I'm writing a technical report and I want to emphasize that each sample that I have stored in a buffer has been collected before the following one. Can I say,
The samples from the buffer are known to have been captured consecutively in time?
Sounds redundant to me. I'd put a period after "consecutively". Alternatively, you might try "in chronological order".
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6'In chronological order' does not mean the same as consecutively. A series of events can occur in chronological order, without being consecutive. – Dancrumb Apr 6 '11 at 16:05
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@Dan: If a series of events are consecutive then they are also chronological, no? So, consecutive would be a more restrictive term than chronological? – MrHen Apr 6 '11 at 17:10
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1"Consecutively" implies some higher density; an ordering without gaps. The numbers [1, 2, 5] are not consecutive, but are in order. If I read that a list of samples were consecutive, I would assume that the list presented is all samples at some maximum sampling precision. (Either way, it is grammatical.) – user2400 Apr 6 '11 at 19:12
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3@MrHen: Yes; I just wanted to make the point that 'consecutively' and 'in chronological order' are not equivalent, in case Jal is not a native speaker. – Dancrumb Apr 6 '11 at 21:38
I cannot definitively say that consecutively in time is incorrect, but the phrasing is awkward, at best. I would suggest the good old simple expression, one after other. More formally, you could also say, in succession:
- The samples from the buffer are known to have been captured one after the other.
- The samples from the buffer are known to have been captured in succession.
I think consecutively should suffice; it's as if the 'in time' is an inelegant hint as to what consecutively actually means, to those who aren't sure.
I think you could easily use the word, "sequentially."
From dictionary.com
se·quen·tial [si-kwen-shuhl]
–adjective
1. characterized by regular sequence of parts.
2. following; subsequent; consequent.
Well, it could be used to make a distinction if the word were also serving other meanings:
con·sec·u·tive (kn-sky-tv) adj.
Following one after another without interruption; successive: was absent on three consecutive days; won five consecutive games on the road.
Marked by logical sequence.
Grammar Expressing consequence or result: a consecutive clause.
If you had just used the word in its logical or grammatical sense, you might add "in time" if you then wanted to be clear about which version a chronological statement was serving.
Unless you are able to break a fundamental law of physics, consecutively in time is redundant.
If this is a technical report and you're discussing buffers, then your audience should/will probably understand FIFO.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFO
A queue is FIFO, a stack is LIFO.
Just one word: successively.
