In reply to Small caps in technical writing:
Hrant, regarding your two points...
If you want to capitalize a word, just do it. With a font that has smaller-than-usual capital letters it's not intrusive. You don't need small caps.
The reader wants to see small caps (or capital letters) used uniformly across different books. If the reader is looking at several different Python books, and small caps are used differently in each, it will be aggravating. You using small caps predictably in your book is not sufficient. Thus if the rules for small cap use are not clear, or if they are being made up on the spot by this forum or the writer, there is a problem. ("and the careful addressing of how smallcaps should be working seems to be overdue.") And this is the case. Technical writers will be clearer (and less aggravating) to the reader by NOT making up their own rules, but just by using an appropriate typeface.
