BBC BASIC for Windows
General >> Bouquets and Brickbats >> CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ?? http://bb4w.conforums.com/index.cgi?board=bouquets&action=display&num=1247660832 CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by Michael Hutton on Jul 15th, 2009, 12:27pm
Just noticed a distinctly American spelling of Customise in the 'Options' drop down menu of the IDE. I must admit it had past me by until now. (I know my spelling is terrible but....)
Brrrr!
Michael
Re: CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by admin on Jul 15th, 2009, 1:28pm
Quote:
Just noticed a distinctly American spelling of Customise in the 'Options' drop down menu of the IDE.
You're quite wrong, I'm afraid. Customize (with a Z) is the preferred British English spelling - i.e. listed first - according to my favourite dictionary, Collins:
Customize or customise vb. (tr.) to make (something) according to a customer's individual requirements.
I think you'll find that all British English dictionaries allow both spellings, some preferring -ize and others -ise. One has to choose a particular dictionary - in my case Collins - for consistency, when making a decision which to use.
I know it's bad form to quote from a private email, but you did once say "Spelling is my downfall".
Richard.
Re: CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by DDRM on Jul 17th, 2009, 08:05am
Hi Richard and Michael,
Surprisingly and interestingly (at least to me), the Oxford English Dictionary doesn't even list "customise" as an option! It says the origin of the word is the US, so presumably they simply adopt the original spelling.
David
Re: CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by admin on Jul 17th, 2009, 08:31am
Quote:
the Oxford English Dictionary doesn't even list "customise" as an option!
Interesting, indeed. I doubt that the reason is anything to do with its US origin though: my Collins dictionary says this about the suffix:
In Britain and the U.S. -ize is the preferred ending for many verbs, but -ise is equally acceptable in British English. Certain words (chiefly those not formed by adding the suffix to an existing word) are, however, always spelt with -ise in both Britain and the U.S.: advertise, revise.
Basically the idea that -ize is an Americanism is a myth.
Richard.
Re: CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by Michael Hutton on Jul 18th, 2009, 3:24pm
Well I stand corrected! I know I should have done a bit of research on this before posting. Anyway, very intresting. And, yes, I am an appalling speller. Handwritting is not too good either.
Thanks for the corrections!
Michael
Re: CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by Michael Hutton on Jul 18th, 2009, 6:25pm
Michael
Re: CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by admin on Jul 18th, 2009, 9:51pm
Quote:
So I thought I should make this...
As stated on the group, this doesn't work for me (executed directly from your link; I haven't tried downloading it first). What is it supposed to do?
Richard.
Re: CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by Michael Hutton on Jul 19th, 2009, 02:41am
Sholud work now.. forgot a @lib$...
Michael
Re: CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by admin on Jul 19th, 2009, 09:20am
Quote:
Sholud work now
It's better, but nothing happens when I click on 'About' unless I wait 25 seconds or so first
I know you said there was an initial delay, but it's much longer than I expected. Isn't there some way you can either make the menu work right from the start, or at least display a 'please wait' message?
Incidentally, what (bleep)ing use is a 'spelling' dictionary with both British and American spellings (which, being apparently based on SOWPODS, yours has)?? As this thread started with a rant about American spellings, I would have thought that was the very last thing you wanted!
Richard.
Re: CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by Michael Hutton on Jul 19th, 2009, 10:49am
Yes, I saw your comments! I am faintly surprised at the English and American spellings but now it doesn't seem to matter if it's -ise or -ize (why not -eyes or -iiiiii?). I didn't try and convert it at all.. maybe if someone could point to an English dictionary it could easily be changed but I'm not going to pursue it further.
Yes, I know it can take a bit of time 'booting' the combo box - it's the >200,000 messages! I suppose a substantially quicker way would be just to load it into an array and search that - it was just that I liked the combo box cue banner. Pathetic, I know, to hamstring the speed because of style, but some may like it.
I might make a 'fast & dirty' version... but I'm not really sure if I can be bothered!!!! I'm going for a cup of tea/cocoa.
Michael
Re: CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by admin on Jul 19th, 2009, 10:00pm
Quote:
Pathetic, I know, to hamstring the speed because of style
I didn't ask you to speed it up, I asked whether it was possible to enable the About menu item and/or display a 'please wait' message while the combobox is being loaded. That way at least the user would be kept informed, and could spend his time reading the help information during the loading. I would have expected both to be easily achieved.
Richard.
Re: CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by Michael Hutton on Jul 22nd, 2009, 11:32am
> or at least display a 'please wait' message?
Wait a mo, didn't it show "Populating Dictionary...x%' in the combo box while it was "doing something"....
Oh, I suspect that you weren't using Vista which CB_SETCUEBANNER requires... an oversight of mine... I didn't test for the windows version...
Michael
Re: CustomiZe rather than CustomiSe ??
Post by admin on Jul 22nd, 2009, 6:55pm
Quote:
Oh, I suspect that you weren't using Vista
I rarely use Vista; only when testing compatibility with new versions of BB4W. I expect to skip Vista entirely as far as 'everyday' PC use is concerned, and probably to upgrade from XP to Windows 7.
