Bug 277037

Summary: Typographical errors and grammar clarification in fclose(3) with a patch
Product: Documentation Reporter: J Adams <jfa63>
Component: Manual PagesAssignee: Maxim Konovalov <maxim>
Status: Closed FIXED    
Severity: Affects Some People CC: doc, jfa63, maxim
Priority: ---    
Version: Latest   
Hardware: Any   
OS: Any   
Attachments:
Description Flags
fdclose man page diff none

Description J Adams 2024-02-13 19:20:49 UTC 
I noticed some typos and potentially ambiguous grammar in flcose(3) and have a patch to offer.

diff -u a/fclose.3 b/fclose.3 
--- a/fclose.3  2024-02-13 18:08:37.324978000 +0000
+++ b/fclose.3  2024-02-13 18:47:48.201409000 +0000
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@
 the file descriptor will be written to it.
 If the
 .Fa fdp
-argument will be different then NULL the file descriptor will be returned in it,
+argument is other than NULL, the file descriptor will be returned in it.
 If the stream does not have an associated file descriptor,
 .Fa fdp
 will be set to -1.

The sentence in question ended in a comma rather than a period. Also 'than' is needed to indicate a comparison whereas 'then' indicates a continuation. I hope my change in grammar accurately coveys the correct meaning of the sentence. If not, I think it's because of the ambiguity.
Comment 1 Maxim Konovalov freebsd_committer freebsd_triage 2024-02-14 04:20:54 UTC 
Created attachment 248452 [details]
fdclose man page diff

Hi,

After reading libc/stdio/fclose.c I tend to think that the whole sentence should be just removed.  I.e., it should look like the following:

The fdclose() function is equivalent to fclose() except that it does not
close the underlying file descriptor.

If fdp is not NULL, the file descriptor will be written to it.

If the stream does not have an associated file descriptor, fdp will be set to -1. 

%%%

I enclosed the patch for completeness.

Maxim
Comment 2 J Adams 2024-02-15 02:40:55 UTC 
(In reply to Maxim Konovalov from comment #1)
Can't really disagree on that. After all, the sentence made me scratch my head a little; and it wasn't just the grammar. Your patch makes the paragraph more clear and concise.
Comment 3 Maxim Konovalov freebsd_committer freebsd_triage 2024-02-15 03:22:12 UTC 
You are not alone here!

Thanks for spotting this.  I'll try to reach the author and commit the patch afterwards.

Maxim
Comment 4 J Adams 2024-02-15 03:41:30 UTC 
Glad to help; I'm trying to get more involved in the FBSD community. I hope to continue to contribute! :-)
BTW, I took your lead and also read through libc/stdio/fclose.c. Surprisingly simple.
Comment 5 Maxim Konovalov freebsd_committer freebsd_triage 2024-02-15 06:24:30 UTC 
You are more than welcome!

Maxim
Comment 6 commit-hook freebsd_committer freebsd_triage 2024-02-16 18:51:51 UTC 
A commit in branch main references this bug:

URL: https://cgit.FreeBSD.org/src/commit/?id=1250c9647959fab955fb8d9046cb41bc749e6855

commit 1250c9647959fab955fb8d9046cb41bc749e6855
Author:     Maxim Konovalov <maxim@FreeBSD.org>
AuthorDate: 2024-02-16 18:50:12 +0000
Commit:     Maxim Konovalov <maxim@FreeBSD.org>
CommitDate: 2024-02-16 18:50:12 +0000

    fclose.3: remove a confusing sentence

    PR:             277037
    Reviewed by:    oshogbo

 lib/libc/stdio/fclose.3 | 5 +----
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 4 deletions(-)
Comment 7 Maxim Konovalov freebsd_committer freebsd_triage 2024-02-16 18:53:12 UTC 
The fix committed.  Thanks for spotting this one!