DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide

Name

refname — The name of (one of) the subject(s) of a reference page

Synopsis

refname ::= (text | Bibliography inlines | Error inlines | Graphic inlines | GUI inlines | Indexing inlines | Keyboard inlines | Linking inlines | Markup inlines | Math inlines | Object-oriented programming inlines | Operating system inlines | Product inlines | Programming inlines | Publishing inlines | Technical inlines | Ubiquitous inlines)*

Attribute synopsis

Common attributes and common linking attributes.

Description

A refentry is a small unit of reference documentation describing a single topic. The refname identifies the topic. Often this is the name of the command or function that the reference page describes.

Some reference pages describe a whole family of very closely related commands or functions. In this case, a refentry will have multiple refnames, one for each command or function. When a refentry has several refnames, it is likely to have a refdescriptor that identifies the whole family of functions.

Processing expectations

May be formatted inline or as a displayed block, depending on context.

Formatting reference pages may require a fairly sophisticated processing system. Much of the meta-information about a reference page (its name, type, purpose, title, and classification) is stored in wrappers near the beginning of the refentry.

Common presentational features, such as titles and running headers, may require data from several of these wrappers plus some generated text. Other formatting often requires ...