Dave Thomas <Dave / thomases.com> wrote in message news:m23dn3lt4t.fsf / zip.local.thomases.com...
> "Hal E. Fulton" <hfulton / austin.rr.com> writes:
[:]
>
> From that I'd guess you're a Windows user. I just popped over to my NT
> box, and you're right, the ` and ' are not symmetrical there. On my
> Linux box under X, however, they make a perfectly matched pair, just
> as they would when typeset.
>
> I wonder if there's a Windows codepage that represents the ` and '
> characters better?
>

i should think that would have the unpleasant consequence of making
` and ' indistinguishable in *code*.

just look at the first paragraph quoted above, and consider how it
reads when amended to include "proper" quotation:

    the ``' and `'' are not symmetrical there

now consider how it would read if the ` and ' were indistinguishable:

    the ''' and ''' are not symmetrical there

in fact, when mixing code and commentary, i rarely use quotation.
if the text is ascii, and there is a risk of misreading, i will
sometimes affix a space to the code:

    the variables a  and b  depend on c .

but, for the most part, it makes for smoother reading to mention
the code as though you were using it, as you have done:

    the ` and ' are not symmetrical there