Terminology: "reference" versus "pointer"
Steven D'Aprano
steve at pearwood.info
Sat Sep 12 13:08:31 EDT 2015
On Sat, 12 Sep 2015 10:46 pm, Rustom Mody wrote:
> On Saturday, September 12, 2015 at 11:57:01 AM UTC+5:30, Ben Finney wrote:
>> You've clearly committed to some ontology that just doesn't match the
>> Python data model.
>
> How about lay-English ontology in which "point to" and "refer to" are
> fairly synonymous?
"Pointer" in English is also a synonym for
- a type of dog;
- an instrument which pierces (as used by engravers, lace workers, etc);
- an item of private information;
- a hint or tip;
- a caution or warning;
- a recommendation;
- the index finger;
- a cricketer fielding at a specific position;
- the hour/minute/second hand on a timepiece;
- a compass needle;
- two specific stars in the constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major);
- diagonal braces fastened across the hold of a ship;
- the small icon whose movement across the screen follows that of the
mouse, trackball or other pointing device;
- a signpost or milepost;
and more. I don't think that arguing on the basis of lay-English or plain
English terms is going to be terribly useful.
--
Steven
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