Fullscreen HTML5Med Res (??MB)HTML4

SILICON SILIC CHIP www.siliconchip.com.au Publisher/Editor Nicholas Vinen Technical Editor John Clarke – B.E.(Elec.) Technical Staff Jim Rowe – B.A., B.Sc. Bao Smith – B.Sc. Tim Blythman – B.E., B.Sc. Nicolas Hannekum – Dip.Elec.Tech. Advertising Enquiries (02) 9939 3295 adverts<at>siliconchip.com.au Regular Contributors Allan Linton-Smith Dave Thompson David Maddison – B.App.Sc. (Hons 1), PhD, Grad.Dip.Entr.Innov. Geoff Graham Associate Professor Graham Parslow Dr Hugo Holden – B.H.B, MB.ChB., FRANZCO Ian Batty Phil Prosser – B.Sc., B.E.(Elec.) Cartoonist Louis Decrevel loueee.com Former Cartoonist Brendan Akhurst Founding Editor (retired) Leo Simpson – B.Bus., FAICD Silicon Chip is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. ACN 626 922 870. ABN 20 880 526 923. All material is copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Subscription rates (Australia only) 6 issues (6 months): $65 12 issues (1 year): $120 24 issues (2 years): $230 Online subscription (Worldwide) 6 issues (6 months): $50 12 issues (1 year): $95 For overseas rates, see our website or email silicon<at>siliconchip.com.au Recommended & maximum price only. Editorial office: Unit 1 (up ramp), 234 Harbord Rd, Brookvale, NSW 2100. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone: (02) 9939 3295. ISSN: 1030-2662 Printing and Distribution: Editorial Viewpoint Writing clearly and concisely You might notice that the style and grammar in SilChip magazine do not follow any particular set of rules except our own. This sometimes irks people who don’t like certain words we use even though, in many cases, they are the standard spelling and usage for Australian/UK English. But we have good reasons for making the choices that we do. First and foremost, especially with the kind of technical writing in this magazine, clarity is vital and ambiguity is to be avoided. We should not blindly follow grammar rules if they make the result more difficult to read or understand, and that certainly can be the case. I prefer generally to stick to most grammar rules because there is a certain logic in them, and sometimes advantages to adhering to them. However, I am willing to bend those rules when the result is improved clarity or brevity. For example, there is a rule that supposedly you can’t start a sentence with a conjunction. But often, the only way to avoid that is either to have a sentence that is much too long, which would be hard for the reader to parse, or one that reads in a very stilted or awkward way. So we tend to avoid it, but if the best clarity is achieved by ignoring that rule, we will certainly do that. There are two main reasons we like to have brief and concise text. One is that if you can get the same concept across in fewer words, unless it’s compacted to the point of obtuseness, it makes for easier reading. The other is that we have limited space in the magazine. It isn’t unusual in a longer article to save an entire page primarily by removing words that aren’t needed. However, there is the risk of ‘losing the voice’ of the author in doing that. It is nice to have different articles convey the author’s characteristics as long as it is not detrimental to understanding. But there are also benefits to having consistency, as a lack of it can be pretty jarring. It’s a difficult balance to strike. One of the biggest problems I find in the text submitted to us is a tendency to have really long sentences and paragraphs, often with very little punctuation. It’s fatiguing to try to read such text. I have even had submissions of more than one page of text with no paragraph breaks! It’s really hard to know where to start when faced with a wall of letters like that. Comma placement is also quite important, to help break up sentences into manageable chunks. I prefer to place them where one would naturally pause when reading a sentence, but that can vary depending on the reader and their style. Some people say that commas should not be placed next to conjunctions. That works for shorter sentences, but sometimes that’s the best place to put one in a longer sentence. To summarise, I hope it’s clear that we do things the way we do to make reading the magazine as easy as possible, even when explaining complicated concepts. icon Electronex is finally back! After all the problems caused by COVID-19, it seems that Electronex will finally be happening again, in Sydney, on April 5th & 6th. This is an excellent opportunity to get out of the house/office and see the new electronic products on offer. We have a sampling of what will be on show starting on page 65. Also see the Electronex ad on page 5 for more details. by Nicholas Vinen 24-26 Lilian Fowler Pl, Marrickville 2204 2 Silicon Chip Australia's electronics magazine siliconchip.com.au