Questions about computers, programming and IT.
45
votes
9answers
3k views
“Username”, “user name” or “user-name”
In computer science, you should have a username or a user name or a user-name and a password to be able to log into the system.
Which one is the correct spelling?
38
votes
3answers
1k views
How “macro” in computer programming came about
The prefix macro- is normally used for large things like macroeconomics and macroscopic. How did it come to be used to describe text macros in the programming world?
30
votes
3answers
1k views
Why is a “splash screen” so called?
Wikipedia describes a "splash screen" as such...
"A splash screen is an image that appears while a game or program is loading."
and its purpose...
[Splash screens] are typically used by ...
21
votes
3answers
9k views
Origin of the term “driver” in computer science
According to Wikipedia:
… a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device.
What is the origin of the term ...
21
votes
8answers
993 views
What do you call a computer window when it is not maximized or minimized?
What do you call a computer window when it is not maximized or minimized? I have been using unmaximized, but I feel there is a more precise way.
14
votes
6answers
507 views
What is the noun to refer to the 64- or 32-bit -ness of an operating system
I know that "processor architecture" can be used to refer to whether the processor is 32-bit or 64-bit (or something else), but what word can be used for the operating system? Note that it's not ...
11
votes
5answers
3k views
Difference between “computation” and “calculation”
If the words computation and calculation are not perfect synonyms what is the difference between them? Which one describes more accurately what is done by a person computing or calculating something ...
10
votes
3answers
2k views
Why “motherboard” is used to refer to main board of computer
Why is motherboard used to refer to the main board of a computer? What is the relationship with the word mother here?
9
votes
1answer
235 views
When did “Easter egg” begin to mean “hidden feature”?
Can anybody trace the origins of 'Easter egg' for this meaning?
8
votes
2answers
493 views
Origin of the term “wizard” in computing
In computer user interfaces a "wizard" is a set of screens that guide the user through a process.
Does anyone know the origin of this term? I personally associate wizards with magic more than a ...
8
votes
3answers
888 views
Capitalization of User Interface Buttons
Being an amateur programmer and a bit of a perfectionist, I often find myself wondering about capitalization in user interfaces.
If you look towards the top of this very website, you'll notice the ...
8
votes
1answer
297 views
What do you call the phenomenon where a rectangle Ϳ is shown because a font lacks a glyph?
Is there a name to describe the situation where a particular character is shown on a computer screen in a particular font, but this font does not have a glyph for this particular character?
Usually, ...
7
votes
5answers
962 views
What is “embarrassing” about an embarrassingly parallel problem?
In computer science, a problem that is obviously decomposable into many identical but separate subtasks is called embarrassingly parallel.
An example is a cryptographic brute force attack, in which ...
6
votes
3answers
193 views
Origin and scope of “cruft”
I just had to look up "cruft" (jargon for software or hardware that is of poor quality), as used in a comment to an earlier question.
But I can't find any details of etymology, and I don't know how ...
6
votes
3answers
226 views
What is the correct pronunciation of “regex”?
The term regular expression is often shortened to regex. What is the correct pronunciation of the g in regex?
Is it like the g1 in gallium, or is it like the g2 in giraffe? I’ve heard it said both ...
6
votes
2answers
183 views
Etymology of “ping”
According to Wikipedia ping, the IP network utility, was named after the sonar "ping", which is apparently onomatopoeic.
However, "ping" is now used in the vernacular in the sense of "pinging" ...
5
votes
4answers
660 views
What's the origin of “beta” to describe a “user-testing” phase of computer development?
It occurred to me that I use the term "beta" to describe a "release candidate" of a computer product that has passed all expectations of the development team, and is now being given limited exposure ...
5
votes
3answers
721 views
How do you pronounce “cURL,” the computer utility? [closed]
Are there programmers here? I'd like to know how you guys pronounce cURL.
Because I don't live in a country that uses English, I haven't heard it yet.
5
votes
2answers
189 views
“Timeboxing” versus “time-slicing”
What is the difference between timeboxing and time-slicing? From what I can tell, it is the same concept, but timeboxing is applied to project management and time-slicing is applied to scheduling ...
5
votes
1answer
118 views
The origin of binary “image”? [closed]
I'm curious why a chunk of binary data is called image?
Like disk image, boot image, Linux image, flash image, etc.
In my brain, image is something two-dimensional, but binary data is a ...
5
votes
3answers
238 views
“Intended” vs. “intentional”
I'm reading an article about intention recognition in computing areas and somehow robotics. I came across this sentence:
This problem has been discussed as the difference between “intended and ...
5
votes
1answer
264 views
Who first used the term “bit rot”?
Wikipedia says:
Bit rot, also known as bit decay, data rot, or data decay, is a colloquial computing term used to describe either a gradual decay of storage media or the degradation of a software ...
4
votes
4answers
642 views
What does the word “hacking” or “hacker” come from? [closed]
Is there a history behind the word "hacker" and "hacking"?
Could it have anything to do with "hashing" i.e. using a hash function?
4
votes
3answers
500 views
What is the origin of != in the meaning “not equal to”?
As a programmer I have always assumed that using != as meaning not equal to when writing text (usually on the internet) came from programming languages. Is this true or is the origin different?
4
votes
1answer
59 views
Provenance of 'deprecated' (in the programming sense)
What are some early uses of "deprecation" in computer science? When did the word enter common usage in the field of programming? Are there any particularly well-known examples of early deprecations ...
3
votes
4answers
3k views
Is there a word meaning “append”, but at the beginning, not the end? [closed]
In computer programming, when you append a "string" to another, you add it to the end of the former string.
E.g.
String string1 = "abcd";
String string2 = "efgh";
Appending the two strings would ...
3
votes
3answers
98 views
“Run on an OS” vs. “run under an OS”
What is the correct way to specify the operating system you are targeting or using?
Is a program running on or under an operating system (OS)?
Is a machine running an OS or under an OS?
3
votes
2answers
149 views
How popular are the terms “software” and “hardware” outside the computer world?
If I’m not mistaken, the terms software and hardware were ordinary English words, but they have been widely popularized by popularity of computers. How much they are common (and acceptable by native ...
3
votes
3answers
119 views
Expression to describe error’s way
In the context of a computer system, events that fail to go to their destination are redirected to another one through several steps. I’m looking for an expression to describe the way they take.
I ...
3
votes
1answer
50 views
String slicing nomenclature
Maybe I'm just not very good with Google, but I'm looking for good terms to use when describing manipulation of strings of characters, specifically words to describe:
Removing a prefix
Removing a ...
3
votes
1answer
127 views
Is “catenate” used in IT parlance?
When I was doing my IT degree in the 80s we learned that, in programming terms, concatenation was the act of joining two strings together.
Recently I was reading a technical manual and came across ...
3
votes
2answers
563 views
What is the difference between obsolete and deprecate in computer science?
Given the two terms "obsolete" and "deprecate" in computer science, what is the difference between them?
What I understand,
Deprecated means still available for use but will no longer be developed ...
2
votes
5answers
171 views
“Printfing” or “printingf”?
At this point the program starts printfing the pot value.
At this point the program starts printingf the pot value.
Both sound wrong, and yet... one of them must be used.
2
votes
2answers
120 views
What is the word for a pair of bytes?
Bit is a portmanteau of binary digit.
A byte is 8 bits.
A nibble is 4 bits (half a byte).
Is there a word for a pair of bytes?
2
votes
2answers
446 views
call vs invoke - informatics context
Particularly in computer science and informatics,
when should one use them? Is call the preferred form?
For instance,
call function
invoke method
Googling for "call operation" returns +300 000 ...
2
votes
4answers
254 views
What would be a suitable name for the game panel in tetris?
I am trying to develop a Tetris clone. However, I am unsure what to name the panel where the user places the pieces.
Game panel seems too generic since the entire frame is in fact the panel of the ...
2
votes
1answer
70 views
Etymology of “modal dialogs” in computerese
When programming you may deal with so-called modal dialogs — these are windows where you are supposed to provide information before you are allowed to proceed any further. A modal dialog blocks or ...
1
vote
4answers
269 views
How do we call the “box” on a computer screen?
In advanced tab:
I was wondering what's the English term to use to refer to the Performance "box".
1
vote
4answers
136 views
Do “download” and “upload” only refer to networks?
I know what it means to download something from a website or upload a video to YouTube. But do the terms "download" and "upload" only apply when referring to one device transferring data to another ...
1
vote
1answer
82 views
What is a “big-ender pair”?
In the sci.math newsgroup ca. 23 Mar 2013, in thread Subject: Re: math formulae?, I saw the following:
> >"Is the tournment liken to a bridge tournment? The problem is vague.
> > ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
Prepositions used with “command line” and “shell”
I found the following variations on the use of "command line" and "shell" in computing and wonder which are correct and how to use them appropriately.
Command line: is it "at the command line" or ...
1
vote
3answers
73 views
What is an overall term for a service that publishes digital publications?
I'm looking at what I am calling Digital Edition Solution Providers (ways of taking a PDF of a magazine and turning it into a website, and content for sale on Apple Newsstand, Android, KindleFire ...
1
vote
3answers
62 views
Word for code/applications that call an API library
I have an API library, what do I call code/applications that use it? I want to avoid "client" because in my context, it is ambiguous with another concept.
Also it doesn't have to be a single word, as ...
1
vote
1answer
107 views
What is the word for an applied template? [closed]
The notion of a template is that it is abstract and can be applied to future instances. Is there a word that means an instantiated template?
I'd prefer something that specifically refers to the fact ...
1
vote
2answers
190 views
Add-in, addin, add-on, addon
For example, Firefox uses add-ons whereas Microsoft Office uses add-ins. I've seen all 4 versions (add-in, addin, add-on, addon) used in various software programs, but I wonder if all of them are ...
1
vote
1answer
230 views
'Rollover'/'Roll over' in computer world
While Oxford Dictionary of English does not have definition of rollover, Wiktionary defines this word as "a graphic element that changes its shape or colour when the cursor moves over it"; in other ...
1
vote
1answer
144 views
Is there a word for someone who posts a “comment”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do you call who writes comments in this board? Commenter or commentator?
Difference between “commentor” and “commentator”
Why do we say 'commentator' instead of ...
0
votes
4answers
66 views
Failing sometimes for unknown reason
Context: I have an automated test that sometimes fails for unknown reason. It's a sort of false positive: the feature it tests is not broken. Most of the time, either it succeeds or fails for right ...
0
votes
2answers
125 views
“Computing” vs. “computation”
Can anybody explain the difference between computing and computation? Which one is correct:
computing/computation node (to refer to a server)
computing/computation power (to refer to the FLOPS of a ...
0
votes
2answers
96 views
Difference between ‘“folder” and “directory”
What is the difference between folder and directory in the context of computer science?
