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I was lamenting the use of "semaphore" but wikipedia supports them: > Semaphore (lit. 'apparatus for signalling'; from Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma) 'mark, sign, t
by sethammons 4y ago
I was lamenting the use of "semaphore" but wikipedia supports them:
> Semaphore (lit. 'apparatus for signalling'; from Ancient Greek σῆμα (sêma) 'mark, sign, token', and Greek -φόρος (-phóros) 'bearer, carrier')[1] is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore
I was only familiar with:
> [A semaphore] is a variable or abstract data type used to control access to a common resource by multiple threads and avoid critical section problems in a concurrent system.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore_(programming) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore_(programming)
- jxramos 4y agosame here with my initial first take on the name. I was doing a internet search for something recently and realized this spirit of taking an existing word and deliberately overloading it in a different context rather than coining a new term with a distinct phonemes is slowly mucking up our language to disambiguate by keywords alone. It's hard work to invent new words and I get it can slow the adoption or recognition of something if the name hasn't been settled yet and it's tempting to just skip over that whole process by leapfrogging out of the mental wrestling by coopting an existing word and append a new definition to it. Earlier in life I used to lament the lack of uniqueness to words and the existence of synonyms but later began appreciate the overlap because having the ability to talk about something with a variety of phonemes seemed to help create some conceptual distance in a conversation that was otherwise obscured by close sounding words. But this almost lazy reuse of existing words, I'm still not sure how I feel about it now that I'm aware of its costs.
- shakow 4y agoAnd the programming semaphore comes from the semaphore used as train signal to ensure that two trains are not using the same track segment simultaneously.
- surfsvammel 4y agoSemaphores are also used on shooting ranges.
- cassianoleal 4y agoThe Portuguese and Spanish word for it, semáforo, is what traffic lights are called at least in parts of Latin America. I always interpreted the programming meaning as that - traffic lights.
- kzrdude 4y agoMoving arms also predate traffic lights for the same function - see trains https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_semaphore_signal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_semaphore_signal
- gpderetta 4y agoIt is the same in Italian (semaforo).
- alberto_ol 4y agoAnd also in Italy (semaforo) and I think in Romania (semafor)
- Lolaccount 4y agoHow I understand "semaphore" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VFnDxRc_wU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VFnDxRc_wU
- acomjean 4y agoSemaphore flags were for communication between ships. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_semaphore https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_semaphore Or if your Monty python restaging whuthering heights
- TheSpiceIsLife 4y agoStill are, as far as I'm aware. Smoke signals are literally the oldest known semaphore, and fire is recorded to have been used to telegraph signals over 700km per hour in the Byzantine Empire.
- yosito 4y ago> 700km per hour in the Byzantine Empire Interesting that Byzantine light seems to have been slower than modern light.
- DougBTX 4y agoIn particular, Flag Semaphore: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_semaphore https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_semaphore
- julian_t 4y agoYes! Here's a real life example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatley_Heath https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatley_Heath
- beardyw 4y agoI learnt it as a cub scout. Or at least I think I was supposed to. Don't remember getting a badge.
- bluGill 4y agoIt is still in the books as one of the optional activities you can do. If you do it depends on the leaders of the pack. I've seen it in my kids books, but we never did that page.
- perilunar 4y agoKnowing about programming semaphores but not visual semaphores seems quite bizarre to me. A bit like thinking flag or register or stack were only computer terms.
- lta 4y agoI figure it's quite common for non native speaker, no ?
- anthomtb 4y agoI am a native English speaker and never heard the word "semaphore" until taking CS classes in college. I cannot think of a common use for the term, unlike flag (see them all the time), register (do that with cars and schools) or stack (lots of those in my kitchen).
- perilunar 4y ago> register (do that with cars and schools) I would think computer register comes from the noun, not the verb — think cash register, not to register a car.
- anthomtb 4y agoI agree, I was just trying to think of how the word "register" comes up in casual conversation. I cannot think of a way that "semaphore" would come up in non-nerd conversation at all.
- theandrewbailey 4y agoOr the covering of an air vent in a house.
- __MatrixMan__ 4y agoEven as a native speaker, I had been using the programming concept for a few years before I discovered the signaling doohickey.
- rfmoz 4y agoIn this case, the term semaphore is equivalent to optical telegraph. The separation isn't completely clear, but take a semaphore like a basic tool that produces signals with a strong predefined signification, like a red light in a highway traffic light. The optical telegraph have a basic signification on their symbols, like letters or numbers, but a wide range of meanings, like the message transmission. Take a look to the wikipedia information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_telegraph https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_telegraph