inits

Inits is the plural of init and can refer to different concepts depending on context. The term is commonly used to describe either initials or initialization in computing.

Inits as initials: Initials are the letters that stand for a person’s given name, middle name or names, and family name. They are used to identify individuals, in signatures, citations, and branding. Practices vary by language and culture; some abbreviate with periods after each letter, others omit punctuation. The order and inclusion of middle names differ, influencing how a person is represented in official documents, publications, and databases.

Inits as initialization and computing: In computing, init refers to the initialization process that occurs when a system starts. In Unix-like systems, the init process (PID 1) starts at boot and launches the rest of the operating system. Various implementations have existed, including System V init, Upstart, and systemd, which differ in how services are started and dependencies are managed. Related terms include init scripts or unit files and runlevels (or targets). More generally, initialization is the act of assigning initial values to variables or objects, preparing data structures for use, or performing startup configuration in programming languages.

Overall, inits is a polysemous term whose meaning is determined by context—either a shorthand representation of a person’s name or a reference to the initial setup phase in computing and software.