Why using the word "mechanism" in CS?
        Posted  
        
            by 
                Nick Rosencrantz
            
        on Programmers
        
        See other posts from Programmers
        
            or by Nick Rosencrantz
        
        
        
        Published on 2012-11-07T13:10:41Z
        Indexed on 
            2012/11/07
            17:17 UTC
        
        
        Read the original article
        Hit count: 362
        
terminology
|computer-science
I'm not sure about the usage of the word "mechanism" when in fact most of the time what is meant is an algorithm. For instance there's talk about Java's "thread-scheduling mechanism" - why not call it an algorithm and why borrow a term from mechanics where relations sometimes are the opposites than of computer science?
I'm aware that an algorithm is considered a "mechanical solution" but is this really the case in fact when a lot of algorithm don't have mechanical representations for instance a file-sharing network that gets quicker and faster as the usage grows, that would be the reverse of a mechanical structure that would go slower when usage grows.
© Programmers or respective owner