Talk:comp

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All claimed to be informal terms for a personal computer. — Paul G 16:35, 16 June 2006 (UTC)

• I've heard of "comp", but only in the store name "Comp U.S.A." http://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial_s&hl=en&q=Comp+U.S.A.&btnG=Google+Search

I've never heard of the other two. Fark 11:17, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

Compy-286/Compy-386/Lappy etc. are the names of the computers on homestarrunner, used for StrongBad e-mails. Very funny comedy stuff, but not exactly dictionary material. (Can you picture someone using a 386 in 2006? Instant humor!) --Connel MacKenzie T C 15:40, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

rfvfailed. Andrew massyn 19:44, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

removed disputed sense. Andrew massyn 19:47, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

Requested senses

From Requested entries

• comp has three additional definitions that are not included on the page.

  1.) In the design field, a comp is a preliminary design, sketch, or mockup, short for comprehensive, synonym with dummy. We showed the client the comp. May also be used in verb form: comp, comps, comped, comping: We will comp it for the client. She comps ads for a living. I comped the web page. He is comping the layout. Are you sure this is short for comprehensive? I can't get the verb meaning for it.

  2.) In visual design and photography, a comp is an image composed of multiple separate parts. It is especially used as a verb in image manipulation, to add elements to an image: He comped in our product on the photo of the table. She comps furniture into photos well. They are comping elements into the photo using Photoshop. This seems to be short for compose; composite#Noun; composition.

  3.) In publishing/prepress/printing, a comp is a colour separation file which contains all of the colour information, and can be printed either as a combined file, or separated individual colour plates. Short for composite#Noun.

  Here are some web pages which show comp's usage:

  • http://desktoppub.about.com/library/glossary/bldef-composite.htm
  • http://psdtuts.com/photo-effects-tutorials/how-to-photo-comp-up-a-killer-room-full-of-objects/
  • Kevyn 01:08, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

I have tried to get this, but I am having a little difficulty because we treat these as abbreviations and I'm not sure that is the best way to handle them, especially the verb uses. I'm not sure I understand what "comp" is abbreviating as a verb, especially where the corresponding noun sense is "comprehensive". DCDuring TALK 23:44, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

A contributor suggested composite instead of comprehensive for sense 1 above, which gives the possibility of "compose" or "make into a composite" for the verb sense. DCDuring TALK 02:45, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

This makes all three definitions seem quite close. DCDuring TALK 02:47, 27 January 2014 (UTC)

compare

a very old DOS file command was comp, meaning compare, used to show if two files were the same. It did not show the difference between the two files, only saying if there was one. I think this may have been the first DOS command to fall by the wayside and it was already little-known in the 1980s. Nonetheless it exists, might be used in other OS's too, and may also mean compare in other senses. —Soap— 10:19, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

Now that i look into it, this command may be so old that it dates to the time when people used 5" floppies and were constantly worried about physical imperfections in the disks that made file copying unreliable. it wasnt so much "did i mistakenly save the same file twice?" as it is "hey, did these files i copied actually get through okay?" Very old indeed. —Soap— 10:21, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

We do have compare listed as a sense on comp. (with a period), which I believe is for a sense totally unrelated to computers. Possibly the same as cf. in dictionaries. —Soap— 10:26, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

We don't include computer command names unless used in running English, though. Hence no entry for "chkdsk" (check disk) or "rmdir" (remove directory). If they were used as verbs, "I'm rmdiring this", then we could. Equinox ◑ 10:30, 23 January 2024 (UTC)

Okay thanks. It might have been used as a verb the way diff now is, but it's so old I think it'd be far more trouble than it's worth. —Soap— 12:27, 23 January 2024 (UTC)