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 v >= 1.6
Hashed
Yes
index.db
GNU gdbm v < 1.6
Hashed
No
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 occured, it may be necessary to rerun
mandb
with the
-c
option to re-create the databases from scratch.
OPTIONS
-d, --debug
Produce 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option and finds that a page is out of date.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.
-h, --help
Show the usage message, then 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.
/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.
