Avoid periods in acronyms and initialisms (EK00016)
Unpunctuated initialisms like API and USA read cleaner and match how terms appear in code, keeping your documentation consistent.
Modern style writes initialisms without internal periods, so API and USA stay clean and consistent across your documentation. EkLine flags an initialism written with a period between each letter and suggests the unpunctuated form (rule EK00016).
Why write initialisms without periods in documentation?
Section titled “Why write initialisms without periods in documentation?”Unpunctuated initialisms are shorter, cleaner, and match how technical terms appear in code, error messages, and product interfaces. Dropping the periods keeps API and USA consistent across your documentation and prevents a reader from mistaking an internal period for a sentence break. It also improves search, so a query for API matches your content directly.
What EkLine flags
Section titled “What EkLine flags”EK00016 matches an initialism of three or more letters that has a period after each letter.
- ❌ Incorrect: The company is based in the U.S.A.
- ✅ Correct: The company is based in the USA.
- ❌ Incorrect: Call the A.P.I. to fetch results.
- ✅ Correct: Call the API to fetch results.
How to fix
Section titled “How to fix”Remove the periods so the initialism reads as a single unpunctuated term.
What is the difference between an acronym and an initialism?
Section titled “What is the difference between an acronym and an initialism?”An acronym is pronounced as a word, such as NASA, while an initialism is read letter by letter, such as API. This rule applies to both.
Should you ever keep periods in an initialism?
Section titled “Should you ever keep periods in an initialism?”A few initialisms use periods in formal or legal contexts. When house style requires the punctuated form, keep it and ignore the rule for that line.
Rule details
Section titled “Rule details”| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Rule ID | EK00016 |
| Category | Spelling and grammar |
| Default severity | Error |
| Enabled by default | No |
Ignore this rule
Section titled “Ignore this rule”To keep a punctuated initialism on one line, add an inline comment:
<!-- ekline-ignore-next-line EK00016 -- legal style requires periods -->The filing lists the company as a U.S.A. entity.To disable the rule across your project, add it to the ignore list in your configuration file.