finish copy-editing of chapter 4.

[ardour-manual] / STYLE_GUIDE

diff --git a/STYLE_GUIDE b/STYLE_GUIDE
index f7444967612ce51f51967ac3f5613d7162009a1d..5c367ab6dc3cf519f250c625c1fec5842ef4d918 100644 (file)
--- a/STYLE_GUIDE
+++ b/STYLE_GUIDE
@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@ and then add
 }
 to apps.css.
 If you add a new class with semantic meaning, document it below, under
-"Custom classes".
+"Custom classes", and be sure to explain it to the reader at
+_manual/01_welcome-to-ardour/02_about-ardour-documentation.html.
 
 
 2. Format and Validation
@@ -42,6 +43,10 @@ be valid XML, with all tags closed properly. The reason for this extra
 complication is that XML can be more easily checked and automatically
 refactored than plain HTML, which eases maintenance.
 
+Watch out for the ampersand "&" and angle brackets "<" and ">". They will
+render your XHTML invalid, and must be replaced by their named entities
+"&amp;", "&lt;", and "&gt;".
+
 
 3. Custom classes
 =================
@@ -57,8 +62,26 @@ If you need to apply a class to several block-level elements such as
 paragraphs or lists, enclose them in a <div>..</div>. Wherever possible,
 create semantic classes rather than visual ones.
 
-.left: make an element float left in the surrounding paragraph.
-.right: make an element float right in the surrounding paragraph.
+.left: 
+make an element float left in the surrounding paragraph.
+
+.right: 
+make an element float right in the surrounding paragraph.
+
+.note: 
+use for important notes that should be visually distinct from the
+normal text flow, or asides. Currently rendered in a gray box.
+
+.warning:
+use for potentially dangerous situations involving data loss, malfunction,
+or sound quality issues. Currently rendered in a red box.
+
+.mac, .lin, .win: 
+use as additional classes to mark a section as relevant for these operating
+systems only.
+
+Check _manual/01_welcome-to-ardour/02_about-ardour-documentation.html, it
+serves as a style and markup guide.
 
 
 4. Element use
@@ -87,13 +110,17 @@ default choice is <p>, the plain paragraph.
 encloses a newly introduced term that is being explained. Use for the first
 occurrence of the main concept of every manual page, or the first occurrence
 of a new concept after a sub-heading if necessary.
+Keep in mind that <dfn> tags might be used to generate an index of keywords
+- don't pollute it too much.
 
 <abbr>
 is used to explain an abbreviation such as <abbr title="Linux Audio
 Developers Simple Plugin API">LADSPA</abbr>. Browsers will usually pop up the
-definition when the user hovers over the word, and it can easily be
-extracted via CSS for printing.
-Use only for the first occurrence of every new abbreviation.
+definition when the user hovers over the word.
+On each page, use only for the first occurrence of every abbreviation. Avoid
+a redundant explanation in the text - the expansion can easily be extracted 
+via CSS for printing.
+Use only in the text body, not in headings.
 
 <em>
 is used to emphasize a word. Commonly rendered as italics.
@@ -158,6 +185,23 @@ class="mod1">N</kbd>. It will render as "Ctrl+N" for you, and as "Cmd+N" for
 your Mac-using friend. Nice, uh?
 
 For anything you want the user to type, use <kbd> as a block-level element.
+See above for other <kbd> classes to denote menu items, selections, mouse
+events and controller actions.
+
+Keys and mouse key names should always be capitalized. We do not need to
+distringuish between "x" and "X", because the latter would be "Shift-X".
+In case you forget, the stylesheet takes care of this.
+
+CSS Classes used with <kbd> are:
+.modN
+.mouse: mouse buttons
+.cmd: a command line
+.lin, .win, .mac: add nice prompts to that command line
+.input: inline text to be entered by the user
+.menu: path to an Ardour menu or other GUI item
+.option: path to an option, with (X) at the end.
+.optoff: path to an option, with ( ) at the end.
+.button, .fader, .knob: external controllers (OSC or MIDI).
 
 <code>
 is only used for program code, or the content of configuration files etc. Do
@@ -175,10 +219,15 @@ types or presses.
 The image tag must contain a 'src="/images/yourimage.png"' element and a
 descriptive 'alt="A short textual description of the image content"'
 element.
+Images are usually placed as block-level elements, i.e. outside of a
+paragraph.
+
+5. Other conventions
+====================
 
 
-5. Typography
-=============
+5.1 Typography
+--------------
 
 * Avoid any typographical quotation marks to highlight terms or express any
   kind of subtle inflection, use semantic markup instead.
@@ -188,5 +237,27 @@ element.
   the long em-dash.
 * For ranges of values, use the en-dash: Monday &ndash; Friday, 0 &ndash;
   11.
+* Use a non-breaking space ("&nbsp;") between a number and its unit.
+
+
+5.2 Language
+------------
+
+* The Ardour manual is written in Americal English spelling.
+* Use SI units with standard abbreviations. Give imperial units only as
+  additional information, if at all.
+
+
+5.3 Headline Capitalization
+---------------------------
+
+Capitalization follows
+https://developer.gnome.org/hig-book/3.6/design-text-labels.html.en#layout-capitalization
+:
 
+* Capitalize all words in the headline, with the following exceptions:
+    Articles: a, an, the.
+    Conjunctions: and, but, for, not, so, yet ...
+    Prepositions of three or fewer letters: at, for, by, in, to ...
+* Keep headlines short and concise.