Am 04.07.2013 um 13:09 schrieb Henrik Johansen <[email protected]>:

> 
> On Jul 4, 2013, at 12:52 , Torsten Bergmann wrote:
> 
>> Usually I thought only the C/C++ people fell in love with abbreviations - 
>> but 
>> now its our own community:
>> 
>> in Pharo 3.0 one can write:
>> 
>>       Smalltalk os env
>> 
>> or would it be better to use:
>> 
>>       Smalltalk operatingSystem environment
>> 
>> in the future?
>> 
>> So is the current
>> 
>>       Smalltalk vm
>> 
>> better than
>> 
>>       Smalltalk virtualMachine
>> 
>> I know: even a newcomer should know what "OS" means. At least 
>> Smalltalkers/Java people should
>> know they need a "VM". But nonetheless I think a common goal would be to 
>> keep 
>> Pharo code and method selectors readable and avoid abbreviations when 
>> possible.
>> 
>> Also there are Pharo methods like #getEnv: instead of 
>> #getEnvironmentVariable: 
>> (interesting that they wrap the native C/C++ API "GetEnvironmentVariableA"
>> which does not use abbreviations)
>> 
>> Should we care (with an issue) and use the more readable forms in
>> the future and deprecated the abbreviation forms? 
>> 
>> Or will we keep abbreviations for the lazy and easier typing?
>> 
>> If you comment please think about the goal to get readable code, the goal to
>> get more newcomers into programming and your own first steps with Smalltalk 
>> and IT ...
> 
> My 2c: 
> Acronyms work fine, also in method names. (os, vm)
> As a basic rule require to spell out ante meridiem, light amplification by 
> stimulated emission of radiation, radio detection and ranging, compact disk, 
> and their likes, seems a bit … zealous.
> 
> Simple abbreviations, like env, rather than using the full word, I have much 
> less empathy for.
> 
I like to avoid abbreviations as much as possible. But you are right when it 
comes to use very common ones I don't have a strong feeling about. To me I 
think vm and os are widely used so there is nothing to decipher in order to be 
able to understand it. The selector env I find not commonly used ( I know it 
mostly from console usage ). And there is Behavior>>#environment which I feel 
is inconsistent.

Norbert


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