Command representation (1)
Command names general - command names should be easily related to their function, generally stated as verbs (usually in imperative form), be easily remembered by users, and be consistent with the user’s task requirements, experience and language usage. distinctiveness - (a) command names should be distinctive; (b) command names should be avoided that look or sound similar but have different meanings; (c) if command operations have inverse or counterparts, congruent pairs of commands for these operations should be provided. [EXAMPLE (a) in English, the words insert and delete are more semantically distinct than add and remove (i.e. add and remove typically have many different interpretations)] [EXAMPLE (b) use replace rather than change] [EXAMPLE (b) in English, store and restore should be avoided because they have different meanings but sound similar] [EXAMPLE (c) read/write, open/close, yes/no] user orientation - command names should be chosen that are consistent with the user’s experience and correspond to the user’s operational language. [NOTE if there are multiple user groups, it may be important to provide different sets of command names for these different groups] emotional content - words selected as command words should be emotionally neutral. [EXAMPLE in English use cancel instead of abort and use delete rather than kill] command word length - if command input is typed, command words should be not exceed 7 characters. suffixes and prefixes - command word should not incorporate unnecessary suffixes or prefixes. [EXAMPLE in English, delete rather than deleting, deleted, or deletes]