Re: Looking for the antonym for enhancement - A SolidWords study.
- From: fcsuper <fcsuper@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 22:12:45 -0800 (PST)
On Nov 20, 6:42 pm, TOP <kelln...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
Perhaps it is time for the users of the newsgroup (newsers) to enhance
their vocabularies a bit. I'll add a few sentences to a few quotes
from dictionaries and thesauri in an effort to augment our
discussions.
Sometimes it is really hard to find the right word. Just what is the
opposite of an enhancement? This is not so easy without using
vulgarity it would seem, because the word enhancement carries with it
a presupposition that the subject is already good and getting better.
Just saying that is not an enhancement is not enough.
=====================
Definition #1
enhance
verb
enhanced, enhancing
1. To improve or increase the value, quality or intensity of
something (especially something already good).
Thesaurus: improve, embellish, better, enrich, expand, augment,
enlarge, lift, raise, magnify, intensify, elevate, augment, boost,
escalate, heighten, amplify;
Antonym: decrease, minimize.
Derivative: enhancement
noun
Etymology: 14c: from French enhauncer, from Latin in in + altus high.
Definition #2
en·hance /ɛnˈhæns, -ˈhɑns/
–verb (used with object), -hanced, -hanc·ing.
1. to raise to a higher degree; intensify; magnify: The candelight
enhanced her beauty.
2. to raise the value or price of: Rarity enhances the worth of old
coins.
[Origin: 1325–75; ME enhauncen < AF enhauncer, appar. for OF enhaucer,
equiv. to en- en-1 + haucer to raise (F hausser) < VL *altiāre (deriv..
of L altus high, with h- < Gmc; see haughty), though -n- is
unexplained]
—Related forms
en·hance·ment, noun
en·hanc·ive, adjective
—Synonyms 2. See elevate.
—Antonyms 1. diminish. 2. reduce.
Definition #3
enhancement (en′hans·mənt)
(computer science) A substantial increase in the capabilities of
hardware or software.
Definition #4
enhancement
1. A change to a product which is intended to make it better in some
way, e.g. new functions, faster, or occasionally more compatible with
other systems. Enhancements to hardware components, especially
integrated circuits often mean they are smaller and less demanding of
resources. Sadly, this is almost never true of software enhancements.
2. Marketroid-speak for a bug fix. This abuse of language is a popular
and time-tested way to turn incompetence into increased revenue. A
hacker being ironic would instead call the fix a feature, or perhaps
save some effort by declaring "That's not a bug, that's a feature!".
[The Jargon File]
(1998-04-04)
Definition #5
enhancement
n. Common marketroid-speak for a bug fix. This abuse of language is a
popular and time-tested way to turn incompetence into increased
revenue. A hacker being ironic would instead call the fix a feature --
or perhaps save some effort by declaring the bug itself to be a
feature.
====================
Now there is perhaps room for other words to be used to describe
changes made to software. How about augment, complement, supplement,
or embellishment? Let's not over use the word enhancement because the
word itself seems to be getting a bad name. How about improvement,
optimized, efficient, or robust?
A short list of words that can go both ways.
Optimized / average
Efficient / inefficient
Robust / frail | fragile | weak
Augment / diminish
Complement / detract
Supplement / diminish
Embellishment (neat word, it is almost it's own opposite)
Improvement / deterioration
And finally going along with that wonderful word enhancement is
feature.
Definition:
feature
n. 1. [common] A good property or behavior (as of a program). Whether
it was intended or not is immaterial. 2. [common] An intended property
or behavior (as of a program). Whether it is good or not is immaterial
(but if bad, it is also a misfeature). 3. A surprising property or
behavior; in particular, one that is purposely inconsistent because it
works better that way -- such an inconsistency is therefore a feature
and not a bug. This kind of feature is sometimes called a miswart; see
that entry for a classic example. 4. A property or behavior that is
gratuitous or unnecessary, though perhaps also impressive or cute. For
example, one feature of Common LISP's `format' function is the ability
to print numbers in two different Roman-numeral formats (see bells
whistles and gongs). 5. A property or behavior that was put in to help
someone else but that happens to be in your way. 6. [common] A bug
that has been documented. To call something a feature sometimes means
the author of the program did not consider the particular case, and
that the program responded in a way that was unexpected but not
strictly incorrect. A standard joke is that a bug can be turned into a
feature simply by documenting it (then theoretically no one can
complain about it because it's in the manual), or even by simply
declaring it to be good. "That's not a bug, that's a feature!" is a
common catchphrase. See also feetch feetch, creeping featurism, wart,
green lightning.
The relationship among bugs, features, misfeatures, warts, and
miswarts might be clarified by the following hypothetical exchange
between two hackers on an airliner:
A: "This seat doesn't recline."
B: "That's not a bug, that's a feature. There is an emergency exit
door built around the window behind you, and the route has to be kept
clear."
A: "Oh. Then it's a misfeature; they should have increased the spacing
between rows here."
B: "Yes. But if they'd increased spacing in only one section it would
have been a wart -- they would've had to make nonstandard-length
ceiling panels to fit over the displaced seats."
A: "A miswart, actually. If they increased spacing throughout they'd
lose several rows and a chunk out of the profit margin. So unequal
spacing would actually be the Right Thing."
B: "Indeed."
`Undocumented feature' is a common, allegedly humorous euphemism for a
bug. There's a related joke that is sometimes referred to as the "one-
question geek test". You say to someone "I saw a Volkswagen Beetle
today with a vanity license plate that read FEATURE". If he/she
laughs, he/she is a geek (see computer geek, sense 2).
Jargon File 4.2.0
Perhaps SolidWorks is just full of Coleoptera.
TOP
TOP,
The word you are looking for is diminution.
Matt Lorono
http://sw.fcsuper.com
.
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