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Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading

From Dan Ritter <dsr@randomstring.org>
Newsgroups linux.debian.user
Subject Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading
Date 2018-12-12 12:30 +0100
Message-ID <x4aSe-4Ia-7@gated-at.bofh.it> (permalink)
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Erik Christiansen wrote: 
> On 11.12.18 09:44, Dan Ritter wrote:
> > mick crane wrote: 
> > > On 2018-12-10 20:02, Thomas Schmitt wrote:
> > > > For the purpose of sr_drive_status(), the loop is really inappropriate.
> > > > This function shall obtain the drive status and not wait until the
> > > > status of the medium is decided.
> > > > 
> >  
> > > completely off the topic but I have noticed that people whose first language
> > > might not be english use
> > > "shall" as apposed to "will" or "should". It seems a little bit old
> > > fashioned but maybe it isn't.
> > 
> > The English use it more than Americans do.
> > 
> > "Shall" has a connotation of ordering future action. Americans
> > nearly always prefer "should".
> 
> Here down under, my exposure to "shall" over the last four decades has
> primarily been in communications products specifications, where it meant
> "must" as far as we the system designers and implementers were concerned.
> "Should" would not be an adequate substitute, I think, where failure to
> comply is breach of contract.

Indeed, in legal and technical language, "shall" and "will" are orders
for compliance.  In ordinary speech and writing, though, "You shall take
the recycling bin to the street" vs "You should take the recycling bin
to the street" -- Americans will never say the former. Well, I
would, but ...


-dsr-

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Thread

About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading "Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net> - 2018-12-10 15:00 +0100
  Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> - 2018-12-10 16:00 +0100
    Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading "Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net> - 2018-12-10 18:50 +0100
      Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> - 2018-12-10 20:00 +0100
        Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading "Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net> - 2018-12-10 21:10 +0100
          Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> - 2018-12-11 01:20 +0100
            Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading "Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net> - 2018-12-11 12:40 +0100
              Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> - 2018-12-11 18:00 +0100
                Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading "Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net> - 2018-12-11 18:30 +0100
                Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading Greg Wooledge <wooledg@eeg.ccf.org> - 2018-12-11 18:40 +0100
                Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading Tony van der Hoff <lists@vanderhoff.org> - 2018-12-11 18:50 +0100
                Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading John Hasler <jhasler@newsguy.com> - 2018-12-11 20:50 +0100
                Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading Gene Heskett <gheskett@shentel.net> - 2018-12-11 20:30 +0100
          Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading mick crane <mick.crane@gmail.com> - 2018-12-11 13:40 +0100
            Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading Dan Ritter <dsr@randomstring.org> - 2018-12-11 15:50 +0100
              Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading Erik Christiansen <dvalin@internode.on.net> - 2018-12-12 01:10 +0100
                Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading Dan Ritter <dsr@randomstring.org> - 2018-12-12 12:30 +0100
                Re: About /dev/sr impatience with automatic tray loading David Wright <deblis@lionunicorn.co.uk> - 2018-12-12 21:20 +0100

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