> a) block device-based filesystems > b) block-device-based filesystems > c) block- device-based filesystems > d) block device\[en]based filesystems > > Which form would you recommend me to use?
I would go with "block-device\[en]based filesystems", with the reasoning that a dash binds stronger than a space, the precedence being (from stronger to weaker binding): [none] > hyphen > en-dash > space Similarly: hot-fudge sundae and Einstein\[en]de-Sitter universe even though other people may disagree on this point. (de Sitter as a name is without hyphen, but I would hyphenate it in a compound to make the relationship between the words clearer.) On the web and in the literature you can find Anti-de Sitter space which I would prefer to see as Anti\[en]de-Sitter space Although language does not always follow logic, in reference manuals and the like exactness should be preferred over traditional custom. This also pertains to moving punctuation outside of quotes, if it is not part of the quoted text, e.g., This is referred to as a "file system". instead of This is referred to as a "file system."
