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Re: "to override"

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  Re: "to override" Eric Sosman <esosman@comcast-dot-net.invalid> - 2013-08-04 14:58 -0400

#24901 — Re: "to override"

On 8/4/2013 1:01 PM, Stefan Ram wrote:
>    Is it true that the meanings of »override« and »overwrite«
>    do overlap somewhat?
>
>    How could the meaning of »override« have developed, since
>    »to ride« actually means something one does with a horse?

     There was a time, long ago, when every student of whatever
topic owned a book called a "dictionary."  (Nowadays -- meh.)

     The dictionary I took to college offers these definitions:

	over-ride vt 1: to ride over or across : TRAMPLE
	2 : to ride (as a horse) too much or too hard
	3 a : to prevail over : DOMINATE b : to set aside : ANNUL
	4 : to extend or pass over; esp : OVERLAP

	over-write vt 1: to write over the surface of
	2 : to write in inflated or pretentious style
	~ vi : to write too much

     This 1965 dictionary's definitions are largely uninfluenced
by the specialized meanings computerdom attached to words it
co-opted.  In computer parlance, "overwrite" usually has its
first definition, with possibly a touch of the intransitive
definition when a write strays beyond the bounds of its supposed
target.  The O-O term "override" can be seen as an adaptation of
either or both of the 3a and 4 definitions, with perhaps a touch
of 1 when a constructor foolishly calls a method overridden in
a subclass.

     (P.S.: My dictionary can be held in one hand; you'll probably
find lots more information in a more complete work.  Last time it
was printed, the Oxford English Dictionary ran to thirteen volumes.
It's available on-line for paying subscribers, or for anyone who'd
prefer not to carry thirteen volumes around ...)

-- 
Eric Sosman
esosman@comcast-dot-net.invalid

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