Questions about language and terminology related to computers, programming, and IT.
Questions tagged [computing]
257 questions
6
votes
3 answers
Is there a term for the dot numbering system: 10.2.5?
Is there a general term to refer to what you might call the dot numbering system that computer systems use: Ubuntu 15.10.1 or Mac OSX 10.11.3?
One could call it "build versioning" but wouldn't that also apply to things like "Build 1922"…
RoboKaren
- 302
3
votes
2 answers
What is the difference between Disk and Disc?
I have come across both, but find it difficult to distinguish the difference.
Umar Qureshi
- 41
2
votes
1 answer
"Rotate" vs "Change"
In computer science context, is often implemented as a security protocol that employees change their current passwords for another one. This procedure is sometimes called "rotating password".
My question is, why is this called "rotating" instead of…
Allonsy
- 121
- 1
1
vote
0 answers
Gerund or infinitive in application's progress messages
Our application prints progress messages. Which verb form passes better for them: gerund or infinitive? Please compare:
$ ./my-documentation-app
Copy documents...Done
Index documentation...Done
Open documentation...Done
vs
$…
Pavel Shishpor
- 111
1
vote
2 answers
Why 'Principal' is an 'authenticated user'
Many computer systems, related to authorization and permissions uses word 'principal' as term to describe 'user' or 'member'.
I can't get connotation here. Principal is a 'school boss', or 'body of the credit', etc. Why user (entity to get…
George Shuklin
- 163
1
vote
2 answers
What is the opposite of retired in computing?
In some companies there are some hardware, like PCs, that are out of use (stored in the warehouse), and we say they are "retired".
What is the opposite? How can we name the PCs in use, and what is the verb to refer to the action to make some PC…
toscanelli
- 111
1
vote
1 answer
What does spawn mean in this sentence?
When referring to Linux or Unix, init is a program loaded by the
kernel that spawns all other processes and typically uses PID 1.
What does spawn mean in this sentence? Thank you.
Sina Amiri
- 23
1
vote
2 answers
"Bit rot" in the context of mobile apps on a mobile platform
Is "bit rot" appropriate as a term to describe how software on a mobile phone appears to degrade in performance as a consequence of receiving updates which are intended for a more powerful hardware platform?
I am torn, since I always understood this…
8bitjunkie
- 227
- 1
- 7
1
vote
3 answers
A word for "Progress Bar" when it's not used to measure progress
What would you call something that looks exactly like a progress bar (ie: When you are installing a program) but that isn't used to measure the progress of a task.
In this case it's used to display the "threat level" of a suspected software, in an…
Juicy
- 317
0
votes
1 answer
Should a symbol with a plural name be considered plural?
Sometimes symbols like variables take a plural name (fx when referring to a container), for example:
languages = ['English', 'French', 'German']
When then referring to the variable in for example documentation, should it be considered singular or…
skyking
- 141
0
votes
3 answers
Computer-related terms that have been adopted in common English
What terms that are encountered primarily in computer science are now used in regular English, whether the original meaning has been strictly preserved or not?
I'm curious about the linguistic influence of information technology in everyday life and…
Dan Dascalescu
- 1,124
0
votes
2 answers
what does " on top of " mean here?
A desktop environment is a graphical user interface on top of the
operating system. GNOME, KDE, Xfce, Fluxbox are some examples of the
desktop environment.
I can not understand the meaning of "on top of" in this sentence. Sorry for poor…
Sina Amiri
- 23
0
votes
1 answer
Word for any Word Processing document
When sorting my files, I use the folder Presentation, Spreadsheet, Drawing and Database, because I use multiple Operating Systems.
But I don't have a word for Apple Pages / Microsoft Office Word / Libre Office Writer.
I don't like Word Processing,…
Tim
- 2,852
-3
votes
2 answers
What is the meaning of location?
I tried going on an English dictionary in google called dictionary.com to find the definition of Location. I really do not understand the definition of the word location. If someone could explain the definition of location in computer memory that…
ALLAN KIZA
- 11