doc cleanup: proper emdashes

Neil Conway

unread,

Nov 14, 2004, 7:27:39 PM11/14/04

to

This patch replaces "---" with "—" in the documentation, which is
the proper SGML character entity for an emdash.

Barring any objections, I'll apply this to HEAD before the end of the
day.

-Neil

sgml-mdash-2.patch

Alvaro Herrera

unread,

Nov 14, 2004, 11:35:17 PM11/14/04

to

On Mon, Nov 15, 2004 at 11:27:39AM +1100, Neil Conway wrote:

> --- doc/src/sgml/dfunc.sgml
> +++ doc/src/sgml/dfunc.sgml
> @@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
> in memory when they are loaded by the executable. (Object files
> intended for executables are usually not compiled that way.) The
> command to link a shared library contains special flags to
> - distinguish it from linking an executable. --- At least this is the
> + distinguish it from linking an executable. — At least this is the
> theory. On some systems the practice is much uglier.
> </para>

Is ". ---" really correct? I think there should be no period there.

--
Alvaro Herrera (<alvherre[@]dcc.uchile.cl>)
"When the proper man does nothing (wu-wei),
his thought is felt ten thousand miles." (Lao Tse)

---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
TIP 4: Don't 'kill -9' the postmaster

Neil Conway

unread,

Nov 14, 2004, 11:39:00 PM11/14/04

to

On Mon, 2004-11-15 at 01:35 -0300, Alvaro Herrera wrote:
> Is ". ---" really correct? I think there should be no period there.

Good catch -- I'll rephrase that text.

-Neil

---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
TIP 3: if posting/reading through Usenet, please send an appropriate
subscribe-nomail command to majo...@postgresql.org so that your
message can get through to the mailing list cleanly

Alvaro Herrera

unread,

Nov 14, 2004, 11:43:23 PM11/14/04

to

On Mon, Nov 15, 2004 at 03:39:00PM +1100, Neil Conway wrote:
> On Mon, 2004-11-15 at 01:35 -0300, Alvaro Herrera wrote:
> > Is ". ---" really correct? I think there should be no period there.
>
> Good catch -- I'll rephrase that text.

^^

Hey, this should have been a proper em-dash too (yours is an en-dash AFAIK)
:-D

(Though with a monospaced font it doesn't seem to make a lot of
difference ... oh well)

--
Alvaro Herrera (<alvherre[@]dcc.uchile.cl>)

"La rebeldía es la virtud original del hombre" (Arthur Schopenhauer)

Neil Conway

unread,

Nov 15, 2004, 1:35:05 AM11/15/04

to

On Mon, 2004-11-15 at 11:27 +1100, Neil Conway wrote:
> This patch replaces "---" with "—" in the documentation, which is
> the proper SGML character entity for an emdash.

Patch applied. I also fixed up cases where "--" was used in a similar
fashion ("--" might be considered an en dash, but AFAIK it is incorrect
to use an en dash to designate a parenthetical comment anyway).

-Neil

---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
TIP 5: Have you checked our extensive FAQ?

http://www.postgresql.org/docs/faqs/FAQ.html

Michael Glaesemann

unread,

Nov 15, 2004, 1:45:56 AM11/15/04

to

On Nov 15, 2004, at 3:35 PM, Neil Conway wrote:

> ("--" might be considered an en dash, but AFAIK it is incorrect
> to use an en dash to designate a parenthetical comment anyway).

Then again, wouldn't parentheses be the appropriate punctuation for a
parenthetical comment? :P

Michael Glaesemann
grzm myrealbox com

PS. I think the phrasing you're looking for is amplifying or
explanatory text. Em dashes, commas, or parentheses can all serve this
purpose.

---------------------------(end of broadcast)---------------------------
TIP 2: you can get off all lists at once with the unregister command
(send "unregister YourEmailAddressHere" to majo...@postgresql.org)