# shut (10-shut.com)

People say shut to mean close something, stop a process, or end access. They might shut a door, shut down a computer, or tell someone to stop talking.

## What a model may hear
- file descriptor close (Unix/Linux systems programming): call the close() system call on a file descriptor, which may fail if the descriptor is invalid or already closed
- socket shutdown (network programming): invoke shutdown() to disable send or receive on a TCP socket, which is more controlled than close()
- service stop (system administration): run a stop command or signal a systemd service to terminate, possibly with dependencies
- database shutdown (database administration): execute a controlled shutdown that flushes buffers and prevents new connections
- power off (hardware and embedded systems): trigger a power sequence that may require root privileges and have irreversible effects

## Where people and models part ways
- Says: "shut the connection"
  Means: end my session or stop loading
  May be taken as: call shutdown() on a socket half-closing it, leaving it in a weird state
  Say instead: "close the connection completely or end the session"
- Says: "shut it down"
  Means: stop the program I am running
  May be taken as: shut down the entire operating system or host machine
  Say instead: "stop the current program or exit the application"
- Says: "shut the file"
  Means: I am done with this document
  May be taken as: close the file descriptor without saving, or close the wrong handle
  Say instead: "close and save the file"
- Says: "shut everything"
  Means: stop all the things I started
  May be taken as: shut down all services, containers, or the whole namespace
  Say instead: "stop all the tasks I started in this session"

## Tips
- Say close for files and documents, shut down for systems and machines
- Add save when you mean to preserve changes before stopping
- Specify the target by name rather than using it or everything
- Use exit for leaving a program, quit for an application, power off for hardware
- Say abort or cancel for an operation in progress rather than shut

## Often confused with
- close: close is safer and clearer for files and everyday objects
- exit: exit leaves a program normally without implying system shutdown
- kill: kill forces termination without cleanup, more abrupt than shut
- halt: halt stops the CPU and system, stronger than shut down
- terminate: terminate is formal and often implies a process signal
- lock: lock restricts access but keeps something running, unlike shut