RE: [ws-rx] NEW ISSUE: editorial, use of capitalization fordefined terms

["Ashok Malhotra" <ashok.malhotra@oracle.com>]

In the W3C specs you use special markup to indicate defined terms -- termdef defines the term and

termref is a reference to the definition.  The stylesheet formats termrefs in a special manner, so you

know it is a defined term and it carries a pointer to the definition.

 

I don't know if this kind of thing is possible in PDF but if it is we shd use it.

All the best, Ashok

 

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From: Christopher B Ferris [mailto:chrisfer@us.ibm.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 9:44 AM
To: ws-rx@lists.oasis-open.org
Subject: [ws-rx] NEW ISSUE: editorial, use of capitalization for defined terms

Title:

Description:

In the spec, there are a number of cases where defined terms are used in their un-capitalized form. This makes it
difficult to determine just when a word is used as a defined term or when it is being used in the conversational sense.

As an example, in CD4 draft, starting at line 250, it reads:

        The RM Source will expect to receive acknowledgements from the RM Destination during the course of a
        message exchange at occasions described in Section 3 below. Should an acknowledgement not be
        received in a timely fashion, the RM Source MUST re-transmit the message since either the message or
        the associated acknowledgement might have been lost.

Is the use of "acknowledgements" intended to be the defined term? Hard to tell. Also, is it "acknowledgements"
or should it more correctly be "Acknowledgement Messages"?

Target: spec

Type: editorial

proposal:

When using defined terms, use the Capitalized form, or choose a different font styling, such as
italics so as to make it clear when a defined term is being used in the formal sense.

Cheers,

Christopher Ferris
STSM, Software Group Standards Strategy
email: chrisfer@us.ibm.com
blog: http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/blogs/dw_blog.jspa?blog=440
phone: +1 508 377 9295