Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!bywater!scifi!hybrid!torsqnt!nixtdc!doug
From: doug@nixtdc.uucp (Doug Moen)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.misc
Subject: Capitalization & programming language names
Message-ID: <1991Jan11.203246.12599@nixtdc.uucp>
Date: 11 Jan 91 20:32:46 GMT
References: <3561@bruce.cs.monash.OZ.AU> <14834@goofy.megatest.UUCP>
Reply-To: doug@nixtdc.UUCP (Doug Moen)
Organization: Siemens Nixdorf
Lines: 19

In article <14834@goofy.megatest.UUCP> djones@megatest.UUCP (Dave Jones) writes:
>Many of the names listed should be all caps, because the are
>acronyms. For example, "BASIC" stands for "Beginner's Algorithmic ..."
>something-or-another, can't remember. I think I recall that
>"FORTRAN" stands for "FORmula TRANslator". ...

If you look at common English usage, you'll find that
acronyms are *not* always written in all caps.
Consider "laser", "radar", and "scuba", for instance.

The names of languages (eg, English, Fortran, Basic) are proper names,
and thus should be given an initial capital.  If the name is an acronym
that is pronounced by sounding out each letter, then you should use all caps
(eg, IBM, APL, JCL).  There is no good reason for spelling acronyms
like Basic or laser with all caps; furthermore, it is ugly and hard to read.
-- 
Doug Moen
{mnetor,alias,geac,torsqnt,lsuc}!nixtdc!doug
77 Carlton #1504, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5B 2J7