man 2 write - clarification

[Soren Hansen]

On Wed, Mar 10, 2010 at 12:48:24PM +0200, Daniel Baluta wrote:
> The following phrase taken from man 2 write manual page is confusing:
> POSIX  requires that a read(2) which can be proved to occur after a
> write() has returned returns the new data.
>
> I think you should you some comas to make a clear statement.
> POSIX  requires that a read(2), which can be proved to occur after a
> write() has returned, returns the new data.  thanks, Daniel.

You may find it clearer to read that way, but I believe it would
incorrect. A comma before a which clause suggests that it does not
/define/ the element to which it refers, but merely /describes/ it. In
this case the which clause adds essential, defining information about
the read(2) call, so I believe adding the comma would be wrong.

I should note that I'm not a native English speaker, nor have I studied
English grammar for well over 10 years. The Intarweb[1] does seem to
support my argument, though.

[1]: A search for "comma before which" yields a lot of promosing
     references. http://wire.rutgers.edu/p_grammar_comma2.html for one
     looks credible to me.

-- 
Soren Hansen
Ubuntu Developer & wanna-be grammar nazi
http://www.ubuntu.com/
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