In tree-like structures with a designated root, such as XML, nodes adjacent to root are called "children" and children of children and so forth are called "descendants".
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/descendant 1 : moving or directed downward 2 : proceeding from an ancestor or source In sub-directory navigation, it is the root that you set out for traversing the structure. Climbing would suggest that you are moving from a descendant to an ancestor, as in "../../..". Ancestor is one of the nodes from whom a given node descends. For example, given a path to a J script you can climb the folder tree to locate the J installation folder. > From: Devon McCormick <[email protected]> > > These are good points. However, coming from the APL/J world, I've always > felt little incentive to observe computer "science" tradition in the cases > where it seems backwards, like upside-down trees. At the same time, I'd > like to strike a balance as it's an ongoing problem with J that we use a > different vocabulary than most everyone else and this presents a > non-essential barrier to entry. > > So, on the basis of spurning mistaken tradition, I would prefer "climb" to > "descend". The word "find" is perhaps too broad though my "climb" is very > much like the Unix "find", so that's maybe the way to go. > > On Sun, Jul 19, 2009 at 1:47 PM, Zsbán Ambrus wrote: > > > ... > > I think it's called _descending_ a directory tree because computer > > scientists have their trees upside down. Or just call it find. > > > > > However, if we were to handle the sub-directory navigation more > > > explicitly, this opens up the possibility of being able to specify either > > > "depth-first" or "breadth-first" processing of the tree rather than the > > > implicit "depth-first" approach of recursion. > > > > The term "depth-first" also implies a tree growing downward. > > > > Ambrus > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm > > > > > > -- > Devon McCormick, CFA > ^me^ at acm. > org is my > preferred e-mail > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
