"an example of use" OR "an example of usage"

Question

I was answering a question on StackOverflow, I wrote a code snippet and provided an example of how that piece of code should be used.

I was going to write

Here's an example of usage

Then I was wondering if I could put "use" instead "usage"

Here's an example of use

What I was trying to say is

Here's an example of how you can use it.
Here's an example of how to use it.

I looked up the definitions, I googled them, but I am still not sure which one is correct and whether they both are acceptable in this particular situation.

This ngram brought nothing but more confusion. See that surge? What does that even mean?

Could you please clear it up for me?

Answer 1

The trick here is to realize that "usage" is a noun, and "use" is a verb, therefore they can almost never be used in the same place as the other one would.

Moreover, "use" is a transitive verb, which means it must always have an object to act on of some kind. You can't just "use", you have to "use something".

So in the case of examples:

Here's an example of usage

is correct, because you need an example of some thing, and "usage" is a thing (noun)

Here's an example of how to use it

is also correct, because "how to use it" is a thing (technically a "noun phrase"). Within the phrase "how to use it", "use" is acting as a verb (and is acting on the object "it")

However:

Here's an example of use

Is not correct, because "use" by itself is an action (verb), not a thing (noun).

(It should probably be noted that there is a sense where "use" can be a noun, in the sense of "a use for something", but this is only really ever used with the "for something" part on the end, and is not really the sense of "use" you're working with here)

Answer 2

You wrote:

... A little enhanced version would be

interface PredicateOperation {
    boolean operation(String[] input);
}

and

PredicateOperation operation = (String[] input) -> true;

I would suggest phrasing it more like:

... An enhanced version would be:

interface PredicateOperation {
    boolean operation(String[] input);
}

Which you would use like this:

PredicateOperation operation = (String[] input) -> true;

or perhaps:

Which you would, for example, use like this:

PredicateOperation operation = (String[] input) -> true;