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A process tree is known to almost everyone who uses Unix. A forest is, in my opinion, a good name for a collection of trees. Reflection is the ability of somet
by yan 18y ago
A process tree is known to almost everyone who uses Unix. A forest is, in my opinion, a good name for a collection of trees.
Reflection is the ability of something to introspect. The term "self-reflection" dates back to 1652[1], so why change it? "Type information" is inaccurate because reflection can mean more than just getting information about types, like interfacing with the runtime or getting information about the language implementation.
I don't think concepts should be misnamed at the expense of accuracy.
[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-reflection http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/self-reflection
- palish 18y agoThe term "self-reflection" dates back to 1652, so why change it? I'm saying it shouldn't have been used in the first place. It's an awkward, confusing metaphor. Programs aren't "reflecting", because "self-reflection" is something that only a sentient creature can perform. Programs currently have no concept of "self". I'd say "reflection" is less accurate than "type information", which covers at least 95% of use cases, if not more. I don't think concepts should be misnamed at the expense of accuracy. Neither do I. Also, all else being equal, less metaphors are better.