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Subject:Re: Re[8]: Killer Language From:"Wing, Michael J" <mjwing -at- INGR -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 3 Dec 1996 07:56:16 -0600
>> It is NOT "universally accepted". I would hesitate to call the female
>> end of a serial cable, a "socket".
>>
>>Well, *you* might hesitate. But a quick check of the electronics catalogs in
>>our lab shows many electronic supply firms don't share your hesitation. That
>>particular designation has found its way to print so often it's become part
>>of the designator -- "DB25S," where the "S" means socket -- in the catalogs.
>>
>>My unscientific survey turns up pin/socket almost as often as male/female in
>>describing the parts. While you might risk bewildering the non-technical
>>members of your audience by using pin and socket instead of male and female,
>>I don't think you'd even cause an engineer to pause.
Now I'm really confused. When I worked at Raytheon, many of the
connectors had sockets and pins. Furthermore, their mating connectors
(this terminology will probably start a new thread) also had pins and
sockets. I guess these connectors are hermaphrodites ;^).
Mike Wing
_____________________________________________
| Michael Wing
| Principal Technical Writer
| Infrastructure Technical Information Development
| http://www.ingr.com/iss/products/mapping/
| Intergraph Corporation
| Huntsville, Alabama
| (205) 730-7250
| mjwing -at- ingr -dot- com
