Re: [docs] "metadata": plural or singular or both?

["Richard Purdie" <richard.purdie@linuxfoundation.org>]

On Wed, 2021-07-21 at 19:04 +0200, Michael Opdenacker wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> On 7/21/21 6:20 PM, Richard Purdie wrote:
> > Hi Michael,
> > 
> > On Wed, 2021-07-21 at 18:11 +0200, Michael Opdenacker wrote:
> > > I'm currently reading BitBake's documentation, and I'm always
> > > uncomfortable when I read "Metadata is", while I know that in English
> > > and in Latin, "data" is the plural of "datum". However, many people seem
> > > to use "data" as singular.
> > > 
> > > I also find confusing that actually "metadata" is both used:
> > > 
> > >   * in plural form as in: "Split metadata into layers and allow layers
> > >     to enhance or override other layers."
> > >   * in singular form as in: "Metadata is stored in recipe (|.bb|) and
> > >     related recipe “append” (|.bbappend|) files"
> > > 
> > > How do you feel about this? I'm especially interested in the feedback
> > > from native English speakers, which I'm not.
> > Personally, I'd read both of those sentences above as being correct and
> > they sound fine to me as a native speaker. There are other things in the
> > manual that probably grate on me a bit but not that!
> 
> Thank you for your feedback.
> 
> Here's a more troubling sentence:
> "BitBake executes tasks according to provided metadata that builds up
> the tasks"
> 
> Here, "metadata" is obviously plural because otherwise you would say "a
> provided metadata", but it still conjugated as if it was singular.
> Doesn't this sentence grate a bit?

That one doesn't sound right. You could say it is missing a "the", as in
"according to the provided metadata that builds up" but I don't really like
the phrasing there even with that fix, the "that" sounds wrong.

Cheers,

Richard