The German national standard DIN 5008 by
Deutsches Institut für Normung
' (DIN; in English language, English, the German Institute for Standardisation) is a Germany, German non-profit organization and acting as national organization for standardization. DIN is the German International Organization for Standardizat ...
(DIN) specifies writing and layout rules for
word processing A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features.
Word processor (electronic device), Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicate ...
. As such it is one of the fundamental standards for office communication and administrative work in Germany. Today, the standard is maintained by the – Fachbereich Bürotechnik, Bankwesen und elektronisches Geschäftswesen (NA 043–03).
The rules and recommendations for word processing and typewriting define the typographically correct usage of
punctuation
Punctuation marks are marks indicating how a piece of writing, written text should be read (silently or aloud) and, consequently, understood. The oldest known examples of punctuation marks were found in the Mesha Stele from the 9th century BC, c ...
and
characters for words, mathematical signs, abbreviations, formulas as well as the proper representation of numbers (including dates and times), the usage of text for emphasis, the layout and organization of tables, outlines and templates in order to create well-arranged, easily accessible and purposeful text documents.
While DIN 5008 covered text processing with
typewriter
A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...
s until 1996, newer revisions discuss issues related to word processing on
PCs as well. The 2020 edition does not mention the typewriter at all.
Revisions
*DIN 5008:1949-04
*DIN 5008:1951-06
*DIN 5008:1963-11
*DIN 5008:1975-11
*DIN 5008:1986-11
*DIN 5008:1996-05
*DIN 5008:2001-11
*DIN 5008:2005-05
*DIN 5008:2011-04
*DIN 5008:2020-03
See also
*
DIN ISO 8601:2006-09 (formerly
DIN EN 28601:1993-02)
*
Date and time notation in Europe
Literature
* Comment: Special print of DIN 5008:2011-04.
References
05008
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