Re: more peeves

[mpriestley -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM]

Matt Hicks writes of "instantiates":

>He claims it used when one "creates an instance of
>class of widgets that has been previously defined; you
>instantiate the widget." I say you create the
>widget; he disagrees vehemently. He calls this
>evolution of the language; I call it another
>instance of redundant jargon.

It seems to me he might have a point.  You are reducing "creates an instance
of class" to "creates".  An unwary reader might think you were talking about
creating the _class_ widget, instead of merely creating an _instance_ of it.
The class exists before any instances of it, and _defining_ the class should
not be confused with instantiating it.

Since in this case "create" could be seen as a synonym for both "define"
and "instantiate", it may be preferable to retain the distinction by using
a less ambiguous word.

"Instantiate" is common object-oriented gobbledegook.  If your audience
is experienced OO programmers, stick to a word they're familiar with.
If your audience is newbies, you may still want to use instantiate,
but throw in a footnote or something.  I think it's been in the literature
too long to get rid of now.

C/C++ Tools Programming Guide (for IBM C Set++):
  instantiate: To create or generate a particular instance or object of
               a data type.

Thanks,

Michael Priestley
mpriestley -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com
Disclaimer: speaking on my own behalf, not on behalf of IBM.