Curiosity re the term 'Kit' ?!?

Rick Stevens ricks at nerd.com
Sat Nov 21 01:41:34 UTC 2009


On 11/20/2009 12:46 PM, William Case wrote:
> Hi;
>
> As I get ready to upgrade/install to F12 an old curiosity question comes
> to mind.  Fedora now has several programs it has packaged with the
> designation 'Kit'.  PolicyKit, PackageKit and FirstAidKit come to mind.
> I assume it just means a bunch of programs, libraries and dependencies
> bundled together.
>
> However, I have never actually seen a definition of a kit.  Has it ever
> been formally defined?  Is it a Fedora/RedHat thing or is 'Kit' used
> more generally.
>
> Don't get me wrong, I am not objecting.  In fact, I think adding 'Kit'
> to a bundle is descriptive and memorable.  If there is a definition or
> at least a clear understanding of what a 'Kit' means its addition to a
> name can be that more informative.
>
> I was just wondering.

It's a cute use of the word.  According to the most appropriate
definition in Webster's that I can find, a "kit" was a basket or similar
thing to hold tools relevant to a specific task.  By extension, "kit"
also refers to that assortment of tools.

It's also commonly used to refer to an assortment of parts that, when
assembled correctly, become some mechanism or process to accomplish a
specific task or set of tasks.

Or, as I used to say about my old Jaguars, "Ooh!  There's a nice bit
of kit!"
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