Info Node: (texinfo)@acronym

texinfo: @acronym
Indicating
@indicateurl
@abbr
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9.1.14 '@acronym'{ACRONYM[, MEANING]}
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You can use the '@acronym' command for abbreviations written in all
capital letters, such as 'NASA'. The abbreviation is given as the
single argument in braces, as in '@acronym{NASA}'. As a matter of
style, or for particular acronyms, you may prefer to use periods, as in
'@acronym{N.A.S.A.}'.
'@acronym' accepts an optional second argument, intended to be used
for the meaning of the acronym.
If the acronym is at the end of a sentence, and if there is no second
argument, remember to use the '@.' or similar command (Note: Ending a
Sentence) to get the correct spacing.
In TeX, the acronym is printed in slightly smaller font. In the Info
output, the argument is printed as-is. In either format, if the second
argument is present, it is printed in parentheses after the acronym. In
HTML and Docbook the '<acronym>' tag is used.
For instance (since GNU is a recursive acronym, we use '@acronym'
recursively):
@acronym{GNU, @acronym{GNU}'s Not Unix}
produces:
GNU (GNU's Not Unix)
In some circumstances, it is conventional to print family names in all
capitals. Don't use '@acronym' for this, since a name is not an
acronym. Use '@sc' instead (Note: Smallcaps).
'@abbr' and '@acronym' are closely related commands: they both signal
to the reader that a shortened form is being used, and possibly give a
meaning. When choosing whether to use these two commands, please bear
the following in mind.
- In common English usage, acronyms are a subset of abbreviations:
they include pronounceable words like 'NATO', 'radar', and 'snafu';
some sources also include syllable acronyms like 'Usenet', hybrids
like 'SIGGRAPH', and unpronounceable initialisms like 'FBI'.
- In Texinfo, an acronym (but not an abbreviation) should consist
only of capital letters and periods, no lowercase.
- In TeX, an acronym (but not an abbreviation) is printed in a
slightly smaller font.
- Some browsers place a dotted bottom border under abbreviations but
not acronyms.
- It usually turns out to be quite difficult and/or time-consuming to
consistently use '@acronym' for all sequences of uppercase letters.
Furthermore, it looks strange for some acronyms to be in the normal
font size and others to be smaller. Thus, a simpler approach you
may wish to consider is to avoid '@acronym' and just typeset
everything as normal text in all capitals: 'GNU', producing the
output 'GNU'.
- In general, it's not essential to use either of these commands for
all abbreviations; use your judgment. Text is perfectly readable
without them.
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