On Jun 3, 2011, at 8:34 PM, Shriram Krishnamurthi wrote: >> Oh, I'm all in favor of skipping "identifier". But using the word >> "variable" both for global variables (i.e. constants) and for >> function parameters strikes me as asking for confusion. > > Okay. We have no evidence one way or the other. It could be > something we try to investigate. Given our observation (for other > terms) that fine-grained distinctions actually cause more confusion > than help, I am not at all ready to buy your argument. Moreover, I > have also come to distrust arguments from pure reason in this area.
Fair enough. Data are good. But it seems to me that the difference (to a novice) between (a) something that's given a value once and for all where its name is defined, and (b) something that's a place-holder that takes on a different value every time a particular function is called is anything BUT a "fine distinction". Stephen Bloch sbl...@adelphi.edu _________________________________________________ For list-related administrative tasks: http://lists.racket-lang.org/listinfo/dev
