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authorGeorg Brandl <georg@python.org>2007-08-15 14:28:22 (GMT)
committerGeorg Brandl <georg@python.org>2007-08-15 14:28:22 (GMT)
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+.. highlightlang:: rest
+
+Style Guide
+===========
+
+The Python documentation should follow the `Apple Publications Style Guide`_
+wherever possible. This particular style guide was selected mostly because it
+seems reasonable and is easy to get online.
+
+Topics which are not covered in the Apple's style guide will be discussed in
+this document.
+
+All reST files use an indentation of 3 spaces. The maximum line length is 80
+characters for normal text, but tables, deeply indented code samples and long
+links may extend beyond that.
+
+Make generous use of blank lines where applicable; they help grouping things
+together.
+
+A sentence-ending period may be followed by one or two spaces; while reST
+ignores the second space, it is customarily put in by some users, for example
+to aid Emacs' auto-fill mode.
+
+Footnotes are generally discouraged, though they may be used when they are the
+best way to present specific information. When a footnote reference is added at
+the end of the sentence, it should follow the sentence-ending punctuation. The
+reST markup should appear something like this::
+
+ This sentence has a footnote reference. [#]_ This is the next sentence.
+
+Footnotes should be gathered at the end of a file, or if the file is very long,
+at the end of a section. The docutils will automatically create backlinks to
+the footnote reference.
+
+Footnotes may appear in the middle of sentences where appropriate.
+
+Many special names are used in the Python documentation, including the names of
+operating systems, programming languages, standards bodies, and the like. Most
+of these entities are not assigned any special markup, but the preferred
+spellings are given here to aid authors in maintaining the consistency of
+presentation in the Python documentation.
+
+Other terms and words deserve special mention as well; these conventions should
+be used to ensure consistency throughout the documentation:
+
+CPU
+ For "central processing unit." Many style guides say this should be spelled
+ out on the first use (and if you must use it, do so!). For the Python
+ documentation, this abbreviation should be avoided since there's no
+ reasonable way to predict which occurrence will be the first seen by the
+ reader. It is better to use the word "processor" instead.
+
+POSIX
+ The name assigned to a particular group of standards. This is always
+ uppercase.
+
+Python
+ The name of our favorite programming language is always capitalized.
+
+Unicode
+ The name of a character set and matching encoding. This is always written
+ capitalized.
+
+Unix
+ The name of the operating system developed at AT&T Bell Labs in the early
+ 1970s.
+
+
+.. _Apple Publications Style Guide: http://developer.apple.com/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/APStyleGuide/AppleStyleGuide2003.pdf
+