[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]
List: webkit-dev
Subject: [webkit-dev] Terminology: Could we change 'roll out' to 'roll back'?
From: "Kirsling, Ross" <Ross.Kirsling () sony ! com>
Date: 2020-03-07 2:14:51
Message-ID: 2B5B5FD9-4E6F-4F37-A109-1DABB0DB87B7 () sony ! com
[Download RAW message or body]
[Attachment #2 (text/plain)]
Greetings WebKittens,
Late on Friday seems like a good time for a terminological debate (😂), so I'd like \
to propose we revisit one of the strangest items of WebKit-specific terminology: the \
phrase ‘roll out'.
In our industry, the typical meaning of the phrase ‘roll out' is, of course, \
‘deploy' or ‘launch'; this corresponds with the colloquial usage of ‘roll out' \
to mean ‘depart (for a destination)'. In WebKit, we use ‘roll out' to mean the \
exact opposite, ‘revert' or ‘roll back'.
In terms of metaphors: The typical meaning of ‘roll out' is synonymous with ‘roll \
forward', hence the opposite being ‘roll back'. The way that I came to explain to \
myself and others what WebKit means by ‘roll out' is that it's movement along the \
other axis. There is a tree (SVN trunk) which is built up from disc-shaped slices \
(revisions), and these slices are rolled sideways in and out of the tree. Needless to \
say, this is not obvious to a newcomer, and it's not even accurate to how SVN \
works—rollouts don't remove an old revision, they add a new revision to perform the \
revert!
This term is confusing enough for native English speakers outside our community, let \
alone non-natives (since phrasal verbs are notoriously tricky as it is). Having heard \
complaints about this from people in both of these groups within the last few weeks, \
I hereby propose that we start using ‘roll back' instead. Given the string \
similarity between the two, I hope that this will be a relatively easy change to \
enact, if folks are onboard with it.
Thanks for your consideration!
Ross
[Attachment #3 (text/html)]
<html xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" \
xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" \
xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" \
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"> <head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:PMingLiU;
panose-1:2 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"\@PMingLiU";
panose-1:2 1 6 1 0 1 1 1 1 1;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#954F72;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style>
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Greetings \
WebKittens,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span \
style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span \
style="font-size:11.0pt">Late on Friday seems like a good time for a terminological \
debate (</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Apple Color \
Emoji"">😂</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt">), so I'd like to propose \
we revisit one of the strangest items of WebKit-specific terminology: the phrase \
‘roll out'.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span \
style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span \
style="font-size:11.0pt">In our industry, the typical meaning of the phrase ‘roll \
out' is, of course, ‘deploy' or ‘launch'; this corresponds with the colloquial \
usage of ‘roll out' to mean ‘depart (for a destination)'. In WebKit, we use \
‘roll out' to mean the exact opposite, ‘revert' or ‘roll \
back'.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span \
style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span \
style="font-size:11.0pt">In terms of metaphors: The typical meaning of ‘roll out' \
is synonymous with ‘roll forward', hence the opposite being ‘roll back'. The way \
that I came to explain to myself and others what WebKit means by ‘roll out' is \
that it's movement along the other axis. There is a tree (SVN trunk) which is built \
up from disc-shaped slices (revisions), and these slices are rolled sideways in and \
out of the tree. Needless to say, this is not obvious to a newcomer, and it's not \
even accurate to how SVN works—rollouts don't remove an old revision, they add a \
new revision to perform the revert!<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span \
style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span \
style="font-size:11.0pt">This term is confusing enough for native English speakers \
outside our community, let alone non-natives (since phrasal verbs are notoriously \
tricky as it is). Having heard complaints about this from people in both of these \
groups within the last few weeks, I hereby propose that we start using ‘roll back' \
instead. Given the string similarity between the two, I hope that this will be a \
relatively easy change to enact, if folks are onboard with it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> \
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p \
class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt">Thanks for your consideration! \
<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span \
style="font-size:11.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span \
style="font-size:11.0pt">Ross<o:p></o:p></span></p> </div>
</body>
</html>
_______________________________________________
webkit-dev mailing list
webkit-dev@lists.webkit.org
https://lists.webkit.org/mailman/listinfo/webkit-dev
--===============0825948936==--
[prev in list] [next in list] [prev in thread] [next in thread]
Configure |
About |
News |
Add a list |
Sponsored by KoreLogic