Word list — S
Verdict: style
Capitalize as SaaS.
Verdict: avoid
Use valid or sensible instead.
- Replacements: valid, sensible
sanity check
Section titled “sanity check”Verdict: avoid
Use quick check instead.
- Replacements: quick check
Verdict: restricted
Don’t use scale alone as a verb. Say scale up, scale down, or handle more load so the direction is clear.
screenshot
Section titled “screenshot”Verdict: style
Use screenshot for the noun and adjective. For the verb, use the phrase take a screenshot.
scroll
Section titled “scroll”Verdict: restricted
Fine for the on-screen gesture or motion, but don’t use it to mean read or skim through content.
select
Section titled “select”Verdict: acceptable
Common and unambiguous as both verb and adjective. Use either sense freely.
service
Section titled “service”Verdict: restricted
Use service for a product or component that provides functionality to other software, such as a cloud offering or a running background process. When service could be ambiguous, name the specific product or component instead.
service level agreement
Section titled “service level agreement”Verdict: style
Lowercase when spelled out. Capitalize the abbreviation SLA.
Verdict: avoid
Inappropriate for technical documentation, especially when translated. Name the actual quality, such as fast, powerful, or elegant.
- Replacements: fast, powerful, elegant
Verdict: style
Use SHA-1, with a hyphen before the version number.
Verdict: restricted
Shall is ambiguous. Use it only in legal statements, which are often intentionally ambiguous. To state a requirement, use must, or an imperative instruction.
Verdict: avoid
Rewrite to avoid the pronoun, or use they.
- Alternatives: her, hers
- Replacements: they, them, their, theirs
shift left
Section titled “shift left”Verdict: restricted
Instead of using shift left, use shift earlier when describing an earlier position in time. Left is not always associated with a previous point in time. For the testing term, instead use early testing, continuous testing, or proactive testing.
Verdict: avoid
Use release to describe the act of delivering software.
- Replacements: release
sign into
Section titled “sign into”Verdict: avoid
Use sign in to instead.
sign-in (noun or adjective)
Section titled “sign-in (noun or adjective)”Verdict: style · Form: noun, adjective
Use sign-in for the noun and adjective, and sign in for the verb.
- Alternatives: sign in
sign-on
Section titled “sign-on”Verdict: avoid
Use sign in instead. Single sign-on is an exception where the term is fixed.
- Alternatives: sign on
sign-out (noun or adjective)
Section titled “sign-out (noun or adjective)”Verdict: style · Form: noun, adjective
Use sign-out for the noun and adjective, and sign out for the verb.
- Alternatives: sign out
Verdict: restricted
Since also means from a time, so use it only for time and use because when you mean cause, which keeps each sentence unambiguous.
- Replacements: because
Verdict: avoid
Use worker, replica, or primary instead. If the term involves a master and slave relationship, use primary and secondary instead. Slave is acceptable when referring to code elements using code font.
- Replacements: worker, replica
software as a service (SaaS)
Section titled “software as a service (SaaS)”Verdict: acceptable
A common, well-understood industry term that is clear once the acronym is expanded on first use.
Verdict: restricted
Soon implies a timeframe the docs can’t guarantee and dates badly. Name the actual release or condition instead.
spin up
Section titled “spin up”Verdict: acceptable
Common and clear in developer contexts for bringing up a server or instance.
Verdict: acceptable
The standard name for the query language. Capitalize the entire acronym.
Verdict: style
Write ssh lowercase for the command as typed and SSH uppercase for the protocol, so the casing tracks what the reader means.
Verdict: restricted
Don’t use start to describe the act of opening an app or file. Use open instead. Only use start when it’s the most clear and direct description of the action. To emphasize an initialization or boot process, you can use start up.
- Replacements: open
start up
Section titled “start up”Verdict: avoid
Use startup for the noun or adjective that describes a business organization. Use start up to emphasize the initialization or boot process of a start action. Otherwise, use start for the action.
- Alternatives: startup
- Replacements: start