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...Say you connect your headphones to your device, Android will surface an action to resume your favorite Spotify playlist... ...but what if we could surface p

...Say you connect your headphones to your device, Android will surface an action to resume your favorite Spotify playlist... ...but what if we could surface part of the app itself... What is it with the repeated usage of 'surface' here, instead of the more obvious and common word 'show'? Is it something to do with Android API naming, or something else?

craftyguy 8y ago
As far as I can tell, it's an Android thing. They even call their display manager thing (I don't know the right term for it) SurfaceFlinger: https://source.android.com/devices/graphics/ https://source.android.com/devices/graphics/
- bitwize 8y ago
  The surface in SurfaceFlinger is in the context of "drawing surface", a term of art in computer graphics to refer to a window, bitmap, or other thing that can be drawn on/blitted to.
- HillaryBriss 8y ago
  it seems they have also reused these two familiar words in a way that could add some confusion to the Android developer's life: * "bundle" (as in "app bundles", a feature that lets Google Play deliver an installer with a stripped down set of resources to the end user's device) * "action" (as in the new feature of the UI known as an "action" which some have alternatively describe as a "visible intent" or a "deep link with parameters." or something)
jonba 8y ago
In the SDK, it looks like they're calling them Slices. https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/slice/Slice https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/slice/Sl...
puzzle 8y ago
It's corporate lingo. More specifically, PM/UX speak. "I'll ping you on gChat the slides on what to surface when users tap on the map. Then we can ideate together." Only a slight exaggeration, based on my observation of specimens in the wild (many years at Google).
- pc2g4d 8y ago
  Right up there with the noun version of "ask".
  - hencq 8y ago
    Or learnings instead of lessons.
nneonneo 8y ago
My interpretation of this is that “Surface” carries the connotation of “bring to the surface”, i.e. it’s some existing object that is being highlighted or displayed more prominently. This is terminology that often gets used with search results (e.g. the headline “Google’s new search mode surfaces results from apps on your Android device”).
richdougherty 8y ago
I've heard it before but never really noticed it. Here's a reference on a page on confusing business jargon (!): https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/alternatives-to-confusing-business-jargon/surface https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/alternatives-t...: "Surface [verb]: To make easily readable or noticeable on a web page or app If you'd rather avoid it: Highlight; showcase; present; display" "It’s easy to see how handy this word is for web developers, page designers, and business strategists, because it efficiently conveys both the goal and the act of making something appear online in a more prominent way. Although its meaning is transparent, it’s still new and specialized vocabulary, and probably will sound odd to most people."
vanadium 8y ago
Corpspeak. Usually on part of Account Managers and sales folks, where every wheel (including the English language itself) must be reinvented in a cycle of no more than 5 years... ...or you're not "moving the needle." I've been in agency for a decade or so, and yeah, this is pretty much how it works. Don't even get into the use of the word "agile" around here.
ucaetano 8y ago
Relevant link: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=surfaced&year_start=1800&year_end=2010&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Csurfaced%3B%2Cc0 https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=surfaced&year_...
adrianmonk 8y ago
I doubt there's an exact definition, but to me "show" can mean that it will bring up an entirely new view (some existing UI element), whereas "surface" means it will be inserted into the context already being discussed. That is, "surface" means the data is brought to you in your current context, whereas "view" means you are taking to a new context that includes the data. In this discussion, they are saying that when you search for "lyft" in on-device google search, it will incorporate Lyft info into the search results, as opposed to giving you an option to launch the Lyft app. So when they say "we will surface this data" they mean we will show it, not that we will allow the normal software to show it like normal.

craftyguy 8y ago

As far as I can tell, it's an Android thing. They even call their display manager thing (I don't know the right term for it) SurfaceFlinger: https://source.android.com/devices/graphics/ https://source.android.com/devices/graphics/

bitwize 8y ago
The surface in SurfaceFlinger is in the context of "drawing surface", a term of art in computer graphics to refer to a window, bitmap, or other thing that can be drawn on/blitted to.
HillaryBriss 8y ago
it seems they have also reused these two familiar words in a way that could add some confusion to the Android developer's life: * "bundle" (as in "app bundles", a feature that lets Google Play deliver an installer with a stripped down set of resources to the end user's device) * "action" (as in the new feature of the UI known as an "action" which some have alternatively describe as a "visible intent" or a "deep link with parameters." or something)

jonba 8y ago

In the SDK, it looks like they're calling them Slices. https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/slice/Slice https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/slice/Sl...

puzzle 8y ago

It's corporate lingo. More specifically, PM/UX speak. "I'll ping you on gChat the slides on what to surface when users tap on the map. Then we can ideate together." Only a slight exaggeration, based on my observation of specimens in the wild (many years at Google).

pc2g4d 8y ago
Right up there with the noun version of "ask".
- hencq 8y ago
  Or learnings instead of lessons.

nneonneo 8y ago

My interpretation of this is that “Surface” carries the connotation of “bring to the surface”, i.e. it’s some existing object that is being highlighted or displayed more prominently. This is terminology that often gets used with search results (e.g. the headline “Google’s new search mode surfaces results from apps on your Android device”).

richdougherty 8y ago

I've heard it before but never really noticed it. Here's a reference on a page on confusing business jargon (!): https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/alternatives-to-confusing-business-jargon/surface https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/alternatives-t...: "Surface [verb]: To make easily readable or noticeable on a web page or app If you'd rather avoid it: Highlight; showcase; present; display" "It’s easy to see how handy this word is for web developers, page designers, and business strategists, because it efficiently conveys both the goal and the act of making something appear online in a more prominent way. Although its meaning is transparent, it’s still new and specialized vocabulary, and probably will sound odd to most people."

vanadium 8y ago

Corpspeak. Usually on part of Account Managers and sales folks, where every wheel (including the English language itself) must be reinvented in a cycle of no more than 5 years... ...or you're not "moving the needle." I've been in agency for a decade or so, and yeah, this is pretty much how it works. Don't even get into the use of the word "agile" around here.

ucaetano 8y ago

Relevant link: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=surfaced&year_start=1800&year_end=2010&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Csurfaced%3B%2Cc0 https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=surfaced&year_...

adrianmonk 8y ago

I doubt there's an exact definition, but to me "show" can mean that it will bring up an entirely new view (some existing UI element), whereas "surface" means it will be inserted into the context already being discussed. That is, "surface" means the data is brought to you in your current context, whereas "view" means you are taking to a new context that includes the data. In this discussion, they are saying that when you search for "lyft" in on-device google search, it will incorporate Lyft info into the search results, as opposed to giving you an option to launch the Lyft app. So when they say "we will surface this data" they mean we will show it, not that we will allow the normal software to show it like normal.