Greg Stein wrote:
> On Fri, Apr 17, 2009 at 16:48, C. Michael Pilato <cmpilato_at_collab.net> wrote:
>> C. Michael Pilato wrote:
>>> Greg Stein wrote:
>>>> On Fri, Apr 17, 2009 at 15:27, C. Michael Pilato <cmpilato_at_collab.net> wrote:
>>>>> Edmund Wong wrote:
>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm having some difficulty understanding the following docstring
>>>>>> (for the subjected function):
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "* The format of @a desc is the same as for values of the directory
>>>>>> * property @c SVN_PROP_EXTERNALS, which see."
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I don't understand that last part, "which see".
>>>>> "which see" is something like "which you should go read for more information".
>>>> Eh? It's just plain bad grammar. Probably somebody just forgot to
>>>> finish writing that sentence.
>>> No ... no ... It's a Karl-ism, I'm pretty sure, and "bad grammar" ain't
>>> really his M.O.
>> A Google search for "which see for more" -- which see for details :-) --
>> pulls up no shortage of instances of this grammar form.
>
> Name one.
>
> Every one that I see has something that comes after it. As in "see WHAT".
>
> I'm not buying that that is good grammar.
What you find is "which see for more information" or "which see for
details". In the generic sense, you find "which see WHY". But WHY is
optional, and in the use above, is implied by the surrounding context.
You'd prefer:
The format of @a desc is the same as for values of the directory
property @c SVN_PROP_EXTERNALS, which see for a description of
the format that is the same as that of @a desc.
?
:-P
(I plan not to contribute more mails to this thread.)
--
C. Michael Pilato <cmpilato_at_collab.net>
CollabNet <> www.collab.net <> Distributed Development On Demand
------------------------------------------------------
http://subversion.tigris.org/ds/viewMessage.do?dsForumId=462&dsMessageId=1769329
Received on 2009-04-17 17:16:32 CEST