doc: remove em dashes

Our documentation uses em dashes inconsistently. They are treated
inconsistently typographically too. (For example, they are sometimes
surrounded by spaces and sometimes not.) They are also often confused
with ordinary hyphens such as in the CHANGELOG, where they are
inadvertently mixed together in a single list. The difference is
not obvious in the raw markdown but is very noticeable when rendered,
appearing to be a typographical error (which it in fact is).

The em dash is never needed. There are always alternatives. Remove em
dashes entirely.

PR-URL: #32080
Backport-PR-URL: #32149
Reviewed-By: Richard Lau <[email protected]>
Reviewed-By: James M Snell <[email protected]>
Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca <[email protected]>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -2,18 +2,18 @@
 
 Select a Node.js version below to view the changelog history:
 
-* [Node.js 12](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V12.md) - **Current**
-* [Node.js 11](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V11.md) - Current
-* [Node.js 10](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V10.md) — **Long Term Support**
-* [Node.js 9](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V9.md) — End-of-Life
-* [Node.js 8](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V8.md) — Long Term Support
-* [Node.js 7](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V7.md) — End-of-Life
-* [Node.js 6](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V6.md) — Long Term Support
-* [Node.js 5](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V5.md) — End-of-Life
-* [Node.js 4](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V4.md) — End-of-Life
-* [io.js](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_IOJS.md) — End-of-Life
-* [Node.js 0.12](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V012.md) — End-of-Life
-* [Node.js 0.10](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V010.md) — End-of-Life
+* [Node.js 12](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V12.md) **Long Term Support**
+* [Node.js 11](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V11.md) End-of-Life
+* [Node.js 10](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V10.md) Long Term Support
+* [Node.js 9](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V9.md) End-of-Life
+* [Node.js 8](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V8.md) End-of-Life
+* [Node.js 7](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V7.md) End-of-Life
+* [Node.js 6](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V6.md) End-of-Life
+* [Node.js 5](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V5.md) End-of-Life
+* [Node.js 4](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V4.md) End-of-Life
+* [io.js](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_IOJS.md) End-of-Life
+* [Node.js 0.12](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V012.md) End-of-Life
+* [Node.js 0.10](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_V010.md) End-of-Life
 * [Archive](doc/changelogs/CHANGELOG_ARCHIVE.md)
 
 Please use the following table to find the changelog for a specific Node.js

doc/api/addons.md

@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ NODE_MODULE_INIT(/* exports, module, context */) {
 Once the source code has been written, it must be compiled into the binary
 `addon.node` file. To do so, create a file called `binding.gyp` in the
 top-level of the project describing the build configuration of the module
-using a JSON-like format. This file is used by [node-gyp][] — a tool written
+using a JSON-like format. This file is used by [node-gyp][], a tool written
 specifically to compile Node.js Addons.
 
 ```json

doc/api/errors.md

@@ -564,14 +564,14 @@ program. For a comprehensive list, see the [`errno`(3) man page][].
   `ulimit -n 2048` in the same shell that will run the Node.js process.
 
 - `ENOENT` (No such file or directory): Commonly raised by [`fs`][] operations
-  to indicate that a component of the specified pathname does not exist — no
+  to indicate that a component of the specified pathname does not exist. No
   entity (file or directory) could be found by the given path.
 
 - `ENOTDIR` (Not a directory): A component of the given pathname existed, but
   was not a directory as expected. Commonly raised by [`fs.readdir`][].
 
 - `ENOTEMPTY` (Directory not empty): A directory with entries was the target
-  of an operation that requires an empty directory — usually [`fs.unlink`][].
+  of an operation that requires an empty directory, usually [`fs.unlink`][].
 
 - `EPERM` (Operation not permitted): An attempt was made to perform an
   operation that requires elevated privileges.
@@ -583,7 +583,7 @@ program. For a comprehensive list, see the [`errno`(3) man page][].
 
 - `ETIMEDOUT` (Operation timed out): A connect or send request failed because
   the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time. Usually
-  encountered by [`http`][] or [`net`][] — often a sign that a `socket.end()`
+  encountered by [`http`][] or [`net`][]. Often a sign that a `socket.end()`
   was not properly called.
 
 <a id="nodejs-error-codes"></a>

doc/api/http.md

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ To use the HTTP server and client one must `require('http')`.
 The HTTP interfaces in Node.js are designed to support many features
 of the protocol which have been traditionally difficult to use.
 In particular, large, possibly chunk-encoded, messages. The interface is
-careful to never buffer entire requests or responses — the
+careful to never buffer entire requests or responses, so the
 user is able to stream data.
 
 HTTP message headers are represented by an object like this:
@@ -748,7 +748,7 @@ added: v0.1.29
 
 Sends a chunk of the body. By calling this method
 many times, a request body can be sent to a
-server — in that case it is suggested to use the
+server. In that case, it is suggested to use the
 `['Transfer-Encoding', 'chunked']` header line when
 creating the request.
 
@@ -1045,7 +1045,7 @@ affects new connections to the server, not any existing connections.
 added: v0.1.17
 -->
 
-This object is created internally by an HTTP server — not by the user. It is
+This object is created internally by an HTTP server, not by the user. It is
 passed as the second parameter to the [`'request'`][] event.
 
 The response inherits from [Stream][], and additionally implements the

doc/api/http2.md

@@ -2916,7 +2916,7 @@ Url {
 added: v8.4.0
 -->
 
-This object is created internally by an HTTP server — not by the user. It is
+This object is created internally by an HTTP server, not by the user. It is
 passed as the second parameter to the [`'request'`][] event.
 
 The response inherits from [Stream][], and additionally implements the

doc/api/modules.md

@@ -885,7 +885,7 @@ added: v0.3.7
 * {Object}
 
 Provides general utility methods when interacting with instances of
-`Module` — the `module` variable often seen in file modules. Accessed
+`Module`, the `module` variable often seen in file modules. Accessed
 via `require('module')`.
 
 ### module.builtinModules

doc/api/net.md

@@ -867,7 +867,7 @@ added: v0.1.90
 * Returns: {boolean}
 
 Sends data on the socket. The second parameter specifies the encoding in the
-case of a string — it defaults to UTF8 encoding.
+case of a string. It defaults to UTF8 encoding.
 
 Returns `true` if the entire data was flushed successfully to the kernel
 buffer. Returns `false` if all or part of the data was queued in user memory.

doc/api/path.md

@@ -386,7 +386,7 @@ path.parse('/home/user/dir/file.txt');
 │ root │              │ name │ ext │
 "  /    home/user/dir / file  .txt "
 └──────┴──────────────┴──────┴─────┘
-(all spaces in the "" line should be ignored — they are purely for formatting)
+(All spaces in the "" line should be ignored. They are purely for formatting.)
 ```
 
 On Windows:
@@ -408,7 +408,7 @@ path.parse('C:\\path\\dir\\file.txt');
 │ root │              │ name │ ext │
 " C:\      path\dir   \ file  .txt "
 └──────┴──────────────┴──────┴─────┘
-(all spaces in the "" line should be ignored — they are purely for formatting)
+(All spaces in the "" line should be ignored. They are purely for formatting.)
 ```
 
 A [`TypeError`][] is thrown if `path` is not a string.

doc/api/process.md

@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ rejection handler.
 
 There is no notion of a top level for a `Promise` chain at which rejections can
 always be handled. Being inherently asynchronous in nature, a `Promise`
-rejection can be handled at a future point in time — possibly much later than
+rejection can be handled at a future point in time, possibly much later than
 the event loop turn it takes for the `'unhandledRejection'` event to be emitted.
 
 Another way of stating this is that, unlike in synchronous code where there is

doc/api/url.md

@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ WHATWG URL's `origin` property includes `protocol` and `host`, but not
 ├─────────────┴─────────────────────┴────────────────────────┴──────────┴────────────────┴───────┤
 │                                              href                                              │
 └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
-(all spaces in the "" line should be ignored — they are purely for formatting)
+(All spaces in the "" line should be ignored. They are purely for formatting.)
 ```
 
 Parsing the URL string using the WHATWG API:

doc/guides/backporting-to-release-lines.md

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ hint: and commit the result with 'git commit'
 9. Open a pull request:
    1. Be sure to target the `v8.x-staging` branch in the pull request.
    1. Include the backport target in the pull request title in the following
-      format — `[v8.x backport] <commit title>`.
+      format: `[v8.x backport] <commit title>`.
       Example: `[v8.x backport] process: improve performance of nextTick`
    1. Check the checkbox labeled "Allow edits from maintainers".
    1. In the description add a reference to the original PR.

doc/guides/contributing/issues.md

@@ -89,8 +89,8 @@ around it. Some contributors may have differing opinions about the issue,
 including whether the behavior being seen is a bug or a feature. This discussion
 is part of the process and should be kept focused, helpful, and professional.
 
-Short, clipped responses—that provide neither additional context nor supporting
-detail—are not helpful or professional. To many, such responses are simply
+Short, clipped responses that provide neither additional context nor supporting
+detail are not helpful or professional. To many, such responses are simply
 annoying and unfriendly.
 
 Contributors are encouraged to help one another make forward progress as much