Talk:prepend
Actually there is a little used word prepend which means "to premeditate", which can be confused with perpend which means "to examine in the mind" - both words are pretty archaic. Should we include archaic and obsolete words, meanings, and usages?? — DavidL 15:57, 7 Sept 2004 (UTC)
- Prepend is jargon (technical language) in computer programming for placing some value to the front of an expression. Or if you only want to stick with append, to append the existing expression to the end of a new expression. User64.236.243.16
- Please sign your entries on talk pages. Yes, I have seen prepend as a back formation from prefix and append. --Connel MacKenzie 06:13, 25 May 2005 (UTC)
David's right, this is an oldish word which has a very different etymology (and meaning) from the current use in computer jargon. I've updated the entry to reflect this. Widsith 12:07, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
Wikified[edit]
I have wikified the entry and created a definition which reflects the "append in front of" sense, which seems to be in some use in computing. Further improvements are, of course, welcome. --Dvortygirl 01:22, 23 Jun 2005 (UTC)
just computing?[edit]
I would never think of this as computing jargon. I just consider it normal English and would not hesistate to use it in non-computing contexts when they occur. e.g. I might prepend someone to a (physical, written out) list of names.
Then again, I am a professional computer programmer, and I know for sure that it is from computing that I get this term from. Its just that it doesn't feel like a computing term, because what it describes (sticking something on the front of a list) is in no way computing-specific. --144.136.123.112 11:42, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
- You may use it, but non-computer programmers are unlikely to. Widsith 12:07, 11 September 2006 (UTC)
- I agree - I am a computer programmer, but this is just a word made up by those who erroneously believe "append" means "add on to the end of" and who don't realise that you can use "prefix" and "suffix" as verbs. M0thr4 07:47, 29 July 2008 (UTC)