X-Git-Url: http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/ucgi/~ian/git?a=blobdiff_plain;f=spec.sgml;h=d3abc7d61491890a5cbd06df359c601ec6ae205b;hb=refs%2Ftags%2Fdebian_version_0_65_1;hp=57329a46255a4327a112c98d6e3385f51a85c905;hpb=67ea27918bbc5d0ff497d13da2eab705f3a928e4;p=userv.git

diff --git a/spec.sgml b/spec.sgml
index 57329a4..d3abc7d 100644
--- a/spec.sgml
+++ b/spec.sgml
@@ -553,9 +553,9 @@ The configuration file is a series of directives, usually one per
 line.  The portion of a line following a hash character <tt/#/ is
 taken as a comment and ignored.  Each directive consists of a series
 of tokens separated by linear whitespace (spaces and tabs); tokens may
-be words consisting of non-space characters, or, where a string is
-required, a string in double quotes.  Double-quoted strings may
-contain the following backslash escapes:
+be words consisting of non-space characters (except backslash), or,
+where a string is required, a string in double quotes.  Double-quoted
+strings may contain the following backslash escapes:
 
 <taglist compact>
 <tag/<tt/\n//<item>newline
@@ -573,6 +573,10 @@ Relative pathnames in directives are relative to the service program's
 current directory (usually the service user's home directory).
 Pathnames starting with the two characters <tt>~/</> are taken to be
 relative to the service user's home directory.
+<p>
+
+Logical lines may be continued by putting a backslash <tt/\/ at the
+end of a line; this counts as part of linear whitespace.
 
 <sect id="directives">Configuration file directives
 <p>
@@ -664,13 +668,12 @@ file.
 <item>
 Causes an error whose message includes the descriptive string
 <var/text/.  <var/text/ may consist of several tokens with intervening
-whitespace.  The whitespace will be included in the message as found
-in the configuration file: all the characters until the end of the
-line will be included verbatim, unless they are part of a
-double-quoted string, in which case the usual meaning of the string
+linear whitespace.  Each set of linear whitespace will appear in the
+message as a single space.  The usual meaning of double-quoted strings
 (i.e., after backslash escape processing) will be used.  Comments and
 linear whitespace at the end of the line (or just before the comment)
-will still be ignored.
+will still be ignored.  Apart from those cases, each token's text will
+be included verbatim.
 
 <tag/<tt/message <var/text ...///
 <item>