Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 15:51:00 -0600 From: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com> To: Matthew Hunt <mph@pobox.com> Cc: Anatoly Vorobey <mellon@pobox.com>, freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: American English typography (no longer: make.conf) Message-ID: <35E9C944.13D073C5@softweyr.com> References: <199808290058.RAA20957@apollo.backplane.com> <Pine.BSF.3.96.980828212840.9718F-100000@localhost> <19980829123759.B29560@keltia.freenix.fr> <19980829141614.09323@techunix.technion.ac.il> <35E83F10.1F1B5AF9@softweyr.com> <19980829211145.A8882@astro.psu.edu>
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Matthew Hunt wrote:
>
> On Sat, Aug 29, 1998 at 11:49:04AM -0600, Wes Peters wrote:
>
> > When using proportional fonts, the correct typography is to use an
> > n-space between words and an m-space between sentences, IIRC. I
> > think MS-Word does this automagically; if you type a second space
> > following a period, it removes it. I hate it when my computer thinks
> > it is smarter than me!
>
> Hm... does it know about every conveivable abbreviation? That is,
> if "Dr." or "Mr." appears mid-sentence, it should an n-space following
> it. Likewise for some obscure or made-up abbreviation.
It seems to get it correct in the instances I've noticed. Word has
one of those english parsers built in, and can probably *generally*
recognize a period following an abbreviation from the end of a sentence,
if the writer is writing recognizable english. I'm sure it's not
perfect -- no product is. (Especially Microsoft products, which are
in my opinion feature-rich but quality-poor.)
> LaTeX for example handles the spaces automatically, but since its
> knowledge of abbreviations is finite, there is a manual override
> (backslashes, of course).
Of course. Professional products will always let you fix their mistakes,
one way or another. Frame, for instance, lets you control the kerning
between letters as well as the spacing between words, sentences, etc.
--
"Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?"
Wes Peters Softweyr LLC
http://www.softweyr.com/~softweyr wes@softweyr.com
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