"test if" vs. "determine whether" - for API function descriptions ?

Subject: "test if" vs. "determine whether" - for API function descriptions ?
From: "Monique Semp" <monique -dot- semp -at- earthlink -dot- net>
To: "TechWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 2016 11:37:50 -0800

Hello, WR-L-ers,

For an API Reference, Iâve got lots (and lots) of descriptions for functions that return TRUE or FALSE depending on whether a given condition/state/whatever is true or false.

And Iâm wondering which (brief, as in the @brief command in Doxygen) descriptionâs start text might be âbetterâ, âmore quickly grokedâ, âeasier for ESL readers to understandâ:

* Test if <condition, such as âthe object is the first in the listâ>.
* Determine whether <condition, such as âthe object is the first in the listâ>.

Thereâs no consistency in the function names (and I am not about to try to get the code refactored). Names might begin or include âisConditionâ, âConditionâ, âcheckIfConditionâ, and so on; or they might not.

Looking forward to opinions!
-Monique
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