Re: delete-other-frames

[Richard Stallman]

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  > 1. If there is only one frame in the discussion, and @var{f}
  > is a name for it, then "delete the frame, @var{f}" is correct.

You're right.  I must have been in a daze.

  > But if there might be more than one frame in the discussion,
  > and @var{f} is the one we are concerned with at present, then
  > this is correct: "delete the frame @var{f}".  (Note: no comma.)
  > And so is this: "delete frame @var{f}".

Yes.  Exactly.  A comparable example in algebra is "Square the number x."

  > 2. I think Eli was talking about something different, but
  > related: the fact that in Emacs doc the name of a parameter
  > is often chosen to be a type name, 

Grammatically, it does not matter whether the argument's name is f or
frame.  In the first case, the sentence should be, "delete the frame
@var{f}", shortened to "delete frame @var{f}".  In the second case,
the sentence should be, "delete the frame @var{frame}", shortened to
"delete frame @var{frame}".

Whether the argument name is the same as the description, or not,
has no effect.

                                       and a convention is to
  > omit the type noun to which the restrictive appositive
  > applies and let the parameter name stand alone.

  > IOW, if the name of the individual echoes the name of the
  > type then we can get by with just the individual name.

It is grammatical to omit the description of the argument, and use
just its name.  There must be no article, in this usage.

  > Example:

  > Just "copy FILE to DIRECTORY", 

Here FILE and DIRECTORY are both names of argument values,
so they must have no articles.

   "copy F to D"

is equally grammatical, but it is clear only if the reader already
knows that F is a file and D is a directory.  Otherwise, we need to
say so.

  "copy the FILE to the DIRECTORY"

is grammatically incorrect because you can't put an article on a name.


-- 
Dr Richard Stallman
President, Free Software Foundation (gnu.org, fsf.org)
Internet Hall-of-Famer (internethalloffame.org)
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