atw: Re: Is "non-null" an acceptable term?

In the sense that there has to be a value, 'non-null' is at least
relatively easy to understand, Elizabeth, so why not stick with it?

Jonn

-----Original Message-----
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Elizabeth
Fullerton
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 2004 2:31 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Is "non-null" an acceptable term?

Hi all
Yesterday when we were reviewing a document, we needed to describe
values-which-are-not-null - and I facetiously (so unlike me, I know!)
scribbled down "unnull" (it has a nice symmetry, don't you think?).

When I made the change, I said "non-null values". I think this is an
acceptable term. Unfortunately, "unnull" has hunted me down and bitten
me on the bum, because the others, knowing I was joking with "unnull"
are now confusing the two terms, and think "non-null" is also a joke.
The alternative is the longer "values which are not null".

It's a small thing, but I'd prefer not to write a whole sentence when a
single, unambiguous word will do the same job. What do you lot think? Is
non-null actually a valid choice? (Could I possibly be wrong?) Is there
a better option? Ultimately, for this particular document, it's not
worth wrangling over, and I will use whichever term causes the least
trouble (in terms of coming back interminably for changes). But I'm
interested in your thoughts...

Regards

Elizabeth Fullerton
Business Solutions Architect
Infosys Australia
Tel: +61 3 9911 3529
Fax: +61 3 9911 3407
www.infosys.com
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