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in the following sentence:

We forge such concepts like agent's IP, agent's port, agent's sequence number 
and so on for ease of explanation.


We forge such concepts like agent's IP, agent's port, agent's sequence number
blabla for ease of explanation.

it seems to me the and so on or blabla is not proper, isn't it? if so, how to modify the sentence?

thanks!

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  • 2
    Unrelated to your question, but you probably meant forego rather than forge.
    – user
    Jun 5, 2013 at 12:47
  • More context would help people provide better answers. Can you tell us more about the project? Jun 5, 2013 at 16:40

2 Answers 2

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In the specific example, the use of "such ... as" ("for example"/"e.g." would likewise indicate an incomplete list) removes the need for anything like "etc.", "et al.", "and so on". Here is reworking of your example:

For ease of explanation, we forge such concepts as the agent's IP, port, and sequence number.

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"Bla bla" is decidedly informal. I would not use those words unless the text in general is very informal.

There are plenty of ways to say "and other similar things": "etc.", "and so on", "things like", "such things as", etc. (Like there.) Alternatively, you can preface the list with a phrase like "for example" or "among the options are".

There's certainly nothing with giving an incomplete list, as long as the reader understands that it is an incomplete list. In some cases the complete list would be far too long to include without boring the reader or bogging down the text. Consider, "People with common names, like 'John' or 'Mary', sometimes find that ..." Listing all the common names that one could possibly have would be a very long and tedious list, and the reader would surely skim over the last after the first few entries anyway.

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