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Re: Coding conventions -- command line option vs command-line option
- From: Robert Kiesling <kiesling at earthlink dot net>
- To: gcc-help at gcc dot gnu dot org
- Date: Sun, 16 Sep 2007 21:17:31 -0400 (EDT)
- Subject: Re: Coding conventions -- command line option vs command-line option
> And now to the most important issue of all to address before we can
> release GCC 4.3.0. ;-)
>
> In our current documentation we have both "command-line option" and
> "command line option". Like other such cases, we should make a choice
> and document this in codingconventions.html.
>
> I am willing to take care of that, and also adjusting our web pages
> accordingly. The question now is: which of the two variants shall we
> go for?
The Chicago Manual of Style (I don't have it in front of me, so I
can't cite the section and page) says, "command line option," without
the hyphenation, because there is no ambiguity which word, "line,"
modifies. The word is taken to modify, "command," because, "command
line," is a common expression (we all know what it means.)
There are probably exceptions to this dictum, as in cases where there is
a term or phrase preceding, "command line option," that would only
modify, "command," but these examples escape me at the moment.
--pedantic-mode-off
Regards,
Robert
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