diff --git a/lispref/tips.texi b/lispref/tips.texi index 20fe774d185..3031ac5ce92 100644 --- a/lispref/tips.texi +++ b/lispref/tips.texi @@ -561,6 +561,13 @@ start with words such as ``Non-nil means@dots{}'', to make it clear that all non-@code{nil} values are equivalent and indicate explicitly what @code{nil} and non-@code{nil} mean. +@item +The documentation string for a function that is a yes-or-no predicate +should start with words such as ``Return t if @dots{}'', to indicate +explicitly what constitutes ``truth''. The word ``return'' avoids +starting the sentence with lower-case ``t'', which is somewhat +distracting. + @item When a function's documentation string mentions the value of an argument of the function, use the argument name in capital letters as if it were @@ -582,6 +589,20 @@ The argument TABLE should be an alist whose elements have the form (KEY . VALUE). Here, KEY is ... @end example +@item +Never change the case of a Lisp symbol when you mention it in a doc +string. If the symbol's name is @code{foo}, write ``foo'', not +``Foo'' (which is a different symbol). + +This might appear to contradict the policy of writing function +argument values, but there is no real contradiction; the argument +@emph{value} is not the same thing as the @emph{symbol} which the +function uses to hold the value. + +If this puts a lower-case letter at the beginning of a sentence +and that annoys you, rewrite the sentence so that the symbol +is not at the start of it. + @item If a line in a documentation string begins with an open-parenthesis, write a backslash before the open-parenthesis, like this: