Carl, >One of the joys of "short names" is that they have a habit of being both >cultural and experiential. In terms of i, j, k loop variables I have to >blame FORTRAN (in my engineering days) for that one (all vars starting with >letters I to n being integers).
All cultural conventions have to start somewhere. Irrespective of whether i, j, k are good or bad (however they are measured), they are not part of programming culture. These days my main objection to single letter identifiers is that they can be visually indistinct (e.g., they have a higher probability of being overlooked or confused with other identifiers, compared to multi-letter identifiers). >My question is whether i, j and k are still recognised *globally* as viable >and therefore known loop counters? If so, are there other examples? Globally, as in throughout the world? I think a comparison of identifier usage by speakers of different human languages would make for a very interesting study. derek -- Derek M Jones tel: +44 (0) 1252 520 667 Knowledge Software Ltd mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Applications Standards Conformance Testing http://www.knosof.co.uk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PPIG Discuss List ([email protected]) Discuss admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/discuss Announce admin: http://limitlessmail.net/mailman/listinfo/announce PPIG Discuss archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/discuss%40ppig.org/
