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Re: 3 dots vanish at end of filled line


From: Robert J. Chassell
Subject: Re: 3 dots vanish at end of filled line
Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2005 11:09:28 +0000 (UTC)

   ... There should not be whitespace before an ellipsis in English
   text.

The Chicago Manual of Style, 13th Edition, 1982, shows whitespace
before an ellipsis in all examples.

The manual discusses two methods, one of which the University of
Chicago Press prefers.  In both methods, there is whitespace before an
ellipsis.

The preferred method incorporates other punctuation as needed:

    Other punctuation may be used on either side of the three ellipsis
    dots if it helps the sense or better shows what has been omitted.
    [10.41]

    When four dots indicate the omission at the end of a sentence, the
    first dot is the period--that is, there is no space between it and the
    preceding word [but there is after it].
    [10.42]

The other method uses an ellipsis only, in all situations.

Here is how the makeinfo in texinfo-4.8 formats ellipsis:

    1.  Without space, here are three address@hidden
        Without space, here are three dots...

    2.  With space, here are three dots @dots{}
        With space, here are three dots ...

    3.  Without space, here is a period and three address@hidden
        Without space, here is a period and three dots....

    4.  With space, here is a period and three dots. @dots{}
        With space, here is a period and three dots. ...

In *info*, if we use the methods preferred by the University of
Chicago Press, the second and third are correct,

Unfortunately, in a printed manual using DVI, in the third example,
the distance between the period and the first ellipsis dot is less
than the spacing between the ellipsis dots.

So to handle both *info* and DVI output, we should adopt the `other'
method and in all situations use three dots only.

Moreover, we should put a space between the word and the @dots{}
command.

-- 
    Robert J. Chassell                         
    address@hidden                         GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8
    http://www.rattlesnake.com                  http://www.teak.cc




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