Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
form were used. Also consider expanding abbreviations such as “Fig.” and “Alg.”
(but note that the contracted form is the preferred style for some journals), and don't
use concoctions such as “1st” or “2nd”. Months should not be abbreviated. Make
sure that all abbreviations and acronyms are explained when they are first used.
Avoid use of “etc.” and “and so on”. They are clumsy, and sometimes patronizing,
as they can imply that the reader ought to be able to complete the list without the
author's help.
Methods available are random probing, extrapolation, etc.
Methods available include random probing and extrapolation.
Methods such as random probing and extrapolation can be used.
Never write “etc., etc.” or “etc. …”.
The ellipsis is a useful notation for indicating that text has been omitted. It should,
therefore, only be used in quotations.
A slash, also known as a virgule or solidus, is often used for abbreviation, as in
“save time and/or space” or “used for list/tree processing”. Use of slashes betrays
confusion, since it is often not clear whether the intended meaning is
or
(in the usual
English sense of
either but not both
),
or
(in the usual computing sense of
either or
both
),
and
,or
also
. If you want to be clear, don't use slashes.
An exception is “I/O”, meaning
input and output
. There was once a variety of
forms for this expression; now, all forms other than “I/O” are rare.
Acronyms
In technical documents withmany compound terms it can be helpful to use acronyms,
but as with abbreviations they can confuse the reader. An acronym is desirable if it
replaces an otherwise indigestible name such as “pneumonoultramicroscopicsilico-
volcanoconiosis” (miner's black lung disease), in which case the acronym becomes
the name—as has happened with DNA for “deoxyribonucleic acid”. Frequently used
sequences of ordinary words, such as “central processing unit”, are usually more
convenient as acronyms; in a paper about a “dynamic multiprocessing operating
system”, it is probably best to introduce the DMOS right at the start. However, a
surfeit of acronyms will force readers to flip back and forth through the paper to
search for definitions. Don't introduce an acronym unless it is to be used frequently.
Acronyms can be fashionable. It was once common to write “WWW” to denote
the World Wide Web, but today it is usually denoted by “the Web” or “the web”—
often, it isn't even capitalized. And watch out for redundant acronyms, such as “the
CPU unit”. How, exactly, does a “local area LAN network” differ from a “LAN”?
Abbreviations end with a stop but it is unusual to put stops in acronyms.
Thus “CPU” is correct, “C.P.U.” is acceptable, and “CPU.” is incorrect. Plurals
of acronyms don't require an apostrophe; write “CPUs” rather than “CPU's”.
