Re: origin of `notation'

[Buchs, Kevin]

Thanks, Bob Proulx and Eli Zaretskii for your responses to my question:
  > In emacs documentation, what is the origin of using the accent
  > grave (backtick) to introduce a quoted phrase, often a command,
  > while using an apostrophe to terminate it.  

I have recorded the information provided here:
   http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/EmacsDocumentationNotation

My follow-up question is why it is still used for online documentation when 
emacs can do such wonderful things with fonts in graphical mode. Why not just 
produce italics or color?

Kevin Buchs   |  Senior Engineer  |  Department of Physiology and Biomedical 
Engineering - SPPDG
507-538-5459  |   buchs.kevin@mayo.edu  |  http://www.mayo.edu/sppdg
Mayo Clinic  |  200 1st St. SW  |  Rochester, MN 55905