Remarks on wording in Help

[matewo]

Hi All,

in current Help (v26.10.0100, both PDF and CHM), I have found the words recurse and recurring, which should relate to each other (present participle?). Please excuse, I don't know the english grammatical wording.

I think, recurring should be replaced by recursing. See dictionary entries: [1], [2], [3], [4].

Best regards, Markus


[1]: www.dict.cc/?s=recur
[2]: www.dict.cc/?s=recurse

[3]: www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=recurring
[4]: www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?q=recurse

[phred]

Can you provide a couple of examples or each?

Note that "recursing" is not a work in the English language. "Recursive" or "recursion" are.

[matewo]

Hi phred,

Can you provide a couple of examples or each?

sure (Help v26.10.0100, PDF):

Pages 159-160:
(1) Look for any locked files within the current selection (recurring any selected folders). Then delete all other (unlocked) files (if any).

Page 179:
Displays statistical information on the currently selected list items (recurring any folders). When there are no selections then the stats are on all listed items.

Page 238:

Code: Select all

?*    /n Find all items (not recurring subfolders).
?*    /r Find all items (recurring subfolders).
?*    Same as above (recurring subfolders is the default).
?*    /nf Find all files (do not recurse subfolders).

Fourth line refers to recurse.

Page 398:
Follow folder links
Similar to "Include subfolders", the search will treat folder links (aka "Shell Links to Folders") as if they were subfolders and search the links' target directory as well (again recurring it if necessary).

Page 405:
Here are some examples for Quick Searches passed through the Address Bar and searching the current location:

Code: Select all

Address Bar      Finds (recurring subfolders) all items with
------------------------------------------------------------

Page 619:

Code: Select all

flags    A combination of these in any order:
         [...]
         r: Recurse subfolders. Not for type "list".
[...]
depth     Depth of recursion.
          Ignored if [flags] does not contain "r" (Recurse subfolders).
          -1 = unlimited (default)
          0 = no recursion
          1 = one level
          [...]

==================== ====================

Note that "recursing" is not a work in the English language. "Recursive" or "recursion" are.

Yes and no Some dictionaries do list it, many do not:


VERB: to recurse | recursed | recursed | recursing | recurses
recursing is the "present participle" of to recurse.
(https://www.dict.cc/?s=recursing)


present participle and gerund of recurse
(https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/recursing)


Verb: recurse (third-person singular simple present recurses, present participle recursing, simple past and past participle recursed)
(intransitive, computing) To execute a procedure recursively.
The algorithm then recurses on the children of the current tree node.
(https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/recurse)


It seems a kind of taste. No offence (intended)!

Best regards, Markus

[admin]

Let the native speakers decide...

[phred]

Note that "recursing" is not a work in the English language. "Recursive" or "recursion" are.

Yes and no Some dictionaries do list it, many do not:

I can't disagree with that. However, no professional editor or proofreader would use either of the two dictionaries you referenced. After speaking with a rather well-respected editor, my wife, the English dictionaries most commonly used by the pros are the Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster's English Dictionary, and the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Of the three, only one (Oxford's) has "recursing" as a word.
To carry out a recursive procedure; to perform the same sequence of operations on successive results.
To a native English speaker, "recursing" not only doesn't sound right, it just isn't used. (Per my well-respected editor.)

Whereas "recurring" is defined as
occurring repeatedly : happening or appearing multiple times
And "recursive" is defined as
of, relating to, or constituting a procedure that can repeat itself indefinitely

My conclusion therefore, is that "recurring" is correct. When I asked the well-respected editor to take a look at it and confirm, she politely declined stating she doesn't get involved with technical user manuals. So I decided to take to the arbiter of choice, ChatGPT.
The words "recursing" and "recurring" are related but have different meanings:
Recurring: This term is an adjective that describes something that happens repeatedly or at regular intervals. For example, "recurring payments" are payments that happen periodically, like monthly or annually. In a broader sense, it can describe any event or phenomenon that repeats itself.
Recursing: This term is a verb form and relates to the action of recursion. In computing or mathematics, recursion refers to a process where a function or procedure calls itself directly or indirectly. This technique is often used in algorithms and programming where a problem can be divided into smaller, similar subproblems that are then solved recursively.
In summary, "recurring" refers to something that happens repeatedly, while "recursing" refers to the act of applying recursion in programming or addressing problems that involve self-referential processes.

@Don- I think you're okay with the way it is currently.
@matewo- No offense taken and thanks for providing the examples.

[admin]

In the Help, this word (... whatever it is ...) is always used in the sense of "recursively traversing subfolders". I don't think that "recurring" fits here. Recursion can be a problem, but it's also a very useful method in programming, and it's exactly what's being used in recursively traversing subfolders. "To recurse" should be a proper word, and it's a shame that it (apparently) isn't.

[phred]

This is a very interesting challenge. Later today I will again ask the professional editor if she's willing to take a quick look and offer up a suggestion. I make no promises. And I may be looking for a place to sleep tonight.

[admin]

[admin]

Actually, I think we could save a lot of trouble (and ensure a place to sleep) by simply replacing "recurring subfolders" and the like with "including subfolders".

[phred]

Actually, I think we could save a lot of trouble (and ensure a place to sleep) by simply replacing "recurring subfolders" and the like with "including subfolders".

That does sound like a good solution. I will point out one quote from earlier in this thread:
Page 398:
Follow folder links
Similar to "Include subfolders", the search will treat folder links (aka "Shell Links to Folders") as if they were subfolders and search the links' target directory as well (again recurring it if necessary).
Given that you already have "include subfolders" in use, this change would seemingly be consistent.

Thank you Don, for considering my sleeping accommodations.