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

Hi Elizabeth,

I know that for some the number of returns in Google is of little value b=
ut I'd say a return of 473,000 for "non-null" would make it a valid lexic=
al term. In any case, I'm sure I've seen the term many times myself and a=
nd as you say it seems silly to write a lot of words when a nice simple o=
ne communicates exactly what you want to say.

Regards,
Petra Liverani
Technical Communicator
Ph: 8396 1617
Petra_Liverani@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx



-----Original Message-----
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, 24 November 2004 09:31 AM
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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=20                Driven by values



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