Execute

[geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA]

 Carl Stieren seeks <<a replacement for the word "execution"
 that means the running of a routine or a program>> because
 <<One word should have one meaning, and execution means the
 putting to death of a human being... <snip> [and] Clarity..
 the other meaning of execute actually puts a stop to
 something.>>

 There are few useful verbs that lack at least one
 well-known alternative meaning, so by a strict application
 of the rule that you were taught, almost any other
 alternative could be misinterpreted by an international
 audience. You proposed "run"... does this mean "to run the
 software off a short pier into deep water, as I'm tempted
 to do with Microsoft products", "create a rip in the
 software (as in pantyhose)", or "go jogging with"?
 Facetious examples, but you get the point. This doesn't
 even include regional dialect differences (e.g., "root for
 the home team" means very different things in America,
 where this is encouraged, and in Australia, where it would
 be illegal if you accepted money for doing it).

 If you're talking about translation rather than
 internationalisation, no competent translator would mistake
 your meaning and choose the wrong word. If you're talking
 about a single English version for all the world to read,
 whatever their native tongue, I'd recommend not doing it.
 In this day and age, there's no excuse for not localizing
 text to ensure you don't run into any dialect problems.
 That's probably more important than trying to find one word
 that is universally applicable. (I'm not dissin <stitch>
 the options of using simplified or controlled English; you
 _do_ still want to control your vocabulary for consistency
 and ease of translation.)

 On the whole, I'd have to say that "execute" and
 "execution" are perfectly useful words, since the context
 of killing people is unlikely to apply to your software.
 (If it does, I don't want to know about it!) The confusion
 is particularly unlikely in one of the contexts you
 mentioned (compiling software), since "executable" is
 standard programming jargon in English. If you still feel
 that you need synonyms, consult a good thesaurus, but the
 words or phrases that come to mind would be start, operate,
 begin using, etc. For your specific problem example,
 "creates a computed version of the file in an executable
 format", you could revise this as "creates a file that is
 ready to run/operate/use/etc."

 --Geoff Hart     @8^{)}     geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
 Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.

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