> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://tif1.tracinginsights.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # STE100 House Style Guide > How tif1 documentation is written: a Simplified Technical English ruleset adapted from ASD-STE100 Issue 9. # tif1 STE100 House Style Guide This guide defines how all documentation under `docs/` is written. It implements the ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English (Issue 9, 2025-01-15) approach, adapted for a Python library reference. ASD-STE100 and its dictionary are copyrighted by ASD, Brussels. This guide is a paraphrase produced for internal use. It never reproduces rule or dictionary text. Request the free official copy at the ASD download form: [https://www.asd-ste100.org/STE\_downloads.html](https://www.asd-ste100.org/STE_downloads.html) ## 1. Scope This guide governs every `.mdx` and `.md` file under `docs/`, including the three non-navigation files (`README.md`, `VERSIONING.md`, `design_language.md`). The following text is exempt and is never rewritten: * Fenced code blocks and inline code. * CLI output and exception messages shown verbatim. * URLs, file paths, and frontmatter YAML keys. * Proper nouns: drivers, teams, circuits, companies, CDN names. * Signatures and identifier names in parameter tables. Frontmatter `title`, `description`, and `sidebarTitle` values are prose. They follow this guide. `keywords` values stay unchanged to preserve search indexing. ## 2. Genre map | Page type | Pages | Rule set | | :------------ | :----------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Instructional | installation, quickstart, getting-started, guides, tutorials | Procedural rules (Section 5): imperative steps, max 20 words per sentence | | Descriptive | concepts, reference, architecture, api-reference prose | Descriptive rules: present tense, max 25 words per sentence | | Landing | introduction, why-tif1, examples, migration-from-fastf1 | Descriptive rules, factual statements only (decision D1) | ## 3. Vocabulary rules * **V1** Use each approved word only as one part of speech. * **V2** Use each word with one meaning only. Do not alternate synonyms for the same concept. Pick one word per concept and use it on every page. * **V3** Use a word from the Technical Names register (Section 6) only as a noun. Never use a technical name as a verb. * **V4** Do not use jargon, slang, idioms, or figurative language. * **V5** Do not use marketing or intensity words. State measurable facts instead. * **V6** Do not use contractions. Write the full form (`do not`, `cannot`). * **V7** Use the shortest approved form that keeps the meaning. * **V8** Do not make noun clusters longer than three consecutive nouns. * **V9** Keep articles (`a`, `an`, `the`). Do not omit them to save space. * **V10** Address the reader with imperative sentences. Do not use `you` or `we`. When an actor is needed, use `tif1` as the subject (`tif1 recommends`). * **V11** Replace every word in the substitution table (Section 4) with its approved form. ## 4. Substitution table | Non-approved | Approved form | | :--------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------- | | utilize, utilise, employ, leverage | use | | in order to | to | | attempt (prose only) | try | | prior to, subsequent to | before, after | | facilitates | enables | | however, thus, therefore, hence, thereby | start a new sentence; use `but` where approved | | whilst, notwithstanding | while, without | | "you can X" | imperative: "Do X" | | "it is recommended that" | "tif1 recommends", or an imperative | | currently, at this point in time | now, or delete | | and/or | restructure into separate items | | as, since (cause or time unclear) | `because` for cause, `when` for time | ## 5. Sentence and structure rules * **S1** Procedural sentence: maximum 20 words. Descriptive sentence: maximum 25 words. Split longer sentences. * **S2** One instruction or one topic per sentence. * **S3** Start each instructional step with an imperative verb, present simple, active voice. * **S4** Use active voice. Use passive voice only in descriptive text where the actor is unknown or not relevant. * **S5** Use simple tenses. Do not use `will` or `shall` to describe what a procedure does. * **S6** Start warnings and cautions with `Warning:` or `Caution:`. Give one topic per warning. Put each warning before the step it qualifies. * **S7** Give one action per numbered step. Keep steps in execution order. * **S8** Keep vertical lists short and parallel. Introduce each list with a lead-in sentence. * **S9** Prefer tables for parameter and reference data. Identifier cells are exempt. * **S10** Do not use ambiguous conjunctions (see V11 last row). ## 6. Technical Names register Technical names are approved as nouns only. * **tif1 API:** Session, Laps, Lap, Telemetry, Driver, SessionResults, DriverResult, CircuitInfo, LazyTelemetryDict, PayloadLoader, SessionMemo, CDNManager, Config, Cache, LRU cache, SQLite cache, cache tier, memo, fast telemetry, mini-sector, backend (pandas, polars) * **Python:** module, package, class, function, method, argument, keyword argument, return value, type hint, decorator, exception, traceback, iterator, context manager, virtual environment, dependency, DataFrame, Series * **Formula 1:** telemetry, sector, stint, DRS, downforce, compound, tire degradation, lap delta, speed trace, track map, qualifying, race control messages, pole position * **Infrastructure:** CDN, StaticDelivr, jsDelivr, Hugging Face bucket, circuit breaker, retry, backoff, jitter, HTTP/2, multiplexing, cache hit, cache miss, hot cache ## 7. Frontmatter * **F1** Write `title`, `description`, and `sidebarTitle` to this guide. * **F2** Do not change `keywords`. * **F3** Give every page a `description` of 160 characters or fewer. ## 8. Decisions and deviations register Owner decisions recorded 2026-09-02: | ID | Decision | | :- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | D1 | Strict STE everywhere. Promotional language is removed from all pages, including card titles on `why-tif1` and `introduction`. Comparisons use facts and cited sources. | | D2 | Add API-reference pages for the undocumented modules: `payload_loader`, `session`, `schedule_schema`, `plotting_constants`, `assets`. | | D3 | Keep `utils`, `utilities`, `core-utils`, `http`, `http-session` pages separate. Fix their content only. | | D4 | Rewrite documentation only. Do not change source code or docstrings. | | D5 | Re-run the benchmark suite to regenerate performance claims with evidence. | | D6 | Publish the work as a stacked chain of pull requests, one per phase or section. | | D7 | Include `README.md`, `VERSIONING.md`, `design_language.md` in the rewrite. | Deviations from ASD-STE100 (each entry records a deliberate, bounded departure): | ID | Deviation | Reason | | :---- | :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | DEV-1 | This guide paraphrases the standard instead of quoting it | ASD copyright; rule IDs are pinned when the official Issue 9 copy arrives | | DEV-2 | `tif1` is used as a sentence subject | The library is the actor in most sentences; STE has no approved equivalent for a software product name in this role | | DEV-3 | Tutorial chart names (`gg diagram`, `speed trace`) stay as compound technical names | They are the public names of the `plot_*` functions | ## 9. Checker `tools/ste_check.py` enforces the rules that a machine can test: contractions, banned words, marketing terms, sentence length, `and/or`, and second-person text. It skips code blocks, tables, and inline code. The checker is a heuristic gate. Human review against this guide is the authority. Run it: ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"}} python3 tools/ste_check.py docs/ # summary report python3 tools/ste_check.py docs/ --strict # non-zero exit on any violation python3 tools/ste_check.py docs/ --json # machine-readable report ```