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Add boolean to the style guide #1636

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merged 2 commits into from
Aug 17, 2025
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@hugovk hugovk commented Aug 15, 2025

Fixes python/docs-community#129, which has been open for 11 months with 10 votes in favour of the Google guidance (Ned's comment + 9 👍), and no down votes, and no other suggestions.


📚 Documentation preview 📚: https://cpython-devguide--1636.org.readthedocs.build/documentation/style-guide/#specific-words

@hugovk hugovk added the guide-new content Additions; New content or section needed label Aug 15, 2025
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@StanFromIreland StanFromIreland left a comment

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11 now:-)

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@AA-Turner AA-Turner left a comment

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I didn't downvote the comment (that seems too harsh), but I will register support for properly capitalising Boolean as a proper noun. Three of the four style guides quoted say to capitalise, abeit one of them giving the option not to. Google's prefers using the formatting of the type (i.e. bool) where possible, and then diverges from the others in terms of spelling.

I also disagree with the notion that capitalising it is pedantic or distracting, we capitalise other proper nouns properly (e.g. Python, C API). English is a language with lots of capitalisation in places, not just at the start of sentences.

However, if this is the will of the people I won't stand in the way of progress...

A

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@willingc willingc left a comment

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I approve with adoption of @encukou / @AA-Turner's suggestion.

In general, I think using interchangeably is fine since there is no industry consensus of capitalization.

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@ezio-melotti ezio-melotti left a comment

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LGTM (once the suggested comments are applied).

Co-authored-by: Adam Turner <9087854+AA-Turner@users.noreply.github.com>
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hugovk commented Aug 17, 2025

Yes to capitalising proper nouns, but eponyms aren't so clear cut and tend to become lowercase after enough time has passed.

Some examples:

  • atlas, bloomers, bowdlerize, braille, casanova, cesarean, chauvinism, daguerreotype, derrick, diesel, gerrymander, guppy, hoover, jeremiad, jeroboam, leotard, lynch, martinet, mausoleum, narcissist, nicotine, poinsettia, quixotic, sideburns, tarmac, teddy bear, sadism, saxophone, shrapnel, volt, watt.

@hugovk hugovk merged commit 4cb6ddb into python:main Aug 17, 2025
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@hugovk hugovk deleted the style-guide-boolean branch August 17, 2025 17:54
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Style guide: boolean or Boolean?
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