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

We describe the situation in our User manuals (the field must have a =
value that is not zero or a space), but I know our coders use "not null" =
in the technical specifications.

Depends on who you are writing for and what they need to understand by =
"not null".

-----Original Message-----
From: austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:austechwriter-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Barry Dale
Sent: Wednesday, 24 November 2004 12:38 PM
To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: atw: Re: Is "non-null" an acceptable term?


What would be wrong with using "actual values?"

Elizabeth Fullerton wrote:
> 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?).
>=20
> 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".
>=20
> 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...
>=20
> Regards
>=20
> Elizabeth Fullerton
> Business Solutions Architect
> Infosys Australia
> Tel: +61 3 9911 3529
> Fax: +61 3 9911 3407
> www.infosys.com
> Powered by Intellect
>                  Driven by values
>=20
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