indent remains unchanged
      over  the  course  of  the  unformatted  section.   Thus, for example,
      turning off formatting in the middle of a function and  continuing  it
      after  the  end  of  the  function may lead to bizarre results.  It is
      therefore wise to be somewhat modular in selecting  code  to  be  left
      unformatted.

      As a historical note, some earlier versions of indent  produced  error
      messages  beginning  with  *INDENT**.   These  versions of indent were
      written to ignore any with such error messages.  I have  removed  this
      incestuous feature from GNU indent.


 MISCELLANEOUS OPTIONS
      To find out what version of indent you have, use  the  command  indent
      -version. This will report the indent, without doing any of the

      The `-v' option can be used to turn on verbose mode.  When in  verbose
      mode,  indent  reports  when it splits one line of input into two more
      more lines of output, and gives some size statistics at completion.

      The  `-pmt'  option  causes  indent  to  preserve   the   access   and
      modification  times  on  the  output files.  Using this option has the
      advantage that running indent on all source  and  header  files  in  a
      project  won't cause make to rebuild all targets.  This option is only
      available on Operating Systems that have the POSIX utime(2) function.


 BUGS
      Please report any bugs to bug-indent@gnu.org.

      When indent is run twice on a file, with the same profile,  it  should
      never  change  that  file the second time.  With the current design of
      indent, this can not be guaranteed, and it has  not  been  extensively
      tested.

      indent does not understand C. In the inability  to  join  lines.   The
      result  is that running a file through indent is irreversible, even if



                                   - 25 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      the used input file was the result of  running  indent  with  a  given
      profile (`.indent.pro').

      While an attempt was made to get indent working for C++, it  will  not
      do a good job on any C++ source except the very simplest.

      indent does not look at the when writing comments to the output  file.
      This  results  often in comments being put far to the right.  In order
      to prohibit indent from joining a broken line that has  a  comment  at
      the  end,  make  sure that the comments start on the first line of the
      break.

      indent does not count lines and option) when indent is turned off with
      /* *INDENT-OFF* */.

      Comments of the form /*UPPERCASE*/ are not treated as comment  but  as
      an  identifier,  causing  them  to  be joined with the next line. This
      renders comments of this type useless, unless they are embedded in the
      code to begin with.


 COPYRIGHT
      The following copyright notice applies to  the  indent  program.   The
      copyright  and  copying  permissions  for  this manual appear near the
      beginning of `indent.texinfo' and `indent.info', and near the  end  of
      `indent.1'.

      Copyright (c) 2001 David Ingamells.
      Copyright (c) 1999 Carlo Wood.
      Copyright (c) 1995, 1996 Joseph Arceneaux.
      Copyright (c) 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 Free Software Foundation
      Copyright (c) 1985 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
      Copyright (c) 1980 The Regents of the University of California.
      Copyright (c) 1976 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
      All rights reserved.

      Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted
      provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
      duplicated in all such forms and that any documentation,
      advertising materials, and other materials related to such
      distribution and use acknowledge that the software was developed
      by the University of California, Berkeley, the University of Illinois,
      Urbana, and Sun Microsystems, Inc.  The name of either University
      or Sun Microsystems may not be used to endorse or promote products
      derived from this software without specific prior written permission.
      THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR
      IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED
      WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR
      PURPOSE.





                                   - 26 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




 Options' Cross Key
      Here is a list of options alphabetized by long  option,  to  help  you
      find the corresponding short option.


           --blank-lines-after-commas                      -bc
           --blank-lines-after-declarations                -bad
           --blank-lines-after-procedures                  -bap
           --blank-lines-before-block-comments             -bbb
           --braces-after-if-line                          -bl
           --braces-after-func-def-line                    -blf
           --brace-indent                                  -bli
           --braces-after-struct-decl-line                 -bls
           --braces-on-if-line                             -br
           --braces-on-func-def-line                       -brf
           --braces-on-struct-decl-line                    -brs
           --break-after-boolean-operator                  -nbbo
           --break-before-boolean-operator                 -bbo
           --break-function-decl-args                      -bfda
           --break-function-decl-args-end                  -bfde
           --case-indentation                              -clin
           --case-brace-indentation                        -cbin
           --comment-delimiters-on-blank-lines             -cdb
           --comment-indentation                           -cn
           --continuation-indentation                      -cin
           --continue-at-parentheses                       -lp
           --cuddle-do-while                               -cdw
           --cuddle-else                                   -ce
           --declaration-comment-column                    -cdn
           --declaration-indentation                       -din
           --dont-break-function-decl-args                 -nbfda
           --dont-break-function-decl-args-end             -nbfde
           --dont-break-procedure-type                     -npsl
           --dont-cuddle-do-while                          -ncdw
           --dont-cuddle-else                              -nce
           --dont-format-comments                          -nfca
           --dont-format-first-column-comments             -nfc1
           --dont-line-up-parentheses                      -nlp
           --dont-left-justify-declarations                -ndj
           --dont-space-special-semicolon                  -nss
           --dont-star-comments                            -nsc
           --else-endif-column                             -cpn
           --format-all-comments                           -fca
           --format-first-column-comments                  -fc1
           --gnu-style                                     -gnu
           --honour-newlines                               -hnl
           --ignore-newlines                               -nhnl
           --ignore-profile                                -npro
           --indent-label                                  -iln
           --indent-level                                  -in
           --k-and-r-style                                 -kr



                                   - 27 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




           --leave-optional-blank-lines                    -nsob
           --leave-preprocessor-space                      -lps
           --left-justify-declarations                     -dj
           --line-comments-indentation                     -dn
           --line-length                                   -ln
           --linux-style                                   -linux
           --no-blank-lines-after-commas                   -nbc
           --no-blank-lines-after-declarations             -nbad
           --no-blank-lines-after-procedures               -nbap
           --no-blank-lines-before-block-comments          -nbbb
           --no-comment-delimiters-on-blank-lines          -ncdb
           --no-space-after-casts                          -ncs
           --no-parameter-indentation                      -nip
           --no-space-after-for                    -nsaf
           --no-space-after-function-call-names            -npcs
           --no-space-after-if                -nsai
           --no-space-after-parentheses                    -nprs
           --no-space-after-while                  -nsaw
           --no-tabs                                       -nut
           --no-verbosity                                  -nv
           --original                                      -orig
           --parameter-indentation                         -ipn
           --paren-indentation                             -pin
           --preserve-mtime                   -pmt
           --preprocessor-indentation                      -ppin
           --procnames-start-lines                         -psl
           --space-after-cast                              -cs
           --space-after-for                  -saf
           --space-after-if                   -sai
           --space-after-parentheses                       -prs
           --space-after-procedure-calls                   -pcs
           --space-after-while                -saw
           --space-special-semicolon                       -ss
           --standard-output                               -st
           --start-left-side-of-comments                   -sc
           --struct-brace-indentation                      -sbin
           --swallow-optional-blank-lines                  -sob
           --tab-size                                      -tsn
           --use-tabs                                      -ut
           --verbose                                       -v


 RETURN VALUE
      Unknown

 FILES
      $HOME/.indent.pro   holds default options for indent.

 AUTHORS
      Carlo Wood
      Joseph Arceneaux



                                   - 28 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024






 INDENT(1L)                                                       INDENT(1L)




      Jim Kingdon
      David Ingamells

 HISTORY
      Derived from the UCB program "indent".

 COPYING
      Copyright (C)  1989,  1992,  1993,  1994,  1995,  1996  Free  Software
      Foundation,   Inc.    Copyright   (C)  1995,  1996  Joseph  Arceneaux.
      Copyright (C) 1999 Carlo Wood.  Copyright (C) 2001 David Ingamells.

      Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies  of  this
      manual  provided  the  copyright notice and this permission notice are
      preserved on all copies.








































                                   - 29 -         Formatted:  March 28, 2024