[comp.emacs] What does "which see" mean in documentation?

spencer@ttidca.TTI.COM (David Spencer) (07/09/87)

	I hope this isn't a dumb question, but here goes.  The 
	documentation for write-char is:

write-char:
Output character CHAR to stream STREAM.
STREAM defaults to the value of standard-output (which see).
                                                 ^^^^^^^^^

	What does "which see" mean?  I think I've seen it several
	other places too.

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
			spencer@ttidca	
  ...!{philabs, trwrb, csun, mtxinu}!ttidca!spencer

stampe@uhccux.UUCP (David Stampe) (07/11/87)

Posting-Front-End: GNU Emacs 18.44.8 of Wed May 20 1987 on uhccux (berkeley-unix)


spencer@.UUCP (David Spencer) writes:
>STREAM defaults to the value of standard-output (which see).
>                                                 ^^^^^^^^^
>	What does "which see" mean? 

`which see' is an English translation of Latin `q.v.' (`quod
vide').  It means `look up the separate entry/documentation
for the preceding expression', in this case `standard-output'.

[Your address isn't complete.]

David Stampe, U. Hawaii

mike@turing.unm.edu (Michael I. Bushnell) (07/14/87)

In article <932@ttidca.TTI.COM> spencer@.UUCP (David Spencer) writes:
>
>
>write-char:
>Output character CHAR to stream STREAM.
>STREAM defaults to the value of standard-output (which see).
>                                                 ^^^^^^^^^
>
>	What does "which see" mean?  I think I've seen it several
>	other places too.


This comes from the Latin abbreviation `viz.'  `Viz.' comes from the
verb `to see.'  But actually, only the `vi' comes from there.  It
seems that the e-t ligature (`et' for `and') was used as an
abbreviation mark, much as we use period.  The e-t ligature looks much
like (no coincidence here) `&.'  But early on, the `z' was used
because it also looked much like the ligature.  So, `viz' == `vi&' ==
`vi.', but, when the new standard arose of using periods, everyone was
used to `viz.'  Now we put the `z' and the `.', which is a rather
repetative (sp?) usage.  Oh yeah...what does it mean?  It means `which
see,' or, in more common parlance, `see also.'  For more on
abbreviations and lots of neat Latin/Roman history, etc., viz. "A B C
EtCetera."  You can probably find it in your library.


					Michael I. Bushnell
					a/k/a Bach II
					mike@turing.UNM.EDU
---
On the other hand, life can be an endless parade of TRANSSEXUAL
 QUILTING BEES aboard a cruise ship to DISNEYWORLD
 if only we let it!!
				-- Zippy the Pinhead

rjnoe@uniq.UUCP (Roger J. Noe) (07/15/87)

In article <598@unmvax.UNM.EDU>, mike@turing.UUCP writes:
> In article <932@ttidca.TTI.COM> spencer@.UUCP (David Spencer) writes:
> >	What does "which see" mean?
> 
> This comes from the Latin abbreviation `viz.'  `Viz.' comes from the
> verb `to see.' . . . . It means `which
> see,' or, in more common parlance, `see also.'

No, "viz." is an abbreviation for the Latin "videlicet" which is an adverb
meaning "namely".  What Spencer is after here is "q.v.", the abbreviation
for "quod vide".  "See also" is a fairly good colloquial rendering of that.
"Which see" is a literal translation.  You could expand on this by reading
"q.v." (or "qq.v.") as "which you can also look up [here] in relation to
this same subject."  Roughly.
--
	Roger Noe			ihnp4!uniq!rjnoe
	Uniq Digital Technologies	rjnoe@uniq.UUCP
	28 South Water Street		+1 312 879 1566
	Batavia, Illinois  60510	41:50:56 N.  88:18:35 W.

emv@pepe.cc.umich.edu (Ed Vielmetti) (07/16/87)

In article <313@uniq.UUCP> rjnoe@uniq.UUCP (Roger J. Noe) writes:
>In article <598@unmvax.UNM.EDU>, mike@turing.UUCP writes:
>> In article <932@ttidca.TTI.COM> spencer@.UUCP (David Spencer) writes:
>> >	What does "which see" mean?
>> This comes from the Latin abbreviation `viz.'  `Viz.' comes from the
>> verb `to see.' . . . . It means `which see,'
>
>No, "viz." is an abbreviation for the Latin "videlicet" which is an adverb
>meaning "namely".  What Spencer is after here is "q.v.", the abbreviation
>for "quod vide".  "See also" is a fairly good colloquial rendering of that.

What you're really after is a mark embedded in the text of your document
that says "if you want to find out more about this, look elsewhere" and
which provides a way to get to that "elsewhere" spot automagically.  Has
anyone built something like this?  It would be worth it even if only to
make index-building less of a chore.  

I have seen an automatic 'which see' facility in the Mac program 'guide',
a hypertext sort of thing, but it's not a satisfactory text editor in general.
 
Edward Vielmetti, U-Michigan Workstation Group, Ann Arbor MI
emv@umix.cc.umich.edu ; seismo!umix!emv ; (313) 747-3744
Ann Arbor Art Fair '87 - "It's not art, and it's not fair"

roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) (07/18/87)

In article <629@umix.cc.umich.edu> emv@pepe.cc.umich.edu (Ed Vielmetti) writes:
> What you're really after is a mark embedded in the text of your document
> that says "if you want to find out more about this, look elsewhere" and
> which provides a way to get to that "elsewhere" spot automagically.

	INFO (a popular emacs-based hierarchical documentation browser) has
just that.  All you do is insert in your document a magic cookie that looks
like *Note foo: bar.  The reader simply has to type "Ffoo" to jump to the
document node "bar".  Typing an "L" (for "last") gets you back to where you
were.  Think of it as subroutine call and return while reading a document.
-- 
Roy Smith, {allegra,cmcl2,philabs}!phri!roy
System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016