mandb(8)

NAME

   mandb - create or update the manual page index caches

SYNOPSIS

   mandb [-dqsucpt?V] [-C file] [manpath]
   mandb [-dqsut] [-C file] -f filename ...

DESCRIPTION

   mandb  is  used  to initialise or manually update index database caches
   that are usually maintained by man.   The  caches  contain  information
   relevant  to  the  current  state  of  the  manual  page system and the
   information stored within them is  used  by  the  man-db  utilities  to
   enhance their speed and functionality.

   When  creating  or  updating  an index, mandb will warn of bad ROFF .so
   requests, bogus manual page filenames and manual pages from  which  the
   whatis cannot be parsed.

   Supplying mandb with an optional colon-delimited path will override the
   internal system manual page  hierarchy  search  path,  determined  from
   information found within the man-db configuration file.

DATABASE CACHES

   mandb  can  be  compiled  with  support  for  any  one of the following
   database types.

   Name          Type                   Async   Filename
   
   Berkeley db   Binary tree            Yes     index.bt
   GNU gdbm      Hashed                 Yes     index.db
   UNIX ndbm     Hashed                 No      index.(dir|pag)

   Those database types that support asynchronous updates provide enhanced
   speed  at  the  cost  of  possible  corruption  in the event of unusual
   termination.  In an unusual case where this has  occurred,  it  may  be
   necessary  to rerun mandb with the -c option to re-create the databases
   from scratch.

OPTIONS

   -d, --debug
          Print debugging information.

   -q, --quiet
          Produce no warnings.

   -s, --no-straycats
          Do not spend time looking  for  or  adding  information  to  the
          databases regarding stray cats.

   -p, --no-purge
          Do  not spend time checking for deleted manual pages and purging
          them from the databases.

   -c, --create
          By default, mandb will try  to  update  any  previously  created
          databases.   If  a  database  does not exist, it will create it.
          This option forces mandb to delete previous  databases  and  re-
          create  them  from scratch, and implies --no-purge.  This may be
          necessary if a database becomes corrupt or  if  a  new  database
          storage scheme is introduced in the future.

   -u, --user-db
          Create   user   databases  only,  even  with  write  permissions
          necessary to create system databases.

   -t, --test
          Perform correctness checks on  manual  pages  in  the  hierarchy
          search  path.   With  this option, mandb will not alter existing
          databases.

   -f, --filename
          Update only the entries for the given filename.  This option  is
          not  for  general  use; it is used internally by man when it has
          been compiled with the MAN_DB_UPDATES option and  finds  that  a
          page is out of date.  It implies -p and disables -c and -s.

   -C file, --config-file=file
          Use  this  user  configuration  file  rather than the default of
          ~/.manpath.

   -?, --help
          Show the usage message, then exit.

   --usage
          Print a short usage message and exit.

   -V, --version
          Show the version, then exit.

EXIT STATUS

   0      Successful program execution.

   1      Usage, syntax, or configuration file error.

   2      Operational error.

   3      A child process failed.

DIAGNOSTICS

   The following warning messages can be emitted during database building.

   <filename>: whatis parse for page(sec) failed
          An attempt to extract whatis line(s) from the  given  <filename>
          failed.   This  is  usually due to a poorly written manual page,
          but if many such messages are emitted  it  is  likely  that  the
          system contains non-standard manual pages which are incompatible
          with the man-db whatis parser.  See the WHATIS  PARSING  section
          in lexgrog(1) for more information.

   <filename>: is a dangling symlink
          <filename>  does not exist but is referenced by a symbolic link.
          Further  diagnostics  are  usually  emitted  to   identify   the
          <filename> of the offending link.

   <filename>: bad symlink or ROFF `.so' request
          <filename>  is  either  a  symbolic  link to, or contains a ROFF
          include request to, a non existent file.

   <filename>: ignoring bogus filename
          The <filename> may or may not be a valid  manual  page  but  its
          name  is  invalid.   This  is  usually due to a manual page with
          sectional extension <x> being put in manual page section <y>.

   <filename_mask>: competing extensions
          The wildcard <filename_mask> is not  unique.   This  is  usually
          caused  by  the  existence of both a compressed and uncompressed
          version of the same manual page.  All but the  most  recent  are
          ignored.

FILES

   /etc/manpath.config
          man-db configuration file.

   /var/cache/man/index.(bt|db|dir|pag)
          An FHS compliant global index database cache.

   Older locations for the database cache included:

   /usr/man/index.(bt|db|dir|pag)
          A traditional global index database cache.

   /var/catman/index.(bt|db|dir|pag)
          An alternate or FSSTND compliant global index database cache.

SEE ALSO

   lexgrog(1), man(1), manpath(5), catman(8)

   The  WHATIS PARSING section formerly in this manual page is now part of
   lexgrog(1).

AUTHOR

   Wilf. (G.Wilford@ee.surrey.ac.uk).
   Fabrizio Polacco (fpolacco@debian.org).
   Colin Watson (cjwatson@debian.org).

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