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Subject:Alternative word for "execute" From:Carl Stieren <STIEREN -at- SIMWARE -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 10 Jun 1997 12:07:00 EDT
I'm finally implementing a suggestion of our former technical editor at
Simware.
She encouraged us to find a replacement for the word "execution" that means
the running of a routine or a program.
Her reasons, as I remember them, were:
1. Internationalization: One word should have one meaning, and execution
means the putting to death of a human being by the state as a penalty for
certain crimes (while the death penalty has been abolished by Canada, some
countries still execute people for certain crimes)
2. Clarity: the other meaning of execute actually puts a stop to something
(a life), so using execution to mean "carrying out" or "running" sounds a
bit confusing. (For this reason that I never use the word "sanction", which
has two diametrically opposed meanings).
Now ...what substitute should I use in these contexts? I'm thinking of using
variations on "run". All but a few seem to fit.
OLD NEW
execute run
executed run
execution running
execution time runtime
Now while most of these substitutions work, I'm up against some difficult
sentences in the REXXWARE Programmer's Guide:
" COMPILE: This function compiles a specified file containing REXXWARE
source code and creates a computed version of the file in an executable
format (.NPC). "
What do I do here? Any suggestions?
- Carl Stieren
Writer
Simware, Inc.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
... where you can go cycling on the bikepaths along the canals and parkways
and people get along most of the time ...
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