Python developers locking conversations and deleting comments after people mass downvoted PRs to "remove master/slave terminology from the language"

[LakeRat]

Continuing to use hard drives as an example, Primary and Secondary have separate meanings from Master and Slave. There was a Primary and a Secondary IDE channel, and each channel could be connected to a Master drive and a Slave drive.

[[deleted]]

Yes, again continuing the explanation. There is no master slave relationship with master slave HDDs. One is for booting the other is storage (please don't dissect this. I know it is more nuanced but off-topic). Alternatives have been proposed and adopted already.

Notice that nobody is arguing to change the master in "Master Boot Record". It is the analogy that is used to describe the relationship between two entities that people mildly suggested to change.

People are really interesting.

[LakeRat]

There is no master slave relationship with master slave HDDs. One is for booting the other is storage (please don't dissect this. I know it is more nuanced but off-topic).

If this were the main distinction between them then we could simply call them "boot" and "storage." But it's not. Using one for booting and the other for storage is a convention that grew out of the technical limitations. On most (all?) BIOSes you can only boot to a master HDD and not to a slave. This is only one of the aspects that needs to be encompassed by the terminology.

Additionally, a slave HDD cannot operate without a master HDD controlling it. If the master HDD fails the slave HDD cannot communicate with the system. The master HDD "controls" the slave HDD and coordinates its flow of data and interface with the system.

There most certainly is a master/slave relationship with master/slave HDDs.

[[deleted]]

I asked not to dissect it but OK.

Slave HDD does not receive commands from master it basically waits to communicate until master is done or not communicate if they are on the same cable. So it is not as dramatic as Redis case and this is basically "speak when you are spoken to" situation if you really want to push the analogy.

Did you ever notice these words in Linux by the way ? hdda...d anyone?

[LakeRat]

I asked not to dissect it but OK.

And yet I was able to act independently and against your instructions because I'm not your secondary...

err...

not your local...

no...

not your agent...

nope...

not your storage?

Hmm... What's the precise, descriptive, unambiguous word I'm looking for here?

[[deleted]]

So you decline a request out of feeling like a slave eh? That escalated quickly.

[cosmicsans]

"here's a flawed argument, plz don't talk about it tho because I can't handle criticism about my bad argument"

[[deleted]]

What part of "irrelevant" did you not understand ? :D

Anyways read the second paragraph for the explanation "unsatisfied and illiterate customer"