Re: [Usability] Showing vs. Displaying

[Pat Costello <Patrick Costello Sun COM>]

Greg ponders: 

> I was grepping through sources to see how applications remotes are working
> with multi-head (see bug #114219), and I found many translatable strings
> using "display" as a verb. Is this correct? Shouldn't the verb be "show"?
> "Show" is 3 letters and 1 syllable shorter. It is also more familiar having
> a polysemy count of 13 vs. 3 for "display". Is there a meaning disctinction
> dictating the use of either?
> 
> I see the GDP style guide defines "display" as a user action.
> 
http://developer.gnome.org/documents/style-guide/gnome-glossary-user-actions.htm
l
> It does not define "show", but it uses it.
>

Greg, 

Your question about display vs show is valid. I'll discuss this question with my 
documentation colleagues, and see if we need to put in any more information into 
the GDSG. 

As a quick answer: if terms are satisfactorily defined in the American Heritage 
Dictionary in a way that is the same as we use the term in the GNOME Desktop, 
then we do not as a rule define the term in the GDSG. Generally, we only include 
a term in the GDSG if the term is not included in the AHD, or if our usage 
differs from the usage defined in the AHD. 

Pat