Attached is the update I propose to add to the Spelling,
terminology and markup section of the Coding conventions, to
give guidance for when to use the @code{} Texinfo command.
I believe this reflects existing (if somewhat inconsistent)
practice. It's not intended to add a new requirement.
Martin
Index: htdocs/codingconventions.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/gcc/wwwdocs/htdocs/codingconventions.html,v
retrieving revision 1.90
diff -u -r1.90 codingconventions.html
--- htdocs/codingconventions.html 1 Dec 2018 17:19:36 -0000 1.90
+++ htdocs/codingconventions.html 13 Dec 2018 23:34:00 -0000
@@ -569,6 +569,17 @@
required if the capital letter is within <code>@code</code> or
<code>@samp</code>.)</li>
+ <li>Use <code>@code</code> for an expression in a program, for the name
+ of a variable or function used in a program, or for a keyword in
+ a programming language. However, avoid <code>@code</code> in uses
+ of language keywords as adjectives. For example, appropriate uses
+ of <code>@code</code> are in phrases such as
+ <i>"<code>@code{const}</code>-qualified type"</i>, or
+ <i>"<code>@code{asm}</code> statement"</i>, or
+ <i>"function returns <code>@code{true}</code></i>".
+ Examples where <code>@code</code> should be avoided are phrases such as
+ <i>"const variable"</i>, <i>"volatile access"</i>, or
+ <i>"condition is false."</i></li>
</ul>
