Re: select and select

> > I think "lookup" could be a valid word -- a noun, not a verb.
> > As in: "The first lookup of a key is cached, so the second
> > is faster."

Yes, paraphrasing what you say further down, the concept of a "lookup" has 
become accepted by most computer programmers.  That's kind of sad, but I can 
live with it, because, as you say, English is a living language ... even that 
strange variant called "American English" :-) ... and there was no simple 
word one could use.

However, in this particular case, it's being used as a verb.  In that case, 
the already-existing term "look up" seems to me to make more sense.

> Other examples, `nslookup`, and google refers to:
> http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=lookup&r=67
> which would support this particular usage...

Agreed.  As I say, programmers use it as a noun (which is what each of the 
entries at dicionary.com said). 

> > > My pet peeve in this regard is "login" versus "log in" :-(.
> >
> > Mine is "setup" (as a verb) versus "set up."

Yes!  I'd forgotten that one.  My other favourite is "default", which is used 
by noone else in the world, except in the context "default on a loan" :-).

> > Interesting people don't make this mistake much in a
> > non-computer context. "Sometimes I situp in bed, lookout
> > the window, and lookupat the sky."

Ugh!

> OTOH, words get blended for specific meanings: lookout, pickup
> (truck or stylus or guitar sensor), and recently deafblind in
> Europe, which is still generally deaf-blind in the US, to signify a
> loss of vision AND hearing significant enough to impair
> communication.  Then there's "already"...

Don't get me wrong; I have no problem with the language growing.  I'd just 
prefer to avoid it, where it's unnecessary.

I think I have precedent on my side in the Ruby case, with such things as 
"delete_at".

> The people who compile the Oxford dictionary continually say they
> reflect current usage, they don't tell people how to use language.
> I'm beginning to believe that "correct" only applies to constructed
> languages and dead languages...  "Generally accepted" is another
> matter.

The only problem there is that it won't be long until you see SMS-speak 
appearing everywhere.  I read an article on slashdot (I think) where they 
said many school students use SMS abbreviations like "u" for "you" and "r" 
for "are" !!

1984 and newspeak have come and gone, but I dedfinitely think this is 
double-plus bad!

Now, back to our regularly-scheduled Ruby discussion :-).

Cheers,

Harry O.