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Apple: Updates to Coding Terminology

13 points by xfr 6y ago

mike_d 6y ago
Here are the actual (inclusive language) changes from the style guide: Asia Pacific (n., adj.) - Don’t list Japan separately; Asia Pacific includes Japan. Black (adj.) - Capitalize when referring to ethnicity or cultural identity. blacklist/whitelist (n., v.) - Don’t use. Instead, use an alternative that’s appropriate to the context, ... logic board - Not motherboard, mother board, main board, or main circuit board. ... master/slave - Don’t use to describe the relationship between two devices or processes. ... slave - Don’t use to refer to a device or process. See also master/slave. whitelist - Don’t use. See also blacklist/whitelist (n., v.).
- throwaway1997 6y ago
  So "main" is also problematic now? I thought that was the replacement for git's master branch?
  - hunter2_ 6y ago
    If you're referring to the mandate to say "logic board," I believe that is just a stylistic choice, not a cancellation of "main" in the sense you're thinking of.
    - soganess 6y ago
      Hah, I see where you're coming from. If your SOC has CPU, GPU, PCIe routing, and networking all packaged up, then the "main" board isn't doing anything all that main anymore. Unexpected sign of the times.
  - kasperni 6y ago
    The style guide contains other updates then just "non-inclusive language" [1]. I think the original comment mistakenly included logic board (Apple uses the term logic board instead of mother board/main board). [1] https://help.apple.com/applestyleguide/#/apdaf2bc3367 https://help.apple.com/applestyleguide/#/apdaf2bc3367
  - mike_d 6y ago
    I assume they are deprecating "motherboard" as a gendered term, but the replacement of logic board also replaces a bunch of other names for the same thing.
hunter2_ 6y ago
The deprecation of master/slave is something that crossed my mind some 20 years ago when I was setting jumpers on a IDE optical drive. What shall we substitute slave with, though, given that master is now main? Apache httpd has long used "worker"... How about black hat (noun or proper noun) and white hat? They're identically problematic as blacklist/whitelist -- see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-and-white_dualism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-and-white_dualism
- pfranz 6y ago
  I've seen "worker", "main", "parent/child", and "primary/replica" used as a replacement depending on the context.
  - choko 6y ago
    I've heard complains from some in various tech industries that parent/child is non-inclusive. I'm not saying I think it should be changed, but doesn't the logic of the people advocating these changes demand that all terms be as inclusive as possible?
    - hunter2_ 6y ago
      For that matter, "worker" implies something along the lines of "working class" or "unskilled laborer" which isn't all that friendly of a metaphor either. Kind of tough to think of a way to express "doesn't think for onesself, just takes orders" without being mean.
deleted 6y ago
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13 points by xfr 6y ago

Here are the actual (inclusive language) changes from the style guide: Asia Pacific (n., adj.) - Don’t list Japan separately; Asia Pacific includes Japan. Black (adj.) - Capitalize when referring to ethnicity or cultural identity. blacklist/whitelist (n., v.) - Don’t use. Instead, use an alternative that’s appropriate to the context, ... logic board - Not motherboard, mother board, main board, or main circuit board. ... master/slave - Don’t use to describe the relationship between two devices or processes. ... slave - Don’t use to refer to a device or process. See also master/slave. whitelist - Don’t use. See also blacklist/whitelist (n., v.).

throwaway1997 6y ago
So "main" is also problematic now? I thought that was the replacement for git's master branch?
- hunter2_ 6y ago
  If you're referring to the mandate to say "logic board," I believe that is just a stylistic choice, not a cancellation of "main" in the sense you're thinking of.
  - soganess 6y ago
    Hah, I see where you're coming from. If your SOC has CPU, GPU, PCIe routing, and networking all packaged up, then the "main" board isn't doing anything all that main anymore. Unexpected sign of the times.
- kasperni 6y ago
  The style guide contains other updates then just "non-inclusive language" [1]. I think the original comment mistakenly included logic board (Apple uses the term logic board instead of mother board/main board). [1] https://help.apple.com/applestyleguide/#/apdaf2bc3367 https://help.apple.com/applestyleguide/#/apdaf2bc3367
- mike_d 6y ago
  I assume they are deprecating "motherboard" as a gendered term, but the replacement of logic board also replaces a bunch of other names for the same thing.

hunter2_ 6y ago

The deprecation of master/slave is something that crossed my mind some 20 years ago when I was setting jumpers on a IDE optical drive. What shall we substitute slave with, though, given that master is now main? Apache httpd has long used "worker"... How about black hat (noun or proper noun) and white hat? They're identically problematic as blacklist/whitelist -- see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-and-white_dualism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-and-white_dualism

pfranz 6y ago
I've seen "worker", "main", "parent/child", and "primary/replica" used as a replacement depending on the context.
- choko 6y ago
  I've heard complains from some in various tech industries that parent/child is non-inclusive. I'm not saying I think it should be changed, but doesn't the logic of the people advocating these changes demand that all terms be as inclusive as possible?
  - hunter2_ 6y ago
    For that matter, "worker" implies something along the lines of "working class" or "unskilled laborer" which isn't all that friendly of a metaphor either. Kind of tough to think of a way to express "doesn't think for onesself, just takes orders" without being mean.

deleted 6y ago

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