Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!brunix!brownvm.brown.edu!Allen
From: Allen@brownvm.brown.edu (Allen Renear)
Newsgroups: comp.text
Subject: Re: em-dashes
Message-ID: <10121@brunix.UUCP>
Date: 9 Jul 89 23:18:55 GMT
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References:<65479@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> <1168@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu>

The use of a short dash with surrounding spaces as a graphic rendition of 
the punctuational dash is well-established, and quite respectable.  In an 
article on markup systems in the Nov 1987 CACM we (Coombs, DeRose, Renear) 
refer to this style of dash as the "Cambridge dash" and to the standard em 
dash (with no surrounding spaces) as the "Oxford dash" -- as the first is 
Cambridge University Press house style and the second is Oxford University 
Press house style.  The Times (NY) as someone pointed out is another very 
handy example, see also Prentice Hall, Addison-Wesley, and others.

What is important is that the coding of a punctuational dash is 
independent of its intended graphic rendition.  Let the designers design, 
and let these designs be implemented in the macros -- but keep the source 
file semantically rich, and design, device, and software independent.

Allen Renear, Computing and Information Services / Brown University / 
(401) 863-7312