abbreviations

[secretreeve]

i think people shouldnt abbreviate to much, when RPI goes live properlly there'll be lots n lots of new people and things like "RTS" will leave them like "RT-WHAT?!" hehe

not to troll, just a thought

[Phil Spiegel]

especially if 3-letter acronyms are still too short to search on

[simonIOW]

I always enjoy it when acronyms (especially propriotary business ones) clash.  Causes endless headaches in client/customer meetings!

<EDIT> SP

[Ravenous]

R-Pi would be my preference. (doesn't seem to work in the search though)

Also see http://www.raspberrypi.org/for.....spberry-pi

[Ravenous]

Though "Raspi" does work on the search...

[hippy]

Note though the new trademark guidance and clarification of Rasberry Pi as an adjective not a noun. We aren't getting a "Raspberry Pi" but a "Rasberry Pi computer", and any abbreviation should perhaps reflect that.

I guess I'll have to stop using my favoured R-Pi ... RPiC ?

[Phil Spiegel]

Isn' 'RPic' a toilet cleanser?

I thought the emphasis was on THE Raspberry Pi

And Rapsberry Pi(e) is something eaten by humans - but both can be a source of great joy?....

(whoops getting too close to Counsellor Troy and her empathy ...

THE Raspberry Pi we'll be getting won't have any radiating emotions she could detect.

[mole125]

How about we just declare that RPi stands for Raspberry Pi installation? Get Liz to put it in the wiki so that it is official

[SN]

mole125 said:


How about we just declare that RPi stands for Raspberry Pi installation? Get Liz to put it in the wiki so that it is official


stop trying to defeat my attempts to get 'raspi' as the agreed abbreviation...

[piglet]

I like raspi

<homer>Mmmmm Raspi....</homer>

[abishur]

If it helps any, you can do three character search string by either placing an * on the back of the search string (I.E. USB* or RPI* or CPU*)  or you can use the custom google search that searches on the R-Pi site located at the top right hand corner of the home page.

[SN]

piglet said:


I like raspi

<homer>Mmmmm Raspi....</homer>


Have you tried clicking the ? at the end of my signature.... :whistle:

[bob_binz]

SN said:


piglet said:


I like raspi

<homer>Mmmmm Raspi....</homer>


Have you tried clicking the ? at the end of my signature.... :whistle:



They should update this to suit RPi too

[Jim Manley]

Yeah, all those TLAs can get confusing (TLA is a long-standing military acronym for ... wait for it ... "Three Letter Acronym"! ).

[meltwater]

Abishur said:


If it helps any, you can do three character search string by either placing an * on the back of the search string (I.E. USB* or RPI* or CPU*)  or you can use the custom google search that searches on the R-Pi site located at the top right hand corner of the home page.


Just a quick point…why on earth would you need to search for "raspberry pi / RPi" on the raspberry pi forum???

RPi has tended to be the shortening we"ve settled on in the wiki.

bob_binz your link is not suitable for a kid friendly forum.  (until the last 2 sec, it was good)

[Burngate]

Jim Manley said:


Yeah, all those TLAs can get confusing (TLA is a long-standing military acronym for ... wait for it ... "Three Letter Acronym"! ).



An acronym has to be a pronouncable word. So TLA isn't a TLA

[SN]

Respectfully, the last post is rubbish. A TLA does not need to be a pronounce word because the A stands for Abbreviation

[johnbeetem]

Burngate said:

An acronym has to be a pronounceable word. So TLA isn't a TLA.
According to definition (3) at Wiktionary, an acronym doesn't have to be pronounceable, though this is subject to dispute.  Besides, English only has a casual relationship between spelling and pronunciation -- e.g., "Keswick", "Cholmondeley", "Beetham", and "Raymond Luxury Yacht" -- so it's always possible to assign a pronunciation.  My favorite is "bippi-doo" for BPDU.

[Joe Schmoe]

Keep in mind that dictionaries are "descriptive", not "proscriptive".  That is, as some of those with an obscure academic bent often say "They are not normative".  Or, in the language of the C standards documents, they "codify existing practice".

I.e., even though the "word" "ain't" is in most dictionaries, I think we can all agree that it ain't (sic) a word.

So, to get this back on-topic, just because you can quote a dictionary that says that non-pronouceables can still be called acronyms, doesn't convince those of us, like me, who don't agree.

[Jim Manley]

The "acronyms have to be pronounceable" tribelet is in a tiny misinformed minority, since the following 1,216 TLAs are in use, some since before any of us were born, and many are completely unpronounceable. How do _you_ pronounce "RPMs"?, BTW, or, for that matter, "BTW"? It may predate you, but, before WWW (gee, how does that one sound?) forums, us geezers and codgers communicated vis BBSes. I"ve been to the DMZ between north and South Korea (they never capitalize "north" in the South as it"s considered a temporarily renegade province of Korea). I don"t know how it sounds in 7.1, but, DVD is an unpronounceable TLA in any number of channels. An accepted mathematical principle is that only one counterexample needs to be found in order to disprove a theorem, and there are hundreds of counterexamples below.

http://dictionary.reference.co.....rowse/TLAs

AAC, AAL, AAP, ABC, ABI, ABM, ABP, ABR, ACA, ACE, ACF, ACK, ACL, ACM, ACP, ACT, ADC, ADL, ADM, ADO, ADR, ADS, ADT, AED, AEP, AES, AFJ, AFK, AFP, AFS, AGL, AGP, AIA, AID, AIR, AIT, AIX, AKC, AKL, ALC, ALF, ALM, ALP, ALU, AMD, AMI, AML, AMO, AMP, AMS, AND, ANI, ANL, ANR, ANS, ANU, AOL, AOP, AOS, APA, APC, APE, API, APL, APM, APT, AQL, ARC, ARL, ARM, ARP, ARQ, ART, ASA, ASE, ASF, ASK, ASL, ASM, ASN, ASP, ASR, AST, ATA, ATK, ATM, ATS, ATX, AUI, AUP, AVI, AVS, AWE, AWG, AWT, AYT, BAD, BAL, BAP, BBC, BBL, BBS, BCC, BCD, BCL, BCS, BDC, BDL, BEA, BEG, BEL, BER, BFI, BGA, BGP, BIP, BLT, BMF, BMP, BNC, BNF, BOF, BOS, BPI, BPR, BPS, BQS, BRB, BRH, BRI, BRS, BSA, BSD, BSI, BSL, BSS, BST, BTB, BTS, BTW, BWQ, CAD, CAE, CAF, CAI, CAL, CAM, CAN, CAP, CAS, CAT, CAV, CBD, CBN, CBR, CBT, CBV, CCD, CCL, CCP, CCR, CCS, CDA, CDC, CDE, CDF, CDL, CDM, CDS, CEN, CER, CFD, CFP, CGA, CGI, CGM, CHI, CID, CIF, CIL, CIM, CIR, CIS, CIX, CJK, CLI, CLM, CLP, CLR, CLU, CLV, CLX, CMA, CMC, CML, CMM, CMP, CMS, CMU, CMZ, CNC, CNI, CNN, COM, COS, CPE, CPI, CPL, CPM, CPS, CPU, CRC, CRL, CRM, CRT, CSG, CSL, CSM, CSO, CSP, CSR, CSS, CSU, CSV, CTC, CTI, CTL, CTS, CTY, CUA, CUL, CUT, CVS, CWI, DAA, DAC, DAG, DAS, DAT, DAU, DBA, DBC, DBH, DCA, DCC, DCE, DCG, DCI, DCL, DCP, DCS, DCT, DDB, DDE, DDL, DDM, DDN, DDO, DDP, DDS, DDT, DEA, DEC, DED, DEK, DER, DES, DEX, DFA, DFC, DFD, DFS, DFT, DGL, DIB, DID, DIL, DIM, DIN, DIP, DLC, DLE, DLG, DLL, DLM, DLP, DLT, DMA, DME, DMI, DML, DMM, DMZ, DNF, DNS, DOA, DOE, DOF, DOL, DOM, DOS, DPB, DPL, DPN, DPP, DPS, DRM, DSA, DSE, DSI, DSL, DSM, DSN, DSP, DSR, DSS, DST, DSU, DSW, DTD, DTE, DTP, DTR, DTS, DUA, DVD, DVI, DXF, EAF, EAG, EAI, ECC, ECL, ECM, ECP, EDA, EDF, EDI, EDL, EDM, EDP, EDS, EER, EFF, EFL, EFT, EGA, EGP, EIA, EJB, ELF, ELI, ELP, EMA, EMC, EML, EMM, EMS, EMX, ENQ, ENS, EOF, EOL, EOT, EOU, EPL, EPP, EPS, ERA, ERC, ERD, ERP, ESA, ESC, ESD, ESF, ESI, ESL, ESP, ESR, ETB, ETC, ETM, ETX, EVE, EXE, FAC, FAD, FAP, FAQ, FAT, FCB, FCP, FCS, FDC, FDT, FEA, FEC, FEL, FFP, FFT, FGL, FHS, FIR, FIX, FMQ, FMS, FMV, FNC, FOD, FPA, FPM, FPU, FQL, FRL, FSB, FSF, FSK, FSL, FSM, FSP, FTP, FTX, FUD, FYA, FYI, GAL, GAN, GAP, GAT, GCC, GCL, GCR, GCT, GDB, GDI, GEA, GEI, GEM, GFR, GHC, GIF, GIN, GIP, GIS, GKS, GLB, GLS, GLU, GMD, GMT, GNN, GNU, GOL, GOM, GPF, GPL, GPM, GPS, GPV, GPX, GRE, GRG, GSI, GSL, GSM, GSS, GTL, GUI, GVL, GWM, HAL, HCF, HCI, HCS, HDA, HDC, HDD, HDF, HDL, HDM, HEP, HFC, HID, HLL, HMA, HMP, HOL, HPF, HPL, HPR, HSB, HSC, HSM, HSV, HTH, HVD, IAB, IAD, IAL, IAM, IAP, IAR, IAS, IAW, IBM, ICE, ICI, ICL, ICQ, ICT, ICW, IDD, IDE, IDF, IDL, IEC, IEF, IEN, IFC, IFF, IFP, IFS, IFX, IGC, IGL, IGP, IGS, IGU, IHS, IHV, IIL, IIR, IIS, IIT, ILF, IMD, IML, IMO, IMP, IMR, IMS, IOI, IOS, IOW, IPA, IPC, IPE, IPL, IPS, IPT, IPX, IQL, IRC, IRL, IRM, IRQ, ISA, ISE, ISF, ISL, ISO, ISP, IST, ISV, ITP, ITS, ITU, IVR, IVY, IXC, IXO, JAD, JAZ, JCL, JDK, JES, JIT, JMS, JNI, JPL, JRE, JRL, JRN, JSA, JSP, JTB, JTC, JTS, JVM, KAP, KBS, KCL, KEE, KFX, KIS, KLB, KMS, KNI, KRC, KRL, KRS, KSL, KSR, KTH, LAN, LAP, LAT, LAU, LAX, LBA, LBE, LBL, LBX, LCC, LCD, LCF, LCL, LCP, LCS, LDB, LDL, LDP, LDT, LEC, LED, LEO, LER, LGN, LIF, LIS, LLC, LLP, LML, LNF, LOC, LOL, LOM, LOP, LPC, LPF, LPG, LPI, LPL, LPS, LPT, LRC, LRU, LSA, LSB, LSE, LSL, LSP, LSR, LTL, LTR, LUG, LUN, LVD, LWP, MAC, MAD, MAL, MAN, MAO, MAP, MAS, MAU, MBS, MCA, MCC, MCI, MCL, MCP, MCS, MDF, MDI, MDL, MFC, MFE, MFM, MHS, MIB, MIF, MIG, MII, MIS, MIT, MIX, MJS, MLL, MMI, MML, MMU, MMX, MNP, MOO, MOS, MPC, MPG, MPI, MPL, MPP, MPV, MPX, MQG, MRI, MRP, MRS, MSB, MSM, MSN, MSS, MSX, MTA, MTS, MTU, MUA, MUD, MUP, MVC, MVS, MXI, NAG, NAK, NAS, NAT, NAU, NBS, NBT, NCD, NCP, NCS, NDL, NDS, NEC, NFA, NFS, NFT, NGL, NIC, NIH, NII, NIL, NIS, NLM, NLP, NLS, NLX, NMI, NMU, NNI, NOC, NOL, NOR, NOS, NOT, NPC, NPL, NQS, NRZ, NSE, NSF, NSI, NSS, NTP, NTU, NVS, OAP, OBE, OBJ, OCL, OCP, OCR, OCS, OCX, ODA, ODC, ODI, ODP, ODT, OEM, OIC, OID, OIL, OLC, OLE, OMA, OMF, OMG, OMR, OMS, OMT, ONC, OOA, OOD, OOF, OOP, OPC, OPS, ORB, ORM, OSA, OSD, OSE, OSF, OSI, OSP, OTI, OTP, OTT, OWL, PAD, PAL, PAM, PAP, PAT, PAW, PBD, PBM, PBX, PCA, PCB, PCF, PCI, PCL, PCM, PCN, PCS, PCU, PDA, PDC, PDF, PDH, PDL, PDM, PDP, PDS, PDU, PEM, PER, PEX, PFE, PFL, PFP, PGA, PGP, PIC, PID, PIE, PIL, PIM, PIN, PIP, PIT, PKE, PKI, PLC, PLD, PLL, PMC, PML, PNG, PNP, POC, POE, POM, POP, POS, PPC, PPD, PPL, PPM, PPN, PPP, PQS, PRA, PRI, PRL, PSA, PSD, PSF, PSI, PSK, PSL, PSN, PSO, PTF, PTI, PTN, PTT, PUB, PVC, PVM, QAM, QBE, QCA, QIC, QMW, QNX, QPE, RAD, RAL, RAM, RAS, RCC, RCL, RCS, RDF, RDI, RDL, RDS, REC, REM, REP, REX, RFC, RFE, RFI, RFP, RFT, RGB, RIP, RJE, RKM, RLE, RLF, RLL, RMI, RMS, RNF, ROM, RPC, RPG, RPI, RPL, RPM, RPN, RPT, RRL, RRS, RSA, RSI, RSL, RSN, RSS, RTF, RTI, RTL, RTM, RTP, RTS, RTT, RWP, SAA, SAC, SAD, SAL, SAM, SAN, SAP, SAR, SAS, SBD, SBM, SBR, SCA, SCC, SCI, SCL, SCM, SCO, SDE, SDF, SDH, SDI, SDK, SDL, SDM, SDP, SDS, SEA, SEC, SED, SEE, SEI, SEL, SEM, SEP, SET, SEX, SFA, SFL, SGI, SHA, SIA, SIG, SIL, SIP, SIR, SKU, SMB, SMG, SMI, SML, SMM, SMP, SMS, SMT, SNA, SNI, SNR, SOH, SOJ, SOL, SOM, SOS, SPC, SPD, SPE, SPG, SPI, SPL, SPM, SPS, SPX, SQE, SQL, SQR, SRI, SRL, SRP, SSA, SSE, SSI, SSL, SSR, STB, STD, STP, STX, SUB, SVC, SVG, SVS, SYN, TAA, TAB, TAC

[Phil Spiegel]

But these are simply examples of Three-Letter-Abbreviations or 3-lnitial-Letter Sets and doesn't make them Acronyms

To be an Acronym they must form a 'WORD' - which others have interpreted as needing to be pronouncable - but that might be affected by dialect, or Atlantic Divide etc.

A word formed from the initial letters of a name, such as WAC

Acronyms doe not have to be resticted to 3 letters, of course

[Joe Schmoe]

Those are abbreviations, not acronyms.

As Mark Twain tells the story:

Q: If you call a tail a leg, how many legs does a dog have?

A: Four.  Calling a tail a leg does not make it a leg.

[Jim Manley]

Speaking of an alphabet soup of acronyms and other jargon, given the educational terms the UK folks here bandy about as if they were part of the global lexicon, I still can"t figure out if my U.S. accredited MS in computer science qualifies me to have passed the GCSE, much less the A Level ... ah, yes, two peoples separated by a common language

[Jim Manley]

Joe Schmoe said:


Those are abbreviations, not acronyms.


Incorrect, Joe. Acronyms, by both definition and use, are formed from the first letters from each word an acronym represents (often clarified as not necessarily being pronounceable words by being capitalized). An abbreviation is simply _any_ shortening of a word (there are no one-letter acronyms that I can think of) or phrase, and there is no single rule for doing so, although dropping some number of trailing letters or syllables is most common. If you say someone is from Western Mass, any New Englander will instantly know that you are abbreviating Massachusetts (the reason for the abbreviation being obvious, especially for those bad at pronunciation, much less spelling ). If I ask for some pud in London, I hope to get some tasty dessert (although I may wind up with a most distasteful, unsavory, and unpleasnt surprise in the U.S.).

It should now be obvious that acronyms are a form of abbreviation, and therefore form a subset, not a separate set, from abbreviations. Acronyms have existed for far longer than any of us has been alive, and a recent belief that they have to be pronounceable doesn"t change the fact that they do not, as evidenced by acronyms such as RPM (revolutions per minute existed long before the Red Hat Package Manager ) which has been in use for nearly two centuries. Such a lack of linguistic precision explains a lot about why software often contains so many semantic, as well as syntactic, bugs.

[Phil Spiegel]

'Simples' - [As simple as Cricket] but that reference to a popular series of Advert on Telly / 'the Box' useing Merecats with Russian names will be lost on you (try searching on  merecat.com)....

Once upon a time, after simple School Certifcates and the like , we had O (ordinary) Levels and A advanced levels taken at about 16 and 18 respectively in Grammar Schools.

(Typically taking 8 O levels and then 2-4 A levels before xx% going to University)

CSE Certificate of Secondary Education was a separate lower qualification taken mainly at Secondary Modern Schools which were the destinations of those who 'failed' the '11+' exam at the end of Primary School. Some may feel this continued to maintain the class distinctions of British or English Society (differing exams applied in Scotland)....

Passing or especially Failing exams was considered not politically correct - along with sports where some might  win or lose .... thus 11+ was replaced in most areas [but not Kent or Enfield or..public schools - which are, of course,  private schools] by simply going to large comprehensive schools and bussing pupils (or now parents drving them to and fro - too afraid to let them walk).

Comprehensive Schools then streamed people within the school. The bottom disruptive pupils were not allowed to be left behind and have special classes. A revised exam system changed from O levels with grades ACE as pass, to GCSE and no fails (to misquote a Mastermind Quiz programme).  NVQs ( a three letter abbreviation - see other thread ) were a more recent alternative 'non academic subject' work orientated qualification ['Caring for horses' being quoted recently by Politicians changing the system yet again].

From A levels you could go on to University for a Degree - or Hons Degree BA/Bsc (/Hons) , or perhaps to a Polytechnic - which offered External-degrees (monitored by a University) or City&Guilds or other, Vocational qualifications - many on day-release or as part of apprenticeships.   But this meant only a minority (who got grants as well) went to Uni ... so Labour renamed Polytechnics as Universities (politicians like redefining language - the latest being marriage)... and then everyone could go to 'University'.. but, strangely enough, more money was needed for grants, so these have become loans to be paid back if you stay in the UK and manage to earn money... thus creating more state-debtors to add to mortgages and credit card debtors..

thus showing that New Labour was really no different to former Education Secretary 'The Milk Snatcher': Thatcher: who thought/thinks that money is the means to all ends, and that what was owned by the people, for the people, should be sold to the people (or better still: overseas companies) so that not all the people got profit from the rest of the people who could no longer afford to use the national services of water, electricity, gas, rail and roads... so that IF the fuel tanker drivers did go on strike, it would make no difference.

Now we have unemployment and imported goods form China - but should we look to the efficiency of the universal shipping container -as the main reason for this... it is now cheaper to ship around the world than across the UK! This has gone OTT OT

Time to occupy time constructively with programming The Raspberry Pi Computer Then the Hi-tech industries which survive in the UK can earn some export money.... to

pay for the Chinese imports