"Is BETA an acronym?"

Asked by ßrandon 38 months ago

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What is the meaning to BETA? Is it an acronym or something?


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"Nope."
 by Chrysoula on Dec 18 2006 (38 months ago)
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While things like laser and modem and radar all ARE acronyms, beta is a letter of the Greek alphabet. You'll also find it used in fraternity names along with words like alpha, omega, sigma, psi, epsilon. Of course, you'll see a lot of these words show up in other usages but usually they derive from a method of counting by mapping numbers to the Greek alphabet. Alpha and Omega means 'beginning and end'. Alpha, beta, are both terms used in the computer industry to indicate stages of testing.
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"No, it is a letter (the second one) from the greek alphabet"
 by oldie792935 on Dec 18 2006 (38 months ago)
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The first version of new software is the "alpha" or "α" code (usually not released for testing outside of the developing organization, as it is usually not very useful at this stage)  followed by the "beta" or "ß" code that is released to testers (historically, selected users who would provide feedback to the developers.  Recently, software has been mass released as "beta" even though it is clearly intended to actually be used, not just tested, such as GMAIL)  prior to the final release of software for use.
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"Beta is the second letter of the Greek alphabet (β)."
 by melsmith on Dec 18 2006 (38 months ago)
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Beta

A beta version or beta release usually represents the first version of a computer program that implements all features in the initial requirements analysis. It is likely to be useful for internal demonstrations and previews to select customers, but unstable and not yet ready for release. Some developers refer to this stage as a preview, as a technical preview (TP) or as an early access. As the second major stage in the release lifecycle, following the alpha stage, it is named after the Greek letter beta, the second letter in the Greek alphabet.

Often this stage begins when the developers announce a feature freeze on the product, indicating that no more feature requirements will be accepted for this version of the product. Only software issues, or bugs and unimplemented features will be addressed.

Beta versions stand at an intermediate step in the full development cycle. Developers release either a closed beta or an open beta; closed beta versions are released to a select group of individuals for a user test, while open betas are to a larger community group.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Development_stage#Beta
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"Nope!"
 by GingerCappellini on Dec 18 2006 (38 months ago)
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"Beta" is "β" the second letter of the Greek alphabet, after Alpha (α).

When used to refer to software, "Beta" is short for "Beta-test" - a period where the software is technically "feature complete" - meaning no new features will be added - and presumably stable enough for most common usages to actually work. (Contrast with "Alpha Test" which happens earlier, and is often not feature complete and even more unstable.)
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"Beta is not an acronym. It is the 2nd letter of the Greek alphabet and is also used in software testing."
 by boardgirl148 on Dec 19 2006 (38 months ago)
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Beta is not an acronym (at least not that I am aware), but it is the second letter of the Greek alphabet and is used in software testing when it is the second level of the testing.  (Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and is the first level of software testing.) 

 

I asked a similar question about a month ago:

 

"Why is a software program that is still in the testing phase said to be in "beta"?" 

and received some great answers.  I won’t try to copy all of those answers here, but if you want more information, you can find my question and read up on all the info I received from these members:

 

LeonardOfVince

octopus5

jdowning

TheTriviaGeek

orion

Sources: my knowledge, answers from my previous askville question
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