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Chris L wonders <<Has anyone run across any tech documents written by
engineers using "install" as a noun? I checked
Websters but the word is strictly a verb. I'm wondering if in certain tech
circles it is acceptable to bend the rules to use the word as a noun. >>
I've certainly seen it used often enough by techie types that I suspect
we're watching a new usage being born. Similarly, you'll often see them
refer to something as a "build" (as in "toss that old install; I've got a
new build I want you to try"). Whether you should use this term in
documentation depends on your audience: if they're techies (e.g.,
programmers), it might be perfectly acceptable, but for a general audience,
there are almost certainly better choices. Among other things, the odds are
good that these readers want you to focus on something other than the
installation itself: they want to use it!
--Geoff Hart, FERIC, Pointe-Claire, Quebec
geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
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"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that
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