But in IT, a "pointer" is a variable whose value is an address, which has implications for how you are able to use it. And there's nothing in the word "pointer" as a common word that would suggest its specific IT use and implications.
Joanna
----- Original Message ----- On Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 2:02 PM, <123hop at comcast.net> wrote:
> So, in IT we have "buffer," "stack," "cache," "heap," "protocol," "pointer," "cookie,"....all with common meanings that are not relevant to IT because for example in IT a "stack" is a data structure you use to process/execute assembly language instructions that represent higher language constructs. It's like a stack of dishes in the sense that you can only take the dish off the top (without breaking all the dishes). But otherwise, it's a very particular meaning that gives programmers a convenient term for communicating about the work they do.
>
> Or, in medicine you have "hematoma," -- blood clot, or all the "itis" words, which mean inflammation of something, and which mostly have the virtue of making doctors look like experts.
Wait, why are you drawing a difference between medicine and IT? Don't IT terms mostly have the virtue of making programmers look like experts?
-- Andy
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