Re: [PATCH] Change 'Deltifying objects' to 'Delta compressing objects'

From: Nicolas Pitre <nico@cam.org>
Date: Oct 19, 2007, 02:45 UTC
Message-ID: <alpine.LFD.0.9999.0710182238470.19446@xanadu.home>
In-Reply-To: <20071019021255.GD3290@coredump.intra.peff.net>

On Thu, 18 Oct 2007, Jeff King wrote:

Show 14 quoted lines

> On Thu, Oct 18, 2007 at 08:45:27PM -0400, Shawn O. Pearce wrote:
> 
> > Recently I was referred to the Grammar Police as the git-pack-objects
> > progress message 'Deltifying %u objects' is considered to be not
> > proper English to at least some small but vocal segment of the
> > English speaking population.  Techncially we are applying delta
> > compression to these objects at this stage, so the new term is
> > slightly more acceptable to the Grammar Police but is also just
> > as correct.
> 
> Boo. I _like_ "deltifying". Sure, it's probably not in the dictionary,
> but that's how languages change: saying "delta compressing" all the time
> will get awkward, so people invent a new word using existing rules to
> explain a common phenomenon.

Yet that progress display isn't solely about "delta compressing". It also includes the search for best object match in order to keep the smallest delta possible.

I'd like to add my own boo, but since I'm not a native speaker I won't argue too much.

Nicolas