mkfs \- build a Linux file system
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B mkfs
-[
-.B \-V
-]
-[
-.B \-t
-.I fstype
-]
-[
-.B fs-options
-]
+.RB [ \-V ]
+.RB [ \-t
+.IR fstype ]
+.RI [ fs-options ]
.I filesys
-[
-.I blocks
-]
+.RI [ blocks ]
.SH DESCRIPTION
.B mkfs
is used to build a Linux file system on a device, usually
.I filesys
is either the device name (e.g.
.IR /dev/hda1 ,
-.IR /dev/sdb2 ).
+.IR /dev/sdb2 ),
+or a regular file that shall contain the file system.
.I blocks
is the number of blocks to be used for the file system.
.PP
In actuality,
.B mkfs
is simply a front-end for the various file system builders
-(\fBmkfs\fR.\fIfstype\fR)
+(\fBmkfs.\fIfstype\fR)
available under Linux.
The file system-specific builder is searched for in a number
of directories like perhaps
If not specified, the default file system type
(currently ext2) is used.
.TP
-.B fs-options
-File system-specific options to be passed to the real file
+.I fs-options
+File system-specific options to be passed to the real file
system builder.
Although not guaranteed, the following options are supported
by most file system builders.