Skip to main content

verbs - Install on, install in, install to


When I say "programs to install on a new PC" it sounds alright to me, but I'm not sure if it's the correct usage. Which one of the following should I use?



  • Programs to install on a new PC

  • Programs to install in a new PC

  • Programs to install to a new PC



Answer



Programs get “installed on” a computer, not in one or to one.


However, you might also “install programs in” a particular directory.


You never install anything “to” anything else, though.



Although text and data alike go ɪɴ files and files go ɪɴ directories, directories go ᴏɴ filesystems just as filesystems go ᴏɴ disk partitions.


When you consider other storage media like memory cards or magtapes or floppies, you find again that files and directories go ᴏɴ those things, but that cards go ɪɴ their slots just like floppies go ɪɴ their drives.


Yet tapes usually do not go ɪɴ their drives (unless they get stuck and tangled there), but rather are mounted ᴏɴ them the same way that one mounts partitions (well, filesystems) ᴏɴ directories.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is 'efficate' a word in English?

I routinely hear the word "efficate" being used. For example, "The most powerful way to efficate a change in the system is to participate." I do not find entries for this word in common English dictionaries, but I do not have an unabridged dictionary. I have checked the OED (I'm not sure if it is considered unabridged), and it has no entry for "efficate". It does have an entry for "efficiate", which is used in the same way. Wordnik has an entry for "efficate" with over 1800 hits, thus providing some evidence for the frequency of use. I personally like the word and find the meaning very clear and obvious when others use it. If it's not currently an "officially documented" word, perhaps its continued use will result in it being better documented.
Post a Comment
Read more