RE: Replacing "master" and "slave" terminology

["Andrew Warren" <awarren -at- synaptics -dot- com>]

Combs, Richard wrote:

> > Leader     Follower
> > Primary    Secondary
> > Host       Guest
> > Server     Client
> > First      Second
> > Central    Peripheral
> > Major      Minor
> > Principal  Additional
> > Main       Subsidiary
> > Superior   Subordinate
> > Husband    Wife
> 
> Oops, you seem to have reversed the last pair. ;-)

    Mmm... Yeah, you're not the only one to have made that comment.

> That aside, none of these alternatives convey the same meaning or are
> as clear as master-slave. Eschew obfuscation.

    Right, but that only matters if "master/slave" exactly describes
    the relationship.  In Karen's example, I don't think it does.
    I think the important characteristic of Karen's devices is that
    one impersonates the other, not that one controls the other.

    It's easy, I guess, to be lazy and just pick a familiar pair of
    terms that's sorta close to what you really want.  I've seen
    "master/slave" used where the meaning is really server/client,
    "server/client" used all over the place for systems that are
    nothing of the sort, "host/device" where "source/destination"
    would be more accurate, "transmitter/receiver" where "master/slave"
    actually would have been the best name, etc.

    Maybe this is the same sort of situation.

    Of course (as I think has already been said numerous times),
    if "master/slave" is her industry's standard terminology for
    that pair of objects, she'd be doing her readers a disservice
    if she used any other names.

    -Andrew

=== Andrew Warren  - awarren -at- synaptics -dot- com
=== Synaptics, Inc - Santa Clara, CA
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