RE: What is the best term to use?

["Lauren" <lt34 -at- csus -dot- edu>]

The application that I'm dealing was poorly designed.  The application
receives a great deal of criticism.  I think that the application could have
been designed a little better, but I am not in a position to change the
design of the application.  It is a web application based in Siebel and
running of an Oracle database.  I think Siebel is responsible for calling
the tabs applets.  However, there are times when the applets really do not
serve any application-like function that an applet would normally serve.  

The nomenclature here may be a little unstable, but as I've said before, if
a tab provides operational functional, then it is probably best referred to
as an applet.  If it merely sets parameters or some other option, then it is
probably a tab.  Since Zen mentioned that the tabs provided functions
(rather than parameters) I followed the idea that the tabs may be a little
more operational rather than supportive as merely places to set parameters.

Lauren
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com 
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On 
> Behalf Of Janice Gelb
> Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 8:19 PM
> To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> Subject: Re: What is the best term to use?
> 
> Lauren wrote:
> >> From: Janice Gelb
> > 
> >> I would definitely advise against calling the discrete
> >> entities "applications" as I think users pretty much
> >> think of an "application" as the whole shebang. And
> >> "applet" has a pretty specific technical meaning too,
> >> I think.
> > 
> > Applet refers to an application within an application.  
> Beyond that, there
> > really isn't a great deal of specifity in the term.
> > 
> [snip]
> > 
> > We need to remain flexible as web technology grows and 
> accept that we will
> > need new terms or new definitions to old terms, but, as technical
> > communicators, we also need to remain ardent in maintaining 
> cogent terms for
> > elements within web applications, or any application.  How 
> do we communicate
> > a thing, any *thing*, if every application developer has a 
> different name
> > for the thing?  I think that in this case, the technical 
> communicator has a
> > bit of duty to determine the term that is used.  
> > 
> 
> I have to agree. Most of the definitions I've found
> for "applet," however, don't seem to be congruent with
> using the term to mean any application within another
> application. See http://www.answers.com/topic/applet
> 
> It certainly means an application running within the
> framework of another application but in the context
> in which Zen asked the question, I don't think that
> the term "applet" is appropriate. You might be using
> it in your interface but I still think that technically
> it's not what Zen described. Even the most general
> definition says "An applet usually performs a very narrow
> function that has no independent use." That doesn't seem
> to me to fit a term to be used for several different
> collections of grouped options.
> 
> -- Janice
> 
> ***********************************************************
> Janice Gelb          | The only connection Sun has with
> janice -dot- gelb -at- sun -dot- com  | this message is the return address
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- Janice
> 
> 
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