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From: Bruce Momjian <pgman@candle.pha.pa.us>
Message-Id: <200112270448.fBR4mgt05246@candle.pha.pa.us>
Subject: Re: <application> vs <command>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.30.0111292149190.609-100000@peter.localdomain>
	"from Peter Eisentraut at Nov 30, 2001 07:13:05 pm"
To: Peter Eisentraut <peter_e@gmx.net>
Date: Wed, 26 Dec 2001 23:48:42 -0500 (EST)
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OK, Peter, can I clean these up?  Seems like a quiet time to do that. 
Are applications things you interact with, like psql, while commands are
things like grep and createdb?

In reading the definition below, I thought PostgreSQL was an
application, while psql and postmaster were both commands.  You type
psql and postmaster, but not PostgreSQL.  That would fit with the
WordPerfect comment.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Bruce Momjian writes:
> 
> > Can someone clarify when we should use <command> and when we should use
> > <application>?  I see postmaster used with application, but psql and
> > createdb used with command.  Is this correct?
> 
> >From "DocBook: The Definitive Guide":
> 
> | Command -- The name of an executable program or other software command
> |
> | This element holds the name of an executable program or the text of a
> | command that a user enters to execute a program.
> 
> | Application -- The name of a software program
> |
> | The appelation "application" is usually reserved for larger software
> | packages--WordPerfect, for example, but not grep. In some domains,
> | Application may also apply to a piece of hardware.
> 
> One could think of psql as a separate "application", but postmaster is
> certainly a command only.
> 
> I'm not sure why, given the definition, <command> is put out in bold.
> Monospaced would make more sense to me.  <application> could be a remote
> candidate for bold.
> 
> -- 
> Peter Eisentraut   peter_e@gmx.net
> 
> 

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