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<chapter xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" version="5.0" xml:id="writing-style">
  <title>Writing Style</title>

  <sect1 xml:id="writing-style-tips">
    <title>Tips</title>

    <para>Technical documentation can be improved by consistent use of
      several principles.  Most of these can be classified into three
      goals: <emphasis>be clear</emphasis>,
      <emphasis>be complete</emphasis>, and
      <emphasis>be concise</emphasis>.  These goals can conflict with
      each other.  Good writing consists of a balance between
      them.</para>

    <sect2 xml:id="writing-style-be-clear">
      <title>Be Clear</title>

      <para>Clarity is extremely important.  The reader may be a
	novice, or reading the document in a second language.  Strive
	for simple, uncomplicated text that clearly explains the
	concepts.</para>

      <para>Avoid flowery or embellished speech, jokes, or colloquial
	expressions.  Write as simply and clearly as possible.  Simple
	text is easier to understand and translate.</para>

      <para>Keep explanations as short, simple, and clear as possible.
	Avoid empty phrases like <quote>in order to</quote>, which
	usually just means <quote>to</quote>.  Avoid potentially
	patronizing words like <quote>basically</quote>.  Avoid Latin
	terms like <quote>i.e.</quote> or <quote>cf.</quote>, which
	may be unknown outside of academic or scientific
	groups.</para>

      <para>Write in a formal style.  Avoid addressing the reader
	as <quote>you</quote>.  For example, say
	<quote>copy the file to <filename>/tmp</filename></quote>
	rather than <quote>you can copy the file to
	  <filename>/tmp</filename></quote>.</para>

      <para>Give clear, correct, <emphasis>tested</emphasis> examples.
	A trivial example is better than no example.  A good example
	is better yet.  Do not give bad examples, identifiable by
	apologies or sentences like <quote>but really it should never
	  be done that way</quote>.  Bad examples are worse than no
	examples.  Give good examples, because <emphasis>even when
	  warned not to use the example as shown</emphasis>, the
	reader will usually just use the example as shown.</para>

      <para>Avoid <emphasis>weasel words</emphasis> like
	<quote>should</quote>, <quote>might</quote>,
	<quote>try</quote>, or <quote>could</quote>.  These words
	imply that the speaker is unsure of the facts, and
	create doubt in the reader.</para>

      <para>Similarly, give instructions as imperative commands: not
	<quote>you should do this</quote>, but merely
	<quote>do this</quote>.</para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 xml:id="writing-style-be-complete">
      <title>Be Complete</title>

      <para>Do not make assumptions about the reader's abilities or
	skill level.  Tell them what they need to know.  Give links to
	other documents to provide background information without
	having to recreate it.  Put yourself in the reader's place,
	anticipate the questions they will ask, and answer
	them.</para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 xml:id="writing-style-be-concise">
      <title>Be Concise</title>

      <para>While features should be documented completely, sometimes
	there is so much information that the reader cannot easily
	find the specific detail needed.  The balance between being
	complete and being concise is a challenge.  One approach is to
	have an introduction, then a <quote>quick start</quote>
	section that describes the most common situation, followed by
	an in-depth reference section.</para>
    </sect2>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 xml:id="writing-style-guidelines">
    <title>Guidelines</title>

    <para>To promote consistency between the myriad authors of the
      &os; documentation, some guidelines have been drawn up for
      authors to follow.</para>

    <variablelist>
      <varlistentry>
	<term>Use American English Spelling</term>

	<listitem>
	  <para>There are several variants of English, with different
	    spellings for the same word.  Where spellings differ, use
	    the American English variant.  <quote>color</quote>, not
	    <quote>colour</quote>, <quote>rationalize</quote>, not
	    <quote>rationalise</quote>, and so on.</para>

	  <note>
	    <para>The use of British English may be accepted in the
	      case of a contributed article, however the spelling must
	      be consistent within the whole document.  The other
	      documents such as books, web site, manual pages, etc.
	      will have to use American English.</para>
	  </note>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
	<term>Do not use contractions</term>

	<listitem>
	  <para>Do not use contractions.  Always spell the phrase out
	    in full.  <quote>Don't use contractions</quote> is
	    wrong.</para>

	  <para>Avoiding contractions makes for a more formal tone, is
	    more precise, and is slightly easier for
	    translators.</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
	<term>Use the serial comma</term>

	<listitem>
	  <para>In a list of items within a paragraph, separate each
	    item from the others with a comma.  Separate the last item
	    from the others with a comma and the word
	    <quote>and</quote>.</para>

	  <para>For example:</para>

	  <blockquote>
	    <para>This is a list of one, two and three items.</para>
	  </blockquote>

	  <para>Is this a list of three items, <quote>one</quote>,
	    <quote>two</quote>, and <quote>three</quote>, or a list of
	    two items, <quote>one</quote> and <quote>two and
	      three</quote>?</para>

	  <para>It is better to be explicit and include a serial
	    comma:</para>

	  <blockquote>
	    <para>This is a list of one, two, and three items.</para>
	  </blockquote>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
	<term>Avoid redundant phrases</term>

	<listitem>
	  <para>Do not use redundant phrases.  In particular,
	    <quote>the command</quote>, <quote>the file</quote>, and
	    <quote>man command</quote> are often redundant.</para>

	  <para>For example, commands:</para>

	  <informalexample>
	    <para>Wrong: Use the <command>svn</command> command to
	      update sources.</para>
	  </informalexample>

	  <informalexample>
	    <para>Right:  Use <command>svn</command> to update
	      sources.</para>
	  </informalexample>

	  <para>Filenames:</para>

	  <informalexample>
	    <para>Wrong:  &hellip; in the filename
	      <filename>/etc/rc.local</filename>&hellip;</para>
	  </informalexample>

	  <informalexample>
	    <para>Right:  &hellip; in
	      <filename>/etc/rc.local</filename>&hellip;</para>
	  </informalexample>

	  <para>Manual page references (the second example uses
	    <tag>citerefentry</tag> with the
	    <literal>&amp;man.csh.1;</literal> entity):.</para>

	  <informalexample>
	    <para>Wrong:  See <command>man csh</command> for more
	      information.</para>
	  </informalexample>

	  <informalexample>
	    <para>Right:  See &man.csh.1;.</para>
	  </informalexample>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>

      <varlistentry>
	<term>Two spaces between sentences</term>

	<listitem>
	  <para>Always use two spaces between sentences, as it
	    improves readability and eases use of tools such as
	    <application>Emacs</application>.</para>

	  <para>A period and spaces followed by a capital letter
	    does not always mark a new sentence, especially in names.
	    <quote>Jordan K. Hubbard</quote> is a good example.  It
	    has a capital <literal>H</literal> following a period and
	    a space, and is certainly not a new sentence.</para>
	</listitem>
      </varlistentry>
    </variablelist>

    <para>For more information about writing style, see <link xlink:href="http://www.bartleby.com/141/">Elements of
	Style</link>, by William Strunk.</para>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 xml:id="writing-style-guide">
    <title>Style Guide</title>

    <para>To keep the source for the documentation consistent when
      many different people are editing it, please follow these style
      conventions.</para>

    <sect2 xml:id="writing-style-letter-case">
      <title>Letter Case</title>

      <para>Tags are entered in lower case, <tag>para</tag>,
	<emphasis>not</emphasis> <tag>PARA</tag>.</para>

      <para>Text that appears in SGML contexts is generally written in
	upper case, <literal>&lt;!ENTITY&hellip;&gt;</literal>, and
	<literal>&lt;!DOCTYPE&hellip;&gt;</literal>,
	<emphasis>not</emphasis>
	<literal>&lt;!entity&hellip;&gt;</literal> and
	<literal>&lt;!doctype&hellip;&gt;</literal>.</para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 xml:id="writing-style-acronyms">
      <title>Acronyms</title>

      <para>Acronyms should be defined the first time they appear in a
	document, as in:
	<quote>Network Time Protocol (<acronym>NTP</acronym>)</quote>.
	After the acronym has been defined, use the acronym alone
	unless it makes more sense contextually to use the whole term.
	Acronyms are usually defined only once per chapter or per
	document.</para>

      <para>All acronyms should be enclosed in
	<tag>acronym</tag> tags.</para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 xml:id="writing-style-indentation">
      <title>Indentation</title>

      <para>The first line in each file starts with no indentation,
	<emphasis>regardless</emphasis> of the indentation level of
	the file which might contain the current file.</para>

      <para>Opening tags increase the indentation level by two spaces.
	Closing tags decrease the indentation level by two spaces.
	Blocks of eight spaces at the start of a line should be
	replaced with a tab.  Do not use spaces in front of tabs, and
	do not add extraneous whitespace at the end of a line.
	Content within elements should be indented by two spaces if
	the content runs over more than one line.</para>

      <para>For example, the source for this section looks like
	this:</para>

      <programlisting><tag class="starttag">chapter</tag>
  <tag class="starttag">title</tag>...<tag class="endtag">title</tag>

  <tag class="starttag">sect1</tag>
    <tag class="starttag">title</tag>...<tag class="endtag">title</tag>

    <tag class="starttag">sect2</tag>
      <tag class="starttag">title</tag>Indentation<tag class="endtag">title</tag>

      <tag class="starttag">para</tag>The first line in each file starts with no indentation,
	<tag class="starttag">emphasis</tag>regardless<tag class="endtag">emphasis</tag> of the indentation level of
	the file which might contain the current file.<tag class="endtag">para</tag>

      ...
    <tag class="endtag">sect2</tag>
  <tag class="endtag">sect1</tag>
<tag class="endtag">chapter</tag></programlisting>

      <para>Tags containing long attributes follow the same
	rules.  Following the indentation rules in this case helps
	editors and writers see which content is inside the
	tags:</para>

      <programlisting><tag class="starttag">para</tag>See the <tag class="starttag">link
    linkend="gmirror-troubleshooting"</tag>Troubleshooting<tag class="endtag">link</tag>
  section if there are problems booting.  Powering down and
  disconnecting the original <tag class="starttag">filename</tag>ada0<tag class="endtag">filename</tag> disk
  will allow it to be kept as an offline backup.<tag class="endtag">para</tag>

<tag class="starttag">para</tag>It is also possible to journal the boot disk of a &amp;os;
  system.  Refer to the article <tag class="starttag">link
    xlink:href="&amp;url.articles.gjournal-desktop;"</tag>Implementing UFS
    Journaling on a Desktop PC<tag class="endtag">link</tag> for detailed
  instructions.<tag class="endtag">para</tag></programlisting>

      <para>When an element is too long to fit on the remainder of a
	line without wrapping, moving the start tag to the next line
	can make the source easier to read.  In this example, the
	<literal>systemitem</literal> element has been moved to the
	next line to avoid wrapping and indenting:</para>

      <programlisting><tag class="starttag">para</tag>With file flags, even
  <tag class="starttag">systemitem class="username"</tag>root<tag class="endtag">systemitem</tag> can be
  prevented from removing or altering files.<tag class="endtag">para</tag></programlisting>

      <para>Configurations to help various text editors conform to
	these guidelines can be found in
	<xref linkend="editor-config"/>.</para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 xml:id="writing-style-tag-style">
      <title>Tag Style</title>

      <sect3 xml:id="writing-style-tag-style-spacing">
	<title>Tag Spacing</title>

	<para>Tags that start at the same indent as a previous tag
	  should be separated by a blank line, and those that are not
	  at the same indent as a previous tag should not:</para>

	<informalexample>
	  <programlisting><tag class="starttag">article lang='en'</tag>
  <tag class="starttag">articleinfo</tag>
    <tag class="starttag">title</tag>NIS<tag class="endtag">title</tag>

    <tag class="starttag">pubdate</tag>October 1999<tag class="endtag">pubdate</tag>

    <tag class="starttag">abstract</tag>
      <tag class="starttag">para</tag>...
	...
	...<tag class="endtag">para</tag>
    <tag class="endtag">abstract</tag>
  <tag class="endtag">articleinfo</tag>

  <tag class="starttag">sect1</tag>
    <tag class="starttag">title</tag>...<tag class="endtag">title</tag>

    <tag class="starttag">para</tag>...<tag class="endtag">para</tag>
  <tag class="endtag">sect1</tag>

  <tag class="starttag">sect1</tag>
    <tag class="starttag">title</tag>...<tag class="endtag">title</tag>

    <tag class="starttag">para</tag>...<tag class="endtag">para</tag>
  <tag class="endtag">sect1</tag>
<tag class="endtag">article</tag></programlisting>
	</informalexample>
      </sect3>

      <sect3 xml:id="writing-style-tag-style-separating">
	<title>Separating Tags</title>

	<para>Tags like <tag>itemizedlist</tag> which will
	  always have further tags inside them, and in fact do not
	  take character data themselves, are always on a line by
	  themselves.</para>

	<para>Tags like <tag>para</tag> and
	  <tag>term</tag> do not need other tags to contain
	  normal character data, and their contents begin immediately
	  after the tag, <emphasis>on the same line</emphasis>.</para>

	<para>The same applies to when these two types of tags
	  close.</para>

	<para>This leads to an obvious problem when mixing these
	  tags.</para>

	<para>When a starting tag which cannot contain character data
	  directly follows a tag of the type that requires other tags
	  within it to use character data, they are on separate lines.
	  The second tag should be properly indented.</para>

	<para>When a tag which can contain character data closes
	  directly after a tag which cannot contain character data
	  closes, they co-exist on the same line.</para>
      </sect3>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 xml:id="writing-style-whitespace-changes">
      <title>Whitespace Changes</title>

      <para><emphasis>Do not commit changes
	  to content at the same time as changes to
	  formatting</emphasis>.</para>

      <para>When content and whitespace changes are kept separate,
	translation teams can easily see whether a change was content
	that must be translated or only whitespace.</para>

      <para>For example, if two sentences have been added to a
	paragraph so that the line lengths now go
	over 80 columns, first commit the change with the too-long
	lines.  Then fix the line wrapping, and commit this
	second change.  In the commit message for the second change,
	indicate that this is a whitespace-only change that can be
	ignored by translators.</para>
    </sect2>

    <sect2 xml:id="writing-style-nonbreaking-space">
      <title>Non-Breaking Space</title>

      <para>Avoid line breaks in places where they look ugly or make
	it difficult to follow a sentence.  Line breaks depend on the
	width of the chosen output medium.  In particular, viewing the
	HTML documentation with a text browser can lead to badly
	formatted paragraphs like the next one:</para>

      <literallayout class="monospaced">Data capacity ranges from 40 MB to 15
GB.  Hardware compression &hellip;</literallayout>

      <para>The general entity <literal>&amp;nbsp;</literal> prohibits
	line breaks between parts belonging together.  Use
	non-breaking spaces in the following places:</para>

      <itemizedlist>
	<listitem>
	  <para>between numbers and units:</para>
	  <programlisting>57600&amp;nbsp;bps</programlisting>
	</listitem>

	<listitem>
	  <para>between program names and version numbers:</para>
	  <programlisting>&amp;os;&amp;nbsp;9.2</programlisting>
	</listitem>

	<listitem>
	  <para>between multiword names (use with caution when
	    applying this to more than 3-4 word names like
	    <quote>The &os; Brazilian Portuguese Documentation
	      Project</quote>):</para>
	  <programlisting><![CDATA[Sun&nbsp;Microsystems]]></programlisting>
	</listitem>
      </itemizedlist>
    </sect2>
  </sect1>

  <sect1 xml:id="writing-style-word-list">
    <title>Word List</title>

    <para>This list of words shows the correct spelling and
      capitalization when used in &os; documentation.  If a word is
      not on this list, ask about it on the &a.doc;.</para>

    <informaltable frame="none" pgwide="0">
      <tgroup cols="3">
	<thead>
	  <row>
	    <entry>Word</entry>
	    <entry>XML Code</entry>
	    <entry>Notes</entry>
	  </row>
	</thead>

	<tbody>
	  <row>
	    <entry>CD-ROM</entry>

	    <entry><tag class="starttag">acronym</tag><literal>CD-ROM</literal><tag class="endtag">acronym</tag></entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>DoS (Denial of Service)</entry>
	    <entry><tag class="starttag">acronym</tag><literal>DoS</literal><tag class="endtag">acronym</tag></entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>email</entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>file system</entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>IPsec</entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>Internet</entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>manual page</entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>mail server</entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>name server</entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>Ports Collection</entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>read-only</entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>Soft Updates</entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>stdin</entry>
	    <entry><tag class="starttag">varname</tag>stdin<tag class="endtag">varname</tag></entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>stdout</entry>
	    <entry><tag class="starttag">varname</tag>stdout<tag class="endtag">varname</tag></entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>stderr</entry>
	    <entry><tag class="starttag">varname</tag>stderr<tag class="endtag">varname</tag></entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>Subversion</entry>

	    <entry><tag class="starttag">application</tag><literal>Subversion</literal><tag class="endtag">application</tag></entry>
	    <entry>Do not refer to the Subversion application as
	      <literal>SVN</literal> in upper case.  To refer to the
	      command, use <tag class="starttag">command</tag><literal>svn</literal><tag class="endtag">command</tag>.</entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>&unix;</entry>
	    <entry><literal>&amp;unix;</literal></entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>userland</entry>
	    <entry />
	    <entry>things that apply to user space, not the
	      kernel</entry>
	  </row>

	  <row>
	    <entry>web server</entry>
	  </row>
	</tbody>
      </tgroup>
    </informaltable>
  </sect1>
</chapter>