correct spelling?

[Mark Johnston]

Josef El-Rayes wrote (quoted by "Gary W. Swearingen"):
> > as i did not find correct spelling for these two words, in our word list
> > and on the o'reilly word list, i ask if somebody could tell me whether
> > it is:
> >
> > 	o operating system or operating-system
> > 	o core team or core-team

These depend, as hyphenation often does, on how you are using the
phrases.  I don't remember the exact grammatical terms, but when you're
using "core team" as a noun (the core team), it's not hyphenated.  When
you use it as a compound adjective (the core-team mailing list), it's
hyphenated.

The mailing list for the core team is core at FreeBSD.org.
The core-team mailing list is core at FreeBSD.org.

You can use sysctl(8) to adjust many settings of your operating system.
You can use sysctl(8) to adjust many operating-system settings.

"Gary W. Swearingen" wrote:
>   Language-based printers, such as PostScript printers...
>     -- If it was "Language based printers, ...", the brain
>        can stop and wonder what a "based printer" is, because
>        English tends to add adjectives from right to left, as
>        in "long coal train" and not "coal long train".)

Right - same principle as above.  PostScript printers are language
based.  Language-based printers include PostScript printers.

>    The most-often-seen omission is the one in "*-based".
>     -- I omitted the second hyphen in my first draft, FWIW.
> 
>   The FreeBSD operating system is good.
>      -- Normal adjective rules apply.
> 
>   The operating-system software is good.
>      -- To help the reader not read this as "The operating
>         system-software is good.

As above.  "operating-system" is used as an adjective here.

>   Having operating system-software is better than having
>   non-operating system-software.
>      -- I don't know if these hyphens "should" be there or not,
>      but I think they help and I'd use them.

I don't believe that the system-software hyphens are correct here.

> Treat "core team" (and "open source" and etc.) similarly.  I suppose
> that there are words that are always hypenated, but I can't think of
> any at the moment.

Your use of "non-" earlier was a good example.

> I see one example in the Handbook where a commonly-hyphenated phrase
> is used in a situation where it probably should not be hyphenated:
> 
>    ...work on it full-time, ...

I work full time at my full-time job.