in onprepositionssoftware
I usually see this phrase used interchangeably with the prepositions in and on. I know that their meaning isn’t the same, but I can’t think of situations where we should use one instead of another. Can anyone shed some light on any
differences between these two:
- In the menu.
- On the menu.
Just to clarify, I’m talking about menus of computer programs.
The story I've always heard was that Adm. Grace Hopper coined the term "debugging" when a moth was removed from the computer she was working on. Here's a link to Adm. Hopper's bio, including a picture of the notebook page in which the first bug was immortalized:
http://usnhistory.navylive.dodlive.mil/2014/12/09/grace-hopper-navy-to-the-core-a-pirate-at-heart/
Update: Wikipedia shows the same picture, and says that "bug" and "debug" were in use before the "first actual computer bug." Wikipedia's version of the etymology of "bug" says that the term had been in use in engineering for decades before the taping of the moth, and that the moth was taped into the notebook because those who found it knew the term's meaning in engineering. That seems to make more sense -- taping an actual moth into the log book would have been more gross than funny had the term "bug" not already been familiar to those in the group. In my own experience, Adm. Hopper's name has been associated with "bug" every time I've heard or read this story, probably because she often told the story herself. So, while she apparently did not coin the term, I think she deserves significant credit for cementing "bug" in the programmer's daily lexicon.
The words are used interchangeably in many situations. Here are some ways in which they may have different meanings.
The term defect is more formal. I think nowadays everyone knows what a bug is, but in official standards documentation or regulated environments, you'll see defect used more often.
Bugs are usually only used to refer to software problems, but defects can apply to any part of a product: hardware, software, and even user manuals and training materials.
There's often a tendency to call something a bug only if the behavior is different than what the programmer intended. Defects have a broader use, for situations where the behavior is different than what the specifications asked for or - in some teams - what the customer actually wanted.
Best Answer
This comes up often, and here's the general answer.
In this specific case, menu can be viewed either physically, printed on paper to read, i.e,
or informationally, like a list, or a report; this a Container metaphor, i.e,
Quite often it makes no difference, because the information that's in the menu is also printed on the menu.
This alternation is true of any physical noun that can be interpreted as information, like story, picture, book, article, paper, report, list, plans, etc. These are collectively called "Picture Nouns" and they have very complex syntax in English.