Re: limit vs. refine

[Yves JEAUROND <jingting -at- rogers -dot- com>]

  Btw, limit and refine are not technical terms, when applied to a search.  :-)
  History shows people were limiting and refining searches on records
in databases long before these were electronic, i.e, centuries, even
 millenia ago. Fortunately, some engineers have a sense of history 
and choose common, plain English terms for common tasks performed
by users. A good, general dictionary is all of the "authority" that one
 needs for such terms.

  Sample

  Refine: to make improvement by introducing subtleties or distinctions (Webster's)
  Limit: a restriction on the size or amount of something (OED)
  The OED and Webster's don't beat around the TECHWR-L :-)
   
  Btw, "limit" can be a technical term--in calculus and in the recording arts
(musicians often use compressors as limiters in a recording studio). And refine,
if one talks about the chemistry of sugar or flour. But for a search? 
   
  Cheers,
   
  YJ
Often a fan of MS-Word, paper dictionaries, and pens, but not always. :-)
Happily reading _Noël Coward: A Life in Quotes, compiled by Barry Day_,
Metro Books, London, 1999
   
  =========
  [Someone asked] Is there a generally accepted usage for "limit" vs. "refine" when talking about a search? [...] Do they mean or imply different functionality, and is this spelled out
 in a style book or other authoritative place?
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