Why is the concept of Marshalling called as such? [closed]

Question

I've always thought that the concept of Marshalling had a bit of a funny name.

My mental conception of the process would always involve an ol' wildwest gunslinging marshall who would coerce objects into serialized form at gunpoint.

_{(source: answers.com)}

I just found out the real reason Marshalling is called what it's called and chuckled.

(edit) Ok - this is what I came across on wikipedia:

Data marshalling is so named because it was first studied in 1962 by Edward Waite Marshall, then with the General Electric corporation.

Did you know the real reason, or perhaps you too are familiar with my gunslinger?

Answer 1

A marshal is a something/someone who controls flow or probably more precisely - controls structure (see comments below). For example at a racing event you get track marshalls. (I know that's real world and sport and so may not be appeal to many here).

If data being transferred across a boundary then I think controlling that flow is very aptly described as marshalling. I think your idea of marshalling is another good example of this term used correctly. I do think that using an existing term should be de rigueur as opposed to creating new jargon.