RE: [PHP-WIN] Who is foo & what is bar?

MC, Whatever happened to good ole' x, y and z??? Anywho, I am quite certain of the military origin of "FUBAR" and "SNAFU", but leave it to softwarians to expropriate the former term, change the spelling to FOOBAR, then divide it into the now legendary FOO and BAR. Who knows, maybe Grace Hopper (of USN, FORTRAN, and ENIAC fame) first forked FOOBAR into FOO | BAR??? Cheers, Fred Woolsey -----Original Message----- From: matthewclark@Divergent-Systems.com [mailto:matthewclark@Divergent-Systems.com] Sent: Tue 1/21/2003 7:10 PM To: Woolsey, Fred Cc: Subject: RE: [PHP-WIN] Who is foo & what is bar? I think a few of you are slightly off (or perhaps I am about to be). I learned a while back that 'foo' and 'bar' are not just terms in programming, but in general science where variables are concerned. Suppose, for example, you are trying to define this awesome formula for perpetual motion, and in your research you have to explain a function to your colleagues. In order to keep the level of confusion low, you would use the terms 'foo' and 'bar' to illustrate instances, variables, etcetera, and your audience would also understand that you are referring to such instances in a hypothetical manner, rather than realistically. In other words, if you mention 'foo' and 'bar' in a conversation, your listener would assume a hypothetical instance of whatever you subject may be. Or something to that effect... Matthew Clark Divergent Systems Incorporated -----Original Message----- From: Woolsey, Fred [mailto:FWoolsey@ltk.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 5:59 PM To: php-windows@lists.php.net Subject: RE: [PHP-WIN] Who is foo & what is bar? I'm pretty certain it is one of those brilliant, sarcastic military acronymns like SNAFU (situation normal, all f@#$%d up), as alluded to by Mikey- however, I believe the correct meaning is f@#$%d up beyond all repair. Witness the following hypothetical exchanges: "So soldier, what's the sitrep?" "SNAFU, sir..." and "How bad is it, soldier?" "Well sir, I'm afraid it's FUBAR..." Phonetically, FUBAR was simplified to FOOBAR, which allowed it to be parsed into FOO and BAR by standard software :-{)> Cheers, Fred Woolsey -----Original Message----- From: Chris Kranz [mailto:chris@kranz.com] Sent: Tue 1/21/2003 8:35 AM To: php-windows@lists.php.net Cc: Subject: RE: [PHP-WIN] Who is foo & what is bar? Hehe!!! It's one of those classic terms that spans across many languages and dates back quite a long time. Whenever I pickup a programming book, somewhere in there, you'll find the infamous foo and bar... chris kranz fatcuban.com -----Original Message----- From: Mikey [mailto:mikey@splatted.net] Sent: Tuesday, January 21, 2003 1:32 PM To: Uttam; php-windows-digest-help@lists.php.net; php-windows@lists.php.net Subject: RE: [PHP-WIN] Who is foo & what is bar? Just my opinion, but I think it comes from the acronym FUBAR - f@cked up beyond all recognition... Mikey > -----Original Message----- > From: Uttam [mailto:uttam@lml.co.in] > Sent: 21 January 2003 13:29 > To: php-windows-digest-help@lists.php.net; php-windows@lists.php.net > Subject: [PHP-WIN] Who is foo & what is bar? > > > In many code examples in PHP documention (& others also), I have seen > authors referring to variables 'foo' & 'bar', but I have yet not > discovered > the origin of these names. I am sure there must be dozens of others who > have the curiosity to find how the use of these names started. > > Can anyone quench the curiosities please? > > regards, > > > -- > PHP Windows Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) > To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php > > > > -- PHP Windows Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php -- PHP Windows Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php