freepascal.compiler/docs/ptop.1

.TH ptop 1 "30 may 1999" FreePascal "ptop source beautifier"
.SH NAME
ptop \- The FPC Pascal configurable source beautifier.

Origin probably Pascal\-TO\-Pascal.

.SH SYNOPSIS

\fIptop\fP "[-v] [-i indent] [-b bufsize ][-c optsfile] infile outfile"

.SH Description

\fIptop\fP is a more or less configurable \fIsource beautifier\fP for pascal sources,
and specially the ones supported by FPC (which are more or less TurboPascal or
Delphi 2.0 compatible).
.PP
ptop belongs to the \fIFPC utils\fP package, which currently also contains ppdep, h2pas, ppudump
and ppumove.

.SH Usage

ptop basically reformats "infile" and outputs the result to "outfile". ptop uses
a configuration file explained further below, and can generate a default
configurationfile for you to edit. (not needed if you use the defaults)

.SH Options
.IP \-h
Writes a short description of these switches.
.IP \-c
read options from configuration file. A configuration file is not needed, ptop
will revert to internal defaults then. See also \-g
.IP \-i ident
Sets the number of indent spaces used for BEGIN END; and other blocks.
.IP \-b bufsize
Sets the buffersize to bufsize. Default 255, 0 is considered non\-valid and ignored.
.IP \-v
be verbose. Currently only outputs the number of lines read/written and some error messages.
.IP \-g ptop.cfg
Writes a default configuration file to be edited to the file "ptop.cfg"
.PP
Try to play with ptop and its configfile until you find the effect you desire. The
configurability and possibilities of ptop are quite large compared to shareware
source beautifier found on e.g. SIMTEL.
.PP

.SH Acknowledgements

The writer of the program, Michael van Canneyt, who also helped out explaining
the format of ptop.cfg.
.PP
Questions/corrections can be mailed to fpc\[email protected]
.PP
Also thanks to the rest of the FPC development team.

The program is a modernized (OOP, Streams, Delphi extensions) version based on a
program by Peter Grogono, who in turn based his program on a Pascal pretty-printer written by Ledgard,
Hueras, and Singer.  See SIGPLAN Notices, Vol. 12, No. 7, July 1977,
pages 101-105, and PP.DOC/HLP.
.BR
This version of PP developed under Pascal/Z V4.0 or later.
Very minor modifications for Turbo Pascal made by Willett Kempton
March 1984 and Oct 84.  Runs under 8-bit Turbo or 16-bit Turbo.
Toad Hall tweak, rewrite for TP 5, 28 Nov 89


.SH SEE ALSO
.IP "ptop config file"
.BR ptop.cfg (5)
.IP "Compiler"
.BR  ppc386 (1)
.IP "Other FPC utils"
.BR  ppdep (1)
.BR  ppudump (1)
.BR  ppumove (1)
.BR  h2pas (1)