A community-maintained list of abbreviations used in electrical engineering?
At Somewhere Else, we started an initiative to make a community-maintained list of abbreviations used in electrical engineering: What are abbreviations used in electrical engineering?
I think it could be a valuable thing to have, although the mentioned list suffered from Q&A style and too many contributors in relation to proof-reading/moderation.
We could perhaps create a better list here at Codidact, either in the form of a single meta post (question) or as a single post in the papers category.
Please share your thoughts about creating such a list at Codidact.
2 answers
I support this idea and think that it might fit the Papers category, although it should be allowed to have multiple users maintain and moderate it. It should be a brief glossary for a quick look-up of technical terms.
Perhaps use a single word as "defining category", as seen in a dictionary and can be used for disambiguation.
It could be in the following format, syntax:
- [abbreviation] - [Meaning] (category). Simple explanatory text here, preferably one sentence. May use other technical terms used in electrical engineering without further explanation of those term.
Example:
- LQFP - Low Quad Flat Package (package). A low profile version of a quad flat package, see QFP.
- MCU - Microcontroller Unit (integrated circuit). An integrated circuit containing a CPU, RAM memory, ROM memory and programmable hardware, so-called hardware peripherals.
- PCB - Printed Circuit Board (component). A board made typically made out of a fiberglass reinforced epoxy, which has traces on at least one side and is used to mount electronic components.
- PWM - Pulse Width Modulation (signal). A square-wave signal consisting of a period and a duty cycle.
- QFP - Quad Flat Package (package). A square-shaped, standardized package for SMD components using a fixed number of gull wing leads per side. They are specified by the total number of pins such as for example LQFP48.
- SMD - Surface-Mount Device (component). A method and type of component reflow-soldered at one side of a PCB without the need to drill holes through the board.
- SPI - Serial Peripheral Interface (bus). A common, synchronous serial bus used for high speed, short distance communication, typically using up to 4 signals in full duplex.
0 comment threads
I was the one who started that list Elsewhere. I thought the same as you, that a few common abbreviations would be good to have in a single place.
However, it quickly turned into a mess. After only a few days I could see it was a mistake.
People added whatever obscure abbreviations they could think of, seemingly trying to outdo others with how many abbreviations they could post. A few even used it to push their favorite uncommon abbreviation somewhat as a political statement.
Voting on such a list also doesn't make sense. It became more of a popularity contest than a measure of quality. Such a list should be in alphabetical order. Your suggestion of using a Paper for the list does get around the voting and sorting problem, but not the other problems.
Elsewhere has shown that crowd-sourcing reference information just doesn't work. No matter how much you try to explain the single coherent vision for what should be in the reference and how it should be organized, people do what they want to. The result is inevitably a mess.
The only way this might work is if one person wrote the list, but that's not workable. Everyone can edit. What are you going to do when someone adds an abbreviation that is obscure enough to detract from the whole instead of adding to it, even though the definition is well-written and formatted? That will lead to endless whines on meta about "Why did my perfectly correct abbreviation get deleted?".
Without a lot of heavy moderation, this won't work. We're all volunteers here. I don't want to waste my volunteer time on dealing with the inevitable bickering and whining. The upside just isn't big enough.
0 comment threads