RE: Use of "Time 1" in programming lingo

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

Jim Morgan wrote:

> In my previous incarnation as a science writer, I always saw the term
> "Time x" and its abbreviation "Tx" applied only to a specific point in
> time. The unit of measurement could vary, but was always a constant
> within the same process--if "T1" was a week in Study Phase A, so was
> "T4."    
> 
> In a database document I am rewriting, the term is used for varying
> periods and units of time within the same list. That is, the time
> required for a command to run is called "T1" and could take
> milliseconds; the time used by the next command in the process is "T2"
> and could take minutes; and so forth.    
> 
> My questions:
> 
> *	Is this a common practice in discussions of programming?
> *	I'm inclined to change the term from "time" to "phase." Your
>     thoughts and suggestions, please?

Jim:

T1, T2, T3, etc., are just names for time periods.  Although the periods
happened to be identical in the documents you remember from your
previous job, there's no requirement for them to be identical in order
to be nameable.

"Phase" has a specific meaning in scientific or mathematical contexts --
it refers to a stage in a repeating, cyclic process rather than just to
an arbitrary period of time -- so if you're writing for people with
science/engineering/math backgrounds, I think it would be confusing to
them.

I'd just use T1, T2, T3, etc., and I'd subscript the numerals.

-Andrew

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