13 KiB
13 KiB
Often Confused Terms
There exist many terms that are highly similar and can legitimately be used interchangeably in various contexts. This isn't wrong, a slight difference may be insignificant in ordinary conversation and so the list here may also serve as a list of synonyms, considering a synonym is defined as a word of SIMILAR meaning (it is very rare for two distinct words to have exactly the same meaning). However it's crucial to stress that we must at least be aware of the fact that the slight differences do exist, for the sake of the cases where they matter (such as technical specifications etc.). The list below attempts to document some of the often confused/similar terms. This is NOT a nitpicking list for people to go "ACKCHUALY" every time someone uses a slightly incorrect word, it's here to make us aware that in some special cases we should take a little extra time to think through which word to use to prevent misunderstanding.
- 1D vs 2D vs 2.5D vs 3D (e.g. 2D function vs 3D function, 1D raycasting vs 2D raycasting, ...)
- address vs pointer vs reference vs index vs vector
- AI vs machine learning vs neural networks
- algebra vs arithmetic vs math vs logic
- algorithm vs program vs process vs heuristic vs source code
- America vs USA
- analog vs mechanical vs non-electronic
- anarchy vs chaos
- argument vs parameter vs formal parameter
- array vs list vs vector vs tuple vs string vs set vs class vs multiset
- ASCII vs plain text vs Unicode vs UTF vs ANSI
- ASCII art vs ANSI art vs Unicode art vs ASCII graphics vs TUI
- asceticism vs minimalism vs frugality vs poverty vs pseudominimalism vs KISS vs lightweight vs suckless vs Unix philosophy vs LRS
- assembler vs assembly vs machine code
- astrology vs astronomy
- attribution vs credit
- binary vs executable
- binary vs boolean
- binary vs digital vs electronic
- bisexual (normal) vs gay (not normal)
- black race vs nigger vs negro
- brainwashing vs education vs indoctrination
- branchless programming vs ifless programming
- brute force vs heuristic search
- buffer vs cache vs cash
- bug vs glitch vs error vs exception vs fault vs failure vs defect
- calculus vs mathematical analysis
- causation vs correlation (le reddit scientist rule)
- cepstrum vs spectrum
- chaos vs randomness vs pseudorandomness vs quasirandomness vs entropy vs statistics vs probability vs stochasticity
- CLI vs TUI vs terminal vs console vs shell vs TTY
- clipping vs culling vs pruning
- closed source vs proprietary
- college vs university
- color model vs color space
- communism vs Marxism vs socialism
- complex vs complicated
- complex number vs imaginary number
- computer language vs programming language
- computer science vs information technology vs informatics vs cybernetics vs computer engineering vs software engineering
- compatibility layer vs emulator vs virtual machine
- concurrency vs parallelism vs quasiparallelism vs distribution
- conjecture vs hypothesis vs theory vs theorem vs lemma
- constant vs literal vs immediate operand
- coding vs programming vs software engineering
- codec vs container format
- coherence vs consistency
- computational model vs model of computation
- convolution vs correlation
- copyright vs patent vs trademark vs intellectual property vs moral right etc.
- currency vs money
- crossplatform/multiplatform vs portable
- cryptocurrency vs digital currency
- cryptography vs security vs privacy vs encryption
- data vs information vs entropy vs signal
- data structure vs data type
- decentralized vs distributed
- declaration vs definition
- demo vs intro
- democracy vs voting
- demonstration vs proof
- desktop environment vs window manager vs windowing system
- derivative vs differential
- discretization vs quantization
- duck typing vs weak typing vs dynamic typing vs no typing
- digit vs number vs value vs figure vs numeral
- directed acyclic graph vs tree
- directory vs folder
- discrete Fourier transform vs discrete time Fourier transform
- distro vs GNU/Linux vs Linux vs Unix vs Unix-like
- electric vs electronic
- electronic game vs video game
- emoticon vs emoji vs smiley
- emulation vs simulation
- encryption vs security vs privacy
- entity vs object
- equation vs expression vs inequality
- equivalence vs implication
- ethics vs morality
- Euler's number vs Euler number
- evolutionary programming vs evolutionary algorithm vs genetic programming vs genetic algorithm
- equality vs identity (in programming languages)
- fail safe vs safe vs secure vs robust vs reliable vs tested etc.
- floating point number vs real number
- font vs typeface
- forwarding vs routing vs switching
- framework vs library
- free software (libre) vs open source vs FOSS vs public domain vs source available vs freeware (gratis)
- gay vs LGBT
- geek vs nerd
- globalism vs globalization
- goniometry vs trigonometry
- gradient noise vs value noise
- heading vs header
- hyperlink vs link vs URI vs URL
- ID vs index vs token vs hash vs handle vs identifier
- ideology vs philosophy vs religion vs paradigm
- imperative paradigm vs procedural paradigm vs procedural generation
- implementation defined behavior vs undefined behavior vs unspecified behavior
- infinite vs arbitrarily large/unbounded
- Internet vs web
- Java vs JavaScript
- kB/mB/gB/tB vs KiB/MiB/GiB/TiB
- latency/ping/lag vs throughput/bandwidth vs speed
- leftism vs pseudoleftism
- liberalism vs libertarianism
- license vs waiver
- main memory vs working memory vs RAM
- logic vs math
- low poly vs stylized vs low effort
- low resolution vs pixel art
- mass vs weight
- method vs methodology
- mod vs mode
- modem vs router vs switch
- multisampling vs supersampling
- nationalism vs patriotism
- NP vs NP-hard vs NP-complete
- opaque vs solid
- overflow vs wrap around
- paging vs virtual memory
- path tracing vs ray tracing vs ray casting
- principal square root vs square root (especially when defining i)
- probability vs probability density
- pseudo vs quasi
- pseudoleft vs left
- pseudoskeptic vs skeptic
- shading vs shadows
- science vs soyence
- static typing vs strong typing
- strategy vs tactics
- Unicode vs UTF
- webpage vs website
- ...