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?
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".
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.