Where does template collide?

In molecular biology a template is the existing nucleic acid strand whose base order is read and copied to build a new complementary strand. Watson and Crick's 1953 Genetical Implications of the Structure of Deoxyribonucleic Acid described the double helix as, in their words, a pair of templates, each strand carrying the base order that specifies its partner, so that separating the two gives two patterns from which two new pairs can be built. In replication and in transcription the template strand is the one an enzyme reads base by base to lay down new DNA or RNA. The referent is a physical chain of nucleotides that is copied, not a stored pattern the mind compares against what the eye sees, and not a piece of source code filled in by a compiler.[1]

Unit

One strand of DNA or RNA, read base by base to build its complement

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Traced by sequencing the copied product and by assays of the polymerase activity that reads the strand

In cognitive psychology a template is a stored internal pattern that an incoming stimulus is compared against so it can be recognised. Neisser's 1967 Cognitive Psychology set out and criticised template matching as a model of perception, in which the mind holds miniature copies of known forms and identifies an input by finding the copy it best overlays. Later work treated the strict version as too rigid, since real recognition tolerates changes in size, rotation, and style, but the template survives as the idea of a reference form held for comparison. The referent is a remembered pattern used to identify what is perceived, not a nucleic acid strand that is copied, and not a parameterised unit of program code.[2]

Unit

One stored reference pattern, held for comparison against an input

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Inferred from recognition accuracy and response time as an input is varied against the stored form

In computer science a template is a blueprint for code written once with type or value parameters and then expanded by the compiler into concrete versions for each set of arguments. Stroustrup's 1988 Parameterized Types for C++ introduced the design that became the C++ template, letting a single definition of, say, a list or a sort work for many element types without being rewritten. When the program uses the template with a particular type the compiler instantiates it, generating the specific code at build time. The referent is a reusable piece of source code filled in with parameters, not a strand of nucleic acid that is copied, and not a stored pattern the mind matches perception against.[3]

Unit

One parameterised code definition, instantiated once per set of arguments

Recovery means

Not applicable

Measured by

Observed in the concrete code the compiler generates and by counting instantiations produced at build time