is "of" optional in transcript ?

[Dar Scott]

On Dec 18, 2004, at 11:57 AM, Martin Baxter wrote:

> Like you I would like to know if this is official or not before I make 
> a
> habit of it. Having spent many years religiously typing "of" in front 
> of
> container identifiers, it might be hard to change. But,
>
> put item 2 line 3 field 1
>
> does have a kind of rhythm to it.

If you are a touch typist, you might see little change in typing speed 
and might see a slowdown at first.

My opinion is that the 'of' helps in readability.  Let script 
scruntchers get rid of it but put it in most scripts.  My plan is to 
include it in examples sent to this list.

I do think dropping 'of' is more readable than using abbreviations.  
Yeah, I know using abbreviations has a long tradition and some folks 
are limited in typing or line length.  I'm not a typing teacher or 
psychologist, but I suspect it takes less time for most folks to type 
'field' than 'fld'.  I know some folks who do use abbreviations do make 
a special effort to avoid them on the list and I appreciate that.

Given that...  I do use long IDs a lot.  If the shortened form works 
there, I might consider dropping 'of' there.  At the moment, I'm not 
sure if it is worth it.

Dar

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