NetNews Offline 2/NetNews Offline Volume 2.iso/news/comp/lang/c++-part1/6412

Internet Message Format | 1996-08-05 | 2.7 KB

Path: mash.engr.sgi.com!mash
From: [e-mail] (John R. Mashey)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++,comp.programming,comp.arch
Subject: Re: Why are 32 bit better than 16 bit pgms?
Date: 8 Feb 1996 01:59:56 GMT
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Message-ID: <4fbles$[e-mail]>
References: <4er4m4$[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <4f9e3p$[e-mail]> <hbaker-0702960638530001@10.0.2.15>
NNTP-Posting-Host: mash.engr.sgi.com

In article <hbaker-0702960638530001@10.0.2.15>, [e-mail] (Henry Baker) writes:

|> While this is a good 'short' answer, the real answer will depend upon the
|> context and who is asking the question.  If you are a compiler-writer, you

|> once in a while, some manufacturer takes it upon itself to attempt to
|> redefine the meaning of certain words, and sometimes succeeds.
Yes, sometimes.

|> It is very difficult to legislate English usage.  Even in mathematics, where
|> usage is often remarkably consistent, there is still a range of usage, so
|> you do have to pay attention to the definitions in the early part of a
|> math paper.
Language usage is fuzzy enough without encouraging it to be made worse.
Every discipline has numerous terms that need not be defined at the beginning
of every discussion.  Perhaps the terms do change over time, and sometimes
marketing does change them ... BUT:

Suppose practioners of a discipline usually employ a specific term to
have a specific meaning, and have done so for many years, and know what they
mean when they use it, and add qualifiers when they want to say more.

If someone is a non-practioner of a discipline, and is confused about the use
of term in that discipline, they can:
    (a) Ask a practioner of that discipline what that term means,
    and then understand it when encountering it again, even if its
    usage is non-intuitive or outright weird.
OR
    (b) Broadcast the opinion that the term is meaningless, perhaps to
    thousands of people, as is done on the net. This opinion is likely
    to fall on deaf ears of the practioners ... who know what *they* mean.

Example: what does the verb "to progress" mean?

    ... if a cardiologist tells you: "Your heart disease is progressing,
    and it will progress more unless you eat less Big Macs."


    ... it means: "your heart will get worse" ...

    Now, that is a *weird* use of English ... but no amount of complaining
    by patients is likely to change the way doctors speak.

--
-john mashey    DISCLAIMER: <generic disclaimer, I speak for me only, etc>
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