If you think that the word “breadcrumbs” refers exclusively to
those tiny, edible particles scattered a top of your dining table, think again. In
Information Technology (IT), the term refers to hyperlinked text boxes that allow users to
navigate back to previous browsing pages. This is only one term of a hundred
that you might consider memorizing for the new year if you want to stay in the
loop.
اضافة اعلان
Ever since the world started to become a digital place,
circa the late 1980s, the global population has had to adapt and learn a new
language — or at least new terminology. Failure to do so is a choice to stay back
in the digital dark ages.
When it comes to being up-to-date, two groups have an
obvious advantage: The very young —who were virtually born in the “new world” —
and people who work in IT, simply because it is their job to master the
vocabulary. As for the rest, their level of tech-lingo fluency usually varies
from acceptable to disastrous.
However, looking at the bright side, learning a new language
can be fun. Not only are some words amusing, but it is also entertaining to challenge
your friends to see who is “in” and who is “out”.
When it comes to being up-to-date, two groups have an obvious advantage: The very young — who were virtually born in the “new world” — and people who work in IT, simply because it is their job to master the vocabulary.
From ‘kerning’ to ‘API’
Here are a few more curated IT terms to store away in your
memory.
A Domain Name System (DNS) is a service for accessing a
computer connected to a network using its name instead of its IP (Internet
Protocol) address. Kerning is a rather old concept; it is the specific spacing
between characters of a given typing font. Responsive web design is the concept
that ensures websites can perform well on various digital devices — such as
smartphones, computers, and tablets — at the same time.
Metadata refers to ancillary data bits that pertain to a
digital file (typically a photo or a sound file) that are not mentioned in the displayed
filename and that provide useful, additional information such as the author’s
name, the date taken, the resolution, the location, etc. Padding, orphan,
widow, master/slave, UX, and API, also belong to the vocabulary, to name a few
other terms.
A couple of gems that are mainly used in the internet world: digital
doppelganger referring to the name of an online persona, and my
personal favorite, POTATO: person over thirty acting twenty-one.
A timely initiative?
In the same vein, a new project was launched about eight
months ago at Stanford University that aims to “purify” the language in IT. The
project is called EHLI, which stands for Elimination of Harmful Language
Initiative, and its idea stems from the concept of“ politically correct” language.
Terms in IT can be strange, funny, sophisticated, and mysterious — but they should
never be offensive. Categories covered by EHLI include ageism; culturally
appropriative, gender-based, imprecise language; and institutionalized racism,
among others.
Terms in IT can be strange, funny, sophisticated, and mysterious — but they should never be offensive.
For example, one expression that the project team has
scrutinized is “walk-in office hours”. What if you are in a wheelchair and do
not walk into your workplace, but roll or drive into it?
The EHLI project is “geared toward helping individuals
recognize and address potentially harmful language they may be using”. Some may
think that the project takes the concept to extremes that are unjustified or exaggerated,
whereas others would find that the initiative makes sense and is timely.
Regardless of what you may think, the fast-paced, evolving sphere
of IT jargon is a challenge in itself. To cope with it, to stay up to date, or simply
to remain politically correct requires time, effort, and most of all nerves. A
little dose of humor can certainly help, too.
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