Template:Var serif

{{{1}}}

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Usage

This template is to help facilitate the displaying of variable names (in mathematics, computer source code, etc.) with the semantically correct <var>...</var>, which also renders the variable in italics, as is customary, and to do so in a serif font. This is specifically for the use of the characters "I" (upper-case i) and "l" (lower-case L), which in many sans-serif fonts can be difficult to distinguish. The template also very slightly adjusts the font size of the enclosed variable, to account for typical difference in x-height between non-fancy serif (e.g., Times and Times New Roman) and sans-serif (e.g. Arial and Helvetica) typefaces. The template should not be used generally, but only for "I" and "l", and perhaps other cases where a known visual ambiguity can be shown to exist in common sans-serif fonts for readers without acute vision. It is recommended to use {{var|1}} rather than {{var serif|1}} for "1" (numeral one), as it is usually more clearly distinguishable from "I" and "l" in sans-serif than serif fonts.

{{Var serif}} need not be used for variables that simply contain "I" or "l", only for cases in which readers are likely to be unable to distinguish them visually.

The {{var serif}} method is preferred to simply italicizing and using inline style to specify the font, for accessibility, content/presentation separation, semantic Web, and metadata reasons; XHTML's <var> element has semantic meaning, while simple font changes like italicizing does not.

Because the font styling in the template is done entirely with CSS, it has no effect at all upon content semantics, nor does it change the output for users of screen reader software.

Example:

{{var serif|I}}

outputs:

<var style="font-size:118%;font-family:serif;">I</var>

which renders as:

I

Comparisons

{{var|I}} = I

{{var|l}} = l

{{var|1}} = 1

{{var serif|I}} = I

{{var serif|l}} = l

{{var serif|1}} = 1

Please note that {{var serif}} is not a panacea; its treatment of the numeral "1" is easily mistaken for the letter "l" (lower-case "L") in many serif fonts.

Recommended usage

{{var serif|I}} = I

{{var serif|l}} = l

{{var|1}} = 1

{{var|variable}} for any other variable

TemplateData

This is the TemplateData for this template used by TemplateWizard, VisualEditor and other tools. See a monthly parameter usage report for Template:Var serif in articles based on its TemplateData.

TemplateData for Var serif

No description.

Template parameters[Edit template data]

Parameter		Description	Type	Status
1	1	no description	Unknown	optional
class	class	no description	Unknown	optional
id	id	no description	Unknown	optional
style	style	no description	Unknown	optional
lang	lang	no description	Unknown	optional
title	title	no description	Unknown	optional

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