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Today I've learnt a lot of crazy things:
1) There is a specific typography for computer. It means that the way we write ! ? () ; , : ... on a computer is important. °_O
2) This computer typography is depanding on the language you write.
3) If you want to kill a geek you just have to type some sentences with the wrong typography.
4) Software engineers are completely obsessed by typography. Try to talk a bit about that during an evening and everybody will begin to shout in the room talking about coding...
Indeed, Collabora people were totally shocked when I told them that I had no idea there were rules of typography for computer and that I had never learnt about that at the University (Note that I studied History in Philosophy & Letter faculty! )...
Of course we don't have any lesson about that. Our teachers are too old and unable to use a computer. We know the handwriting rules but not the computer writing rules!
Each time I write, I pay attention to the spelling but not at all to the space between ( ) or ; or wathever...
From my point of view, a computer is just a way of transcoding the way I would write by hand. So I just put a space when I have a handwriting space; my rules of typography stop there.
I was really surprised to learn that:
In French:
chat : CORRECT
chat: FALSE
chat ! CORRECT
chat! FALSE
chat ? CORRECT
chat? FALSE
cat ; CORRECT
cat; FALSE
"chat" FALSE
« chat » CORRECT
In English, that's the opposite, of course:
cat: CORRECT
cat : FALSE
cat! CORRECT
cat ! FALSE
cat? CORRECT
cat ? FALSE
cat; CORRECT
cat ; FALSE
"cat" CORRECT
« cat » FALSE
In French and English, you have to attach () to the word... so ( cat) FALSE ( cat ) FALSE (cat) CORRECT
And a lot of other stuff like that! Nobody cares about these details BUT software engineers are completely obsessed with that because "Computer science needs formal rules".
One more step in the geek world !
oups... sorry, world!
If you are interested to see the rules in French and English, see this document: http://www.panamo.eu/RESS/anglais.html
I promise, now that I know such a things exist, I'll pay attention (especially about the difference between French and English typography which is quite confusing!).
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