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Started by PAULMEDOFF
Tue, 09 Aug 1994 21:18
Curly quotes are better in computer books
Author: PAULMEDOFF
Date: Tue, 09 Aug 1994 21:18
Date: Tue, 09 Aug 1994 21:18
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1630 bytes
There's an aspect in favor of curly quotes that goes beyond the fact that they look so much hipper than straight ones, largely important in computer books. Many programs have specific uses for the straight quotes (double primes). For example, you might use them in a spreadsheet cell to indicate a label that is to be aligned a certain way in the cell. In a word processor it might indicated "inches" in a dialog box. The computer book has to separate uses of the quoted word (for example, words as words in a book that already uses italics for variables) from uses of the inch mark. Conventions can get pretty convoluted in computer books. Paul Medoff (paulmedoff@delphi.com) Freelance editor
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