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Currently I'm writing my master's thesis about the detection of Android Malware. It's being written in French. Like you would expect, there are a lot of concepts (e.g., about Android and security) that are in English. The translation in French is not clear and is not known either. How do I write those terms ? Should I write them in italic?

In addition, I would like the reader to be able to distinguish between a variable name, a file name, a class name, etc. just by looking at how the word is typeset. Can I use different typefaces for each element?

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  • Lyx is a document processing system based in LaTeX. Thus, the "how" of your question is better answered in tex.stackexchange.com. However, it is generally a good idea to limit the number of different textual design elements in your writing, because having too many elements makes it difficult for readers to understand your work. – user65587 Dec 29 '16 at 9:26
  • I've tried to edit your question to keep it on topic here (we usually don't answer questions on how-to in LaTeX and friends). Feel free to revert or adapt the edits. – Massimo Ortolano♦ Dec 29 '16 at 11:27
  • my question isn't about the technical part. my question is more about "should I use different typefaces all the time ? occasionally ? if so, when ? – El Barto Dec 29 '16 at 13:11
  • I strongly disagree with the close voters, and voted to reopen: not all universities have style guides to which a student can refer to. – Massimo Ortolano♦ Dec 29 '16 at 13:19
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How do I write those terms ? (Maybe in Italic.)

No, don't write every occurrence of a technical term in italic, or you will make your readers sea-sick.

Treat those terms as you would treat any French technical term, and possibly use italics just on the first occurrence, where the technical term is defined or introduced.

Even though it's not a French style manual, I think it's worth reading what the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition, writes on the topic:

Italics for unfamiliar foreign words and phrases. Italics are used for isolated words and phrases in a foreign language if they are likely to be unfamiliar to the readers [...]. If a foreign word becomes familiar through repeated use throughout a work, it need to be italicized only on its first occurrence. If it appears only rarely, however, italics may be retained.

The sentence

If a foreign word becomes familiar through repeated use throughout a work, it need to be italicized only on its first occurrence.

aptly applies to your thesis work.

As for your last point,

I want the reader to distinguish between a variable name, a file name, a class name ...etc. by only looking how the word is written.

In books, authors frequently distinguish code snippets by using monospaced fonts, but I would avoid using too many different typefaces (or too many colours) to highlight different syntax elements. I suggest you to have a look at the LaTeX package listings and to ask on TeX - LaTeX Stack Exchange for further information.

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    And don't forget to check French journals and theses to see how others have approached this. // It can be helpful to try a couple of different approaches and then print out a few pages. You can get a better idea from a hard copy than by looking at it just on the screen. – aparente001 Jan 1 '17 at 5:37

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