├── README.md └── style-guide.md /README.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Raspberry Pi Style Guide 2 | 3 | This repository contains the following document: 4 | 5 | - [**The Raspberry Pi Style Guide 2.0**](https://github.com/raspberrypi/style-guide/blob/master/style-guide.md): this guide should be used when producing written material for Raspberry Pi Ltd, and may be supplemented by reference to the *New Oxford Style Manual*, *Hart's Rules*, and the *New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors*. 6 | 7 | This guide is, inevitably, not exhaustive, and may be added to over time. Please be sure to refer to the version of the guide in this repository, which is considered to be the definitive record, and not to any forked copy you may have. 8 | 9 | If you wish to suggest any changes to the guide, please submit a pull request or approach a member of the Comms team. 10 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /style-guide.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Raspberry Pi style guide 2 | 3 | This document is being updated constantly; please ensure you have the most recent version. 4 | 5 | When preparing copy for UK or international audiences (that is, the vast majority of our content), unless the matter is mentioned below, please consult *New Hart's Rules: The Oxford Guide to Style*. If a particular spelling or hyphenation choice is not specified here, the version in the *Oxford English Dictionary* is to be preferred. 6 | 7 | When editing copy that is intended specifically for a US audience, refer to *the Associated Press Stylebook*. 8 | 9 | Raspberry Pi strives for an approachable, conversational tone in its materials. See www.raspberrypi.com for examples. 10 | 11 | ## Lists 12 | 13 | Use semicolons for lists with internal commas. *We received bouquets from Chris, in California; Jim, in Belgium; and Bob, in Liverpool.* 14 | 15 | Complicated lists are usually better presented typographically with bullets or numerals, but don't resort to bulleted lists just because it's the easiest option: consider narrative flow and page layout. Bullets should be used for lists of items with no hierarchy, numerals for lists of items with hierarchy, and for steps in a process (for example tutorials). Letters should never be used for list points. Bullet points take a capital letter but do not take a full stop (this includes the final list item) unless one or more of the bulleted list items is made up of more than one sentence, in which case all points on the list should have a full stop, even if they are fragments. 16 | 17 | A bulleted list should be introduced with a colon: 18 | 19 | * First list item 20 | * Second list item 21 | * Third list item 22 | 23 | See **Titles of other works** below for more examples of bulleted lists. 24 | 25 | ## Emphasis 26 | 27 | Use *italic* type for emphasis. Note: this is a change to reflect our normal usage. We used to prefer **bold** type for emphasis, but it's clear that it's not what writers and editors here default to, so *italics* win (and we've used bold so little for emphasis that there's little point in going back through and retroactively mopping up). 28 | 29 | ## Punctuation 30 | 31 | Oxford commas should be used throughout; they resolve ambiguity and should be used elsewhere for consistency. *We photographed the components, a sandwich, and a magnet.* 32 | 33 | Do you find yourself adding more and more commas to make your sentence readable? Perhaps it would be better if you split it into two sentences instead. That said, at Raspberry Pi we're committed to railing against the death of the semicolon; it's a very useful piece of punctuation. 34 | 35 | Hyphen (-): 36 | 37 | In general, 38 | * Hyphenate two or more modifiers before a noun unless the first modifier is an adjective that modifies the complete noun phrase. *The moderators are fascist-robot enthusiasts. The moderators are fascist robot enthusiasts.* 39 | * Compound nouns that are used as a modifier before a noun need not always be hyphenated; if a hyphen makes them look stuffy and old-fashioned, leave it out. *Machine vision applications, science fiction titles, labour market liberalisation*. 40 | * Do not hyphenate compound modifiers that follow a noun. *We try to make sure our advice on hyphenation remains up to date* (but *What's a good channel for up-to-date advice on home fungiculture?*) 41 | * Do not hyphenate adjectival compounds which begin with adverbs ending -ly. *A gorgeously constructed computer*. 42 | * Add a hyphen on the end of multiple items that are joined to another word in this way. _A 12- and 15-month subscription, full- and part-time jobs_. 43 | * Consult en dash rules for more complex hyphenation cases. 44 | * Consult *Hart's Rules* for more complex hyphenation cases where the en dash rules aren't helping you out. 45 | 46 | En dash (–): 47 | * Use a closed-up en dash when writing ranges. _7–17, Monday–Friday_. 48 | * Use a closed-up en dash when expressing a connection, relation, or alternative. _Dover–Calais crossing, Williams–Navratilova match_. 49 | * Use a closed-up en dash to form compound words either when one of the components is itself a hyphenated word, or when one of the components is formed of two words. _Raspberry Pi–powered, e-book–only publisher, public school–educated student, liberal–conservative debate_. 50 | 51 | Em dash (—): 52 | * Use an em dash with space either side for parenthetical statements. Em dashes express a more pronounced break in the sentence than commas, and also draw more attention to the parenthetical. They express less of a break than parentheses, and are more informal. Do *not* overuse em dashes. _I didn't have an educated background — Dad was a farm labourer._ 53 | * Use a pair of em dashes with space either side for making a parenthetical statement in the middle of a sentence. If using punctuation in the parenthetical, the closing dash may only be preceded by an exclamation or question mark and the following word may not be capitalised, even if it begins a sentence (unless it is a proper noun). E.g. _The party lasted — we knew it would! — far longer than planned._ 54 | 55 | Colon: 56 | * When a colon is used in free text, the letter following the colon should be lower-case. E.g. _I have three dogs: a small one, a medium one, and a big one._ 57 | * When a colon is preceded by a header-style construction, the letter following the colon should be upper-case. E.g. _Note: This wouldn’t look so great with a lower-case t._ 58 | 59 | Quotation marks (' and "): 60 | * Do *not* use scare quotes (quotation marks put around a word or phrase in a written sentence in order to show that the word is being used in a special way, or in a way that may not be correct or true). Scare quotes make for vague, sensationalist writing. You can write better than that. 61 | * Use single quotes to highlight a word/phrase when needed, such as when you introduce a new term, need to offset a title. E.g. _Ask what the word 'system' means._ or _Hand out the ‘Bicycle system’ activity sheet._ 62 | * Be judicious in your use of quotation marks in this way: if the word/phrase stands out to the reader without them, leave them out; if the reader might stumble over the word/phrase without them, put them in. 63 | * Use double quotation marks **only** to indicate actual quoted speech. 64 | * In large sections of quoted speech, put double quotation marks at the end of each paragraph rather than omitting them, as per the Oxford Guide to Style. 65 | 66 | Fragments (e.g. for definitions) do not take a full stop at the end. _An isolated or incomplete part of something_ 67 | 68 | Do not use apostrophes in abbreviated plurals: *PCs, BGAs*. Apostrophes may be used when an abbreviation is turned into a verb, although it is best practice to avoid doing this altogether: *My mother won't stop IM'ing me.* (This example is from the deep past, when mothers IM'd. Now they WhatsApp us.) 69 | 70 | Do *not* use ampersands (&); always use 'and'. The exception might be in a print article for one of our magazines, where space is at a premium. 71 | 72 | ## Titles of other works 73 | 74 | Titles of other works should be set in title case (first and last words take an initial capital, regardless of length of word or part of speech; all other words in the title *except* articles, prepositions of three or fewer letters and conjunctions of three or fewer letters, and the words *if, how* and *why* should also take an initial capital.) 75 | 76 | As a general rule with *software in particular*, check the manufacturer's capitalisation style. Many examples of software title capitalisation are in the word list below; if you encounter more that you think we add, please start a pull request. 77 | 78 | Treatment of the titles depends on the type of work. In general, titles should be set in *italics*. 79 | 80 | Italicise the titles of the following types of works: artworks; books, book chapters and other parts of books; CDs; albums; DVDs; songs; lectures; magazine and newspaper articles; films; operas; plays; podcasts and episodes of podcasts; poems; speeches with titles; television and radio programmes and episodes; web shows; webinars; and online videos. 81 | 82 | Do **not** italicise titles if they fall under one of the following categories: 83 | 84 | * Blogs. The titles of individual blog posts should be set in italics (unless the blog publishes posts under a date only). 85 | * Games. Computer games, board games, card games, arcade games. 86 | * Magazines and newspapers. The titles of specific articles from magazines and newspapers *should*, however, be set in italics. 87 | * Websites. 88 | * Software. 89 | 90 | But wait! There's more! 91 | 92 | If compiling a numbered or bulleted list of titles *which are like items*, the titles do not need to be set in italics because they do not need to stand out from surrounding text. A similar list of titles which are not like items should be set in italics where they are required. 93 | 94 | Jemima's favourite old movies are: 95 | 96 | * Gone With the Wind 97 | * Singin' in the Rain 98 | * The Third Man 99 | 100 | These are a few of my favourite things: 101 | 102 | * Sausages 103 | * Banditry 104 | * *Anne of Green Gables* 105 | 106 | ## Raspberry Pi computers, microcontroller devices, microcontroller boards, and camera modules 107 | 108 | Are you talking about Raspberry Pi the concept, or about a specific Raspberry Pi? If you're writing about the product line, then "Raspberry Pi 4", "Raspberry Pi Zero", "Raspberry Pi Pico", "Raspberry Pi Camera Module 2", and so on; not "_the_ Raspberry Pi 4" or "_the_ Raspberry Pi Zero", and not just "Pi 4" or "Pi Zero". 109 | 110 | If you're writing about a specific Raspberry Pi: one your reader is using in a project, or the one you're holding in your hand, use the appropriate article. "Pick up a Raspberry Pi." "Insert a microSD card into your Raspberry Pi." "Mount the HAT on the Raspberry Pi." Helen, as instructed, I'm leaving a note in here to get you to unclench. Sometimes an article might be better used where we might not use one according to the strict terms of this document for reasons of flow and readability. Exercise stylistic judgment! 111 | 112 | The plural of "Raspberry Pi" is "Raspberry Pis" (no apostrophe); but use "Raspberry Pi computers", "Raspberry Pi devices", etc. where possible. 113 | 114 | To check official nomenclature, refer to the Product Names Register on Cognidox internally, or the [products page](https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/). 115 | 116 | Be careful with using _Raspberry Pi 1_ — the _1_ is only necessary when you need to clearly distinguish it from other models. 117 | If you want to shorten the name of a model, do it like this: _Raspberry Pi 2 Model B_ > _Raspberry Pi 2B_ 118 | 119 | When listing several products and/or models, it's usually possible, and more elegant, to do so without writing out the name of each product or model in full. For example: 120 | 121 | Not 122 | 123 | _Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, Raspberry Pi 2, Raspberry Pi 3, Raspberry Pi 3+, and Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3_ 124 | 125 | but 126 | 127 | _Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, Raspberry Pi 2, 3 and 3+, and Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3_ 128 | 129 | or even, daringly, 130 | 131 | _Raspberry Pi 2, 3, 3+ and Zero 2 W, and Raspberry Pi Compute Module 3_ 132 | 133 | (note that both examples above omit an Oxford comma where we would usually include one, in the cause of helping the reader to parse the lists correctly). 134 | 135 | ## Other Raspberry Pi products 136 | 137 | Almost all accessories, PSUs, and add-on boards take a definite article ("the") before their product name: "the Raspberry Pi Sense HAT", "the Raspberry Pi Mouse", "the Raspberry Pi Touch Display", "the Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera" (note that camera modules do not take a definite article, but the High Quality Camera does; that's to do with how horribly clunky "the Raspberry Pi Camera Module _n_" sounds). It is usually desirable to omit "Raspberry Pi" from the name in most instances following the first mention. "You can do all kind of experiments with the Raspberry Pi Sense HAT, which is why there are two of them on the International Space Station. The Sense HAT has an array of sensors, a five-button joystick, and an 8x8 RGB LED matrix." "We recommend using the Raspberry Pi USB-C Power Supply, which represents excellent value." 138 | 139 | ## Capitalisation 140 | 141 | First word in chapter headings and titles take an initial capital, others lower case. (Sentence case.) 142 | 143 | In all text, try to avoid the use of a trademark whose initial letter is in lower case (iPad, element14) at the start of a sentence or title. *iPad sales soar* is only ever acceptable if typography means that there is insufficient space for *Sales of iPad soar*. 144 | 145 | ## Abbreviations and acronyms 146 | 147 | Spell out abbreviations in the first instance in a chapter section, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter use the abbreviation. *Raspberry Pi's brain is a system on a chip (SoC), made by stacking a memory chip on top of a processor chip. Using an SoC keeps the area of the Raspberry Pi board low.* 148 | 149 | Abbreviations should not be marked in this format: ***S**ystem **o**n a **C**hip*. 150 | 151 | See the word list below for correct abbreviations and their capitalisations when spelt out. Be aware that the fact that something is often acronymised does not imply that the thing itself takes capitals. So ASAP does not imply that As Soon As Possible is the correct capitalisation. (Although some acronyms when expanded do require capitalisation: NASA, ASCII etc. Check the word list or Google the organisation if you're not sure.) 152 | 153 | ## Numerals and numbers 154 | 155 | Unless you are dealing with code, units of computer storage, or maths materials/equations, spell out numbers one to twelve; express 13 and higher numbers as a numeral *unless* at the start of a sentence. *Eighteen bagpipers were shown to the door.* 156 | 157 | For a range of numbers, try to keep a consistent format: *coding clubs for children aged 9-13*, *most of the children at the Jam were aged 11-16*, *one to twenty*. Use common sense: if following the style guide looks awful, (*coding clubs for children aged nine to 13*, *one to 20*), use a consistent format instead. 158 | 159 | For numbers of more than four digits, use commas: *10,000*, *100,000*. For technical documentation, especially for international audiences (in some languages, a comma is used as a decimal separator), commas may cause confusion, and it's usually better to use thin spaces instead. 160 | 161 | Use a space between a value and its SI unit: *2 m*, *2 kg*, *2 ohm*, *8 GB*, *5 KiB/s*, *1 MiB*. 162 | 163 | Subscript numerals (e.g. in chemical formulae) are fine in print, but not for online content. So *CO2* online, *CO2* in print. 164 | 165 | Use the multiplication symbol × when required, not the letter x. 166 | 167 | School grades (USA): Spell out first through ninth grade and use figures for 10th grade or higher. Try to keep a consistent format for ranges, as above. 168 | 169 | ## URLs 170 | 171 | Omit http://www from URLs in print. Use hyperlinks in online content. 172 | 173 | ## Time and date 174 | 175 | Use the 12-hour clock. Include the appropriate time zone abbreviation for North American events. Use a full stop to separate hours and minutes. Separate the time and 'am/pm' with a thin space in print. *5am PDT, 8.20pm, 12 noon EST, 12 midnight*, etc. 176 | 177 | Dates should be expressed *21 Jan 2006* etc. to avoid confusion with month/day ordering for readers outside the UK. Abbreviate months thus: *Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec.* If it's necessary to include the day of the week as well, *Thursday 14 April* is acceptable. 178 | 179 | Season names should not be capitalised. 180 | 181 | An x-week period: hyphen between number and 'week'. *A six-week period*. 182 | 183 | When referring to decades, use *the eighties* or *the 1980s*, but never *the '80s*. When referring to two decades use *the 1970s and 1980s*, even though *the 1970s and '80s* more accurately shows how such dates may be read out loud. When the name of a decade is used to define a social or cultural period it should be written as a word. 184 | 185 | ## Race, disability, gender 186 | 187 | *Indian people* (or *Egyptian people, black people, Jewish people*, etc.) never *Indians, Egyptians, blacks* or *Jews*. Similarly, use *disabled* as an adjective, never a noun. *Disabled people*, not *the disabled*. 188 | 189 | Example access statement for Picademy: *The venue is described as being accessible for people with limited mobility. If you will need to use a car to access the venue, or if you have other access requirements or would like further information, please get in touch via email and let us know how we can help.*; further examples: www.accessibilityguides.org/prepare 190 | 191 | Copy should be gender neutral as far as possible. Using *they* as a singular pronoun is acceptable, and is preferable to alternating *he* and *she*, which can be clumsy and immersion breaking for the reader. Where possible, make nouns and pronouns plural: *Students should enter their passwords* is preferable to *Each student should enter his or her password.* 192 | 193 | Avoid gendered job titles; there is usually an alternative. So *firefighter* instead of *fireman*; *flight attendant* instead of *stewardess.* 194 | 195 | Avoid *man, mankind, manmade, manpower* etc. There are plenty of alternatives. 196 | 197 | ## Screenshots 198 | When screenshotting a window, make sure you are not using dark mode and screenshot the whole desktop, with the mouse cursor not visible unless it is relevant to the screenshot. The design team will crop to fit the relevant templates. If screenshotting multiple windows, there should be no overlapping. (If an author requests overlapping windows for a specific reason, please let the design team know; it can be achieved manually, but should be avoided where possible.) 199 | 200 | Screenshots should always be provided as PNG files. 201 | 202 | If your screenshot requires annotations, do not add these to the screenshot. Include the instructions separately, and they will be added in the design process. 203 | 204 | ## Text in images 205 | 206 | If presenting a screenshot of the Terminal, or any other interfaces which don't provide scalable fonts, use a white background and black text for readability. Dark mode doesn't work well in printed media. 207 | 208 | ## Spelling 209 | 210 | In copy written primarily for a UK or an international audience, UK English should be used, with the exception of international organisations- for example, The John F Kennedy Space *Center*. 211 | 212 | In copy intended specifically for a US audience, US English should be used. 213 | 214 | ## Word list 215 | 216 | #### 217 | 218 | * 3D 219 | * 3G, 4G, 5G (phone networks) 220 | * 4K - screen resolution. Upper-case K, close up if modifier added: _4Kp60_. 221 | * 50-50 – not fifty-fifty 222 | * 7-inch screen 223 | * 8-bit microprocessor 224 | * 8×, 16× (CD or DVD drive speeds) – note multiplication symbol, not letter x. 225 | 226 | ###A 227 | 228 | * A level — **not** A Level. _She teaches computer science to her A-level students._ See for example [this DfE documentation](https://www.gov.uk/education/as-and-a-level-changes-and-reforms). 229 | * A-level computer science — no capitals, even when referring to the curriculum subject. _She teaches A-level computer science at Hogwarts._ 230 | * AA batteries 231 | * abandonware – old software, where the IP holders are unknown 232 | * Acorn Archimedes (computer) – shorten to Archimedes after first use 233 | * Acorn Computers (company name, produced the BBC Micro and the Acorn family of computers) 234 | * Acorn Electron (computer) 235 | * adapter 236 | * add-on; use 'add-on board', not 'card' 237 | * Advanced Error Reporting - cap up this PCIe term 238 | * adware 239 | * aka – not 'a.k.a.' or 'AKA' 240 | * Allen key – proper noun, capitalise. (Cf. _Phillips_ screwdrivers; why are all the things you screw into other things named after men? Don't answer that.) 241 | * all-expenses-paid trip 242 | * all-ones: used in the adjectival sense, filling something with bits set to `1`; "write an all-ones value to the `FOO_BAR` register" 243 | * all-zeroes: used in the adjectival sense, filling something with bits cleared to `0`; "write an all-zeroes value to the `FOO_BAZ` register" 244 | * ALSA 245 | * AlsaMixer 246 | * AMD (company name) 247 | * amp — ampere. No capital despite derivation from proper noun. 1.2amp or 1.2A (close up, spelling out "amp" is preferred). 248 | * Amstrad (company name) 249 | * Amstrad CPC (computer), short for Amstrad Colour Personal Computer 250 | * analogue 251 | * antenna (pl. antennae) 252 | * antivirus 253 | * app – short form of application. Don’t use if there's potential for confusion 254 | * Apple – Apple trademark. Do not add an s to make plural 255 | * applications processor 256 | * apt — Advanced Package Tool, used in Debian Linux to obtain software (APT is not really an acronym. It was originally, it's just 'apt' now.) 257 | * Arch Linux 258 | * Arm architecture 259 | * Arm chipset 260 | * Arm Holdings (company name) — rebranded from ARM 261 | * Armv6, Armv7 262 | * AS level — see 'A level' 263 | * assembly language 264 | * Astro Pi — find the style guide specific to this programme [here](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cZFRJiBbAKol8LrtPgm8vMZUzs8HLZCl4pY3Heu6xNQ/edit?usp=sharing) 265 | * Atheros (chipset, company name) 266 | * audio conference 267 | * Auto-Tune — capitalise, it's an Antares Audio Technologies trademark. Do not use as a verb.) 268 | * avatar (lower case unless you're talking about the movie!) 269 | * AWG — capitalise. Stands for American Wire Gauge, a US standard set of electrical conductor diameters, used for example in cable specifications 270 | 271 | ###B 272 | 273 | * b - bit = the most basic unit of information in computing and digital communication. The name is a portmanteau of **binary** and **digit**! Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. _Use "b" as a suffix only, otherwise explicitly write out "bit"._ When used as a compound adjective, (e.g. 'The Mega Drive is a 16-bit home video game console'), hyphenate. When used as a quantifier, (e.g. 'These 3 bits control the foo'), do not hyphenate. 274 | * b/s - bits per second. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 275 | * B - byte = 23 b = 8 b 276 | * B/s - bytes per second. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 277 | * byte - 8 b. The name is both a portmanteau of **binary** and **term** as well as a deliberate respelling of bite to avoid accidental mutation to bit. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. _Use "B" as a suffix only, otherwise explicitly write out "byte"._ When used as a compound adjective, (e.g. 'The key is stored in a 2-byte register'), hyphenate. When used as a quantifier (e.g. 'These 3 bytes control the foobarbaz'), do not hyphenate. 278 | * B.C. – place after the year. *The hoard dates back to around 700 B.C.* 279 | * back end (noun), back-end (adjective) 280 | * back-to-school (adjective), back to school (noun) 281 | * backdoor – one word when it's a computer-hacking term 282 | * backlight 283 | * backlit 284 | * backup (noun, adjective), back up (verb) 285 | * bar code 286 | * Bash (Bourne-again shell) 287 | * BBC BASIC – not BASIC (to avoid confusion with Sinclair BASIC and other BASICs) 288 | * BBC Micro 289 | * BBC Model A 290 | * BBC Model B 291 | * Bcc – blind carbon copy. Do not spell out this acronym. (See also Cc.) Also: Bcc'd, Bcc'ing. 292 | * BCM2XXX (eg BCM2835, BCM2837, BCM2711) – SoCs made by Broadcom, used in Raspberry Pi computers. Can be shortened to 2835, 2837, 2711 after first use. 293 | * Beagle Board 294 | * beta — do not capitalise unless part of an official product lane. *Raspberry Pi's beta release for developers; try Yahoo! Messenger Beta.* 295 | * BGA — ball grid array 296 | * biannual, bimonthly, biweekly – do not use. Instead use every two months or twice a month etc. which is longer, but which avoids confusion. 297 | * big-endian - always use a hyphen, as [Jonathan Swift](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/65473/pg65473-images.html) intended 298 | * billion — use numerals with billion: *5 billion people*. Abbreviate to bil only if space is at a premium. 299 | * binary 300 | * binary blob — a pejorative term in the free software community. Do not use to refer to the GPU in Raspberry Pi computers. 301 | * binary 1/binary 0 – write the digit, not the number 302 | * BIOS – Basic Input/Output System 303 | * bitstream 304 | * BlackBerry – a Research In Motion (RIM) trademark, so note capitalisation, plural: *BlackBerry. BlackBerrys* is not correct and can be used only as part of a direct quotation. 305 | * blog 306 | * Blogger – Google trademark when referring to the blogging platform 307 | * blogroll 308 | * Blu-ray – a Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) trademark, so note capitalisation and hyphen. Use as an adjective only. 309 | * Blu Tack (noun) — Bostik product 310 | * Blu-Tack (verb) — 'to Blu-Tack'/'Blu-Tacked' 311 | * Bluetooth – Bluetooth SIG trademark. Note capitalisation and only use as an adjective. 312 | * Bluetooth Classic 313 | * BluetoothLE 314 | * BMP – bitmap 315 | * bookazine – publishing industry jargon, do not use this in public-facing copy. Use _book_. 316 | * boot ROM — a small piece of memory containing the first code executed by the processor on startup 317 | * breadcrumb (when referring to website navigation) 318 | * Broadcom 319 | * Brownout — spelled solid; no hyphen, no space 320 | * brute-force — adjective, as in _brute-force attack_ 321 | * BSD — Berkeley Software Distribution 322 | 323 | ###C 324 | 325 | * C (language) 326 | * C# (language) 327 | * C++ (language) 328 | * Camera Module / Camera Module v2 - the official Raspberry Pi camera add-on 329 | * camera phone 330 | * CAN bus 331 | * CAPTCHA – Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart. A rare instance where the first use of an acronym does not need spelling out! 332 | * capture card — HDMI capture card 333 | * CAS – Computing at School 334 | * Cc – carbon copy. Do not spell out this acronym. (See also Bcc.) Also Cc'd, Cc'ing. 335 | * CD – compact disc. Do not spell out this acronym. Plural CDs. 336 | * CD-R — CD-recordable. Plural CD-Rs. 337 | * CD-ROM — CD-read-only memory. Do not spell out this acronym. Plural CD-ROMs. 338 | * CD-RW — CD-rewritable. Plural CD-RWs. 339 | * Celsius — can always be abbreviated to °C 340 | * centimetre (not centimeter) 341 | * Certified Educator (Picademy graduate) 342 | * CGI – computer-generated imaging *or* common gateway interface *or* computer graphics interface. Be clear in the first reference in a section which you are referring to before reverting to the acronym. 343 | * champion — lower case, including in the context of CoderDojo ("Thank you to all our wonderful CoderDojo champions and mentors!") 344 | * chat room 345 | * checkbox 346 | * children's 347 | * click — usage depends on the object: use *click* for a button, link or other interface object, and *click on* for pictures, icons etc. 348 | * clickable 349 | * client/server – an adjective to describe a kind of network 350 | * clip art 351 | * cloud computing (noun and adjective) 352 | * cm — centimetre. Use a space between the number and cm. *My thumb measures 4 cm.* 353 | * code, coding - outdated edu-jargon. The praxis is called computer programming or software engineering by people who actually do it for a living. Use these terms instead. 354 | * codebase 355 | * codec – coder/decoder 356 | * CoderDojo — can refer to the network of coding clubs that we run, or to a particular club that is part of the CoderDojo network 357 | * command line 358 | * Commodore 64 (computer) 359 | * Commodore Amiga – shorten to Amiga after first use 360 | * Commodore International — company producing the Commodore family of computers 361 | * Compute Module, Compute Module 3, Compute Module 3 Lite - CM1, CM3, CM3 Lite. Abbreviations should only be used after first using the full product name, and only where repeating the full name would become cumbersome. 362 | * computer science (not computing science) — always lower-case, even when referring to the school subject 363 | * computing — always lower-case, even when referring to the school subject 364 | * cookie – lower case for both biscuits and tracking cookies 365 | * corrupted – use *corrupted*, not *corrupt* when describing data. *The file is corrupted.* 366 | * COVID, or if necessary COVID-19, in capitals (in agreement with the AP style guide) 367 | * crawl – fine as a transitive verb meaning "to sift through" when applied to search engines 368 | * Creative Commons 369 | * cron — time-based job scheduler in Unix-like computer operating systems 370 | * crontab — cron table, a configuration file driving cron that specifies shell commands to run periodically on a given schedule 371 | * CSS – Cascading Style Sheets. Note capitalisation. Lower case *style sheets* can be used to refer to CSS documents: *Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) specifications enable a web designer to use style sheets to lay out a web page.* 372 | * CSV – comma-separated values 373 | * CubeSat — not cubesat or cube sat 374 | * curriculum (pl. curricula) 375 | * cut-out — *there is a cut-out in the side of the case to make room for the camera cable.* Note hyphen, do not close up. 376 | * cyber- – avoid as a prefix where possible: dated. If you do need to use it, don't hyphenate. *Cyberattack, cyberterrorism.* 377 | 378 | ###D 379 | 380 | * data – treat as a singular noun. *The data is lost.* 381 | * database 382 | * D-Bus — message bus system. Note capitalisation. 383 | * Debian 384 | * delta-sigma PWM 385 | * Device Tree — a means of representing devices on Raspberry Pi. 386 | * digital age, digital native, digital divide – avoid where possible. Dated jargon. 387 | * Digital Making Curriculum. Also: the Raspberry Pi Foundation's Digital Making Curriculum. 388 | * dialogue – UK spelling 389 | * dingbat – typographical ornament, such as ★. 390 | * dioptre - UK spelling 391 | * disc/disk – magnetic storage is on disks, but optical storage is on discs: *floppy disks, compact discs.* 392 | * Disney+ — streaming service. Confusingly, "Disney Plus" seems to be used pretty much interchangeably, but "Disney+" appears to be Disney's preference. 393 | * disk space — not disk-space or diskspace 394 | * Document Object Model (DOM) — note capitals 395 | * Dojo — upper case when used to refer to a particular club in the CoderDojo network 396 | * dongle 397 | * DoS – denial-of-service attack 398 | * DOS – Disk Operating System. Acronym for several closely related operating systems. 399 | * dos and don'ts – note apostrophes 400 | * double-click – note hyphen 401 | * drag-and-drop (adjective), drag and drop (verb) 402 | * dreamt 403 | * drop-down menu not pull-down menu 404 | * DV - digital video. Cap up. 405 | * DVD — digital video disc. No need to spell out the acronym in first use. 406 | * DVR — digital video recorder 407 | 408 | ###E 409 | 410 | * e- – generally, hyphenate when a prefix. So: *e-book, e-card, e-reader*. Note exception for email. 411 | * e-book 412 | * e-commerce 413 | * E-Mark — protocol controller for USB cables. Abbreviation of *Electronically Marked*. Term of art, so please observe capitalsation. *E-Marked* is acceptable. *Ensure that you are using an E-Marked cable.* 414 | * e-paper 415 | * e.g. 416 | * Earth — capitalise when referring to planet, lower case when referring to soil. 417 | * eBay — an eBay trademark 418 | * Ed and Izzy — the two special Astro Pi units sent to the ISS with Tim Peake. 419 | * EEG — electroencephalography 420 | * element14/Premier Farnell in the first instance in a chapter section, then just element14. Element14 should be capitalised if it appears at the beginning of a sentence; in general, try to avoid using at the start of a sentence. 421 | * email 422 | * emoji — pl. emojis (even though this word is Japanese; see _tsunami, tsunamis_) 423 | * Emotiv — company producing EEG headsets for neuro-signal work. 424 | * end-of-year — adjective before a noun, as in 'end-of-year report' 425 | * endianness - byte order within digital word data 426 | * Endpoint Controller 427 | * EPROM – erasable programmable read only memory 428 | * ePub – electronic publication. An open-standard file format for e-books. 429 | * ESP – email service provider 430 | * -esque – Do not hyphenate words with this suffix unless the suffix creates a double vowel. *Turneresque, Dali-esque.* 431 | * etc. 432 | * Ethernet (always capitalise) 433 | * EULA – end user licence agreement 434 | * ex. – do not use this abbreviation. Use *e.g.* instead. 435 | 436 | ###F 437 | 438 | * fan page 439 | * fan site 440 | * fanbase 441 | * FAQ – frequently asked questions. Plural FAQs. 442 | * Fahrenheit – can always be abbreviated to °F 443 | * fax 444 | * fediverse — no cap. A group of federated servers which, although independently administered, can communicate with each other. Mastodon is trying to make the fediverse A Thing, but our experience so far is that users find it very, very hard to get their heads around. 445 | * feed reader 446 | * fetch-decode-execute cycle 447 | * FFmpeg 448 | * file name 449 | * file system 450 | * firewall 451 | * FireWire – trademark 452 | * Flash – do not capitalise *Flash* when referring to flash memory. If for some reason (why?) you need to refer to the now-deprecated Adobe Flash, use *Flash* as an adjective, since it is a trademark. 453 | * flash memory — no capital unless at the start of a sentence, Dr Allan. 454 | * Flat Flexible Cable — cap up. FFC is acceptable. 455 | * flatsat — prototype, ground-based test hardware for cubesats. Not flat sat or FlatSat. 456 | * floating-point — adjective, as in 'floating-point number' 457 | * focused — not _focussed_ 458 | * forgo — not _forego_ 459 | * FourCC - four-character code. Note capitalisation. 460 | * frame rate — two words. Had a fight with Sam and Brian about this: two words won. 461 | * friend — can be used as a verb if referring to social networking, but this is grim and unlovely. See *unfriend*. 462 | * FTP — File Transfer Protocol (note capitalisation) 463 | * full-screen 464 | * function keys 465 | 466 | ###G 467 | 468 | * g – gram(s). Use a numeral with g and no space between the numeral and g. *The teabag weighs 7g.* 469 | * gamer 470 | * games console. Not "game console", which is the US usage: British usage is "games". See also maths/math. 471 | * Gib - gibibit = 230 b = 1073741824 b. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 472 | * Gib/s - gibibits per second. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 473 | * Gb - gigabit = 109 b = 1000000000 b. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 474 | * Gb/s - gigabits per second. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 475 | * GiB - gibibyte = 230 B = 1073741824 B. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. Preferred for copy aimed at a technical audience, like datasheets and reference documentation. For content aimed at a general audience, like blog posts, use GB instead to avoid looking like a pedantic nerd. 476 | * GiB/s - gibibytes per second. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 477 | * GB - gigabyte = 109 B = 1000000000 B. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. Preferred for content aimed at a general audience, like blog posts. For copy aimed at a technical audience, like datasheets and reference documentation, use GiB (when correct) instead for pedantic nerd cred. 478 | * GB/s - gigabytes per second. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 479 | * Generation X – not Generation Xer 480 | * Generation Y – this used to be the term of art. Since this style guide was conceived the term *millennials* has been coined and is now dominant in the culture. Feel free to use it. 481 | * Generation Z – *zoomers* seems to be gaining currency. This one's in a state of flux; let's keep an eye on it. 482 | * geolocation 483 | * geotagging (noun – OK, gerund), geotag (verb) 484 | * GHz – gigahertz. No space between the number and GHz. 485 | * GIF – Graphic Interchange Format. Acronym is always OK. Plural GIFs. 486 | * GitHub 487 | * GNU – the GNU Project. A recursive acronym: GNU is not UNIX. 488 | * GNU Linux 489 | * Google – Alphabet trademark. Google's guidelines say you may not use the trademark as a verb, but common usage says we can ignore them wholesale on this. It's in the OED. That's good enough for me. 490 | * GPIO – general-purpose input/output. Outside materials which are explicitly educative, there shouldn't ever be a need to expand this. 491 | * GPIO Zero – GPIO Zero is the name of the project, but gpiozero is an acceptable alternative when referring to the module 492 | * GPU – graphics processing unit 493 | * grade – for school grades (USA), spell out first through ninth grade and use figures for 10th grade or higher. Try to keep a consistent format for ranges (see [Numerals and numbers](https://github.com/raspberrypilearning/style-guide/blob/master/style-guide.md#numerals-and-numbers) above). 494 | * gram – see g 495 | * grey – not gray (unless writing for a US audience) 496 | * grown-up – the noun takes a hyphen; it isn't _grownup_ 497 | * GSM – Global System for Mobile Communications 498 | * GStreamer 499 | * GT/s - the PCIe spec says that rates are measured in gigatransfers per second, though MB/s seems to be the unit that many users prefer. 500 | * guestbook 501 | * GUI – graphical user interface 502 | * guizero 503 | 504 | ###H 505 | 506 | * HackSpace magazine – Note capitals. It is no longer the case that we must always include _magazine_ when referring to it. 507 | * Hall effect sensor – capital H 508 | * Hands-on – "a hands-on demo", "get hands-on with Raspberry Pi Pico" 509 | * hardcore 510 | * hashtag – Twitter term 511 | * HAT – Hardware Attached on Top, describing various add-on boards such as the Sense HAT 512 | * HAT+ – new HAT specificiation, beginning Dec 2023. See also Power HAT+. 513 | * HD audio – note capitalisation. Full HD audio is 192kHz; HD audio is 96kHz. 514 | * HMDI – the HDMI authority have emailed to say that the ® symbol is required in the first mention of HDMI in any given document. So HDMI® in the first instance, thereafter HDMI. 515 | * HDTV – high-definition television 516 | * heatsink – not *heat sink* 517 | * help desk 518 | * help pages 519 | * hi-fi 520 | * hit – do not use as a substitute for *press* or *click* 521 | * home page 522 | * host name 523 | * hot swap (noun), hot-swap (verb), hot-swappable, hot swapping 524 | * hotspot – one word when referring to a Wi-Fi access point. Use hot spot if you're talking about a popular restaurant. 525 | * hover – do not use to describe holding a mouse pointer over something on the page. Use *hold*, *pass*, or *move [your mouse cursor over].* 526 | * HTML – Hypertext Markup Language 527 | * Hynix (company name) 528 | 529 | ###I 530 | 531 | * I2C - Inter-Integrated Circuit, used for peripherals on Raspberry Pi; use I2C (no superscript) unless there's a particular reason for using I2C (changed Nov 2020 and consistent across RPTL and Raspberry Pi Press) 532 | * IBM – company name 533 | * IC – integrated circuit 534 | * ICT – information and communications technology, not information and communication technology 535 | * ID – identification. Plural IDs. Avoid using as a verb unless space is very restricted; use apostrophe in verb form. Where possible, *The bouncer checks drinkers' identification*, not *The bouncer ID’s drinkers.* 536 | * IDLE - Python IDE installed on Raspbian, found under the Programming menu as 'Python 3 (IDLE)' 537 | * i.e. 538 | * I-frame - Intra frame. Video term. Do not confuse with iframe (inline frame tag in HTML). 539 | * IM – instant message. Plural IMs. Defunct. Use *DM* or *PM* instead according to context. 540 | * IMAX – trademark, so use as an adjective, not a noun 541 | * inbox 542 | * inch, in 543 | * index – plural: indices, *not* indexes (esp. in technical contexts) 544 | * infrared 545 | * inkjet 546 | * install – install _on_ a computer, install _to_ a hard drive 547 | * internet (do not capitalise unless at start of sentence or set in title case, Dr Allan; it is no longer 1997) 548 | * Internet of Things (IoT) 549 | * I/O - not IO. (Old MacDonald had a farm.) BUT see *PIO*. 550 | * IP – Internet Protocol or intellectual property (note capitalisations) 551 | * iPad – Apple trademark, so do not add an s to make plural 552 | * iPhone – Apple trademark, so do not add an s to make plural 553 | * iPod – Apple trademark, so do not add an s to make plural 554 | * IR – infrared 555 | * ISP – internet service provider 556 | * ISP - image signal processor. Not image sensor pipeline (deprecated). 557 | * IT – information technology 558 | 559 | ###J 560 | 561 | * Java – a Sun Microsystems trademark 562 | * JavaScript – a Sun Microsystems trademark 563 | * JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group 564 | * junk mail 565 | 566 | ###K 567 | 568 | * k – _do not use_ as an abbreviation for thousand. When talking about kilobytes, use kB, not k, which is outdated. *The original BBC Micro had 32 KiB memory.* 569 | * Kib - kibibit = 210 b = 1024 b. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. Always use an _uppercase_ K. 570 | * Kib/s - kibibits per second. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. Always use a _uppercase_ K. 571 | * kb - kilobit = 103 b = 1000 b. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 572 | * kb/s – kilobits per second. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 573 | * kB – kilobyte. 1000 B. _Rarely used; you probably want KiB._ Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. Always use a _lowercase_ k. 574 | * kB/s – kilobytes per second. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. Always use a _lowercase_ k. 575 | * KB - [Ambiguous](https://cseducators.stackexchange.com/questions/4425/should-i-teach-that-1-kb-1024-bytes-or-1000-bytes), _do not use_. Use kB or KiB instead. 576 | * KB/s - [Ambiguous](https://cseducators.stackexchange.com/questions/4425/should-i-teach-that-1-kb-1024-bytes-or-1000-bytes), _do not use_. Use kB/s or KiB/s instead. 577 | * KiB - kibibyte = 210 B = 1024 B. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 578 | * KiB/s = kibibytes per second. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 579 | * keylogger 580 | * key press 581 | * Key Stage – in UK school system, note upper-case letters 582 | * keyword – search engine term. *Think about the best keywords to use on your web page*. Use key word when referring to a critical word. *She couldn't remember what else he'd said. The key word in his last sentence was "bagpipes".* 583 | * kids' 584 | * kg – kilogram(s). No space between number and kg. 585 | * kHz – kilohertz. No space between the number and kHz. 586 | * kilogram 587 | * kilometre 588 | * km – kilometre. No space between the number and unit. *We drove 50km.* 589 | * kmph – kilometres per hour. No space between the number and kmph. 590 | 591 | ###L 592 | 593 | * l – litre. No space between the number and l. *The barman served drinks in 1l glasses.* 594 | * LA – Los Angeles. Use only when space is at a premium. 595 | * ladies' 596 | * LAN – local area network 597 | * LCD – liquid-crystal display. Plural LCDs. 598 | * learnt 599 | * LED – light-emitting diode. Plural LEDs. 600 | * left-hand – adjective. Use 'top left-hand side', not 'top left side' or 'top-left side' 601 | * legacy – *legacy stack*, *legacy API* etc. do not take an initial capital. The word 'legacy' is not a title. 602 | * Lego – the Lego Group has trademarked LEGO (all caps), but Lego is an acceptable usage. See also *splot*. Adjective only. Plural *Lego bricks*, not *Legos*, which is an abomination unto Nuggan. 603 | * LGBT – lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender 604 | * libcamera – software library. Lower-case l, do not use at the start of a sentence. (The passive voice has been used a lot today.) 605 | * Li-ion – lithium-ion (a kind of battery) 606 | * licence/license – licence (noun), license (verb). We are not American! 607 | * lightyear 608 | * like – when using as a Facebook verb, enclose in quotation marks. *Thousands of people 'like' Raspberry Pi on Facebook, helping the charity to raise funds.* If producing online materials and treating the term as a user-interface object (viz. as a link or a button), use a hyperlink to make it stand out, and do not use quotation marks. 609 | * Linux – trademark owned by Linus Torvalds. Not capitalised in the same way as UNIX. 610 | * LiPo – lithium polymer (a kind of battery) 611 | * lithium-ion – do not capitalise when written out in full (cf. *Li-ion*) 612 | * little-endian - always use a hyphen, as [Jonathan Swift](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/65473/pg65473-images.html) intended 613 | * livestream – one word when a noun. Two words when used as a verb 614 | * logic 1/logic 0 – write the digit, not the number 615 | * login – one word when a noun or adjective. Two words when used as a verb. However, try to avoid using as a verb; *sign in* is preferable because it sounds less technical. 616 | * lookup – one word when a noun or adjective: *lookup table* or *reverse phone number lookup*. Two words when a verb. *I tried to look up the length of my ex's prison sentence.* 617 | * Low speed serial interface (LoSSI) 618 | * LXDE – Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment 619 | 620 | ###M 621 | 622 | * M key - edge connector standard for M.2 PCIe peripherals 623 | * m – metre. No space between the number and m. *The sausage measured an amazing 6m.* 624 | * M.2 625 | * Mac (for Macintosh) is acceptable usage 626 | * MAC address 627 | * MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro – Apple trademarks, so do not add an s to make plural 628 | * macOS (**not** Mac OS, Mac OS X, OS X, or OSX) 629 | * machine – do not use as a synonym for computer. Use *computer*. 630 | * The MagPi – the official Raspberry Pi magazine 631 | * mailbox 632 | * maker movement – **not** Maker Movement. Just stop that. 633 | * maker space – things have moved on in the last ten years. This used to be our preferred formulation, but *makespace*, *maker lab*, *hackspace* or *maker shed* all have currency too now (and at least one of those things has a magazine). *Hackspace* is probably preferred for branding reasons despite Toby's Maker Lab; refer to the individual organisation's naming preference where possible if writing about specifics. 634 | * malware 635 | * mashup (noun, adjective), mash up (verb) 636 | * mass storage device – not capped up 637 | * Master Boot Record 638 | * Mastodon – social network. Please don't use their *Toot* coinage: use *post* instead. 639 | * Maths, not math. Mathematics is also acceptable. 640 | * Mb - megabit = 1000000 b. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 641 | * Mb/s = megabits per second. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 642 | * Mib - mebibit = 220 b = 1048576 b. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 643 | * Mib/s - mebibits per second. _Rarely used; you probably want Mb/s._ Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 644 | * MB - megabyte = 106 B = 1000000 B. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. *My old Amiga only had 130 MB drive space.* 645 | * MB/s - megabytes per second. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 646 | * MiB - mebibyte = 220 B = 1048576 B. Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 647 | * MiB/s - mebibytes per second. _Rarely used; you probably want MB/s._ Always use a space between the number and the unit, preferably non-breaking. 648 | * media – treat as a mass noun with a singular verb. *The media is paying a lot of attention to Raspberry Pi.* However, if you can distinguish a number of individual mediums making up the use of media, use a plural verb. *Various media are treating the story differently: print newspapers are not paying much attention, but the TV news and online news sites are very interested.* 649 | * meet-up (noun, adjective), meet up (verb). Not *meetup*. 650 | * mens' 651 | * mentee – never, ever use this horrible neologism. *Student* or *protégé* are acceptable substitutions. 652 | * mentor – lower case, including in the context of CoderDojo. _Thank you to all our wonderful CoderDojo champions and mentors!_ 653 | * membership – one has, applies for, pays for, gives, etc. membership _of_ a club, society, association etc. 654 | * message boards 655 | * metadata 656 | * metatag 657 | * mg – miligram(s). No space between the number and mg. 658 | * MHz – megahertz. No space between the number and MHz. 659 | * micro HDMI – lower case if mid-sentence 660 | * micro USB 661 | * micro:bit – a handheld, fully programmable computer which was given free to every Year 7 child across the UK. The Micro:bit Educational Foundation is trying to drop the 'BBC' in front of 'micro:bit'. If using just 'micro:bit', try not to begin sentences with it, due to the lowercase nature of the name. 662 | * Micro:bit Educational Foundation – see [here](http://microbit.org/about/). Note uppercase 'M'. 663 | * microarchitecture, microarchitectural (as opposed to architectural) 664 | * microblog – deprecated. This is what we used to call platforms like Twitter and Tumblr. 665 | * microcontroller 666 | * microprocessor 667 | * MicroPython 668 | * microSD – SanDisk trademark. Don't use at the start of a sentence, because that lower-case 'M' is a nuisance. 669 | * microsite 670 | * Microsoft .Net – Microsoft's trademark guidelines say that *Microsoft* should precede the *.Net* brand name in the first instance of use. Because the full stop can create confusion, insert *Microsoft* before *.Net* if it occurs at the start of a sentence. Better still, never use the term at all. 671 | * Microsoft Windows – see *Windows* 672 | * mike – short form of microphone (mic also acceptable) 673 | * million – use numerals and a space with *million*. Don't hyphenate the numeral and *million*, even before a noun. If you're forming a compound adjective, use a hyphen between the numeral and *million*. So: *40 million Raspberry Pis, a £4 million budget, a 4-million-year schedule.* 674 | * min. – abbreviation for minute; use only where space is at a premium, and note full stop. 675 | * miniSD – lower-case unless at the start of a sentence/bullet point 676 | * mini HDMI 677 | * mini USB 678 | * mips – million instructions per second. No space between number and mips. 679 | * ml – millilitre(s). No space between the number and ml. 680 | * mm – millimetre(s). No space between the number and mm. 681 | * mobile – acceptable as a noun when it's a short form of *mobile phone*, but try not to make a habit of it. _Cell_ is becoming more acceptable in the UK, and can be used if preferred. 682 | * money-can't-buy prizes 683 | * moon – lower case, whether referring to *the moon* or other moons. *Mercury does not have a moon.* 684 | * mouse – plural mice even when talking about computer peripherals 685 | * mouseover, mouse over – do not use. Use *roll* or *move your mouse cursor over*, or an equivalent. 686 | * MP – megapixel. Close up, so a *12MP image*. 687 | * MP3 – abbreviation for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3. 688 | * MPEG – Moving Picture Experts Group. Also refers to a compression methodology whose standards are set by this group. 689 | * MPEG-2, MPEG-2 transport stream 690 | * mpg – miles per gallon. No space between the number and mpg. 691 | * mph – miles per hour. No space between the number and mph. 692 | * MS-DOS – Microsoft Disk Operating System. Trademark for a Microsoft operating system from the DOS family. See *DOS*. 693 | * multi- – do not hyphenate words with this prefix unless the root word starts with an i or a capital letter. *Multiplayer, multicolour, multi-industry.* 694 | * multimeter – note spelling. Not multimetre. 695 | * Mylar 696 | 697 | ###N 698 | 699 | * nano – linux text editor. Note lower case. Full name: 'GNU nano' 700 | * NeoPixels – Adafruit trademark 701 | * net – do not capitalise if referring to the internet. Use *internet* for preference, unless space is tight 702 | * newline – the control character 703 | * news feed 704 | * newsreader – both job title and RSS feed 705 | * Ni-MH – a kind of battery. Note capitalisation differs on expansion; cf. *nickel-metal hydride.* 706 | * NIC – network interface card 707 | * nickel-metal hydride – see *Ni-MH* 708 | * Ninja – upper case when used in the context of CoderDojo, but frankly I'd be happy never to have to use it again 709 | * no-no 710 | * No. 1 – see *number one* 711 | * no one - do not hyphenate 712 | * Node-RED – a visual tool for wiring the Internet of Things 713 | * Node.js 714 | * NOOBS – New Out Of Box Software, used to easily install an operating system on Raspberry Pi. Deprecated. 715 | * number one – no hyphen as adjective. *Bagpipes are my number one hate*. Abbreviate as *No. 1* if space is tight. 716 | * NVMe 717 | * NYC – New York City. Use only if space is tight. 718 | 719 | ###O 720 | 721 | * object-oriented programming 722 | * OEM – original equipment manufacturer. Preferable to *factory* when talking about the place where Raspberry Pi computers are made. 723 | * offline 724 | * offshoot 725 | * off-screen 726 | * ohm – not capped (although it derives from a proper name). When talking about resistors, 1Ω, not 1R. 727 | * OK – not okay, Ok or ok. OK? 728 | * on-board (adjective), on board (adverb), when referring to PCBs. "There is an on-board wireless antenna", but "There is a wireless antenna on board". 729 | * onboard (adjective), on board (adverb), when referring to vessels and vehicles. "There are two Raspberry Pi computers on board the International Space Station." "Input from sensors in the hull is sent to the ship's onboard computer." 730 | * online 731 | * on-screen (adjective), on screen (adverb) 732 | * OpenOCD 733 | * open source – no hyphen whether used as a noun or as an adjective. We would usually hyphenate a term such as this when used as an adjective, according to the advice of _New Hart's Rules_; however, no one else does this, so we would look fussy and stuffy if we did. 734 | * opt-in (noun, adjective), opt in (verb) 735 | * organiser (s, not z) 736 | * OS – operating system. Plural OSes. 737 | * outbox 738 | * overclocking (noun), overclock (verb). Never the verb *clock*, which may mean something else entirely. If in doubt, clarify. For example, *dynamic frequency clocking*. 739 | * overcurrent – spelled solid; no hyphen, no space 740 | * overvoltage – spelled solid; no hyphen, no space 741 | * overwrite – spelled solid; no hyphen, no space 742 | 743 | ###P 744 | 745 | * P2P – peer-to-peer 746 | * Pac-Man (game) 747 | * page view 748 | * passcode 749 | * passphrase 750 | * password 751 | * password-protect (verb) 752 | * PayPal – an eBay trademark 753 | * PC – personal computer. Make context clear to avoid confusion with *politically correct.* 754 | * PCB – printed circuit board 755 | * PCIe 756 | * PCIe connector – this is a standard that Raspberry Pi 5 is not using. Write "Raspberry Pi connector for PCIe" instead. 757 | * PCIe 3.0 x1 – letter x, not multiplication symbol 758 | * PDF (Portable Document Format, Adobe file format) 759 | * peer-to-peer (adjective) 760 | * percent 761 | * Peripheral Address Map 762 | * Perl 763 | * pharming – redirecting traffic from a website that looks legitimate to a spoof website 764 | * PhD 765 | * Phillips screwdrivers, Phillips screw - proper noun, takes a cap. Not a trademark, nothing to do with Philips the lightbulb/hair-removal people. Your editor draws this to your attention because ESA once got very confused about it when we mentioned a screwdriver in an ISS video. 766 | * phishing – tricking someone into giving out sensitive information using an email that looks legitimate 767 | * photobooth 768 | * Photoshop – Adobe trademark. Use as an adjective or proper noun, and never as a verb. 769 | * Pi-hole - note capitalisation. Don't know about you, but I find objectionable capitalisation 100% more objectionable when the word "Pi" is involved. 770 | * PIO – programmable I/O. Not PI/O or any other abomination 771 | * PiServer – a piece of software created by us for centrally controlling fleets of Raspberry Pis (e.g. in a classroom) 772 | * Pi In The Sky (PITS) board 773 | * Picademy – training courses for teachers. If possible, pluralise by adding 'sessions', 'courses' or similar. 774 | * picamera, picamera2 – software libraries which provide a pure Python interface to Raspberry Pi cameras. Contain the PiCamera class (among others). Note capitalisation. 775 | * PIN – acronym for *personal identification number*. *PIN number* is tautological but acceptable. 776 | * PipeWire 777 | * playlist 778 | * PlayStation – Sony trademark. Do not add an s to make plural. 779 | * podcast 780 | * PoE – power over Ethernet 781 | * polyfuse 782 | * pop-up (noun, adjective), pop up (verb). Not *popup*. 783 | * pope – lower case unless referring to a specific named pope. *The pope wants a Raspberry Pi. The Queen met Pope Benedict XVI.* 784 | * Post-it – 3M trademark. Do not use as a noun. Plural *Post-it notes*. 785 | * Power HAT+ 786 | * pre- – close up pre- as a prefix with the root word unless the root word starts with an e or a capital letter, in which case hyphenate. *Preprandial, pre-election, pre-MP3.* Exception: *pre-soldered*. 787 | * press – when talking about a key on a keyboard, use *press*. *Click* is for buttons, links and other interface elements, and *click on* is for the mouse action. 788 | * print 789 | * printout (noun), print off (verb) 790 | * pro forma statement, pro forma income statement - not "pro-forma" 791 | * program (computer) 792 | * programme (television, theatre etc.) 793 | * PS2, PS3, PS4, PS5 – acceptable abbreviations for Sony's *PlayStation 2*, *PlayStation 3*, *PlayStation 4* and *PlayStation 5*. 794 | * pseudocode 795 | * pull-up - resistor used in electronic logic circuits (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pull-up_resistor), can be shortened to PU during repeated heavy usage 796 | * pull-down - resistor used in electronic logic circuits (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pull-down_resistor), can be shortened to PD during repeated heavy usage 797 | * PulseAudio 798 | * Puppy Linux 799 | * PuTTY: popular SSH/Telnet software used to access Raspberry Pi 800 | * Pygame 801 | * Pygame Zero 802 | * Python (language) 803 | 804 | ###Q 805 | 806 | * Q&A 807 | * QR code 808 | * quad-core – hyphenated when modifying a noun (processor, computer, etc.) 809 | * QuickTime – Apple trademark 810 | * Qt 811 | * QtGL 812 | 813 | ###R 814 | 815 | * RAM – random access memory 816 | * Raspberry Pi icon – not _Raspberry Icon_ or _raspberry icon_. 817 | * Raspberry Pi menu – not _Raspberry Pi Menu_ or _Raspberry menu_ or any of your other nonsense, Jepson. :P 818 | * Raspberry Pi – plural Raspberry Pis. Do not abbreviate, however much you want to. 819 | * Raspberry Pi 1, Raspberry Pi 2, Raspberry Pi 3B+, Raspberry Pi 4 etc. 820 | * Raspberry Pi 3-pin Debug Connector Specification - a standard we have developed (see [here](https://datasheets.raspberrypi.com/debug/debug-connector-specification.pdf)). Capitalise the name of the specification and abbrevations thereof: our Debug Connector Specification, the Raspberry Pi 3-pin Debug Specification, etc (just as we do with abbreviations of the names of hardware products). Don't capitalise descriptive references that are not the name of the spec: the Raspberry Pi debug connector standard. 821 | * Raspberry Pi Foundation – requires a definite article: *The Raspberry Pi Foundation works with ESA to let kids run code in space.* 822 | * Raspberry Pi OS – does not take a definite article: *Raspberry Pi OS is our official recommended operating system.* 823 | * Raspberry Pi Weekly (a weekly email newsletter) 824 | * Raspberry Pi Zero 825 | * Raspberry Pi Zero W (not 'Wireless') 826 | * Raspbian 827 | * Raspbian Lite 828 | * re- – close up this prefix with root words unless the root word starts with an e or a capital letter. If it does, hyphenate. There are exceptions to this rule for the avoidance of confusion with other words: *re-create, re-cover, re-sent.* 829 | * real time (noun), real-time (adjective) 830 | * reality TV 831 | * Resource Repository – capitalised when referring to the NCCE Resource Repository. *We are building a resource repository called the Resource Repository.* 832 | * RetroPie – not _Retropie_ or _RetroPiE_ 833 | * retweet 834 | * right-click 835 | * right-hand - adjective. Use 'top right-hand side', not 'top right side' or 'top-right side' 836 | * ringtone 837 | * rock 'n' roll 838 | * ROM – read-only memory 839 | * Roku – company name and name of streaming media device. Trademark. Do not add s to make plural. Plural *Roku boxes* or *Roku devices*. 840 | * roundup 841 | * RP2040, RP2350 - the full names of these products are simply "RP2040" and "RP2350", not "Raspberry Pi RP2040" etc. 842 | * RS Components – in full in the first instance in a chapter section, then just RS. 843 | * RSS – Really Simple Syndication. Best practice is to use *RSS feed*, *RSS news feed* or *RSS newsreader*; few people know what RSS means on its own, and it's much less used in these dark days of the 2020s than it was when this guide was first written. 844 | * RTC – real-time clock 845 | 846 | ###S 847 | 848 | * SanDisk (company) 849 | * Schmitt trigger 850 | * screen – should only refer to a computer or television screen, not a *page* on a website. 851 | * screen name 852 | * screen reader (accessibility tool) 853 | * screencast 854 | * screengrab 855 | * screensaver 856 | * screenshot 857 | * scroll bar 858 | * scroll wheel 859 | * SDA – SD Card Association, developers of *SD*, *SDHC* etc. cards 860 | * SD card – Secure Digital memory card format 861 | * SDHC card – Secure Digital High-Capacity card 862 | * search engine 863 | * Secure Boot is a standard. Things can boot securely without adhering to the standard. Note caps. 864 | * security key 865 | * setup (noun, adjective), set up (verb) 866 | * short code – two words when referring to a mobile phone 867 | * shutdown – noun. Shut down is the verb. 868 | * sidebar 869 | * sign-in (noun, adjective); sign in, sign in to (verb). Preferable to *log in* or *log on*; sounds less technical. 870 | * sign-out, sign-up – see *sign-in* 871 | * SIM card – subscriber identity module card 872 | * Sinclair ZX81 (cf. ZX Spectrum) 873 | * single-board computer 874 | * SiP – system in package 875 | * site map 876 | * slideshow 877 | * smart card 878 | * smartphone 879 | * SMS – short message service 880 | * snail mail – just no. Use *the post* or similar. 881 | * SoC – system on chip 882 | * social media – treat as *media* 883 | * social network (noun), social-network (adjective) 884 | * social networking (noun), social-networking (adjective) 885 | * SODIMM (no hyphen) 886 | * software – collective noun; when singular, never write 'a software' (seriously, we've seen news outlets who should know better use this); always write 'a piece of software' (preferred) or 'a software program' 887 | * SoM – system on module 888 | * sound bite 889 | * soundcheck 890 | * soundstage 891 | * southbridge – a bit dated, and very ASIC-engineer specific. 'I/O controller chip' is preferred, unless in technical writing. 892 | * spam 893 | * spammer 894 | * spell-checker, spell-check 895 | * splot – the individual nubble on a Lego brick. *A Raspberry Pi fits into a case measuring seven by eleven splots.* 896 | * spyware 897 | * SSH 898 | * standalone 899 | * startup (noun, adjective), start up (verb) 900 | * STL – not .stl or .STL 901 | * style sheet – lower case even when referring to CSS (which you probably aren't referring to, but you know. Just in case). See CSS. 902 | * sub- – close up this prefix with the root word unless the root word starts with a capital letter, in which case hyphenate. *Subdomain, sub-Victorian.* 903 | * substring 904 | * sulphur – not sulfur, despite the Royal Society of Chemistry's best efforts 905 | * supercapacitor – all one word 906 | * SWD – Serial Wire Debug 907 | * sync, synched, synching 908 | 909 | ###T 910 | 911 | * T-shirt 912 | * TeachMeet 913 | * TensorFlow 914 | * terminal, Terminal – when talking about using the command line in the GUI, 'open a terminal window' or 'type \[something\] into the terminal' (never LXTerminal or similar). The application for using the terminal on Raspberry Pi OS is also called Terminal (proper noun, capital letter). How-to instructions aimed at people who might be unfamiliar with the command line should specify 'open Terminal' before advising people to 'type \[whatever\] into the terminal'. 915 | * Tetris (game) 916 | * text message (noun), text-message (adjective, verb). Acceptable to shorten to *text* 917 | * thin client – do not hyphenate, whether used as a noun or as an adjective. We would usually hyphenate a compound term of this kind when used as an adjective, but because no one else does, doing so would look fussy. 918 | * third-best selling general-purpose computer 919 | * third-party, not 3rd party 920 | * thousand – spell out when in inline text 921 | * thumb drive 922 | * TikTok 923 | * Timelapse 924 | * timeshift, timeshifting 925 | * title bar 926 | * TiVo – trademark. Do not use as a verb or add an s to make plural. 927 | * to-do – plural to-dos. Capitalise as *To-Do* in title case. 928 | * toolbar 929 | * tooltip 930 | * TOS – terms of service 931 | * touchpad 932 | * touchscreen 933 | * towards – not toward 934 | * trackball 935 | * trackpad 936 | * trade show 937 | * transport stream - MPEG-2 transport stream. Note capitalisation. 938 | * traveller, travelled, travelling 939 | * Trinket – the service provided on the trinket.io website, as well as the organisation. Note that capitalisation is used inconsistently in their website copy, so this usage is a judgement call by us. See below. 940 | * trinket/trinkets – projects on trinket.io. See above. 941 | * Trojan horse 942 | * troubleshoot 943 | * TV (no need to spell out what the acronym means!) 944 | * tweet 945 | * Twitter – Capitalise when talking about the website. Do not use as a verb to refer to communicating on Twitter. Use *tweet* instead. 946 | * Twitter thread 947 | 948 | ###U 949 | 950 | * UART – universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter 951 | * UF2 952 | * UI – user interface 953 | * UK 954 | * UN 955 | * undervoltage - not under voltage 956 | * unfriend – see *friend* 957 | * Unix - the trademark is UNIX, but common usage seems to dictate Unix 958 | * unsubscribe 959 | * up-to-date 960 | * URL – Uniform Resource Locator, but abbreviation is always OK and doesn't need to be spelt out in the first instance 961 | * USA 962 | * USB – universal serial bus 963 | * USB C, USB 2 etc. Not USB Type-C in blog posts, magazine articles or books like the _Beginner's Guide_, but Type-C etc. is acceptable in writing geared for a more technical audience. 964 | * USB flash drive 965 | * USB On-The-Go, USB OTG – hyphenate if expanded 966 | * user 967 | * user base 968 | * username 969 | * userID 970 | * userland – OS software that does not belong in the kernel 971 | 972 | ###V 973 | 974 | * VGA – video graphics array 975 | * video camera 976 | * video game 977 | * videoconference 978 | * voicemail 979 | * VoIP – voice over Internet Protocol 980 | * volt – not capitalised. *But* takes a capital V when abbreviated, so 3.3V (closed-up, and not 3V3). Sorry-not-sorry, Alasdair. 981 | * VPN – virtual private network 982 | 983 | ###W 984 | 985 | * walkthrough – one word 986 | * wallpaper, wallpapers 987 | * WAN – wide area network 988 | * web 989 | * webcam 990 | * womens' 991 | * webcast 992 | * webinar (ghastly, but it appears we're stuck with it – ten points for you, dear writer, if you can avoid using it) 993 | * webisode (see *webinar*) 994 | * weblog – use only when explaining the etymology of the word *blog*, which is always to be preferred 995 | * web browser 996 | * webmaster 997 | * web page 998 | * web server 999 | * website 1000 | * WhatsApp 1001 | * white paper – two words, lower case, as preferred by both AP and Guardian/Observer style guides (2021/07/02) 1002 | * widescreen 1003 | * Wi-Fi:registered: – ~~if referring to a Raspberry Pi product, do *not* use this; refer to the built-in WiFi as 'wireless LAN' or similar.~~ Newsflash! The Wi-Fi Alliance has now altered its rules to say that non-members are allowed to use the term. Wi-Fi, not WiFi, and needs to be followed by the :registered: symbol. No need to expand to _wireless (Wi-Fi)_ when first using in a document; Wi-Fi is common-enough usage that we can consider it standard English. 1004 | * Wii – Nintendo trademark. Do not add an s to make plural. 1005 | * Wiimote – controller for the Wii. Colloquial. (The official term is Wii Remote.) 1006 | * wiki – plural *wikis* 1007 | * Windows – trademark: use Microsoft Windows if talking about the Microsoft product to differentiate from other windowing software 1008 | * Windows CE – trademark. Not Microsoft Windows CE 1009 | * Wine – application to allow Microsoft Windows software to run on UNIX-like operating systems. Originally an acronym for WINdows Emulator, later changed to a recursive “backronym” for Wine Is Not an Emulator. 1010 | * word mark – not wordmark 1011 | * word processing (noun), word-processing (adjective) 1012 | * word-of-mouth 1013 | * WordPress – trademark 1014 | * workflow 1015 | * World Wide Web 1016 | * writable 1017 | * WWW 1018 | * WYSIWIG – what you see is what you get 1019 | 1020 | ###X 1021 | 1022 | * X – social network formerly known as Twitter. If we do end up having to reference it, use language like "X, formerly known as Twitter." 1023 | * X-ray 1024 | * x86 architecture 1025 | * Xbox – Microsoft trademark. Do not add "es" to make plural. 1026 | * xHCI 1027 | * XHTML – Extensible Hypertext Markup Language 1028 | * XML – Extensible Markup Language 1029 | * X Windows - GUI framework 1030 | 1031 | ###Y 1032 | 1033 | * Yahoo! – use the upper case Y and the exclamation mark when referring to the company or its brands 1034 | * YouTube – Google trademark 1035 | 1036 | ###Z 1037 | 1038 | * ZX Spectrum 1039 | * zip file 1040 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------