Heikki Linnakangas <hlinnaka@iki.fi> writes:
> On 05/06/2017 01:56 PM, Gavin Flower wrote:
>> On 06/05/17 22:44, Vik Fearing wrote:
>>> On 05/05/2017 02:42 PM, Michael Paquier wrote:
>>>> + This option is obsolete but still accepted for backwards
>>>> + compatibility.
>>>> Isn't that incorrect English?
>>> No.
>>>
>>>> It seems to me that this be non-plural,
>>>> as "for backward compatibility".
>>> "Backwards" is not plural, it's a regional variation of "backward" (or
>>> vice versa depending on which region you come from). Both are correct.
>>
>> I am English, born & bred, and 'Backwards' feels a lot more natural to me.
>
> Another data point:
>
> $ grep "backwards-comp" doc/src/sgml/ref/*.sgml doc/src/sgml/*.sgml | wc -l
> 7
> $ grep "backward-comp" doc/src/sgml/ref/*.sgml doc/src/sgml/*.sgml | wc -l
> 3
>
> Another important question is whether there should be a hyphen there or not?
>
> $ grep "backward comp" doc/src/sgml/ref/*.sgml doc/src/sgml/*.sgml |
> wc -l
> 21
> ~/git-sandbox-pgsql/master (master)$ grep "backwards comp"
> doc/src/sgml/ref/*.sgml doc/src/sgml/*.sgml | wc -l
> 11
This misses out instances where the phrase is broken across lines.
Using a less line-orented tool, ag (aka. The Silver Searcher), gives
more hits for the non-hyphenated case, but doesn't significantly change
the s-to-non-s ratio.
$ ag 'backwards-\s*comp' doc/**/*.sgml|grep -c backward
7
$ ag 'backward-\s*comp' doc/**/*.sgml|grep -c backward
3
$ ag 'backward\s+comp' doc/**/*.sgml | grep -c backward
29
* ag 'backwards\s+comp' doc/**/*.sgml | grep -c backward
20
--
"I use RMS as a guide in the same way that a boat captain would usea lighthouse. It's good to know where it is, but
yougenerallydon't want to find yourself in the same spot." - Tollef Fog Heen
