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Re: [PATCH] Fix documentation typos
On Thu, 27 Nov 2003, Gunther Nikl wrote:
> > @^ is a circumflex accent and belongs there.
>
> Is that a common spelling for role?
Yes.
> > @, is a cedilla but is here being misused as if it corresponded to @.
> > (end of sentence following an uppercase letter). So I've applied the
> > second patch of the patch only.
>
> Thank you. But I didn't understand the explanation why @, was misused
> because it sounds like it could have been correct.
TeX allows spaces after certain punctuation marks to stretch more than
ordinary spaces between words. In particular, spaces after ends of
sentences are allowed to stretch the most. A full stop that is preceded
by a capital letter isn't considered to end a sentence (it's presumed more
likely to follow an initial in the middle of a sentence). To override
these heuristics, Texinfo provides @: (which indicates that the
immediately previous full stop does not end a sentence) and @. (which is a
full stop that ends a sentence even those immediately following a capital
letter). Capital letters have the same effect on the stretching of spaces
following other punctuation marks, but nothing corresponding to @. is
provided to override this (the stretching in those cases is smaller and so
the difference following a capital letter less visible).
--
Joseph S. Myers
jsm@polyomino.org.uk