Style Guide

This page provides the content guidelines for the Istio documentation. These guidelines do not supersede your best judgment and enhancements to this document in a pull request are welcome.

Formatting standards

Use consistent capitalization

Don’t use capitalization for emphasis.

Follow the original capitalization employed in the code or configuration files when referencing those values directly. Use back-ticks `` around the referenced content to make the connection explicit. For example, use IstioRoleBinding, not Istio Role Binding or istio role binding.

If you are not referencing values or code directly, use normal sentence capitalization, for example, “The Istio role binding configuration takes place in a YAML file.”

Use angle brackets for placeholders

Use angle brackets for placeholders. Tell the reader what the placeholder represents. For example:

1. Display information about a pod:

   $ kubectl describe pod <pod-name>
   

   Where <pod-name> is the name of one of your pods.

Use bold for user interface elements

Use italics to define or introduce new terms

Use code style for filenames, directories, and paths

Use code style for inline code and commands

Use code style for object field names

Use title capitalization for title: front-matter

The text for the title: front-matter must use title case: Capitalize the first letter of every word except conjunctions and prepositions. This is unlike headings within the document, as described below.

Only capitalize the first letter of headings

For any headings use sentence case: only capitalize the first word of the heading, except for proper nouns or acronyms. Note that the title: annotation in markdown uses title case.

Terminology standards

We want to use the standard terms in this section consistently within the documentation for clarity.

Envoy

We prefer to use “Envoy” as it’s a more concrete term than “proxy” and resonates if used consistently throughout the docs.

Synonyms:

• “Envoy sidecar” - ok
• “Envoy proxy” - ok
• “The Istio proxy” – best to avoid unless you’re talking about advanced scenarios where another proxy might be used.
• “Sidecar” – mostly restricted to conceptual docs
• “Proxy” – only if context is obvious

Related Terms:

• Proxy agent - This is a minor infrastructural component and should only show up in low-level detail documentation. It is not a proper noun.

Miscellaneous

Best practices

Use present tense

Exception: Use future or past tense if it is required to convey the correct meaning. This exception is extremely rare and should be avoided.

Use active voice

Use simple and direct language

Use simple and direct language. Avoid using unnecessary phrases, such as saying “please.”

Address the reader as “you”

Create useful links

There are good hyperlinks, and bad hyperlinks. The common practice of calling links here or click here are examples of bad hyperlinks. Check out this excellent article explaining what makes a good hyperlink and try to keep these guidelines in mind when creating or reviewing site content.

Avoid using “we”

Using “we” in a sentence can be confusing, because the reader might not know whether they’re part of the “we” you’re describing.

Avoid jargon and idioms

Some readers speak English as a second language. Avoid jargon and idioms to help make their understanding easier.

Avoid statements about the future

Avoid making promises or giving hints about the future. If you need to talk about an alpha feature, put the text under a heading that identifies it as alpha information.

Avoid statements that will soon be out of date

Avoid words like “currently” and “new”. A feature that is new today might not be considered new in a few months.

Minimize use of callouts

Callouts let you highlight some particular content in your pages, but they need to be used sparingly. Callouts are intended for special notes to the user and over-using them throughout the site neutralizes their special attention-grabbing nature.