A to Z
From Writer's site
Contents |
0-9, symbols
0–9 – spell out, then use numerals for 10, 11 upwards
24-7 - with a hyphen
3D
5ESS - a switch
Avoid using asterisks for table footnotes; prefer superscript numbers instead
> - use for menu paths, eg Options > Preferences
A
a) - can be used in a list, eg 'There are three things to try: a) running, b) cycling or c) bungee jumping.'
ability - strictly, this means "possession of necessary skill, competence or power". Writers often talk about an "ability" of an application, but often it makes more sense to talk of an "option". If software really does have an ability to do something, that's great, but more often it's that it gives the user the option to do something.
AbiWord - the office software. Note capital 'W'.
Access - the Microsoft application.
Acid2 - a test for web browsers' support of web standards. All one word.
adapter - a person.
adaptor - a device.
add-on (n)
Adobe - written roman unless part of software brand name, eg Adobe Photoshop.
ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line.
adviser (n)
AIGLX - whizzy new graphical technology.
Ajax - used to develop web applications.
aka - accepted abbreviation for 'also known as'. Not AKA.
Akregator - capital A, lower-case k.
all right - not "alright".
ALSA - the Advanced Linux Sound Architecture library.
alternative - is usually a choice of two, you can rarely have three alternatives. Prefer 'option'.
Amarok - not amaroK.
AMD64 - do not use this term any more. Instead, use x86-64.
AmigaOS
among - not amongst.
Anacron
analogue - not analog.
anti-aliasing - hyphenated.
antivirus - one word.
Apache - the world's dominant web server.
Apache License - all roman, note 's' not 'c'.
Apache modules - are not italicised.
the Apache Software Foundation
API - stands for Application Programming Interface. We do not italicise APIs, but we do put them in title case, eg Cairo, Web Services.
applet
Apress - not APress
APT - Advanced Package Tool.
Arcade mode
argument - an argument is an extra bit that you put in the command line, which alters the way a command is carried out eg ls will list directory contents. But give it a couple of arguments (ls /-a) and it might list only those contents which begin with the letter A.
Assembly - technically, this is the program that converts assembly language into machine code. It is not a language; you're thinking of assembly language.
assembly language - lower-case 'a'.
Athlon 64
Autoconf
Automake
Autopackage - the software.
Autopackage (n) - this is a ready-to-install application packaged up with Autopackage.
Avahi – roman.
avoid, avert, prevent
Avert comes from avertere, to turn from. You can use 'avert' in two senses of prevention.
- To turn away from disaster. "He averted his face from Medusa's eyes."
- To ward off disaster ('ward off' means to turn aside or repel). "Fire crews averted a major forest fire."
Note that you can either avert yourself from disaster (his face), or you can avert disaster itself (the forest fire).
Avoid comes from vuidier, to empty (that archaic meaning of to empty or to expel has gone now). Avoid doesn't have avert's sense of repelling danger.
- Its principal meaning is to keep out of the way of disaster, rather than prevent disaster from happening. "I avoided guerrillas by sticking to the coast."
- A second, slightly different meaning is to elude, or escape.
- Avoid can also mean to shun, to keep away from. "I avoid that kind of pub."
- But avoid can also be used in the sense of keeping something from happening. "We avoid burning the cake by covering it with foil."
Prevent comes from praevenire, to anticipate or precede. Prevention is a much more active way of dealing with disaster than aversion or avoidance.
- Its main meaning is to keep disaster from happening, especially by taking some precautionary action.
Note that the sense of anticipating disaster and going on to stop it happening harks to the root of prevent, praevenire.
B
back up - verb.
backup - noun and adjective, eg 'a daily backup', 'a backup'.
utility
back-end
backport - all one word.
Basic - the Ur-programming language. Initial cap.
Bash - GNU command language interpreter, or shell, eg 'the Bash shell'.
beat 'em-up - the apostrophe should face 'beat', like a closing single quote.
best-selling (adj)
bestseller
beta - small bee!
Bezier
BIOS - Basic Input / Output System (all caps).
bit - hyphenate when used as adjective; eg '8-bit', '32-bit'.
bitmap
bitrate – one word
bit-rot
BitTorrent - roman when referring to the protocol (actually a peer-to-peer digital content delivery platform). You might talk about 'BitTorrent packages'. You don't have to use BitTorrent the client to download files on BitTorrent.
BitTorrent - only italicise when you are referring to the application: the original client software written to be used with BitTorrent, released under the BitTorrent Open Source License.
BitTorrent Inc - the company that maintains the BitTorrent protocol and develops BitTorrent software.
blast-'em-up - see beat-'em-up.
bloatware - software that's full of features, requiring lots of RAM.
blog, blogging - write this short form rather than the full 'web logging'.
Blu-ray
bootloader - all one word.
bubblejet - all one word.
bugfix - all one word.
bug tracking - two words.
bytecode
bzipped - the past participle of bzip is bzipped.
C
C - the programming language, stupid!
C++
CAD - all caps.
cache
caching - not cacheing.
caching proxy server - no caps.
Cairo - although it looks Egyptian, this should actually be roman (it's an API).
cannot or can't - never 'can not'.
Capitalisation (see italics, bold and capitals)
Things that are italicised in Linux Format:
- Begin application names with a capital letter, even if the creator doesn't, eg amaroK > Amarok.
- If you make an instruction to press a certain key on the keyboard, you would capitalise the key name eg 'press Enter'.
- If you are talking about a tool, whether generically or in terms of a specific page or button it is also capitalised eg 'the Rotate tool works well, the Recovery function sucks'.
- Similarly, if you are talking about a certain page, feature, tab or menu, it should be capitalised eg 'go to the About Us page', 'right-click on the File menu'. NB: to avoid confusion, the entire name of the tool, feature etc should be capitalised eg 'click on Layer To Image Size' AND NOT 'click on Layer to image size'.
- With sequences of destinations, use > signs eg 'go to File > About Us > News'.
CAPT - a driver protocol.
Cat5 - short for 'category 5 cable'. One word, initial cap.
CDE - Common Desktop Environment.
CD-ROM - all caps, and note hyphen. 'Disc' is not required afterwards.
cell phone - two words, but prefer 'mobile phone'.
CERN - all caps. Very important place for the interweb. Originally stood for Conseil Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire (but the name has since changed).
changelog - all one word.
checkbox - one word.
chipset - but 'tool set', 'feature set'.
chroot - command to change the root directory. Sometimes used with parentheses, though Nick says you'd only write chroot() in a code string.
chroot (n) - don't italicise in this case.
ClamAV
client-server - use an 'en' dash to denote relationship. Not client/server.
CNR - short for Click-N-Run, the Linspire system.
COAS - Caldera Open Administration System project.
COBOL - all caps (COmmon Business Oriented Language).
code - in Linux Format, code is presented as bold text. If the code is longer than a few words, we style it separately on a new line with its own coloured paragraph rule behind it. We treat code output as code as well as code input. Lines in a config file are also treated as code; lines or excerpts from other documents can be treated like error messages: roman, with single quotes.
CodeWeavers - St Paul-based company behind Wine and CrossOver Linux - formerly CrossOver Office.
coin-op - hyphen, no apostrophe.
colourize - one of the few -ize words in the Linux Format style guide.
Commands
- A direct command should be in bold, eg 'run make'.
- If you are talking about a command but not directing that you actually do the command, it should be italicised, eg 'here at Linux Format we think make is a really cool command'. This is why programs are italicised: they are just complex commands, eg 'here at LXF we think Excel is a really cool command'.
- If you are really talking about a function and not a command at all, treat it as a tool (see Capitalisation), eg 'reapply Unsharp Mask'.
- If you are not sure if something is a command or a function, ask a geek, try it on Google with double quotes or try typing it as a command line into your Terminal.
command line - no need to hyphen unless meaning is otherwise unclear, eg 'command-line tool'.
company names - write them sensibly, not slavishly: Nvidia and Netgear rather than NVIDIA and NETGEAR. Also eBay (EBay at the start of a sentence), iPod, CodeWeavers...
commercial - it's usually more accurate to use 'proprietary'.
compared with - as analysis, eg 'I compare apples with oranges'.
compared to - as metaphor, eg 'I compare thee to a rose'.
configuration file - no caps, 'config' is acceptable as abbreviation. Note: when printed in the magazine, lines in a config file are treated as code.
cooperate
coordinate
copyleft software - permissible when 'free software' and 'open source' are being over-used.
counter-intuitive - note hyphen.
coverdisc - all one word.
Cron
crontab - but 'Cron job', 'Cron task'.
cross over (v)
crossover (n, adj)
CrossOver Office
cross-platform - note the hyphen.
crowdsourcing – one word, like outsourcing
CUPS - common Unix printing system. All caps.
customise - not 'customize'.
cutesy
cypher text - As opposed to plain text. Note 'y', two words.
D
daemon - a small program resident in memory and running in the background. Often has a 'd' at the end.
DB2 - IBM's database management system.
DDBMSs - Database and Distributed Database Management Systems.
D-BUS - all caps, hyphenated.
Deb - type of file used for Debian software packages. Often mentioned in the same breath as RPM.
Debian - an amalgam of Ian (Murdock, Debian creator) and Debra (then girlfriend, now wife, surname unknown) picked to name the new Linux distro in 1993.
Debian Project Leader - acceptably abbreviated to 'DPL' after first mention.
decompacted
decompile - note not hyphenated.
Delicious - the web service. Prefer to 'del.icio.us'.
demo, demos
denial of service (DoS) attack
desktop - all one word.
DHCP - Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.
dialog - use US spelling in computer-specific contexts, eg 'a dialog box'.
dialogue - use UK spelling in general contexts, eg 'a dialogue between the two companies'.
dial-up (adj)
dial up (verb)
different from - not 'different to'.
Digikam – no longer do we have to write this with an intrusive capital K
DirectX
directories - are always bold, as are filenames and partitions.
disc - compact, LP record, brakes.
disk - floppy, hard, external.
distro - abbreviation for 'distribution'.
DMA - Direct Memory Access.
DNS - Domain Name System.
Dock - the Mac OS desktop GUI feature.
DOS - all caps.
dotcom - all one word.
dots per inch - abbreviated to dpi (small letters, no full stops).
double-click
double-dash, or -- - this is Paul's 'special' geek dash (--foobar..). Space hyphen hyphen foo. The two hyphens are tracked out to 75.
Down cursor - capital 'D'.
download
dpi
drag and drop - three full words, like cut and paste (not cut 'n' paste).
drop-down menu/box
dual boot - unhyphenated.
drop-ship - seen in computer games.
due to - The word ‘due’ comes from devoir, Old French for ‘to owe’. Generally speaking, ‘due to’ is fine used as an adjective with ‘to be’. It is OK to use it in these three ways:
1. meaning ‘owing or payable to’. ‘Pay Caesar what is due to Caesar’
2. meaning ‘supposed to’. ‘The train is due to arrive at 5 o’clock’
3. meaning ‘ascribable to’. ‘The doctor agreed that his death was due to heart disease’ Here, think of ‘due to’ being substituted for ‘attributable to’: ‘The doctor agreed that his death was attributable to heart disease’.
Note that these uses are related to a noun: ‘death’, ‘train’.
Purists object to ‘due to’ being used as a compound preposition without a verb. ‘Michael… hated mathematics at school, mainly due to the teacher', ‘Largely due to the defence efforts of the Western Powers, Europe was in a stalemate’. Note that in this usage, ‘due to’ isn’t related to a noun, and the ‘attributable to’ rule doesn’t work: ‘Michael… hated mathematics at school, mainly attributable to the teacher'. Because we follow the purists, it is better to avoid this usage of ‘due to’ and prefer ‘owing to’ or ‘because' instead.
(A compound preposition is just two or more words acting together as a preposition, such as ‘ahead of’ and ‘in addition to’. A preposition connects a noun with another word and indicates the relationship between them. ‘Peter walked to the store’ connects ‘walked’ and ‘the store’.)
DVD-ROM
dynamic IP address - 'no caps either side'.
E
east - but Middle East.
e-business, e-commerce - both use a hyphen.
Eclipse - it's a programming environment, so we italicise it.
ecosystem - this word has been cropping more and more in corporate press releases. The meaning of it isn't very clear for ordinary people, so please avoid using it.
Emacs - Linux editor, short for Editing MACroS.
Eee PC - Initial cap only, as with all pronouns
eg - not e.g. or eg. Try to use 'for example' instead.
El Torrito
Enlightenment
environment variable - in Bash, always in caps and in bold, eg '$EDITOR'.
Error 21 - capital 'E'.
Error messages
These are put in single quotes.
eg 'I noticed a message at the bottom of the Mozilla screen saying 'Resolving Host XXXXXXXX'. This causes a five to ten-second delay in the page appearing.'
If the error message is very long, put it on a new line and indent it by 4mm left and right.
eg 'The installer began to copy the files but I was hit with the following error:
-Installing platform dependent files ... Done
./INSTALL: line 219: ed: command not found
ERROR installing /usr/local/Acrobat5/bin/acroread'.
I have repeated the procedure a number of times, and have downloaded the software from the Adobe site on several occasions.'
et al - italicised.
etc - no full stop unless at the end of a sentence. No comma before it.
Ethernet - networking protocol. Distinguish between different versions, such as Fast Ethernet (100MBps) or Gigabit Ethernet (1,000MBps).
ever - don't use with a superlative. Biggest, best etc are total and don't need qualifying.
executable files - preferable to '.exe files'.
Exif data – a class of metadata found in photos
Exposé (with an accent) - the window tiling feature on Mac.
ext2, ext3
Extend (Novell)
extensions - Firefox extensions, such as Greasemonkey, are not italicised.
Extreme Programming
ezine - no hyphen.
F
FAM - File Alteration Monitor.
fast-forward – the button on your tape deck that skips past the songs you don't like
feature set - two words.
Fedora Linux - not Red Hat Fedora, though it is sponsored by Red Hat Inc. This community distro used to be called 'Fedora Core Linux', but in January 2007 the Fedora project decided to merge the 'Core' repository with the 'Extras' repository.
Fdisk - the utility; DOS FDISK - all caps.
FFmpeg
FHS - Filesystem Hierarchy Standard.
fifty-fifty - all one word; not 50:50.
Figures
In tutorials, you can refer to specific images or diagrams, particularly as part of a series, with 'see Fig 1' in the text and '(Fig 1)' at the start of the caption.
FileMakerPro
file manager - no caps.
filenames - are always bold, as are directories.
filesystem - only one word.
file extensions and filetypes - write these in caps (GIF, JPEG) not as actual file extensions (.gif, .jpg).
firepower - all one word.
Firefox
FireWire
flamewar – one word
flash - if you are talking about flash memory on a memory card or flash drive, this is written with a small 'f'.
Flash - when it comes to multimedia, this should be roman and with a big 'F'. The word 'Flash' might refer to the file format (this has a .swf file extension) or to Flash Professional, the authoring environment. The distinction isn't terribly important when you talk generally of 'Flash websites'. But should you ever refer to the Adobe Flash Player, please italicise it.
flat file (database) - two words.
FLOSS - Free/Libre and Open Source Software. All caps.
Fluxbox
follow-up (n)
for example - avoid 'eg' wherever possible.
for instance
the Force – capital eff
Fortran - despite style of COBOL, we use initial cap only (FORmula TRANslator).
FOSS - Free and Open Source Software. All caps. More common than 'FLOSS'.
frame rate - two words.
framebuffer - all one word.
frames per second - this is OK to abbreviate to 'fps', eg "The rate was 42fps."
FreeBSD - all one word.
free software - some people write this in Title Case, 'Free Software', but not us.
front-end - refers to the parts of software seen by user, such as a dialog box. One word (see back-end).
F-Spot
FTP - File Transfer Protocol (based on TCP/IP).
FVWM
full stops
Use these at the end of captions, pull quotes and standfirsts.
The only pieces of text that are left hanging without a full stop are:
- headlines
- box titles
- box standfirsts
- news story standfirsts
- anything on the cover
- anything in contents
- mini-contents on section intro pages
functions - are in bold.
G
Gaël Duval - Mandrake creator. Let go from Mandriva in April 2006; began working on his own Linux distro Ulteo.
game programmer
gameplay, gameplaying, gamesplayer(s)
GB - abbreviation for gigabytes, not Gb. No space, eg '20GB'.
GCC
gconf - small 'g'. It's a configuration file editor for Gnome.
Gdm
geekspeak - see -speak.
Gegl – The Generic Graphics Library
Gentoo
gFTP client - FTP client in Linux
Ghostscript
GHz - gigahertz. No space, eg '1.6GHz'.
Gimp - GNU Image Manipulation Program.
GLib
Glibc
GLX - roman, all caps.
GMC - GNU Midnight Commander. This used to be the default file manager in Gnome.
Gnome - GNU Network Object Model Environment; a GUI desktop in Linux, similar to KDE in function.
Gnome Control Center
Gnotepad - the popular text editor. Forget the '+' sign often written at the end.
GNU - GNU's Not Unix. All caps. A free operating system announced in 1983 with its own software, libraries, compilers and, it is planned, its own kernel (GNU Hurd, still in development). The Free Software Foundation, which supports free software and GNU, would like people to say 'GNU/Linux' rather than simply 'Linux', in order to recognise the contribution of GNU technology. Technically, 'Linux' refers only to the kernel of the operating system. But this is only rarely adhered to and it is fine to write simply 'Linux' when you refer to the OS with a Linux kernel in Linux Format, as the title of the magazine itself suggests!
google (vb) - avoid this, as Google is a trademark. Try 'search Google' instead.
Google Summer of Code
GPhoto2
GPL - GNU General Public License.
GPL 3 or GPL v3 - note space between. Prefer 'GPL 3' to 'GPL v3'.
GPLed - software published under the GPL.
GProFTPd - yes, we have to right it like this.
greyscale - adjective describing a device (such as a monitor) or image that uses grey levels only, not colours. Not 'grayscale' unless quoting, for example, an application menu,
grey scale - noun. A table of grey levels (usage rare and usually technical),
Grub
GThumb
GTK - note that we have dropped the '+' from the end.
GUI - graphical user interface. All caps. Pronounced "gooey".
gzip - the compression software. I know, I know, this goes against the rule that programs start with a capital. But this is more of a utility, and therefore belongs to the small group that appear as they do on the command line.
gzip - the command in use!
.gz - a gzipped-file
H
HAL - all caps. The Hardware Abstraction Layer.
hardcore (adjective)
hard drive
hardware - all one word.
hda - small letters.
Hello World – a Hello World program is not italicised. Writing a Hello World program, where the screen prints out the words "Hello World!", is often used in tutorials for teaching people a new computer language.
here documents - special code blocks or strings (usually heredoc).
hi-fi
hi-res - not 'hi-rez'.
hi-tech
holy grail - not capped. A bit of a cliché.
homepage - one word.
hostname - one word.
HotPicks - this section in Linux Format is all one word.
hotplug, hotplugging - one word.
HOWTO - all one word, caps.
HTML
HTML colours - for example, F3D901 (egg-yolk yellow). Keep the letters upper case.
HTTP - HyperText Transfer Protocol.
http:// - only include this as part of the address in Linux Format if the URL doesn't have 'www' or similar.
hub - no cap unless integral part of trademarked proper name.
Hyperthreading - capital 'H', because it's an Intel trademark.
hyphens
Use hyphens to clarify meaning, especially when nouns and other words are used as adjectives.
eg 'I keep my versions up to date' but 'an up-to-date version'.
eg 'I was fined on the spot' but 'an on-the-spot fine'.
We do not insist on using hyphens with compound modifiers/adjectives every time. "Open source software" is fine without a hypen, as are "de facto standard" and "high school student". The better known the phrase (such as 'open source'), the better it can cope without being hyphenated. But if hyphens help, use them. As Bill Walsh writes in Lapsing Into A Comma, "Sure, orange juice salesmen isn't going to be confusing in its entirety, but for one nanosecond the reader is going to be led down the wrong path, thinking orange is the modifier and juice is the noun… The job of an editor is to make things as easy as possible on the reader, and the least the editor could do is stick in a little hyphen and make that link to begin with."
A quick note on multiple hyphens. It might feel profligate to write 'three-year-old child' or 'high-school-age students', but don't be afraid of using more than one hyphen: it's better than selective hyphenation, which might leave words unlinked.
Hz - hertz (cycles per second); MHz = megahertz; GHz = gigahertz
I
IA64
id software – The company that makes Doom and other shoot-'em-ups. They write it with a small 'i', and so do we.
IDE - Integrated Development Environment, such as Eclipse, Anjuta. Also stands for Integrated Drive Electronics (a kind of hard drive interface, as distinct from SCSI hard drives). IDEs are italicised.
ie - not 'i.e.' or 'ie'.
iFolder - for such program names starting with an 'i', we make an exception to the rule of starting programs with a capital letter and keep the 'i' in lower case.
IMAP
Inc - for companies; no comma before or full-stop afterwards (eg 'VMware Inc is based in the United States').
infinite(ly) - these terms are frequently used inaccurately. 'Infinitely-configurable menus' aren't infinitely configurable, the options just run into very high numbers. If you can't think of a better expression, 'almost infinite(ly)' at least avoids being definitively wrong!
init scripts
Initials - such as' JRR Tolkien': no space, no periods. Or 'Kevin B Smith'
InnoDB - not italicised.
installfest
installment
internet
Internet Explorer - from version 7 onwards, the official name for this is WIndows Internet Explorer.
intranet
I/O port - Input/Output.
IO slaves - seamless access to media and protocols (eg compressed archives, SSH, HTTP etc).
IP address/routing - no cap on word after Internet Protocol abbreviation. Roman, don't treat as URL.
IPCop - a specialist Linux firewall distro.
iPod
Iptables
IRC - all capital letters, no italics.
IrDA - Infrared Data Association.
ISP - internet service provider.
italicisation See Italics, bold and capital letters
J
Jack – The Jack Audio Connection Kit. This is not italicised. Some people refer to it as a server, but it isn't, really.
JavaScript – language that gives scripting capabilities for dynamic content in web browsers (or something). Capital Jay, capital Ess
job titles - lower case, eg managing director
joypad
joystick
JPEG See File extensions and file types
J-Pilot
K
K3b - CD-burning software. Not 'K3B'.
K menu - big kay, little em.
k - kilobytes, lower case, eg '32'.
Kalbum
KDE
KDE Control Centre - not '-er'.
KDE 4.0 - use 'x.0' like this for a specific release. Use 'KDE 4.x' for the series (4.1, 4.2, 4.3 etc) and technology.
KDesktop
Kdissert
Kdm
kernel
kernel components - are italicised, such as Xen and Inotify.
keybinding
keypress
KFind
Kfm - KDE file manager.
kg - kilograms. Not Kg, eg '764kg'.
kHz - kilohertz, eg '5kHz'.
KHTML - rendering engine used in Konqueror, equivalent to the Gecko engine used in Firefox; italicised.
KimDaBa
KIO slave, KIO slaves
Kivio
KMail
KOffice
KPhotoBook
KPresenter
KSpread
Kugar
KWM
KWord
Kylix
L
LAMP - traditional Linux platform comprising Linux, Apache, MySQL, Perl/PHP/Python.
LAN - local area network. All caps.
Latex
laser - acronym, no 'z'.
LDAP - Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
left-click - hyphen eg 'left-click on my face'.
Libquicktime
libraries - Italicise. Often contain the word 'mod' or 'lib'.
licence (n) - spell with a 'c' unless quoting an existing, US licence such as the Apache License.
license (v)
likeable
Lilo</font> - LInux LOader, allows booting of any OS.
Linus's
Linux - LXF abbreviate GNU/Linux to this for brevity.
Linuxconf
Linuxconfig
Lisp
Lists
These are formatted with bullet points, tabs and full stops, as follows:
'Once we know that our input is from a real person, we can eliminate potentially bad data - this is much easier! Our goal here is to:
- Trim all data to the size we're expecting.
- Substitute reserved characters with their HTML equivalent.
- Escape quotes.'
Then the new paragraph begins straight after the list, indented as per a usual paragraph.
The rule is the same no matter how long or short the items in the list, like so:
'Once we know that our input is from a real person, we can eliminate potentially bad data - this is much easier! Our goal here is to:
- Trim.
- Substitute.
- Escape.'
Then the new paragraph begins straight after the list, indented as per a usual paragraph.
If there is a title to each list entry then some blurb, you should put the title in bold, without following with a full stop.
eg
'But as this tutorial will show we can use PHP to manage the other three steps, which we can summarise as:
- Validate Ensure that the inputted data is what you expected, of the correct length and correctly formatted.
- Authenticate Check what the user provided against what you have in your database.
- Allocate When you have established that the user should have permissions, issue them with an access token that gives them access rights to their account.'
The bullet points are actually two chevrons, coloured with the article's section colour.
live CD, live DVD - an easy-to-install Linux distro available on a disc. Note lack of capitalisation.
Linuxy - informal adjective. Not '-ey'.
LOADLIN
log in - verb.
login - noun.
login prompt
Loki
lo-res - not 'lo-rez'.
lowdown - one word.
lower-case (adj) - note hyphen.
Lpd - line printer daemon; Linux printing service manager.
Lphoto
LUG - Linux User Group or Linux Users Group. All caps.
M
Mac OS - Apple's operating system, not 'MacOS'.
MacBook - Apple's hardware.
Mactel - the new nickname for the Apple Mac computers running on an Intel chip.
mail server - two words.
Makefile
Mandriva (the company) - created in April 2005 from the merger of Mandrake and Conectiva. Makes the Mandriva Linux distribution.
Mandriva Control Center - not '-re'.
Mandriva Linux (the distro)
man pages - online help system.
mashup – all one word
may, might - there are several uses for both words, but the commonest is to express possibility.
- In this sense of possibility, 'might' is a weaker, more tentative and more hypothetical version of 'may', and best used in the future or subjunctive tenses. "If I were younger I might have caught him up."
- When expressing possibility that is more likely or more real, often in the present tense, 'may' is better. "The rope may break", "He may be young but he's not stupid."
- It doesn't help that 'might' is also the past participle of 'may'. "She said he might be young but he wasn't stupid."
- Just as 'might' suggests weaker possibility than 'may', 'might' is considered more polite than 'may' when used in the sense of having permission. "Might I ask...?"
MB - megabyte. No space, eg '32MB'.
Mp – megapixels
Mbps - megabits per second. Do not confuse with MBps.
MBps - megabytes per second. Do not confuse with Mbps.
MBR - Master Boot Record.
menu bar - two words (but note 'toolbar' is one word).
Mepis Linux - no more MEPIS! Putting 'Mepis' into title case follows our rules on software names
metadata
Metisse - it is fine to describe this as a 'desktop' or 'window manager', even though it is technically a toolkit that developers use to build 3D desktop environments. The result is similar to Xgl and AIGLX desktops. Metisse emerged from academia: it is not a Mandriva project, although Mandriva has adopted and supported the project.
MHz - megahertz. No space, eg '733MHz'.
mkiso - this is pronounced "make iso", so you would write 'a mkiso script'.
Motif - this is a widget toolkit.
moveable
Midnight Commander
Microsoft Word
MIME type
MMOG - massively multiplayer online game.
MOD - audio sequencing.
modem
motherboard - one word.
mount point - two words, Linux disk partition.
mouse-click
MP3
MPEG
mpg321
MtPaint
MuLinux
multimedia - one word.
multiplayer - one word.
multitasking - one word.
multithreading - one word.
MyISAM - not italicised.
MySQL
N
NAS - network attached storage.
NASA - all caps.
NAT - Network Address Translation.
NATO - all caps.
Nautilus
Ncurses
NdisWrapper
.NET - all caps. Because it starts with a '.' that we can't get rid of, avoid starting sentences with ',NET'.
Netscape
Netscape Messenger
Netscape Navigator
NetworkManager – yes, it looks daft, but it's all one word
newline - all one word.
newsgroup - one word.
newsreader - one word.
NIC - Network Interface Card.
'*NIX' - don't use this. Stick to 'Unix' or 'Linux'.
NNTP
no one - two words'
north - but The North.
noticeable
NTFS - New Technology filesystem.
n-tier
numbers – spell out 0–9, then use numerals for 10, 11 upwards
Nvidia - ignore the way other people write it. We know better.
O
OASIS - all caps
object orientation, object-oriented programming
offline
off site - two words.
OGG files - capitalised, to be consistent with JPEG, TIFF et al. Any type of file that uses the Ogg container, but we use it mostly as shorthand for the Ogg Vorbis music file format.
Ogg Theora – Ogg is the container, Theora the (movie) codec.
Ogg Vorbis – Ogg is the container, Vorbis the (music) codec.
OK - not 'okay'.
old-fashioned
Old World Mac
online - one word.
on site - two words.
on to - two words, not 'onto'.
OpenDocument
OpenOffice.org - the '.org' is mandatory. Abbreviated as OOo (no dot).
open source - not 'Open Source' or 'open-source'.
open sourcey - should you ever need to say so.
OpenGL - not italicised, my friends!
OpenLDAP
OpenSUSE - this is the Novell-sponsored distro developed with the help of the community, as opposed to the purely Novell-produced 'SUSE Linux'.
operating system - no caps.
OS - this abbreviation of 'operating system' is fine.
OSCON – looks silly with just an initial cap, so it's OK to do it all caps. No other reason.
OSes - plural of OS (operating system).
OS X - Apple's post-System 9 operating system, with a space between the 'S' and the 'X', and not 'OS-X' (in full: Mac OS X, with two spaces).
Ordnance Survey
Oracle - the company.
Oracle - the software (Oracle Database).
Outlook Express - this MS product is now known as Windows Mail .
oversimplified - all one word.
owner - user who created file or directory.
P
packages - can be thought of as a kind of file, so are bold.
PalmOS
partitions - are treated like directories, and are thus bold.
PAM - Pluggable Authentication Modules. All caps.
pamphlet
passphrase - all one word.
password
PCLinuxOS
PDF - talk about 'a PDF'. If the letters are part of a filename, you'd obviously write them lower case: 'Sample.pdf'.
per cent / percentage - use symbol '%' for this.
Pear DB
Perl
PHP
Pine
Pico - text editor.
PID - Process ID, must be a non-negative number.
Ping - the game, no caps.
pin-up (n)
plain text - two words.
playback (n) - all one word.
playlist
plug-in (adjective)
plugin (noun)
POP - Post Office Protocol, server usually under control of an ISP, with dial-up net access. Note: POP2, POP3.
pop up (verb)
pop-up (noun)
POSIX
PostgreSQL
PostScript - printer language, abbreviated as 'PS'.
post script - text at the bottom of a letter after signature.
Power – a type of processor architecture made by IBM, formerly used in Macs. Use 'Power' rather than 'PowerPC'.
powerup (n) - an object collected in a game to replenish shields etc.
Prices in reviews and so on
For consumer goods such as computer games, we quote the price inclusive of VAT
eg 'PRICE £24.99'
For enterprise goods, we quote the price exclusive of VAT and write '+ VAT' afterwards.
eg 'PRICE £349 + VAT'
If we are given a price and don't know whether the VAT is included or note, we must find out!.
ProFTPD
program (n) - software.
programme (n) - a television programme, a reform programme and so on.
proprietary
protocol prefixes - write these as if they were URLs, eg http://
Pull quotes - (aka callouts) should be punctuated with double quotes (even if it isn't a direct quote) and finished with a full stop. Add the name of the quotee afterwards if that's important.
Q
Qemu - not QEMU.
Qt
QParted - the non-GUI brother of QtParted.
QtParted
queuing - storing files, usually to print. Alternative word: spooling.
Quotation marks
Use double quotes when the quote comes from a person, whether they are speaking in person, being reported through a press release, or writing on a blog or in a book. By extension, quotes from companies are also put into double quotes.
Use single quotes when the quote comes from a non-human, such as an error message or instructions on a packet.
Also see Punctuation page
Qwerty
R
RAID 1, RAID 2, RAID under Linux
RAM - all caps.
Readme file
reboot
read-only file
Real Audio
RealPlayer
real time - two words: 'It happens in real time'.
real-time (adj)
Red Hat - two words.
referring to page furniture - when you want to refer to an image, box or other page item in the text, put it in brackets, write any name of the item in Title Case, and put the whole lot in italics. Examples:
- 'Witches are feared throughout England (see Witch Killers box, below) to this day.'
- 'As you can see in the screengrab below, only serif fonts are used.'
- 'In this tutorial we will recreate the GUI in Fig 1, all in under an hour.' [Caption: (Fig 1) The GUI you will be recreating.]
referring to previous articles - this is common in the letters section. Put the full title as it appeared on the page in Title Case, and follow it with the issue number. If the article appears within a section, include that too. Examples:
- 'I read your article on witches with interest this month [Witch Hunt, LXF73].'
- 'In reading your Witchcraft review last month [HotPicks, LXF82], I realised...'
- 'Your story on witches contained a factual error [Wrong Witch Dunked, Newsdesk, LXF82].'
- 'I must respond to Mistress Eldritch's letter published in LXF91 [I Love Black Cats, Mailserver].'
regular expression - there are several ways you will see this abbreviated. We're going with 'regex'.
reinstall - all one word.
requester - as in 'file requester'.
rescue disc - not 'disk': a rescue disc is a Live distro that comes on a CD or DVD.
resize
retrofitted - one word.
reuse
ReZound
RFC - request for comments.
Resolution - write resolution of screens and so on thus: 800x1,024 (no gaps) dots per inch abbreviated to dpi (small letters, no full stops)
right-click
right-hand
RPG - role-playing game.
root block - two words. This is the first part of the disk that RAID will read.
root user - two words, 'superuser' is all one word.
rot13
roundup (noun)
Roundup - the section in Linux Format. Note capital 'R'.
round up (verb)
routing - not 'routeing'.
Rox-filer
RPM - Red Hat Package Manager; also available in other Linux distros and Unix systems.
RISC OS
RPM - type of file. Don't rely on the styling to make this clear to the reader; spell it out.
rpm or rpm - command as written on command line.
rsync - tool to transfer files.
Ruby On Rails - is a website development framework using the Ruby language. Often abbreviated to 'Rails'.
rule set - two words.
runlevel
runtime - all one word.
Rute - not RUTE.
S
Samba
SANE - the name of this system is short for Scanner Access Now Easy.
SATA – like BIOS and VESA, this is one of those things that are so old-school that we have to write them as all caps even though we pronounce them.
satnav – one word
Saturn
Sax, Sax2 - short for 'simple API for XML'.
scaleable
SciMark 2.0 - the benchmark used by Biagio in his compiler tests. You can execute it, so it's italic.
screensaver - one word.
screenshot - one word.
scrollwheel – as on a mouse, one word.
SCSI - is pronounced "scuzzy".
SDL
sector
selector (n) - this '-or' spelling is the standard. But see 'adviser' and 'requester'.
semicolon - all one word.
Sendmail
setuid - a permissions setting that enables you to use the access permissions of the owner of whichever program you're using.
setup (noun)
set up (verb)
SHA1 - this is pronounced "shar-won", so you would write, "a SHA1 hash cracker".
shell
shell scripting - no hyphen.
ship - this is an ugly, corporate word used to mean 'comes' or, at a pinch, 'is shipped with'. Example: 'Mandriva ships with the Metisse desktop.' Avoid.
shoot-'em-up - the apostrophe faces 'shoot', like a closing single quote.
shortcut
show - when you're writing about what can be seen on a computer screen, often the verb 'display' works better.
shutdown - 'the PC is in shutdown mode'.
shut down (verb)
sim - short for 'simulator'.
simple and simplistic - do not mean the same thing. Simple = easy to understand, plain, uncomplex, unpretentious. Simplistic = characterised by extreme simplicity (simplicity is just the quality of being simple), even naivety. Thus something can't be "too simplistic" or "over simplistic".
SIOX - all caps.
sizeable
Smart Boot Manager
SMB
SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.
Software - Software titles are italicised in Linux Format most of the time. Thus: Gimp, MySQL, Firefox.
When the name of manufacturer and version are included in the brand name, write it thus:
Adobe Photoshop 6 but Microsoft Word
There are some parts of a page where a program is not displayed in italics:
Italics:
- Body copy
- Standfirst
- Picture caption
- Top bar
Roman:
- Headline
- Box title
- Crosshead
- Pullquote
When a program is being used on the command line, we write it in bold or format it as code, with a coloured background.
We try to spell software as its developers have christened it. However, after Roundup suffered a recent rash of aKregators, mtPaints, kdisserts and gentoos (no, not that one), we decided that some of the more arcane spelling choices of software creators must be ruled out. In conclusion, we will keep software names as their authors intend but draw the line at the following:
- software starting with a lower case letter (vis gThumb)
- random capped letters appearing (vis amaroK) [Note, though, that we will keep upper case letters within a name if they start a new word or meaningful syllable.]
- writing it all in upper case (vis INSERT).
Confused? Check out these examples: digiKam we write DigiKam, F-Spot we keep as F-Spot, xpad we write as Xpad, muLinux we write as MuLinux, aKregator we write as Akregator. Hope that's all clear now!
Question: What if the software is more of a program used on the command line, where it might be confusing or even misleading to turn a lower case word into title case? For example, wc (word count command).
Answer: Damn you! OK, in that case we would use our judgement and keep the program/command all lower case.
Solaris - Sun's Unix operating system.
soundcard - one word.
sound effect - two words.
source code - two words, no caps.
SourceForge - big eff.
spaceship - one word.
-speak - this suffix can be used with anything to describe the sub-language used in a particular field. Examples: geekspeak, cyberspeak, Californiaspeak. You do not need to insert a hyphen before ‘speak’ unless the first word ends with an ‘s’, as in business-speak. Words taking the -speak suffix are often pejorative and suggest jargon, such as managementspeak and doublespeak. But they can also describe an arcane language and the cosy community that uses it with fondness, as in BSDspeak. Using -speak in this way comes from George Orwell’s 1984, which introduced ‘newspeak’ as the language used by the totalitarian establishment. Note that newspeak is a language and should technically be capitalised, to mirror English (or Oldspeak), Esperanto etc. But our dictionary writes newspeak with a lower-case ‘n’, so we follow that rule for other -speak words. If the root word starts with a capital letter, however, the resulting word should keep it, eg Californiaspeak, Linuxspeak.
Special - when we're referring to the special editions of Linux Format, write Linux Format Special. To refer to a specific special edition, you would write "I bought Linux Format Special #6", "I enjoyed your recent web special [Linux Format Special #10]."
speed - to express modem speeds, write "56kbps", for example.
spellcheck, spellchecker
spine – there should be only one space before and after the chevron separating the hits on the spine of the magazine. Thus spake Effy.
split-screen
SQL
Squid, SquidGuard - both take italics.
SSH - can refer to a command or a protocol. It's confusing to the reader to see the same word italic and roman in the same sentence, so spell it out.
SSH server
SSL
standalone - no hyphen.
StarOffice - all one word. This is the proprietary version of OpenOffice.org.
start up (v) - two words.
startup (adj) - one word, as in 'startup times'. See online/on line.
startup screen
stderr
stdin
stdout
storyline - one word.
stylesheet - one word.
submenu - no hyphen.
subnotebook – no hyphen.
subscript - meaning: like the '2' in H2O. One word, unless quoting, say, a menu item.
superscript - meaning: like the '2' in X2. One word, unless quoting, say, a menu item
SuperKaramba – italic, large 'K'. KDE widget manager analogous to Mac OS X's Dashboard.
superuser - one word, root user is two words.
SUSE - A long time ago this was written 'SuSE' (the 'u' used to stand for the German 'und').
Swatch - Simple Watcher, log monitor.
symmetrical - prefer to 'symmetric'.
symlink - no hyphen, short for symbolic links. It's a kind of shortcut. A symlink, such as vmlinuz, should be in bold, because it is a file, and in Linux Format we bold files!
Synaptic
sync - this is an acceptable abbreviation, though we'd prefer 'synchronise'.
synthesizer - note the rare '-ize' spelling.
sysadmin - shorthand for 'system administrator'. All one word.
T
tar file - prefer 'tarball'.
tarball file - no caps, one word (similar to WinZip or PKZip files).
tcpdump
TCP/IP - Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.
team - usually plural (eg 'the team have done a great job').
Tex
Telnet - you might be interested to know that this is no installed with Vista by default, but is still an installable feature.
tick-box
time - this is written with a full stop (7.30 am).
timeline – one word
timeout - noun.
time-saver, time-saving - hyphenated.
time slice - two words.
timestamp - all one word.
to-do list
toolbar - one word (but note 'menu bar', 'task bar' and 'title bar' are all two words).
toolchain - one word.
toolkit
tool set
tooltip - one word.
touchpad - generically, or TouchPad if the Synaptics trademarked technology (eg 'Synaptics TouchPad devices appear in most touch pad-enabled notebooks').
touchscreen - one word.
trojans - we're not talking about people from Troy, so use a small 't'.
Turbolinux
TV
Tux - the penguin mascot of Linux.
U
Ubuntu
udev - this is a kernel option, so treat it as Xen and Inotify. Small 'u', italics.
under way - two words.
unformatted
Unicode - capital letter.
Unix - in the olden days, we used to make a distinction between UNIX, the proprietary name owned by SCO, and Unix, the general operating system. No more. Don't write *NIX/nix any more.
untar, untaring, untarred
Up cursor - capital 'U'.
upgradable
UPnP – small en. This stands for Universal Plug 'n' Play.
upstate
URL
usable
USE flag - these are used to dictate how a package is installed in Gentoo. Some fix bugs; some enable features that require dependencies.
Usenet
user base – two words
user list - this is two words.
username - all one word.
userspace - all one word.
use
V
versions - defer to the software developers for how the version is written eg 'Rosegarden 2' but 'Lphoto 2.0'.
Note that the version number is italicised along with the program's name.
When used generally, write version with a lower-case 'v' eg 'our last review was of the new version 3.2; v3.2 is much worse'.
When someone is referring to several versions in a row, such as 9.1, 9.3 and 9.9, it may be written as 'the 9.x versions'.
A release candidate version has 'rc' on the end, eg '1.30rc'. Note no space. The same for beta versions: '1.30b'.
VESA - all caps.
VFS
Visual Basic
VMware
voice chat - term used by instant messaging types. Two words.
voilá, voici - it's nice to use these sometimes. They should be italicised, as they are foreign words.
VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol.
vs - or versus, not 'v'.
VT - short for 'virtual terminal'.
VT7, VT8 - common VTs.
W
walkthrough - noun, no hyphen.
wargame - one word.
web
WebDav - roman.
WebKit – 'tis a rendering engine for the web, like Gecko and KHTML. Big doubleyoo, bit kay, all one word
weblog - shorten this to 'blog'.
webmail - all one word.
Webmin
WEBrick
website - one word, lower case.
while - never 'whilst'.
whizz, whizz bang - note spelling, as in Billy Whizz.
Wi-Fi - wireless.
wiki - small 'w'.
wildcard - one word.
Win95 - no space in any Windows abbreviation (in contrast to Mac OS).
Window Maker
Windows
Windoze, Micro$oft et al - derogatory phrases serve no useful purpose outside of opinion columns.
Wine
WINGs
Winmodem
Winprinter
WinSock
wizard - (as in desktop guides) these have become generic, so use a small 'w'.
workaround - noun is one word, verb is two words.
workspace - one word.
WWW - world wide web.
wxWidgets – I have decided that this is the least stupid way to write this name.
WYSIWYG
X
X11 - NOT italicised.
x86
x86-64 – the new name for AMD64
XDamage
Xdm - X display manager.
XDND
Xemacs
Xen
Xfce
Xgl
X.org
XPaint
x-ray
XRender
X Window System - never 'X Windows'.
Y
Yahoo - no exclamation mark on the end.
Yast
Yahoo - no exclamation mark on the end.
YouTube – big Y, big tee
Z
ZenWorks
Zip - capital 'Z' if referring to a software package, or hardware ('Zip drive', 'Zip disk').
zip - lower case if the noun for the file compression algorithm; for adjectival use in the same sense ('a zip file'); or as the verb for making those files ('to zip a document').
Zsh - can be thought of as doing the same thing as Bash, so we treat it the same.
ZX80, ZX81
