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https://github.com/rossant/programming-yin-yang

A list of antonyms commonly used in programming
https://github.com/rossant/programming-yin-yang

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A list of antonyms commonly used in programming

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# A list of antonyms commonly used in programming



> There are only two hard things in Computer Science: cache invalidation and naming things. ― Phil Karlton



Good programmers name things well. Finding the most appropriate and common terms for complex concepts and abstractions may be difficult, especially for non-native English speakers. This page proposes English words and antonyms that are commonly used in programming.



This is a work in progress, feel free to open issues and propose pull requests.



One related effort is Microsoft's list of PowerShell verbs, "Approved Verbs for PowerShell Commands", https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/developer/cmdlet/approved-verbs-for-windows-powershell-commands



## abstract / concrete



[Abstract type](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_type).



## accept / reject



## acquire / release



[Concurrent computing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concurrent_computing).

[Acquire and release semantics](http://preshing.com/20120913/acquire-and-release-semantics/).

[Mutex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_exclusion), [semaphores](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaphore_(programming)).



## add / remove



## allocate / free



[Memory management](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_management).



## allow / deny



## ancestor / descendent



[Trees](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_(data_structure)).



## and / or



[Boolean algebra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boolean_algebra).



## any / all



[Quantifiers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantifier_(logic)).



## assemble / disassemble



[Assembly language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_language).

[Disassembler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disassembler).



## assign / deassign



## attach / detach



## authorize / unauthorize



## balance / unbalance



## begin / end



## best / worse



## bind / unbind



[Network socket](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_socket).



## blocking / non-blocking



## break / continue



[Control flow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_flow).



## client / server



[Client-server model](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Client%E2%80%93server_model).



## coalesce / fragment



[Coalescing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalescing_(computer_science)).

[Fragmentation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragmentation_(computing)).

[Memory segmentation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_segmentation).

[Memory management](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_management_(operating_systems)).



## coarse / fine



[Granular computing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granular_computing).

[Granularity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granularity_(parallel_computing)).



## commit / rollback



[Rollback](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollback_(data_management)).

[Database transaction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_transaction).

[Version control](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Version_control).



## compile / decompile



## compress / decompress



[Data compression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_compression).



## confirm / cancel



## conjunction / disjunction



[Logical conjunction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_conjunction).

[Logical disjunction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_disjunction).

[Mathematical logic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematical_logic).



## connect / disconnect



## constant / variable



## construct / destruct



[Constructor (object-oriented programming)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructor_(object-oriented_programming)).

[Destructor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Destructor_(computer_programming)).

[Creational pattern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creational_pattern).



## consume / produce



[Producer-consumer problem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Producer%E2%80%93consumer_problem).



## contiguous / noncontiguous



[Difference Between Contiguous and Noncontiguous Memory Allocation](https://techdifferences.com/difference-between-contiguous-and-non-contiguous-memory-allocation.html).



## continuous / discontinuous



[Continuous function](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_function).



## create / destroy



## cyclic / acyclic



[Cyclic graph](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclic_graph).

[Directed acyclic graph](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directed_acyclic_graph).

[Cycle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_(graph_theory)).

[Cycle graph](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycle_graph).

[Graph theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graph_theory).



## decidable / undecidable



[Decidability](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decidability_(logic)).

[Decision problem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decision_problem).



## definite / indefinite



## deterministic / stochastic



[Deterministic system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deterministic_system).

[Stochastic process](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stochastic_process).



## digital / analog



[Digital signal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_signal).

[Analog signal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_signal).



## direct / indirect



## direct / inverse



## dirty / clean



[Dirty data](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_data)



## divide / conquer



[Divide and conquer algorithm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divide_and_conquer_algorithm)



## download / upload



## drag / drop



## enable / disable



## enlarge / narrow



## enqueue / dequeue



## enter / leave (exit)



## expand / collapse



[Accordion (UI)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accordion_(GUI)).



## extend / shorten



## FIFO / LIFO



[Stack (abstract data type)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack_(abstract_data_type))



## finite / infinite



## first / last



## fold / unfold



[Fold (higher-order function)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fold_(higher-order_function)).



## forget / remember



## forward / backward



## free / bound



[Free variables and bound variables](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_variables_and_bound_variables).



## freeze / unfreeze



## front / back



[Front and back ends](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_and_back_ends).

[Multiple buffering](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_buffering).



## gather / distribute



## get / set



## grant / revoke



[SQL Security and privileges](http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~nn/csc309-20085/guide/pointbase/docs/html/htmlfiles/authorizationFIN.html).



## greater / lower



## greedy (eager) / lazy



[Greedy algorithm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greedy_algorithm).

[Lazy evaluation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazy_evaluation).

[Greedy and lazy quantifiers in regular expressions](https://javascript.info/regexp-greedy-and-lazy).

[Eager learning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eager_learning).

[Lazy learning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazy_learning).



## group / divide



## head / tail



[14 tail and head commands in Linux/Unix](https://www.linux.com/blog/14-tail-and-head-commands-linuxunix)

[Linked list](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linked_list).



## heap / stack



[Heap data structure](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heap_(data_structure)).

[Stack (abstract data type)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack_(abstract_data_type)).

[Memory management](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_management).



## hit / miss



[Cache](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cache_(computing)).



## homogeneous / heterogeneous



## horizontal / vertical



## implicit / explicit



[Explicit and implicit methods in numerical analysis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explicit_and_implicit_methods).

[Zen of Python](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_of_Python).



## import / export



## inbound / outbound



## include / exclude



## increase / decrease



## increment / decrement



## indent / dedent



[Indentation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indentation_(typesetting)).



## inflate / deflate



[DEFLATE data compression algorithm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DEFLATE).



## initial / final



## inner / outer



## input / output



## insert (create) / delete



## intended / unintended



## internal / external



## intersection / union



[Intersection](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersection_(set_theory)).

[Union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_(set_theory)).

[Set theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_theory).



## join (merge) / split



[Join in SQL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Join_(SQL)).

[Joining lists and splitting strings in Python](http://www.diveintopython.net/native_data_types/joining_lists.html).



## key / value



[Key-value database](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key-value_database).

[Associative array](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associative_array).

[Attribute-value pair](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attribute%E2%80%93value_pair).



## label / unlabel



[Labeled data in machine learning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labeled_data).



## linear / nonlinear



[Linearity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linearity).

[Nonlinear system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonlinear_system).



## link / unlink



## load / dump (store)



[Load/store architecture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Load/store_architecture).

[Load-store unit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Load%E2%80%93store_unit).



## local / global



[Global variable](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_variable).



## local / remote (distant)



## lower / upper



## major / minor



[Semantic versioning](https://semver.org/).

[Software versioning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_versioning).



## map / reduce



[MapReduce](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MapReduce).



## master / slave



[Master/slave configuration](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master/slave_(technology)).



Note: prefer the terms *primary / secondary*.



## minimal / maximal



## named / unnamed



## next / previous



## open / close



## optimal / suboptimal



## ordered / disordered



## pack / unpack



[Pack and unpack in Perl](https://www.stat.berkeley.edu/~spector/extension/perl/notes/node87.html).

[Pack and unpack in MPI](http://mpi-forum.org/docs/mpi-2.2/mpi22-report/node84.htm).



## parent / child



[Parent process](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parent_process).

[Child process](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_process).

[Fork](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork_(system_call)).

[Tree data structure](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_(data_structure)).

[Document Object Model (DOM)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Document_Object_Model).



## passive / active



## pending / finished



## positive / negative



## postfix (suffix) / prefix



## precede / follow



## press / release



## primary / secondary



## public / private



[Access modifiers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_modifiers).



## push / pop



[Stack (abstract data type)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stack_(abstract_data_type))



## push / pull



## read / write



## record / retrieve



## recover / lose



## reference / dereference



## register / unregister



## request / response



[Request-response communication](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Request%E2%80%93response).



## restricted / unrestricted



## run time / compile time



[Compile time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compile_time).

[Run time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Run_time_(program_lifecycle_phase)).

[Runtime system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runtime_system).



## search / find



## select / deselect



## send / receive



## sequential / parallel



[Sequential algorithm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequential_algorithm).

[Parallel computing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_computing).



## set up / tear down



[Unit testing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_testing).



## show / hide



## silent / verbose



## single / multiple



## soft / hard



## solvable / unsolvable



[Turing degree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_degree).



## sort / unsort



[Sorting algorithm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorting_algorithm).



## source (origin) / destination



## sparse / dense



[Sparse matrix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparse_matrix)



## stable / unstable



[Stability in sorting algorithms](https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/stability-in-sorting-algorithms/).

[Stable-unstable semantics](https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/theory-and-practice-of-logic-programming/article/stable-unstable-semantics-beyond-np-with-normal-logic-programs/DC9BB0EED8EBCC6D7BE30C0FA62A1BB5).



## start / stop



## stateful / stateless



[Stateless protocol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stateless_protocol).



## static / dynamic



[Type system](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_system).

[Static analysis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_analysis).



## strong / weak



[Strong and weak typing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_and_weak_typing).



## sub / super



## subscribe / unsubscribe



## subset / superset



[Subset](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subset).



## superclass / subclass



[Object-oriented programming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Object-oriented_programming).



## supervised / unsupervised



[Supervised learning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supervised_learning).

[Unsupervised learning](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unsupervised_learning).



## symmetric / asymmetric



## synchronous / asynchronous



[Synchronization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronization_(computer_science)).

[Synchronous programming language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchronous_programming_language).

[Asynchrony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asynchrony_(computer_programming)).

[Futures and promises](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futures_and_promises).



## top / bottom



## top-down / bottom-up



[Top-down and bottom-up design](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-down_and_bottom-up_design).



## total / partial



[Total order](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_order).

[Partially ordered set](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partially_ordered_set).



## tractable / intractable



[Parameterized complexity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parameterized_complexity).

[Computational complexity theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_complexity_theory).



## trim / expand



## true / false



[Boolean data type](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boolean_data_type).



## up / down



## validate / invalidate



[Cache invalidation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cache_invalidation).



## value / reference



[Evaluation strategy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evaluation_strategy).



## virtual / real



[Virtual class](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_class).

[Virtual reality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_reality).



## visible / invisible



## wait / resume



[Wait system call](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wait_(system_call)).



## weighted / unweighted



[Graph](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graph_(discrete_mathematics)).



# Sources



Programming antonyms:



* [Antonym list](https://gist.github.com/maxtruxa/b2ca551e42d3aead2b3d)



Programming glossaries:



* [Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures (NIST)](https://xlinux.nist.gov/dads/)

* [Design and Analysis of Algorithms](https://www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein/161/glossary.html)

* [Programming glossary](http://whatis.techtarget.com/glossary/Programming)

* [Glossary of computer programming](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_computer_programming)

* [Programming terms](https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/program.htm)

* [Mathematical Programming Glossary](https://glossary.informs.org/ver2/mpgwiki/index.php?title=Main_Page)



Naming things well:



* [How to name things](http://hilton.org.uk/presentations/naming) (Peter Hilton)

* [Why naming things is hard](http://hilton.org.uk/blog/why-naming-things-is-hard) (Peter Hilton)

* [How to get better at naming things](http://hilton.org.uk/blog/how-to-get-better-at-naming) (Peter Hilton)

* [Naming things](https://24ways.org/2014/naming-things/) (Paul Lloyd)



# License



[![CC0](http://i.creativecommons.org/p/zero/1.0/88x31.png)](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)



To the extent possible under law, [Cyrille Rossant](http://cyrille.rossant.net) has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work.