Tony Cooper
On 26 Nov 2013 08:32:15 GMT, Sandman <mr@sandman.net>wrote:

Sandman
In article <lcj89959nqrbfjkcn7kb7pa52kkcesbtlh@4ax.com>, Tony Cooper wrote:

It is automatic *for the user* and not a protocol *for the user*,

Tony Cooper
I have no idea what you're trying to say there. What does "for the user" mean?

Sandman
I... don't know how to write it in any simpler form.

just like erasing a hard drive isn't a protocol *for the user* since all they do is press a button,

Tony Cooper
In this case, though you are describing it poorly, you are referring to an action that does not need a user-defined protocol because the user does not need a standard set of steps to accomplish the action.

Sandman
Just like automatic backup, then. Heeey, sounds like what I've been saying all along, doesn't it?

Tony Cooper
Think really hard and you might begin to understand that an automatic backup action follows the protocol set by the developer.

The backup protocol is different because it can involve user-defined additions to the built-in protocol.

Sandman
"Can"? Are you now saying that both file copying and backup are governed by protocols but you would only call backup a "protocol" since you "can" add things to this supposed protocol?

Tony Cooper
And the user adds his own protocol requirements of frequency and destination to the backup protocol of the developer.

Backup is not "a protocol" as I have pointed out in another post. Backup is an action that will run based on the protocol used by the developer and the user (if user-defined steps can be added). The "backup protocol" describes the protocol employed to determine what is done, but just "backup" describes the action.

I'm not talking about file copying at all. I prefer to keep the discussion centered on the backup protocol.

Sandman
Here is the user implementing backup in an automatic system:

http://tinyurl.com/pju45q7

Please define in clear terms how he or she is adding items to the protocol.

Tony Cooper
The user is not adding anything to the protocol by clicking any of the boxes. That's a step in backup action routine.

The user determines a backup protocol that determines the frequency of backups and the location of where the backups are sent.

Sandman
Again, he or she attaches an external drive, and this is shown:

http://tinyurl.com/pju45q7

Tony Cooper
You have used the same link for both examples.

Sandman
No settings for frequency, and by hitting that button, the system already knows the location. Boom, all done. Automatic backup every hour around the clock.

Tony Cooper
I am not an Apple user, so I don't know what is done in the way of user-defined additions to the backup protocol, but I assume the user has set the location at some point. That's a user-defined addition.

If the Apple system sets the backup to be on the same drive as the program itself, there need not be a user-defined choice. I wouldn't think Apple would do it that way, though.

Some programs, but not all by any means, allow the user to add this information and have that protocol followed automatically in the future.

Sandman
So some backup functions are protocols and some are not? How automatic does it need to become to not be a protocol?

Tony Cooper
No backup functions are protocols. Try to get this into your head. A function is not a protocol. A protocol can call for a function, though.

If you are going to continue this, do some research on what "protocol" means in this context.

Sandman
You're so tangled up here, it's not even funny.

Nospam only said he hadn't heard the term being used, not that you were wrong to use it. He didn't argue with you, but you took the opportunity to create yet another Tony Circus where you can argue about anything for any amount of time.

Tony Cooper
Well, you certainly spilled out of the car in the main ring.