What’s a tool?
Merriam-Webster
- a handheld device that aids in accomplishing a task; the cutting or shaping part in a machine or machine tool; a machine for shaping metal
From Jargon File (4.0.0/24 July 1996)
- A program used primarily to create, manipulate, modify, or analyze other programs, such as a compiler or an editor of a cross-referencing program
- For these lectures, I will omit “intellectual” tools, focusing instead on this kind of tool