8.5 @verbatim: Literal Text

Use the @verbatim environment for printing of text that may contain special characters or commands that should not be interpreted, such as computer input or output (@example interprets its text as regular Texinfo commands). This is especially useful for including automatically generated files in a Texinfo manual.

In general, the output will be just the same as the input. No character substitutions are made, e.g., all spaces and blank lines are significant, including tabs. In the printed manual, the text is typeset in a fixed-width font, and not indented or filled.

Write a @verbatim command at the beginning of a line by itself. This line will disappear from the output. Mark the end of the verbatim block with an @end verbatim command, also written at the beginning of a line by itself. The @end verbatim will also disappear from the output.

For example:

@verbatim

{

TAB@command with strange characters: @'e

expandTABme

}

@end verbatim

This produces:

{
        @command with strange characters: @'e
expand	me
}

Since the lines containing @verbatim and @end verbatim produce no output, typically you should put a blank line before the @verbatim and another blank line after the @end verbatim. Blank lines between the beginning @verbatim and the ending @end verbatim will appear in the output.

You can get a “small” verbatim by enclosing the @verbatim in an @smallformat environment, as shown here:

@smallformat

@verbatim

... still verbatim, but in a smaller font ...

@end verbatim

@end smallformat

Finally, a word of warning: it is not reliable to use @verbatim inside other Texinfo constructs.

See also @verbatiminclude.