[Ffmpeg-devel] [PATCH] Remove "bufsize" OptionDef option

[Panagiotis Issaris]

Hi,

On ma, 2006-09-18 at 12:05 -0400, Rich Felker wrote:
> > >[...]
> > > But it also involves capitulating to the attempt to change the meaning
> > > of terminology, in the name of decreased imprecision. I'm normally all
> > > for being precise (ambiguity is one of my big bugaboos), but I find
> > > 'kibi' (etc.) to be simply abhorrent.
> > Why? I frankly only disliked it because it sounds stupid (which is a
> > terrible reason imho) and because I had gotten used to using 'k'
> 
> It's not a terrible reason at all. How about we start calling your
> "Mister Kabi"? You probably won't like it especially if you knew what
> kabi sounds like in Hungarian. :) Sounding stupid is a VERY GOOD
> REASON to reject a name. I guarantee if you go in a computer store and
> ask for a machine with 2 "gibibytes" of ram they'll either stare
> blankly at you like you can't talk, or they'll think (correctly) that
> you're a fucking nerd. :)
:-D
True. But as I _am_ a nerd, I wouldn't really care :-)

> > with the _wrong_ meaning, namely 1024. Although it is annoying to
> > change a habit after 15 years, I still think being precise is more
> > important then changing a habit.
> 
> Um isn't it more like 50 years?
:) Not for me, ... as I was (roughly) refering to the time I have been
programming/using computers.

> > > As far as I'm concerned, K/k/kilo as a prefix means 1024 when dealing
> > > with binary data of any type, and 1000 otherwise - period. 
> > Well, frankly, I cannot agree with that. 'k' and kilo are defined by SI
> > and have defined meanings namely 1000, not 1024.
> 
> That's what it means in the SI system of units. Bytes are not an SI
> unit of measure and thus SI is irrelevant to them. Legitimate
> standards bodies and processes formalize existing practice/convention.
> Illegitimate ones tell people that existing practice is wrong and that
> they must change.
I see your point, but I still have a different point of view. 'k'/"kilo"
has been used for a time much longer as being 10^3, then the recent
years were it had gotten popular in the computerworld to use it meaning
1024. 

So, still I think, that chosing a naming and giving it an _almost but
not exactly the same_ value is not a good thing to do.

> > because it was "close enough". They should have tried to find a new
> > set of prefixes, not reuse existing ones with an already defined meaning.
> 
> And I suppose we shouldn't have called the computer keyboard a
> keyboard because only a typewriter keyboard is a keyboard. And we
> shouldn't call a mouse a mouse because a mouse is a little animal. 
In case of the mouse, I do not really see a problem; as they are
_truly_ different things, I think confusion will not be a problem
to really worry about.

In case of the typewriter... that's a bit more annoying. But, as
typrewriters are clearly deprecated ;-) the problem will fade away.

You can't say that about k==1000 :-)

> And
> we shouldn't call the desktop a desktop because the desktop is the top
> of your desk...
In fact, I know a few of people who did find this confusing. 

> 
> The point being....
> 
> > Maybe we should all just accept the annoyance and all start using Ki, Mi
> > and Gi postfixes, for the sake of the future generations! Do it for the kids!
> > ;) How can they live in a world with this horrible ambguity!
> 
> ...human language contains ambiguity because unlike computers, humans
> can deal with it just fine!! In mathematics we have symbols and terms
> with at least 5 or 10 different common meanings depending on context.
> If it weren't for that "ambiguity" we would have either so many
> symbols it would look like Chinese or else so much verbosity it would
> take 10 lines to express a simple concept.
Sure, in human language it is important. A lot of humor would be
impossible without it. But for units, I still think it is wiser to avoid
ambiguity.

With friendly regards,
Takis