[MPEG-OTSPEC] "font directory" / "offset table" / "table directory"

[Adam Twardoch (Lists)]

Stylistic note:

noun1+noun2 constructs are object+subject constructs. If in doubt, they
should be swapped (even in your head) and a preposition should be added,
eg. home accessory = accessory for home

The most typical prepositions are for and of.

Table directory reads like directory of a table. Font directory reads like
directory of a font. Tables directory reads like directory of tables.

Those object+subject constructs, even if I swap and add "of", are still not
always clear, because A of B can mean that B is a property of A or that A
includes B, typically as a collection.

If I say "point array", it can mean "array that belongs to a point" (like
in home accessory the accessory belongs to the home), or it can somehow
mean that it is an array of points. Saying "points array" is a bit more
clear because it indicates that it's probably an array of points. But
still, it could be misunderstood.

Take the example of "object records": it can mean that there is an object
which has some records, or that there are records of the type "object".

English is very poor in that context. The noun serialization may seem handy
at first but it's full of traps, so at least for clarity we should make
sure that if there is a plural involved, we pluralize the noun.

So "tables collection" and "records array" is better than "table
collection" and "record array". And if something like RecordArray is
historically fixed, we should add "array of records" in parantheses for
clarification.

If you say "directory of tables" might still be best, rather than either
font directory or table directory — because in case of collections,
directories, tables, arrays, lists, it's more important what they contain
than what they belong to (the latter is implied by where the term is
described).

A.
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