Re: idempotent

[Tim Altom <taltom -at- SIMPLYWRITTEN -dot- COM>]

>From a university website:

[from mathematical techspeak] adj. Acting as if used only once, even if used
multiple times. This term is often used with respect to C header files,
which contain common definitions and declarations to be included by several
source files. If a header file is ever included twice during the same
compilation (perhaps due to nested #include files), compilation errors can
result unless the header file has protected itself against multiple
inclusion; a header file so protected is said to be idempotent. The term can
also be used to describe an initialization subroutine that is arranged to
perform some critical action exactly once, even if the routine is called
several times.

Tim Altom
Simply Written, Inc.
Featuring FrameMaker and the Clustar Method(TM)
"Better communication is a service to mankind."
317.562.9298
http://www.simplywritten.com

----- Original Message -----
From: Sybille Sterk <sybille -at- WOWFABGROOVY -dot- NET>
To: <TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU>
Sent: Thursday, August 19, 1999 4:10 AM
Subject: idempotent

>Dear all,
>
>In one of my manuals which is an update from a previous version I have the
>following sentence:
>
>"Exhaustive skeletonisation will continue to reduce the size of the object
>until the medial axis is found; we can therefore say the skeletonisation is
>an idempotent operation."
>
>This sentence has been written by a product specialist and although the
>word 'idempotent' struck me as odd I didn't query it at the time, thinking
>the product specialist knew what he was talking about. However now one of
>the proof-readers has queried it,too, and I thought I find out if anyone
>knows what it means and if it is used correctly in this context. (I tried
>to look it up in a few dictionaries but couldn't find it, so I am not even
>sure if it is a real word or just made-up.)
>
>Any ideas?

 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=