Questions tagged [programming]
Questions about English used for talking about programming, but not about programming languages themselves.
364
questions
2
votes
1answer
49 views
In what year did term “program” first appear in the meaning of “series of coded instructions”?
I'm trying to figure out year when the term "program" was firstly used is the meaning ‘series of coded instructions which directs a computer in carrying out a specific task’.
Additionally I ...
0
votes
1answer
33 views
What is an appropriate name for a property that tells whether a list is empty, single or multiple?
I have a property in programming which tells whether a list is empty, or has only one element or has more than one element. ( empty, single, multiple ).
I want to know what would be an appropriate ...
0
votes
0answers
27 views
Machine learning on or of some data?
If it's machine learning using some platform or technology, it makes sense to use "on" ("ML on AWS"), but if we are talking about applying ML to some data, should "on" or ...
0
votes
1answer
51 views
which is correct here, break or broke? [closed]
which one is correct?
"Steve was amazing before his leg break."
"Steve was amazing before his leg broke."
0
votes
1answer
106 views
How to pronounce %d in C programming language? [closed]
How do we pronounce %, in something like %d? Is it pronounced as:
per-cent d
mod d
or, is there some other accepted/generalized way?
0
votes
1answer
71 views
What is the process of finding the remainder in division called?
Is there any one word for the process of calculating the remainder (division)?
1
vote
1answer
58 views
What would I call a program that was developed specifically for a company?
I am looking for a word that can describe a program I developed for a company, as opposed to a program I would create for a school assignment or for fun. I've written "paid programming task" ...
0
votes
1answer
37 views
Problem remembering the exact name/word/term [duplicate]
I'm looking for a name/word for when someone asks and seeks advice for a problem but, instead of telling you the real issue or the problem, s/he attempts to seek help to make her own solution work.
...
1
vote
1answer
185 views
What is the opposite of “brute-force”?
In computer science especially, a brute-force algorithm is one that is naive and straightforward. It may succeed but only in a primitive way—trying all the obvious operations one by one. This wastes ...
0
votes
0answers
44 views
Synonyms of “possibly empty (value)”?
The antonyms of 'non-empty' could be:
Empty
Possibly empty
But I had not see it is being frequently used as "non-nullable", so I suspect there are some other synonyms of "possibly ...
0
votes
1answer
65 views
Why can't we say “sign in into”?
When it comes to the sentence Sign in to your account, I understand why it is more proper to say sign in to as opposed to sign into. Sign in is a phrasal verb and to is the preposition.
However, I ...
0
votes
1answer
150 views
Why is linear interpolation called lerp?
In the field of computer graphics, linear interpolation is called 'lerp'. This is very widely used.
I'm curious about why it is called so. I know it is listed in the Jargon file. The file says it is ...
0
votes
1answer
32 views
Generic term for parser/serializer [closed]
Decoding and encoding can be thought of as the same process, but in opposite directions. The generic word for a bidirectional encoder/decoder is “codec”:
a portmanteau of coder-decoder.
Parsing and ...
-1
votes
3answers
155 views
Is there a single word for the “less than symbol” and “greater than symbol”? [closed]
I have to refer to the less than symbol and greater than symbol often when I teach students html and it is pretty cumbersome to say "you need a less than symbol there". Is there a name for ...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
To answer indirect question starting with “Whether” using “Yes” or “No” [closed]
I have a technical document with the following table:
(A comparison table of the functions that are used to search for and replace strings.)
| Whether the search is case-sensitive
-----...
1
vote
2answers
104 views
What do you call two functions that go together (i.e. as opposites), especially in programming
I'm looking for a word to describe the relationship (or perhaps paradigm) wherein two functions go together and are meant to act as opposites to one-another, or to reverse each-other's behaviour - ...
1
vote
1answer
43 views
Word request: make code comment / make comment code in programming [closed]
I am looking for the correct verb for turning code into comment and comment into code in programming.
I have ______ the code, so it is a comment now. No need to delete it!
I have ______ the comment, ...
0
votes
0answers
35 views
EWhat could be the more technical term for code written in one place or one file?
I have come across the term local concession that one person used in the Clojure community to describe the code written in one place. Like step by step in the form of a procedure. His argument was the ...
0
votes
1answer
46 views
I have an English question on this post -> Firebase: Should I add GoogleService-Info.plist to .gitignore?
I was reading this StackOverflow answer but I have an English problem and cannot understand the answer. this is the link Firebase: Should I add GoogleService-Info.plist to .gitignore?
In the answer, ...
0
votes
1answer
65 views
Expression describing code written by inexperienced, lazy and untalented developers
One of my characters is a young graduate student who leaves her adviser. He takes her research code and he gets his other students to use it, not forgetting to say all sorts of mean things about her ...
0
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0answers
37 views
Parentheses instead of dashes: Is it required that the sentence will have the meaning with the “dashed” part omitted?
Else If and Else after jump statements
Each guard must be a separate If with no Else If or Else.
Otherwise—i.e., when a jump statement belongs to “normal” code and not a guard—Else If and Else must ...
0
votes
3answers
110 views
“replaced with an empty string” vs “replaced with the empty string” - which is correct?
I would think that the latter is correct because there can be only one empty string, that is "", or equivalent ''. Yet the former reads somewhat more natural to me.
I came to think about ...
0
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0answers
147 views
of existing or an existing .Which is more correct?
Extending functionalities of existing applications or Extending functionalities of an existing applications .Which is more correct?
0
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0answers
80 views
Syntax for placeholder text
Sometimes we need to write a sentence with a placeholder for a missing bit of information, which the reader needs to fill out when reading the text. This may be a number, or a word, or a sequence of ...
4
votes
3answers
101 views
Is there a word to describe the situation when a system that you created yourself surprises the author?
I just thought that there would be a bunch of errors logged in my system, because it seemed as if two files with the same path and filename were being saved at the same time, conflicting with each ...
0
votes
0answers
38 views
“For X, use Y” vs. “To represent X, use Y”
Is it grammatically correct and idiomatic to use "For X, use Y" in the meaning of "To represent X, use Y"? The target document is a programming style guide.
I like the brevity of ...
0
votes
1answer
46 views
grammatically, rotate + er is it correct?
I try to name something as its usage is rotate+er.
The main usage is doing a rotation on a reliable circle, so I pick rotation as the verb.
My main lang is Indonesian, but I always try to give my best ...
0
votes
4answers
68 views
Different “states” of an event
I'm working on a system that has the concept of events. Events can be in three states:
Active - e.g. a police chase has started, person entered store, car trip started
Resolved - e.g. a police chase ...
0
votes
0answers
33 views
“Listing”, “text” or “code” of program
What is the best way to name the program text before displaying it: "listing", "text" or "code"? I am inclined to believe that the word "listing" is the most official, the word "code" is slang, and ...
1
vote
1answer
46 views
“Shininess” word to indicate shine effect
In the shaders more than once met the word "shininess" to indicate shine of 3D-object, such as glass. Please tell me why this rare word is used? This word is not even in my dictionary. Thanks in ...
1
vote
0answers
83 views
Some words “want” to be plural and some other ones “want” to be singular. Why? [closed]
This question is for people who write documents related to computer programming.
I am currently working on a style guide related to one programming language. There are a lot of examples and ...
0
votes
0answers
26 views
Pass value to function, constructor, shader: “pass”, “give”, “transfer” or other
Which word is better to use to indicate the transfer of a value to a function, the constructor of a class, or to transfer data from an vertex shader to a fragment shader? I tend to the word "pass". ...
0
votes
1answer
166 views
Difference between “operator” and “statement” in programming [closed]
To describe the same language units in computer programs I came across words such as: "operator" and "statement". Also my dictionary gives these words as synonyms.
Question: what is the difference ...
0
votes
4answers
195 views
Is there an English word/term/phrase for when you are working on something while using it at the same time?
For the last couple of years, I've been working every day, all day, on a code library/framework. It's the most advanced software project I've done all my life, and it has required numerous "iterations"...
0
votes
1answer
46 views
Is “specificity” the correct noun for the state or the possibility of being specified?
The motivation of this question is the following: there are entities in a computer program which can either be explicitly specified, or else they can be "inferred", that is, deduced automatically from ...
0
votes
0answers
25 views
How can I say when referring to occurrences of an operator?
I'm documenting a coding guide.
Please help me out regarding how to indicate occurrences of an operator in an expression.
For example:
X = A + B + C + 3
In this situation, can you tell me a proper ...
1
vote
3answers
123 views
Students enrol, professors… what?
When a university student picks a class for a semester, they "enrol"*. When a professor chooses to teach a class for a semester, they... ?
I'm actually looking for a noun to use in parallel with "...
0
votes
1answer
49 views
What’s the normal software-engineering adjective which means that a function tolerates bad input? [closed]
There's a term used in software engineering that I can't recall, but which usually describes a subroutine that tolerates bad input.
For example, let's say there's some method that converts raw string ...
0
votes
1answer
55 views
How do you describe only the name of the directory in computer science?
In computer science, I found the word "directory name" seems to describe path of the directory. (because when you use dirname command in linux you get path)
Then what word(s) do you use to describe ...
-1
votes
2answers
106 views
Is there a single noun for “value available at compile time”?
I'm working on an interpreter for some programming language.
The language uses many concepts, notably the concept of:
"type" or "data type" (see Wikipedia's data type page)
"...
-1
votes
3answers
146 views
Other word for 'scope' (in the programming sense) that is non-ambiguous to non-programmers
The title says it all, really.
For a Philosophy essay, I would like to describe scope, in its programming sense of being:
Nestable: you can have a scope within a scope
Hierarchical: a child scope ...
1
vote
0answers
62 views
What noun should I use when I want “seekability”?
This is programming lingo and apparently not a word in the dictionary and so I would like to be able to solve "this problem" with only dictionary primitives. (If you allow me to speak that away.)
A ...
0
votes
1answer
556 views
“Object oriented” vs. “object orientated” [duplicate]
I've heard both used interchangeably with regards to object-[oriented/orientated] programming. What's SE's opinion on it?
3
votes
4answers
138 views
Do people still use the word “program” as a noun?
Liberal Arts kind of guy who wormed his way into Information Technology here.
Part of my job involves explaining technology to people who have little technical aptitude at all, so I look for ways to ...
1
vote
0answers
52 views
Wording for inheritance, heredity in programming
I have objects which are related in two ways:
Mother-child relation I called inheritance or heredity. It means that everything defined in the mother object gets inherited to the child.
Language ...
2
votes
3answers
645 views
Is “repository” pronounced /rɪˈpɒzɪt(ə)ri/ or \ri-ˈpä-zə-ˌtȯr-ē\ or /rəˈpäzəˌtôrē/?
Is it /rɪˈpɒzɪt(ə)ri/ or \ri-ˈpä-zə-ˌtȯr-ē\?
I'm confused, I've seen it pronounced both ways and I'm not not sure if it's an American/British thing or do people just use different pronunciations ...
1
vote
1answer
133 views
Using the plural form of proprietary for software
I came across this sentence in an article.
There is a balance of proprietary and open sources in the market.
Should it be either of the following instead?
There is a balance of proprietaries and ...
-1
votes
2answers
51 views
Finding a better name for “context” or “variant” for describing a software object concept
Problem:
In a software product, there is the possibility to define sets of parameters
(key, value pairs). The functionality is encapsulated in an object in the
code, to be reused by programmers ...
-4
votes
2answers
121 views
What does the word instruction mean in programming?
A computer program is a set of instructions that tells the computer what to do.
I have checked on the English dictionary the meaning of instruction in programming but I think it is wrong.
Here is ...
0
votes
2answers
59 views
What is the word for assigning or passing into a function in programming? [closed]
I have two cases that I'd like to cover. For example you can either assign to a variable:
var x = 3;
Or you can indirectly assign to a variable with a function (passing function arguments):
my_func(...
