Capitalization of acronyms - maybe there is no definite correctness for all cases?

Question

Is it correct to capitalize the acronym when it is a name? Sometimes it is dubious whether it's a name or a word, for example SQL, ANSI, GNU and more would be considered a name so it should be capitalized, while RAM (random access memory) is a word not reserved as a name. I'm not sure about some of them on my list, for example FPGA could be considered both a name and an ordinary word.

Acronyms
ACL2 A Computational Logic for Applicative Common Lisp
ANSI American National Standards Institute
ASLR address space layout randomization
CPU central processing unit
DDC diverse double-compiling
DoS denial of service
FPGA field-programmable gate array
GCC GNU Compiler Collection ... <code follows>
\acro{ACL2}{A Computational Logic for Applicative Common Lisp}
\acro{ANSI}{American National Standards Institute}
\acro{ASLR}{address space layout randomization}
\acro{BTC}{Bitcoin Core}
\acro{CDG}{control dependency graph}
\acro{CFG}{control flow graph}
\acro{CPU}{central processing unit}
\acro{CVE}{Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures}
\acro{CVSS}{common vulnerability scoring system}
\acro{CWE}{common weakness enumeration}
\acro{DAST}{dynamic application security testing}
\acro{DDC}{diverse double-compiling}
\acro{DDG}{data dependency graph}
\acro{DeFi}{decentralized finance}
\acro{DoS}{denial of service}
\acro{ELF}{Executable and Linkable Format}
\acro{FPGA}{field-programmable gate array}
\acrodefplural{FPGA}{field-programmable gate arrays}
\acro{GCC}{GNU Compiler Collection}
\acro{GDB}{GNU Debugger}
\acro{HDL}{hardware description language}
\acro{HT}{hardware trojan}
\acro{LISP}{List Processing Language}
\acro{MIPS}{Microprocessor without Interlocked Pipeline Stages}
\acro{ML}{Meta Language}
\acro{MNC}{multinational corporation}
\acrodefplural{MNC}{multinational corporations}
\acro{MULTICS}{Multiplexed Information and Computing Service}
\acro{MiTM}{man-in-the-middle}
\acro{NFT}{non-fungible token}
\acrodefplural{NFT}{non-fungible tokens}
\acro{NGO}{non-government organization}
\acro{NIST}{National Institute for Standardization}
\acro{NIST}{National institute of Standards and Technology}
\acro{OSS}{open source software}
\acro{PDG}{program dependency graph}
\acro{PGP}{Pretty Good Privacy}
\acro{PoLP}{principle of least privilege}
\acro{RAM}{random access memory}
\acro{RCA}{response-computable authentication}
\acro{RoTT}{Reflections on Trusting Trust}
\acro{SAST}{static application security testing}
\acro{SDLC}{software development lifecycle}
\acro{SL}{source language}
\acro{SQL}{Structured Query Language}
\acro{TCC}{Tiny C Compiler}
\acro{TL}{target language}
\acro{VCS}{version control system}
\acro{VHDL}{VHSIC hardware description language}
\acro{VM}{virtual machine}
\acro{XBI}{cross-build injection}
\acro{YAML}{YAML Ain't Markup Language}

I don't think there's a rule. Most are capitalised, but not all are. And some e.g. Nato/NATO there seems to be a dispute. Consult style guides, dictionaries, Wikipedia, etc, in individual cases. See e.g. this question — Stuart F, Sep 24 '22 at 12:48
However the example RAM which is also a word with another meaning is always capitalised as an acronym. It's not very clear what the actual question is. — Weather Vane, Sep 24 '22 at 14:04
Please see the discussions at Does pronouncing an initialism make it an acronym? and VTOL_ hybrid initialism/acronym? for clarification (or not) of terminology. — Edwin Ashworth, Sep 24 '22 at 14:42
I apologize for what might be a miscommunication from me. I meant to ask if the acronym, when written out, should be capitalized: We use Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) OR We use field-programmable gate-arrays (FPGA). \acro{FPGA}{field-programmable gate array} — Niklas Rosencrantz, Sep 25 '22 at 09:39

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Sep 24 '22 at 17:02

Initialisms or acronyms always have capitals, or they will be read as ordinary words. Some sentences will have very different meanings:

My ram is fritzed.
My RAM is fritzed.

Some will be unintelligible without the indication which capitals afford:

We will use dast in this case.

Some can't be pronounced as words at all.

He works for an NGO abroad.

Now, some acronyms which can be pronounced as words have become so well-known that they are accepted as words in their own right. It would be unusual to use capitals (or even small capitals) for these.

Pick up your scuba gear over there.
The laser-guided nylon missile was detected using radar.

But until the thing referred to has become common enough that a word is needed for it, and its initialism can be pronounced and function as a word, it will always have capitals.

For things like ANSI and NATO etc, where the word is pronounceable but actually represents a proper name where all the constituent words would have a capital, I would expect capitals to be used; but as others have commented, Nato is becoming common (although it still has an initial capital) and at least one UK newspaper refers to police constables as Pc rather than PC. The use of lower-case letters may be due to the appearance on the page being affected by all-caps, with small-caps (ɴᴀᴛᴏ, ᴘᴄ) being difficult to achieve.

Wikipedia has a very comprehensive article for further reading.

Capitalization of acronyms - maybe there is no definite correctness for all cases?

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