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Geoff, I generally agree with you. A style guide is for *consistency*,
not *authority*.
I do differ with your opinion about the Sun style guide. As a guide to
*writing*, Sun's has more information for writers just starting out. On
the other hand, it's a Windows world; I would always recommend
Microsoft's terminology before Sun's.
My recipe for style is
* start with a base of Chicago.
* add Webster's Collegiate for spelling
* Add Microsoft for Microsoft terms, especially names of GUI objects.
That ensures a taste that is harmonious
with Windows (unless I'm not writing for Windows)
* Garnish with my own research on page layouts, and so forth
* Set aside for a week, then serve judiciously and flavor if necessary
|Sun's guide is certainly more respected than Microsoft's style guide,
but the terminology may not always |overlap. The key thing to remember
with either book is that style guides are _guides_, not _rule_ books.
|They provide recommendations on what has been found to work well under
certain circumstances, and the good |ones make no claims to be
exhaustive references or to be universally applicable.
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