An usable and maximally efficient C standard library

Re:An usable and maximally efficient C standard library by klyrs on Monday December 04, 2023 @06:11PM (#38524548)

I spotted several red flags in the title alone and I'm not even counting "an usable" that probably resulted from HN censoring "actually". The word "actually" is only a yellow flag.

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Re:An usable and maximally efficient C standard library by asveikau on Monday December 04, 2023 @07:54PM (#38525630)

"an usable" is a common category of mistake from non native English speakers that I see frequently and I don't judge for it.

Often I find myself trying to politely explain the rule. The "n" appears when there is a phonetic vowel next, not necessarily a written one. The first letter of usable is a vowel in spelling but phonetically it starts with a consonant, the international phonetic alphabet for it is /ju/, starting with the consonant [j].

Similar things happen with abbreviations. You get prescribed "an SSRI" and not "a SSRI" because "S" there is pronounced "es", starting with a vowel.

Strangely enough I find when I over explain like this about this specific topic, people thank me. Maybe since I'm way off topic I'll get crap for it here.

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Re:An usable and maximally efficient C standard library by klyrs on Monday December 04, 2023 @08:32PM (#38525882)

Yeah, no thanks from me. If you read the actual page title, and reread my comment, you'll see why.

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Re:An usable and maximally efficient C standard library by asveikau on Monday December 04, 2023 @10:36PM (#38526806)

Oh, sorry. I guess I see this so much online from the English as a second language crowd that this is what I assumed it was.

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