Heikki Linnakangas <hlinn...@iki.fi> writes: > On 05/06/2017 01:56 PM, Gavin Flower wrote: >> On 06/05/17 22:44, Vik Fearing wrote: >>> On 05/05/2017 02:42 PM, Michael Paquier wrote: >>>> + This option is obsolete but still accepted for backwards >>>> + compatibility. >>>> Isn't that incorrect English? >>> No. >>> >>>> It seems to me that this be non-plural, >>>> as "for backward compatibility". >>> "Backwards" is not plural, it's a regional variation of "backward" (or >>> vice versa depending on which region you come from). Both are correct. >> >> I am English, born & bred, and 'Backwards' feels a lot more natural to me. > > Another data point: > > $ grep "backwards-comp" doc/src/sgml/ref/*.sgml doc/src/sgml/*.sgml | wc -l > 7 > $ grep "backward-comp" doc/src/sgml/ref/*.sgml doc/src/sgml/*.sgml | wc -l > 3 > > Another important question is whether there should be a hyphen there or not? > > $ grep "backward comp" doc/src/sgml/ref/*.sgml doc/src/sgml/*.sgml | > wc -l > 21 > ~/git-sandbox-pgsql/master (master)$ grep "backwards comp" > doc/src/sgml/ref/*.sgml doc/src/sgml/*.sgml | wc -l > 11
This misses out instances where the phrase is broken across lines. Using a less line-orented tool, ag (aka. The Silver Searcher), gives more hits for the non-hyphenated case, but doesn't significantly change the s-to-non-s ratio. $ ag 'backwards-\s*comp' doc/**/*.sgml|grep -c backward 7 $ ag 'backward-\s*comp' doc/**/*.sgml|grep -c backward 3 $ ag 'backward\s+comp' doc/**/*.sgml | grep -c backward 29 * ag 'backwards\s+comp' doc/**/*.sgml | grep -c backward 20 -- "I use RMS as a guide in the same way that a boat captain would use a lighthouse. It's good to know where it is, but you generally don't want to find yourself in the same spot." - Tollef Fog Heen -- Sent via pgsql-hackers mailing list (pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org) To make changes to your subscription: http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-hackers
