TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: A usage question From:Randy Allen Harris <raha -at- WATARTS -dot- UWATERLOO -dot- CA> Date:Tue, 4 May 1993 13:20:05 -0400
Usage, of course, rules; language is what people make of it.
But part of usage is tradition and etymology. _Software_ came, I
should think, from _hardware_ by analogy. _Hardware_ is both
an adjective ("hardware store") and a mass noun ("I have to buy some
hardware"). What it isn't (or hasn't been heretofore) is a count
noun ("I bought six pieces of hardware" but not "I bought six
hardwares"). Other -ware words seem to follow the same pattern ("Tupperware
container" and "some Tupperware", but not "six Tupperwares").
