Map or Remap?

Hello,
Which of these two sounds more natural? They begin with a simple verb, thus constituting commands.

1. Map the Caps Lock key to Ctrl.
2. Map the Caps Lock key to the Ctrl key.

The second option is more explicit, although I'm not sure if necessary because those in the tech field understand what "Ctrl" is without specifying "key".

Also, I think I need to use the term "Remap" because "Caps Lock" already serves its own function before I intend to repurpose it to function as "Ctrl". Is that correct?

1. Remap the Caps Lock key to Ctrl.

leslieking said:

[...] Is that correct?

1. Remap the Caps Lock key to Ctrl.

👁 Tick :tick:
"Map" isn't necessarily wrong, but "remap" is probably better.

Almost every computer user today knows what "Ctrl." means.

leslieking said:

2. Map the Caps Lock key to the Ctrl key.

This means "make the CapsLock key do whatever the Ctrl key does". If the Ctrl key is re-mapped to do something new then the CapsLock key will do that new thing also.

leslieking said:

1. Map the Caps Lock key to Ctrl.

This means "make the CapsLock key perform the 'ctrl' function", the function usually performed by the control key.

leslieking said:

Also, I think I need to use the term "Remap" because "Caps Lock" already serves its own function before I intend to repurpose it to function as "Ctrl". Is that correct?

Yes. You are changing the mapping of this key.

dojibear said:

This means "make the CapsLock key do whatever the Ctrl key does".

This is not my usual understanding. Normally you are mapping an existing function to a new key so the new key performs that function. In this case, hitting the control key will turn on caps lock.

It might be slightly misleading to say map one key to another. What you're doing is mapping functions not keys.

It's matter of perspective. You can either map functions to keys or keys to functions.
The latter seems more intuitive to me: You are deciding what you want each key to do -- what function is to be performed when you press it.
The mapping is just a set of associations between keys and functions.
You would normally expect the mapping to be either entirely or at least mostly homomorphic: each key is mapped to one and only one function, and vice versa (except for the small complication that you might have two shift keys and two ctrl keys, but let's not worry about that).

In the OP's statement (1) it's clear that the caps lock key is being mapped to the function that the ctrl key normally performs.
But statement (2) doesn't work. You can't map a key to a key, only to a function. But you could map both keys to the same function.

It's still unclear, though, whether the OP intends the homomorphism to be preserved. Is the caps lock key now mapped to functions? Does the ctrl key still perform the ctrl function? Or is there just a mapping swap?

The way I see it, the keys don't move. The functions do. So the functions are being mapped. They are traveling somewhere they didn't start at. The keys are sitting pretty exactly where they started.

The way I see it, neither the keys nor the functions move. Conceptually the keys are wired into a two dimensional matrix (say) horizontally, and the functions are wired in vertically. The mapping consists of connections at some of the intersections. I think of the mapping as being essentially a plugboard.

kentix said:

The way I see it, the keys don't move. The functions do. So the functions are being mapped.

In that case, say "map the function", not "map the key". Don't use "key" to mean two different things in the same sentence:
(a) the physical key on the keyboard
(b) the function this key performs in the default mapping

That is what I disliked about sentence 2 in post #1:

leslieking said:

2. Map the Caps Lock key to the Ctrl key.

dojibear said:

Don't use "key" to mean two different things in the same sentence:

That's what I said. 👁 Smile :)