From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: allan gottlieb Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: delete-other-frames Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2016 09:32:47 -0400 Message-ID: <87pooupcao.fsf@nyu.edu> References: <57BC072F.9070704@gmx.at>> <83k2f7fugv.fsf@gnu.org> <57BD63A9.8040502@gmx.at>> <57BEB772.60100@gmx.at> <83inuoewjy.fsf@gnu.org>> > <49a2a9c7-8573-4f07-897f-3eb444679d8a@default> NNTP-Posting-Host: blaine.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Trace: blaine.gmane.org 1472304813 24399 195.159.176.226 (27 Aug 2016 13:33:33 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@blaine.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 27 Aug 2016 13:33:33 +0000 (UTC) User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.5 (gnu/linux) To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sat Aug 27 15:33:29 2016 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by blaine.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.84_2) (envelope-from ) id 1bddji-0005bD-5q for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sat, 27 Aug 2016 15:33:26 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:36054 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1bddjf-0005Bu-9v for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sat, 27 Aug 2016 09:33:23 -0400 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:36234) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1bddjF-00058x-Ur for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Sat, 27 Aug 2016 09:32:59 -0400 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1bddjB-0000B1-LT for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Sat, 27 Aug 2016 09:32:56 -0400 Original-Received: from mx2.cims.nyu.edu ([128.122.49.96]:46787) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1bddjB-0000Ax-HP for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Sat, 27 Aug 2016 09:32:53 -0400 Original-Received: from smtp.cs.nyu.edu (smtp.cs.nyu.edu [128.122.49.97]) by mx2.cims.nyu.edu (8.15.1+Sun/8.15.1) with ESMTP id u7RDWnJb014637 for ; Sat, 27 Aug 2016 09:32:49 -0400 (EDT) Original-Received: from E7450-wired.localdomain (ool-18be5c30.dyn.optonline.net [24.190.92.48]) (authenticated bits=0) by smtp.cs.nyu.edu (8.15.2/8.15.1) with ESMTPSA id u7RDWlDq010150 (version=TLSv1.2 cipher=DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 bits=256 verify=NOT) for ; Sat, 27 Aug 2016 09:32:49 -0400 (EDT) Original-Received: by E7450.localdomain (Postfix, from userid 1000) id 433D040609; Sat, 27 Aug 2016 09:32:47 -0400 (EDT) In-Reply-To: <49a2a9c7-8573-4f07-897f-3eb444679d8a@default> (Drew Adams's message of "Fri, 26 Aug 2016 23:31:19 -0700 (PDT)") X-Greylist: Sender IP whitelisted, not delayed by milter-greylist-4.4.1 (mx2.cims.nyu.edu [128.122.49.96]); Sat, 27 Aug 2016 09:32:49 -0400 (EDT) X-Virus-Scanned: clamav-milter 0.97.4 at mx2 X-Virus-Status: Clean X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.73 on 128.122.49.96 X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: Genre and OS details not recognized. X-Received-From: 128.122.49.96 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.21 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: "help-gnu-emacs" Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:111213 Archived-At: On Sat, Aug 27 2016, Drew Adams wrote: >> > For the future, please adopt the following style: >> > This function deletes the specified @var{frame}. >> > rather than using this: >> > This function deletes the frame @var{frame}. >> >> The latter is the grammatically correct way. A parameter name in >> italics, such as "@var{frame}", acts as a _name_ that refers to the >> actual value of the argument. Just as we would write >> >> Send it to my assistant, Jeanne. >> >> we should write, >> delete the frame, @var{f}. >> or >> delete the frame, @var{frame}. > > Yes, and no. > > 1. If there is only one frame in the discussion, and @var{f} > is a name for it, then "delete the frame, @var{f}" is correct. > This is _non-restrictive apposition_: the frame and @var{f} are > two ways of designating the same thing: THE frame in the scope > of discussion. > > The name @var{f} does not restrict the choice of frames here; > it is understood that there is only one, and it is called > @var{f}. You could drop either "the frame" or "@var{f}" > without loss of meaning: neither qualifies the other. > > But if there might be more than one frame in the discussion, > and @var{f} is the one we are concerned with at present, then > this is correct: "delete the frame @var{f}". (Note: no comma.) > And so is this: "delete frame @var{f}". > > Here, @var{f} is the name of the particular frame we care > about at the moment, but we do not assume that it is the only > one in the general discussion. This is _restrictive apposition_: > "@var{f}" restricts "frame", identifying the one frame out of > possibly many that we are concerned with now. > > It is the difference between "my sister, Sue" and "my sister > Sue". In the first case I have only one sister. In the > second I likely have more than one. In both cases the nominal > appositive "Sue" applies to the descriptive appositive "sister". > In the first case "Sue" is non-restrictive; in the second case > it is restrictive. > > Clearly, it is easy to not notice a comma, or to mistakenly > add or forget a comma, so it is important for clarity that the > rest of the text reinforces the meaning. > > The form of restrictive apposition where "the" is dropped can > make reading easier, especially when there are multiple things > that we are juggling, as is often the case for technical writing. > > For example, if we've introduced things clearly enough then it > can be simpler to speak of "querying columns JCOL and KCOL of > table TAB", instead of bothering readers with "querying the > columns JCOL and KCOL of the table TAB". > > When "the" is omitted the apposition is partial: Only the > descriptive appositive (the type: columns or tables) could > be omitted; the nominal appositive (the name: JCOL or TAB) > is needed (and sufficient). > > This dropping of the type and using only the name brings us > to the next point. > > 2. I think Eli was talking about something different, but > related: the fact that in Emacs doc the name of a parameter > is often chosen to be a type name, and a convention is to > omit the type noun to which the restrictive appositive > applies and let the parameter name stand alone. > > IOW, if the name of the individual echoes the name of the > type then we can get by with just the individual name. > > Example: > > Just "copy FILE to DIRECTORY", instead of "copy file FILE > to directory DIRECTORY" (or the even heavier "copy the > file FILE to the directory DIRECTORY). > > And if there are multiple individuals of the same type > then we can use different names for them that each echo > the type name: "copy FILE1 and FILE2 to DIRECTORY". > > This is a kind of abbreviation, and it is fine too.