Fix up a few style nits -- avoid "e.g." and "i.e." -- these make
translation more difficult, as well as reading the English more
difficult for non-native speakers.
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libaifc.tex b/Doc/lib/libaifc.tex
index 9ba46ed..65abe84 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libaifc.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libaifc.tex
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
For example, CD quality audio has a sample size of two bytes (16
bits), uses two channels (stereo) and has a frame rate of 44,100
frames/second. This gives a frame size of 4 bytes (2*2), and a
-second's worth occupies 2*2*44100 bytes, i.e.\ 176,400 bytes.
+second's worth occupies 2*2*44100 bytes (176,400 bytes).
Module \module{aifc} defines the following function:
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libarray.tex b/Doc/lib/libarray.tex
index 23eda21..bbbd90b 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libarray.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libarray.tex
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@
\begin{methoddesc}[array]{fromstring}{s}
Appends items from the string, interpreting the string as an
-array of machine values (i.e. as if it had been read from a
+array of machine values (as if it had been read from a
file using the \method{fromfile()} method).
\end{methoddesc}
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libbisect.tex b/Doc/lib/libbisect.tex
index 94d5175..8c108a6 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libbisect.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libbisect.tex
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
improvement over the more common approach. The module is called
\module{bisect} because it uses a basic bisection algorithm to do its
work. The source code may be most useful as a working example of the
-algorithm (i.e., the boundary conditions are already right!).
+algorithm (the boundary conditions are already right!).
The following functions are provided:
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libcgi.tex b/Doc/lib/libcgi.tex
index 8ab562d..56caab5 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libcgi.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libcgi.tex
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@
instance but a list of such instances. Similarly, in this situation,
\samp{form.getvalue(\var{key})} would return a list of strings.
If you expect this possibility
-(i.e., when your HTML form contains multiple fields with the same
+(when your HTML form contains multiple fields with the same
name), use the \function{type()} function to determine whether you
have a single instance or a list of instances. For example, here's
code that concatenates any number of username fields, separated by
@@ -283,21 +283,21 @@
HTML-safe sequences. Use this if you need to display text that might
contain such characters in HTML. If the optional flag \var{quote} is
true, the double quote character (\character{"}) is also translated;
-this helps for inclusion in an HTML attribute value, e.g. in \code{<A
+this helps for inclusion in an HTML attribute value, as in \code{<A
HREF="...">}.
\end{funcdesc}
\subsection{Caring about security}
-There's one important rule: if you invoke an external program (e.g.
-via the \function{os.system()} or \function{os.popen()} functions),
-make very sure you don't pass arbitrary strings received from the
-client to the shell. This is a well-known security hole whereby
-clever hackers anywhere on the web can exploit a gullible CGI script
-to invoke arbitrary shell commands. Even parts of the URL or field
-names cannot be trusted, since the request doesn't have to come from
-your form!
+There's one important rule: if you invoke an external program (via the
+\function{os.system()} or \function{os.popen()} functions. or others
+with similar functionality), make very sure you don't pass arbitrary
+strings received from the client to the shell. This is a well-known
+security hole whereby clever hackers anywhere on the web can exploit a
+gullible CGI script to invoke arbitrary shell commands. Even parts of
+the URL or field names cannot be trusted, since the request doesn't
+have to come from your form!
To be on the safe side, if you must pass a string gotten from a form
to a shell command, you should make sure the string contains only
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@
If you need to load modules from a directory which is not on Python's
default module search path, you can change the path in your script,
-before importing other modules, e.g.:
+before importing other modules. For example:
\begin{verbatim}
import sys
@@ -383,7 +383,7 @@
If this gives an error of type 404, the server cannot find the script
-- perhaps you need to install it in a different directory. If it
-gives another error (e.g. 500), there's an installation problem that
+gives another error, there's an installation problem that
you should fix before trying to go any further. If you get a nicely
formatted listing of the environment and form content (in this
example, the fields should be listed as ``addr'' with value ``At Home''
@@ -402,12 +402,12 @@
This should produce the same results as those gotten from installing
the \file{cgi.py} file itself.
-When an ordinary Python script raises an unhandled exception
-(e.g. because of a typo in a module name, a file that can't be opened,
-etc.), the Python interpreter prints a nice traceback and exits.
-While the Python interpreter will still do this when your CGI script
-raises an exception, most likely the traceback will end up in one of
-the HTTP server's log file, or be discarded altogether.
+When an ordinary Python script raises an unhandled exception (for
+whatever reason: of a typo in a module name, a file that can't be
+opened, etc.), the Python interpreter prints a nice traceback and
+exits. While the Python interpreter will still do this when your CGI
+script raises an exception, most likely the traceback will end up in
+one of the HTTP server's log file, or be discarded altogether.
Fortunately, once you have managed to get your script to execute
\emph{some} code, it is easy to catch exceptions and cause a traceback
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libcurses.tex b/Doc/lib/libcurses.tex
index bbb86a0..ebe78a5 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libcurses.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libcurses.tex
@@ -331,7 +331,7 @@
size, and is not necessarily associated with a particular part of the
screen. Pads can be used when a large window is needed, and only a
part of the window will be on the screen at one time. Automatic
-refreshes of pads (e.g., from scrolling or echoing of input) do not
+refreshes of pads (such as from scrolling or echoing of input) do not
occur. The \method{refresh()} and \method{noutrefresh()} methods of a
pad require 6 arguments to specify the part of the pad to be
displayed and the location on the screen to be used for the display.
@@ -542,7 +542,7 @@
following methods:
\begin{methoddesc}{addch}{\optional{y, x,} ch\optional{, attr}}
-\strong{Note:} A \emph{character} means a C character (i.e., an
+\strong{Note:} A \emph{character} means a C character (an
\ASCII{} code), rather then a Python character (a string of length 1).
(This note is true whenever the documentation mentions a character.)
The builtin \function{ord()} is handy for conveying strings to codes.
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libftplib.tex b/Doc/lib/libftplib.tex
index 21fb8f5..f6da28c 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libftplib.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libftplib.tex
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@
\begin{methoddesc}{retrbinary}{command,
callback\optional{, maxblocksize\optional{, rest}}}
Retrieve a file in binary transfer mode. \var{command} should be an
-appropriate \samp{RETR} command, i.e.\ \code{'RETR \var{filename}'}.
+appropriate \samp{RETR} command: \code{'RETR \var{filename}'}.
The \var{callback} function is called for each block of data received,
with a single string argument giving the data block.
The optional \var{maxblocksize} argument specifies the maximum chunk size to
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@
\begin{methoddesc}{storbinary}{command, file\optional{, blocksize}}
Store a file in binary transfer mode. \var{command} should be an
-appropriate \samp{STOR} command, i.e.\ \code{"STOR \var{filename}"}.
+appropriate \samp{STOR} command: \code{"STOR \var{filename}"}.
\var{file} is an open file object which is read until \EOF{} using its
\method{read()} method in blocks of size \var{blocksize} to provide the
data to be stored. The \var{blocksize} argument defaults to 8192.
@@ -281,9 +281,9 @@
\begin{methoddesc}{close}{}
Close the connection unilaterally. This should not be applied to an
-already closed connection (e.g.\ after a successful call to
+already closed connection (such as after a successful call to
\method{quit()}. After this call the \class{FTP} instance should not
-be used any more (i.e., after a call to \method{close()} or
+be used any more (after a call to \method{close()} or
\method{quit()} you cannot reopen the connection by issuing another
\method{login()} method).
\end{methoddesc}
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libfuncs.tex b/Doc/lib/libfuncs.tex
index 58039dd..e5699c9 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libfuncs.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libfuncs.tex
@@ -99,10 +99,10 @@
\begin{funcdesc}{chr}{i}
Return a string of one character whose \ASCII{} code is the integer
- \var{i}, e.g., \code{chr(97)} returns the string \code{'a'}. This is the
- inverse of \function{ord()}. The argument must be in the range [0..255],
- inclusive; \exception{ValueError} will be raised if \var{i} is
- outside that range.
+ \var{i}. For example, \code{chr(97)} returns the string \code{'a'}.
+ This is the inverse of \function{ord()}. The argument must be in
+ the range [0..255], inclusive; \exception{ValueError} will be raised
+ if \var{i} is outside that range.
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{cmp}{x, y}
@@ -122,14 +122,14 @@
Compile the \var{string} into a code object. Code objects can be
executed by an \keyword{exec} statement or evaluated by a call to
\function{eval()}. The \var{filename} argument should
- give the file from which the code was read; pass e.g. \code{'<string>'}
- if it wasn't read from a file. The \var{kind} argument specifies
- what kind of code must be compiled; it can be \code{'exec'} if
- \var{string} consists of a sequence of statements, \code{'eval'}
- if it consists of a single expression, or \code{'single'} if
- it consists of a single interactive statement (in the latter case,
- expression statements that evaluate to something else than
- \code{None} will printed).
+ give the file from which the code was read; pass same recognizable value
+ if it wasn't read from a file (\code{'<string>'} is commonly used).
+ The \var{kind} argument specifies what kind of code must be
+ compiled; it can be \code{'exec'} if \var{string} consists of a
+ sequence of statements, \code{'eval'} if it consists of a single
+ expression, or \code{'single'} if it consists of a single
+ interactive statement (in the latter case, expression statements
+ that evaluate to something else than \code{None} will printed).
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{complex}{real\optional{, imag}}
@@ -156,9 +156,9 @@
symbol table. With an argument, attempts to return a list of valid
attribute for that object. This information is gleaned from the
object's \member{__dict__}, \member{__methods__} and \member{__members__}
- attributes, if defined. The list is not necessarily complete; e.g.,
- for classes, attributes defined in base classes are not included,
- and for class instances, methods are not included.
+ attributes, if defined. The list is not necessarily complete. For
+ example, for classes, attributes defined in base classes are not
+ included, and for class instances, methods are not included.
The resulting list is sorted alphabetically. For example:
\begin{verbatim}
@@ -202,9 +202,9 @@
\end{verbatim}
This function can also be used to execute arbitrary code objects
- (e.g.\ created by \function{compile()}). In this case pass a code
- object instead of a string. The code object must have been compiled
- passing \code{'eval'} to the \var{kind} argument.
+ (such as those created by \function{compile()}). In this case pass
+ a code object instead of a string. The code object must have been
+ compiled passing \code{'eval'} as the \var{kind} argument.
Hints: dynamic execution of statements is supported by the
\keyword{exec} statement. Execution of statements from a file is
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@
container which supports iteration, or an iterator, If \var{list}
is a string or a tuple, the result also has that type; otherwise it
is always a list. If \var{function} is \code{None}, the identity
- function is assumed, i.e.\ all elements of \var{list} that are false
+ function is assumed, that is, all elements of \var{list} that are false
(zero or empty) are removed.
\end{funcdesc}
@@ -286,18 +286,18 @@
Return the hash value of the object (if it has one). Hash values
are integers. They are used to quickly compare dictionary
keys during a dictionary lookup. Numeric values that compare equal
- have the same hash value (even if they are of different types, e.g.
- 1 and 1.0).
+ have the same hash value (even if they are of different types, as is
+ the case for 1 and 1.0).
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{hex}{x}
Convert an integer number (of any size) to a hexadecimal string.
The result is a valid Python expression. Note: this always yields
- an unsigned literal, e.g. on a 32-bit machine, \code{hex(-1)} yields
- \code{'0xffffffff'}. When evaluated on a machine with the same
- word size, this literal is evaluated as -1; at a different word
- size, it may turn up as a large positive number or raise an
- \exception{OverflowError} exception.
+ an unsigned literal. For example, on a 32-bit machine,
+ \code{hex(-1)} yields \code{'0xffffffff'}. When evaluated on a
+ machine with the same word size, this literal is evaluated as -1; at
+ a different word size, it may turn up as a large positive number or
+ raise an \exception{OverflowError} exception.
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{id}{object}
@@ -352,7 +352,7 @@
be done by a pointer compare instead of a string compare. Normally,
the names used in Python programs are automatically interned, and
the dictionaries used to hold module, class or instance attributes
- have interned keys. Interned strings are immortal (i.e. never get
+ have interned keys. Interned strings are immortal (never get
garbage collected).
\end{funcdesc}
@@ -410,36 +410,36 @@
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{map}{function, list, ...}
-Apply \var{function} to every item of \var{list} and return a list
-of the results. If additional \var{list} arguments are passed,
-\var{function} must take that many arguments and is applied to
-the items of all lists in parallel; if a list is shorter than another
-it is assumed to be extended with \code{None} items. If
-\var{function} is \code{None}, the identity function is assumed; if
-there are multiple list arguments, \function{map()} returns a list
-consisting of tuples containing the corresponding items from all lists
-(i.e. a kind of transpose operation). The \var{list} arguments may be
-any kind of sequence; the result is always a list.
+ Apply \var{function} to every item of \var{list} and return a list
+ of the results. If additional \var{list} arguments are passed,
+ \var{function} must take that many arguments and is applied to the
+ items of all lists in parallel; if a list is shorter than another it
+ is assumed to be extended with \code{None} items. If \var{function}
+ is \code{None}, the identity function is assumed; if there are
+ multiple list arguments, \function{map()} returns a list consisting
+ of tuples containing the corresponding items from all lists (a kind
+ of transpose operation). The \var{list} arguments may be any kind
+ of sequence; the result is always a list.
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{max}{s\optional{, args...}}
-With a single argument \var{s}, return the largest item of a
-non-empty sequence (e.g., a string, tuple or list). With more than
-one argument, return the largest of the arguments.
+ With a single argument \var{s}, return the largest item of a
+ non-empty sequence (such as a string, tuple or list). With more
+ than one argument, return the largest of the arguments.
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{min}{s\optional{, args...}}
-With a single argument \var{s}, return the smallest item of a
-non-empty sequence (e.g., a string, tuple or list). With more than
-one argument, return the smallest of the arguments.
+ With a single argument \var{s}, return the smallest item of a
+ non-empty sequence (such as a string, tuple or list). With more
+ than one argument, return the smallest of the arguments.
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{oct}{x}
Convert an integer number (of any size) to an octal string. The
- result is a valid Python expression. Note: this always yields
- an unsigned literal, e.g. on a 32-bit machine, \code{oct(-1)} yields
- \code{'037777777777'}. When evaluated on a machine with the same
- word size, this literal is evaluated as -1; at a different word
+ result is a valid Python expression. Note: this always yields an
+ unsigned literal. For example, on a 32-bit machine, \code{oct(-1)}
+ yields \code{'037777777777'}. When evaluated on a machine with the
+ same word size, this literal is evaluated as -1; at a different word
size, it may turn up as a large positive number or raise an
\exception{OverflowError} exception.
\end{funcdesc}
@@ -499,8 +499,8 @@
numeric types. With mixed operand types, the rules for binary
arithmetic operators apply. The effective operand type is also the
type of the result; if the result is not expressible in this type, the
- function raises an exception; e.g., \code{pow(2, -1)} or \code{pow(2,
- 35000)} is not allowed.
+ function raises an exception; for example, \code{pow(2, -1)} or
+ \code{pow(2, 35000)} is not allowed.
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{range}{\optional{start,} stop\optional{, step}}
@@ -570,7 +570,7 @@
imported before. This is useful if you have edited the module source
file using an external editor and want to try out the new version
without leaving the Python interpreter. The return value is the
-module object (i.e.\ the same as the \var{module} argument).
+module object (the same as the \var{module} argument).
There are a number of caveats:
@@ -623,7 +623,7 @@
after the decimal point. If \var{n} is omitted, it defaults to zero.
The result is a floating point number. Values are rounded to the
closest multiple of 10 to the power minus \var{n}; if two multiples
- are equally close, rounding is done away from 0 (so e.g.
+ are equally close, rounding is done away from 0 (so. for example,
\code{round(0.5)} is \code{1.0} and \code{round(-0.5)} is \code{-1.0}).
\end{funcdesc}
@@ -645,7 +645,7 @@
no other explicit functionality; however they are used by Numerical
Python\index{Numerical Python} and other third party extensions.
Slice objects are also generated when extended indexing syntax is
-used, e.g. for \samp{a[start:stop:step]} or \samp{a[start:stop, i]}.
+used. For example: \samp{a[start:stop:step]} or \samp{a[start:stop, i]}.
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{str}{object}
@@ -680,7 +680,7 @@
\begin{funcdesc}{unichr}{i}
Return the Unicode string of one character whose Unicode code is the
-integer \var{i}, e.g., \code{unichr(97)} returns the string
+integer \var{i}. For example, \code{unichr(97)} returns the string
\code{u'a'}. This is the inverse of \function{ord()} for Unicode
strings. The argument must be in the range [0..65535], inclusive.
\exception{ValueError} is raised otherwise.
@@ -712,7 +712,7 @@
corresponding symbol table are undefined.\footnote{
In the current implementation, local variable bindings cannot
normally be affected this way, but variables retrieved from
- other scopes (e.g. modules) can be. This may change.}
+ other scopes (such as modules) can be. This may change.}
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{xrange}{\optional{start,} stop\optional{, step}}
@@ -723,8 +723,8 @@
\function{xrange()} over \function{range()} is minimal (since
\function{xrange()} still has to create the values when asked for
them) except when a very large range is used on a memory-starved
-machine (e.g. MS-DOS) or when all of the range's elements are never
-used (e.g. when the loop is usually terminated with \keyword{break}).
+machine or when all of the range's elements are never used (such as
+when the loop is usually terminated with \keyword{break}).
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{zip}{seq1, \moreargs}
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libgettext.tex b/Doc/lib/libgettext.tex
index 991960a..8bd56f7 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libgettext.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libgettext.tex
@@ -41,12 +41,12 @@
If \var{localedir} is omitted or \code{None}, then the current binding
for \var{domain} is returned.\footnote{
- The default locale directory is system dependent; e.g.\ on
- RedHat Linux it is \file{/usr/share/locale}, but on Solaris it
- is \file{/usr/lib/locale}. The \module{gettext} module does
- not try to support these system dependent defaults; instead
- its default is \file{\code{sys.prefix}/share/locale}. For
- this reason, it is always best to call
+ The default locale directory is system dependent; for example,
+ on RedHat Linux it is \file{/usr/share/locale}, but on Solaris
+ it is \file{/usr/lib/locale}. The \module{gettext} module
+ does not try to support these system dependent defaults;
+ instead its default is \file{\code{sys.prefix}/share/locale}.
+ For this reason, it is always best to call
\function{bindtextdomain()} with an explicit absolute path at
the start of your application.}
\end{funcdesc}
@@ -141,8 +141,8 @@
the resulting translation object's \method{install} method.
As seen below, you usually mark the strings in your application that are
-candidates for translation, by wrapping them in a call to the function
-\function{_()}, e.g.
+candidates for translation, by wrapping them in a call to the
+\function{_()} function, like this:
\begin{verbatim}
print _('This string will be translated.')
@@ -287,8 +287,8 @@
In order to prepare your code for I18N, you need to look at all the
strings in your files. Any string that needs to be translated
-should be marked by wrapping it in \code{_('...')} -- i.e. a call to
-the function \function{_()}. For example:
+should be marked by wrapping it in \code{_('...')} --- that is, a call
+to the function \function{_()}. For example:
\begin{verbatim}
filename = 'mylog.txt'
@@ -317,7 +317,7 @@
\program{gettext} program except that it understands all the
intricacies of Python source code, but knows nothing about C or C++
source code. You don't need GNU \code{gettext} unless you're also
-going to be translating C code (e.g. C extension modules).
+going to be translating C code (such as C extension modules).
\program{pygettext} generates textual Uniforum-style human readable
message catalog \file{.pot} files, essentially structured human
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libimp.tex b/Doc/lib/libimp.tex
index 2508e63..23391ff 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libimp.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libimp.tex
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@
exceptions indicate problems with the arguments or environment.
This function does not handle hierarchical module names (names
-containing dots). In order to find \var{P}.\var{M}, i.e., submodule
+containing dots). In order to find \var{P}.\var{M}, that is, submodule
\var{M} of package \var{P}, use \function{find_module()} and
\function{load_module()} to find and load package \var{P}, and then use
\function{find_module()} with the \var{path} argument set to
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@
\label{examples-imp}
The following function emulates what was the standard import statement
-up to Python 1.4 (i.e., no hierarchical module names). (This
+up to Python 1.4 (no hierarchical module names). (This
\emph{implementation} wouldn't work in that version, since
\function{find_module()} has been extended and
\function{load_module()} has been added in 1.4.)
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libmd5.tex b/Doc/lib/libmd5.tex
index f471bae..702b2bb 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libmd5.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libmd5.tex
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@
\begin{methoddesc}[md5]{update}{arg}
Update the md5 object with the string \var{arg}. Repeated calls are
equivalent to a single call with the concatenation of all the
-arguments, i.e.\ \code{m.update(a); m.update(b)} is equivalent to
+arguments: \code{m.update(a); m.update(b)} is equivalent to
\code{m.update(a+b)}.
\end{methoddesc}
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libmimify.tex b/Doc/lib/libmimify.tex
index 096c38a..dffd1a0 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libmimify.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libmimify.tex
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@
\begin{datadesc}{MAXLEN}
By default, a part will be encoded as quoted-printable when it
-contains any non-\ASCII{} characters (i.e., characters with the 8th bit
+contains any non-\ASCII{} characters (characters with the 8th bit
set), or if there are any lines longer than \constant{MAXLEN} characters
(default value 200).
\end{datadesc}
diff --git a/Doc/lib/libnis.tex b/Doc/lib/libnis.tex
index 14f47f0..1d52868 100644
--- a/Doc/lib/libnis.tex
+++ b/Doc/lib/libnis.tex
@@ -5,13 +5,13 @@
\platform{UNIX}
\moduleauthor{Fred Gansevles}{Fred.Gansevles@cs.utwente.nl}
\sectionauthor{Moshe Zadka}{moshez@zadka.site.co.il}
-\modulesynopsis{Interface to Sun's NIS (a.k.a. Yellow Pages) library.}
+\modulesynopsis{Interface to Sun's NIS (Yellow Pages) library.}
The \module{nis} module gives a thin wrapper around the NIS library, useful
for central administration of several hosts.
Because NIS exists only on \UNIX{} systems, this module is
-only available for \UNIX{}.
+only available for \UNIX.
The \module{nis} module defines the following functions:
@@ -19,10 +19,11 @@
Return the match for \var{key} in map \var{mapname}, or raise an
error (\exception{nis.error}) if there is none.
Both should be strings, \var{key} is 8-bit clean.
-Return value is an arbitrary array of bytes (i.e., may contain \code{NULL}
+Return value is an arbitrary array of bytes (may contain \code{NULL}
and other joys).
-Note that \var{mapname} is first checked if it is an alias to another name.
+Note that \var{mapname} is first checked if it is an alias to another
+name.
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{cat}{mapname}
@@ -31,7 +32,8 @@
Note that both keys and values of the dictionary are arbitrary
arrays of bytes.
-Note that \var{mapname} is first checked if it is an alias to another name.
+Note that \var{mapname} is first checked if it is an alias to another
+name.
\end{funcdesc}
\begin{funcdesc}{maps}{}