Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Code Project
  1. Home
  2. The Lounge
  3. an excellent specimen

an excellent specimen

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved The Lounge
53 Posts 18 Posters 1 Views 1 Watching
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • M Mircea Neacsu

    I'm not sure Richard was referring to the spelling of the "snippet" or, in general with the spelling/formatting of your message(s). Do you abhor capital letters and find a sadistic pleasure in placing a space before the period? :laugh: Please, do take it with a grain/bag of salt, as a friendly ribbing at a time of joy and relaxation. Cheers,

    Mircea

    B Offline
    B Offline
    BernardIE5317
    wrote on last edited by
    #19

    greetings & kind regards it did not occur to myself the Honorable Mr. MacCutchan was referring to the spelling/formatting of my message . i do not abhor capital letters nor do i find sadistic pleasure in placing a space before the period . it is simply that i find it more pleasing to the eye .

    M K 2 Replies Last reply
    0
    • B BernardIE5317

      greetings & kind regards it did not occur to myself the Honorable Mr. MacCutchan was referring to the spelling/formatting of my message . i do not abhor capital letters nor do i find sadistic pleasure in placing a space before the period . it is simply that i find it more pleasing to the eye .

      M Offline
      M Offline
      Mircea Neacsu
      wrote on last edited by
      #20

      Beauty is in the eye of the beholder đŸ˜€

      Mircea

      B 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • M Mircea Neacsu

        Beauty is in the eye of the beholder đŸ˜€

        Mircea

        B Offline
        B Offline
        BernardIE5317
        wrote on last edited by
        #21

        you are of course correct . it appears I or | or l or i must suffer the known sufferings of others for the sake of this minor pleasure . period .

        1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • K k5054

          My pet peeve: individuals who use lower case letters for first person singular

          "A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants" Chuckles the clown

          B Offline
          B Offline
          BernardIE5317
          wrote on last edited by
          #22

          I or | or l or i am sorry i am causing your kind self this irritation .

          M 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • J jschell

            BernardIE5317 wrote:

            i have finally found what i believe is a superior term

            Not that I see. From google

            Specimen: an example of something such as a product or piece of work, regarded as typical of its class or group

            snippet: a small piece or brief extract.

            The correct usage for the second would be when one presents code which cannot, by itself, successfully compile. And to my mind, as with the definition, implies that is 'small'. Consider the 'specimen' in the following Largest and heaviest animals - Wikipedia[^] "with the largest known specimen being 33.6 m (110.2 ft) long and the largest weighted specimen being 190 tonnes" That is using the word to refer to an entire animal. (Not small.) And it implies the possibility that other specimens might exist which could be larger. Following is a paper related to programming which is using 'specimen' which fits the definition above also but which presumably also provides code that can compile. (Pay wall I believe but synopsis provides information.) A specimen of parallel programming: parallel merge sort implementation: ACM Inroads: Vol 1, No 4[^]

            B Offline
            B Offline
            BernardIE5317
            wrote on last edited by
            #23

            greetings kind regards from Miriam Webster : a : an individual, item, or part considered typical of a group, class, or whole b : a portion or quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study 'b' suits my purpose as stated i find the term utilized upon discussion / study of brief samples / specimens of code intended to be exemplar of more general usage .

            L U 2 Replies Last reply
            0
            • A Amarnath S

              Would "code extract" be acceptable?

              J Offline
              J Offline
              jmaida
              wrote on last edited by
              #24

              extract is a very good term when used as noun. but the terms snippet and sample would be understood equally as well. def: noun something extracted. a passage taken from a book, article, etc.; excerpt; quotation.

              "A little time, a little trouble, your better day" Badfinger

              1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • B BernardIE5317

                greetings & kind regards it did not occur to myself the Honorable Mr. MacCutchan was referring to the spelling/formatting of my message . i do not abhor capital letters nor do i find sadistic pleasure in placing a space before the period . it is simply that i find it more pleasing to the eye .

                K Offline
                K Offline
                koshikaa Screening
                wrote on last edited by
                #25

                Our corner room was airy and pleasing to the eye. "A piece has got to be pleasing to the eye. The Neon is a surprisingly pleasing to the eye.

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • J Jorgen Andersson

                  Hmm, possibly so, but which language would that be?

                  Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello

                  L Offline
                  L Offline
                  Lost User
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #26

                  Well, certainly not what we now know as English.

                  1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • S StarNamer work

                    I've a suspicion that the keenness on pillaging was the other way round during an attempt to paint the entire world map pink. :)

                    L Offline
                    L Offline
                    Lost User
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #27

                    Well most nations/cultures have been doing it from time immemorial. In relative terms the Mongol and Roman empires were as big; only lack of technology stopped them at the borders of Europe/Asia./

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • B BernardIE5317

                      greetings kind regards from Miriam Webster : a : an individual, item, or part considered typical of a group, class, or whole b : a portion or quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study 'b' suits my purpose as stated i find the term utilized upon discussion / study of brief samples / specimens of code intended to be exemplar of more general usage .

                      L Offline
                      L Offline
                      Lost User
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #28

                      BernardIE5317 wrote:

                      from Miriam Webster

                      Well if you will use a foreign dictionary ... :laugh:

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • B BernardIE5317

                        greetings kind regards this is a specimen of a pet peeve i wish to trouble your kind selves with for no logical reason i can think of . i have always been irritated with the use of the term "snippet" upon reference to a brief sample of code . i have finally found what i believe is a superior term for no other reason than it does not irritate me id est "specimen" . perhaps i will be successful in changing the common nomenclature as i believe i may have been some years ago id est late 70s early 80s whilst the term "excellent" entered common usage . well i am stating here and now i believe i and not Keanu Reeves may have been the responsible party . kind regards "Back to regularly scheduled program"

                        C Offline
                        C Offline
                        CodeWomble
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #29

                        I doubt specimen will catch on. It implies something kept behind glass to prevent damage/contamination. When teaching something you do not want to distance your audience from the code in any way. You have already used probably the best word - sample. You could also use example. I doubt any of these words will get common use though. Unfortunately the term snippet has become entrenched in some peoples minds as the correct term for a short piece of code.

                        U 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • D DerekT P

                          Exactly. Imagine going for a job interview and being asked to provide a specimen ... (Maybe it's just a UK thing, but the above phrase almost inevitably implies of wee.)

                          Telegraph marker posts ... nothing to do with IT Phasmid email discussion group ... also nothing to do with IT Beekeeping and honey site ... still nothing to do with IT

                          J Offline
                          J Offline
                          jschell
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #30

                          DerekT-P wrote:

                          Maybe it's just a UK thing

                          And in the US. But some jobs do require that.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • B BernardIE5317

                            I or | or l or i am sorry i am causing your kind self this irritation .

                            M Offline
                            M Offline
                            Member 10652083
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #31

                            Then demonstrate your sorryness by not doing it.

                            B 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • B BernardIE5317

                              greetings kind regards this is a specimen of a pet peeve i wish to trouble your kind selves with for no logical reason i can think of . i have always been irritated with the use of the term "snippet" upon reference to a brief sample of code . i have finally found what i believe is a superior term for no other reason than it does not irritate me id est "specimen" . perhaps i will be successful in changing the common nomenclature as i believe i may have been some years ago id est late 70s early 80s whilst the term "excellent" entered common usage . well i am stating here and now i believe i and not Keanu Reeves may have been the responsible party . kind regards "Back to regularly scheduled program"

                              U Offline
                              U Offline
                              User 13269747
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #32

                              Unfortunately "specimen" already has a meaning in English, and it means "An example of $CATEGORY". The phrase "the following specimen of C++" would literally mean "The following content is an example of C++ programming", while "the following snippet of C++" means "The following content is only a portion of a whole C++ program". You are going to find it difficult to get people to agree to overload an existing well-defined word with a new unrelated meaning. I'm not saying it's impossible to assign new made-up meanings to existing words, I'm just saying that's it's an uphill battle with low likelihood of success, especially in the case of overloading a well-defined and universally understood word. What you propose is no different from proposing that the word 'and' is replaced by the word 'green'. You'll just confuse people when you say "Me green my brother went out green got snacks".

                              B 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • B BernardIE5317

                                greetings kind regards from Miriam Webster : a : an individual, item, or part considered typical of a group, class, or whole b : a portion or quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study 'b' suits my purpose as stated i find the term utilized upon discussion / study of brief samples / specimens of code intended to be exemplar of more general usage .

                                U Offline
                                U Offline
                                User 13269747
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #33

                                Quote:

                                'b' suits my purpose as stated i find the term utilized upon discussion / study of brief samples / specimens of code intended to be exemplar of more general usage

                                Maybe you should have used the example given as a guide - the portion in question is not a unique portion. In order to count as a specimen, using the example given in the section you quote, it must be identical or consistent with the whole from which the specimen was taken.

                                b: a portion or quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study

                                a urine specimen

                                I'm guessing that English isn't your first language from the incorrect phrasing of "exemplar" (which is a noun) and should be "an exemplar of". I can understand, then, why you would consider "specimen" to be related to "snippet".

                                B 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • M Member 10652083

                                  Then demonstrate your sorryness by not doing it.

                                  B Offline
                                  B Offline
                                  BernardIE5317
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #34

                                  I or | or l or i am ashamed to admit to some irritation .

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • P PIEBALDconsult

                                    Or a specimen may simply be something (whole or in part) to be studied, examined, or tested. They have jars for that.

                                    B Offline
                                    B Offline
                                    BernardIE5317
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #35

                                    also microscopes .

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • U User 13269747

                                      Quote:

                                      'b' suits my purpose as stated i find the term utilized upon discussion / study of brief samples / specimens of code intended to be exemplar of more general usage

                                      Maybe you should have used the example given as a guide - the portion in question is not a unique portion. In order to count as a specimen, using the example given in the section you quote, it must be identical or consistent with the whole from which the specimen was taken.

                                      b: a portion or quantity of material for use in testing, examination, or study

                                      a urine specimen

                                      I'm guessing that English isn't your first language from the incorrect phrasing of "exemplar" (which is a noun) and should be "an exemplar of". I can understand, then, why you would consider "specimen" to be related to "snippet".

                                      B Offline
                                      B Offline
                                      BernardIE5317
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #36

                                      thank you for the correction to my incorrect usage . one such error and you deduced i am from Mars . perhaps my green complexion gave it away .

                                      U 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • U User 13269747

                                        Unfortunately "specimen" already has a meaning in English, and it means "An example of $CATEGORY". The phrase "the following specimen of C++" would literally mean "The following content is an example of C++ programming", while "the following snippet of C++" means "The following content is only a portion of a whole C++ program". You are going to find it difficult to get people to agree to overload an existing well-defined word with a new unrelated meaning. I'm not saying it's impossible to assign new made-up meanings to existing words, I'm just saying that's it's an uphill battle with low likelihood of success, especially in the case of overloading a well-defined and universally understood word. What you propose is no different from proposing that the word 'and' is replaced by the word 'green'. You'll just confuse people when you say "Me green my brother went out green got snacks".

                                        B Offline
                                        B Offline
                                        BernardIE5317
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #37

                                        re/ "... a portion of a whole C++ program" in my encounters w/ the term i could find no whole program anywhere in sight .

                                        U 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • B BernardIE5317

                                          thank you for the correction to my incorrect usage . one such error and you deduced i am from Mars . perhaps my green complexion gave it away .

                                          U Offline
                                          U Offline
                                          User 13269747
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #38

                                          Quote:

                                          thank you for the correction to my incorrect usage . one such error and you deduced i am from Mars . perhaps my green complexion gave it away .

                                          Well, on the internet it's not rare to read posts from people who don't have English as a primary language.[1] And it's not like I leapt to conclusions after just

                                          one such error

                                          Look at it from the point of view of a native English speaker: you misunderstood the dictionary definition of "specimen" even with the explanatory example given in the dictionary that you quoted, and you misunderstood the usage of "exemplar". I meant no disrespect by assuming English was not your primary language; I'd expect a similar response if I, in my secondary language, confused two unrelated terms and used a third term incorrectly, all in the space of a single paragraph. [1] I myself am bilingual, and I know that I make trivial errors when speaking in my second language (first is English). I don't automatically jump to accusations that the other party, who's a native speaker in that language, considers me an alien. PS. Have you typed "what is the difference between a snippet and a specimen?" into an English-language LLM? After all, it's a Large Language Model, so something like ChatGPT is going to easily be able to provide the difference in meaning between two extremely common words.

                                          T 1 Reply Last reply
                                          0
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • World
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups