Re: Killer -Reply

Subject: Re: Killer -Reply
From: Beryl Doane <BDoane -at- ENGPO -dot- MSMAILGW -dot- INTERMEC -dot- COM>
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 1996 10:04:00 PST

>To most audiences, what's the difference between saying "aborts" and
"stops"?

The difference is in the overall state. "Abort" implies that the process
will be halted immediately, without consideration for cleanly stopping at a
"normal" breakpoint.

"Stops" does not imply that the action is immediate and implies a "safe"
stopping point.

You stop your car at the stop sign, not at the point where you first see the
stop sign.
You abort a computer program immediately without saving, backing up, or
waiting to exit an endless loop.

Know your audience. If you feel that the word abort will offend them, then
provide a kinder, gentler explanation in the glossary. Don't change an
accepted industry term just to be polite.

Abort has a specific meaning in Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering and
in Computer Science.

Beryl Doane
Senior Technical Writer
Intermec Corporation
bdoane -at- intermec -dot- com


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