linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] doc: replace IFF abbreviation with 'if and only if'

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Date:   Tue, 10 Sep 2019 15:17:29 +0200
From:   Federico Vaga <federico.vaga@...a.pv.it>
To:     Christoph Hellwig <hch@...radead.org>
Cc:     Jonathan Corbet <corbet@....net>, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
        linux-doc@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH] doc: replace IFF abbreviation  with 'if and only if'

On Tuesday, September 10, 2019 8:35:10 AM CEST Christoph Hellwig wrote:
> On Sat, Sep 07, 2019 at 12:51:16PM +0200, Federico Vaga wrote:
> > In a normal piece of text the use of 'iff' does not guarantee a correct
> > interpretation because it is easy to confuse it for a typo (if or iff?).
> > 
> > I believe that IFF should not be used outside a logical/mathematical
> > expression. For this reason with this patch I am replacing 'iff' with
> > 'if an only if' in text, and I am leaving it as it is in logical formulae.
> 
> Hell no.  If you want to avoid the usage in your own docs please go for
> it, but as seen in your patch we commonly use 

The usage of 'iff' is as common as the usage of  'if and only if'

> and that is a good thing
> as it brings the information across  in a very compact way.

It is not a piece of code that has to run on an embedded system and it needs 
to be compact. It is a piece of text that people must understand.

Generally speaking compactness does not bring any value if then the text is 
unclear or open to interpretation.