[Mplayer-cvslog] CVS: main ChangeLog,1.101,1.102

[The Wanderer]

Diego Biurrun wrote:

> The Wanderer writes:
> 
>> Diego Biurrun CVS wrote:
>> 
>>> -    * support for the XviD and DivX4/5linux libraries at the same time
>>> +    * support for the XviD and DivX4/5Linux libraries at the same time
>> 
>> I don't think the L in "DivX4linux" is supposed to be capitalized.
> 
> Hmm.  I'm not 100% sure, but it's written this way throughout most of
> the documentation.  Looking around the web I find it written either
> completely lowercase or capitalized like that.

It's been left in lowercase in every other place I've seen in these
patches - otherwise I doubt I'd have commented.

>>> -    * Fixed a bug in MMX optimized mp3lib (triggered by OpenBSD)
>>> +    * Fixed a bug in MMX optimized mp3lib (triggered by OpenBSD).
>> 
>> "MMX-optimized" is being used as an adjective, and so needs a
>> hyphen.
> 
> Fixed everywhere.

Not quite -

=====
      * FLAC decoder
      * better support for DivX5
-    * MMX and SSE2 optimized VP3/Theora decoding
+    * MMX and SSE2-optimized VP3/Theora decoding
      * support for Theora alpha3
      * many H.264 improvements
      * more robust MJPEG startcode search mechanism
=====

This usage was changed in two places; in the first, you used "MMX- and
SSE2-optimized", whereas here you omitted the first hyphen.

>> I'm not sure "bugfix" doesn't qualify as a single word.
> 
> A bit more than bug report, yes. That's one thing I am unsure about
> in English.  Are there definitive rules when and what to write as a
> single or two words?

Unfortunately, no, not that I know of. I've managed to formulate rules
for a few specific examples ("alright" vs. "all right" being the main
one - I think; my brain is sleepy right now), but they don't seem to
apply across the board.

By formal rules, in point of fact, "bug fix" is I think technically two
words. In practice, however, it is developing into a new compound word -
the question is whether it's far enough along that we want to use it
that way. Personally I'd say yes, but I'm sometimes considered weird.

Including from another mail:

>>>> OK, we have fps instead of FPS throughout the whole docs,
>>>> though.
>> 
>> Yes - I was prepared to get an objection to that part. My main
>> point was that it needed the hyphen.
> 
> OK, I settled for FPS nevertheless.  It's written in caps in most
> acronym dictionaries and if I am not mistaken acronyms should always
> be written in upper case.

Well... usually. In some cases lowercase letters can and/or should be
used; mainly, when the original phrase was partly capitalized, the words
which were lowercase in the original may be represented by lowercase
letters. Things like newsgroup name abbreviations are another example.

-- 
       The Wanderer

Warning: Simply because I argue an issue does not mean I agree with any
side of it.

A government exists to serve its citizens, not to control them.