>>> can != may >>> one is ability, the other permission >> When we were first taught English grammar, yes. Today, not so much. >> Actually pretty much never. In modern usage, the distinction has been lost. > I must be ancient then as I still use this distinction (and similarly > would/could). yep. let's stick to hacking our own documents, not the english language. further, quoting barry: > The trouble with the first approach (using all caps as 2119 terms, and > using the same words in lower case as normal English) isn't so much > that someone might be confused later, but that during development and > review we're not sure whether you meant to put the word in all caps, > and just forgot. and when i say a field is 42 bits long, you don't know if i really meant 41. just address the document, do not try to guess intent. life is already sufficiently complex. randy