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I've seen both spellings. The meaning I intend is, "an action which is capable of being tried again."

Example usage: "A database operation is retriable/retryable if it is idempotent."

A. Jesse Jiryu Davis
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  • Neither is an entry in the online OED. Can you indicate a sample sentence using the word. – Dan Dec 19 '16 at 17:37
  • I've added a sample sentence. – A. Jesse Jiryu Davis Dec 19 '16 at 17:54
  • "Triable" is present on both oxforddictionaries.com and merriam-webster.com, while "tryable" is evidently not in either. – Doug Warren Dec 19 '16 at 17:58
  • I have always seen and used "retryable" when working with technical documents (in the US). It's a fairly common term in computerdom. But unfortunately Ngram is little help, as the term is rarely used in the more global environment, and there is a lot of "noise" as one manufacturer picks one spelling and another picks the other. – Hot Licks Dec 19 '16 at 18:31
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    And I'll point out that "retryable" is preferable for it's clarity. When one reads "retriable" they're apt to read it as "re-tree-able" and miss the meaning. – Hot Licks Dec 19 '16 at 18:34
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    Only 10K users will be able to see the earlier question Retriable or retryable?, which was closed nearly a year ago for lack of prior research. The top answer there (also deleted, separately) says *Retryable is the more correct spelling, triable in the sense of able to be tested, is rare.* I agree with that. – FumbleFingers Dec 19 '16 at 18:49
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    I'd also just say that I doubt anyone would give *fliable* the time of day, but *flyable* seems perfectly natural to me. Note that atypical *triable* is primarily licensed by the fact that its definition in OED is liable to judicial trial**. – FumbleFingers Dec 19 '16 at 18:52
  • At least for now, the question "Retriable or retryable?" is no longer deleted (although it remains closed), so you (A. Jesse Jiryu Davis) can check to see whether the answers posted there resolve your question. Thanks! – Sven Yargs Dec 19 '16 at 21:58
  • Yep, that question appears to be a pre-existing dupe. – Hot Licks Dec 19 '16 at 23:24
  • 'Retryable' (the better option IMO) as you have used it can be expressed - "If a database operation may be repeated, the client will attempt it again after a network error." – Dan Dec 20 '16 at 01:16
  • Why not idempotent instead? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idempotence – k1eran Dec 20 '16 at 01:49
  • @k1eran - "idempotent" and "retryable" are two entirely different things. – Hot Licks Dec 20 '16 at 03:52
  • @HotLicks Quoting the link I supplied, [...] is a very useful property in many situations, as it means that an operation can be repeated or retried as often as necessary without causing unintended effects. This seems sounds like what is needed here? Current version reads like if a database operation is [retry-able], the client will attempt it again [ie retry] after a network error i.e. It appears tautological. – k1eran Dec 20 '16 at 08:01
  • @k1eran - You do not understand what "retryable" and "idempotent" mean in the computer biz. – Hot Licks Dec 20 '16 at 12:58
  • @HotLicks LOL. I believe I do and I am suggesting to OP that this question may be a case of the XY problem. http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/66377/what-is-the-xy-problem – k1eran Dec 20 '16 at 13:01
  • @k1eran - "Idempotent" means that you can do the same thing a second time and not change the state of the system. "Retryable" means that you can, in the typical case, correct some problem and then issue a failing operation again. You're not doing the same thing. – Hot Licks Dec 20 '16 at 13:07
  • @HotLicks "Idempotent" is indeed as you say ... the normal addendum to that is quoting wikipedia "... This is a very useful property in many situations, as it means that an operation can be repeated or retried as often as necessary without causing unintended effects. With non-idempotent operations, the algorithm may have to keep track of whether the operation was already performed or not." So if there was a network problem (and if the operation is idempotent) then the application can simply retry without worrying if first attempt actually worked or not. [Wikipedia lists various DB examples.] – k1eran Dec 20 '16 at 13:13
  • ... That may or may not be the situation here but I thought worth bringing to OP's attention in case he can make the sentence more specific. – k1eran Dec 20 '16 at 13:13
  • Thanks, I've updated the example sentence. @k1eran's point about the XY Problem is well taken. However, in this case, I'm committed to the term "retriable/ retryable" and it is now time to decide how to spell it. – A. Jesse Jiryu Davis Dec 20 '16 at 16:22
  • Idempotency is a subset of retryable situations. All idempotent situations are retryable, but not all retryable situations are idempotent. Idempotency occurs when a request is successful, and can be (safely) retried. But a more common case is when a request fails and you need to know whether the request is retryable (usually due to something not your fault) or not (due to something that is your fault). – harperska Jun 13 '17 at 19:56

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