Special characters are often used in technical documentation, whether in code, command-line instructions, or to emphasize certain elements. It’s important to use them correctly to avoid confusion or errors.
Common Special Characters:
- Apostrophes (’) and Quotation Marks (“”): Use straight quotes for code and curly quotes for regular text. Example: “The string ‘hello’ should be enclosed in single quotes in JavaScript.”
- Hyphens (-), En Dashes (–), and Em Dashes (—): Use hyphens for compound words (e.g., “real-time”), en dashes for ranges (e.g., “2023–2024”), and em dashes for breaks in thought (e.g., “This is important—don’t forget it!”).
- Ellipses (…): Use ellipses sparingly to indicate an omission or a trailing off in thought. Example: “If you continue…”
Escape Characters:
- Use escape characters in code: When documenting code, ensure that special characters are escaped correctly to prevent errors. Example: “Use the \ character to escape spaces in filenames.”
Non-Breaking Spaces:
- Use non-breaking spaces where necessary: To prevent unwanted line breaks, especially in command-line instructions, use non-breaking spaces. Example: “Type mkdir new_folder to create a directory.”
Dos:
- Use straight quotes in code: Example: print(“Hello World”).
- Use correct dashes