metasyntactic variable

2 definitions found

metasyntactic variable - Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 May 2007) :

  metasyntactic variable
  
     <grammar> Strictly, a variable used in metasyntax, but
     often used for any name used in examples and understood to
     stand for whatever thing is under discussion, or any random
     member of a class of things under discussion.  The word foo
     is the canonical example.  To avoid confusion, hackers never
     (well, hardly ever) use "foo" or other words like it as
     permanent names for anything.
  
     In filenames, a common convention is that any filename
     beginning with a metasyntactic-variable name is a scratch
     file that may be deleted at any time.
  
     To some extent, the list of one's preferred metasyntactic
     variables is a cultural signature.  They occur both in series
     (used for related groups of variables or objects) and as
     singletons.  Here are a few common signatures:
  
     foo, bar, baz, quux, quuux, quuuux...: MIT/Stanford
     usage, now found everywhere.  At MIT (but not at Stanford),
     baz dropped out of use for a while in the 1970s and '80s.  A
     common recent mutation of this sequence inserts qux before
     quux.
  
     bazola, ztesch: Stanford (from mid-'70s on).
  
     foo, bar, thud, grunt: This series was popular at CMU.
     Other CMU-associated variables include ack, barf, foo, and
     gorp.
  
     foo, bar, fum: This series is reported to be common at
     Xerox PARC.
  
     fred, barney: See the entry for fred.  These tend to be
     Britishisms.
  
     toto, titi, tata, tutu: Standard series of metasyntactic
     variables among francophones.
  
     corge, grault, flarp: Popular at Rutgers University and
     among GOSMACS hackers.
  
     zxc, spqr, wombat: Cambridge University (England).
  
     shme: Berkeley, GeoWorks, Ingres.  Pronounced /shme/ with a
     short /e/.
  
     foo, bar, zot: Helsinki University of Technology,
     Finland.
  
     blarg, wibble: New Zealand
  
     Of all these, only "foo" and "bar" are universal (and baz
     nearly so).  The compounds foobar and "foobaz" also enjoy
     very wide currency.
  
     Some jargon terms are also used as metasyntactic names; barf
     and mumble, for example.
  
     See also Commonwealth Hackish for discussion of numerous
     metasyntactic variables found in Great Britain and the
     Commonwealth.
  
     [Jargon File]
  
     (1995-11-13)
  

metasyntactic variable - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  metasyntactic variable
   n.
  
     A name used in examples and understood to stand for whatever thing is
     under discussion, or any random member of a class of things under
     discussion. The word foo is the canonical example. To avoid
     confusion, hackers never (well, hardly ever) use `foo' or other words
     like it as permanent names for anything. In filenames, a common
     convention is that any filename beginning with a
     metasyntactic-variable name is a scratch file that may be deleted
  at
     any time.
  
     Metasyntactic variables are so called because (1) they are variables
     in the metalanguage used to talk about programs etc; (2) they are
     variables whose values are often variables (as in usages like "the
     value of f(foo,bar) is the sum of foo and bar"). However, it has been
     plausibly suggested that the real reason for the term "metasyntactic
     variable" is that it sounds good. To some extent, the list of one's
     preferred metasyntactic variables is a cultural signature. They occur
     both in series (used for related groups of variables or objects) and
     as singletons. Here are a few common signatures:
  
     foo, bar, baz, quux, quuux, quuuux...: MIT/Stanford usage,
  now
     found everywhere (thanks largely to early versions of this lexicon!).
     At MIT (but not at Stanford), baz dropped out of use for a while in
     the 1970s and '80s. A common recent mutation of this sequence inserts
     quxbefore quux.
     bazola, ztesch: Stanford (from mid-'70s on).
     foo, bar, thud, grunt: This series was popular at CMU. Other
     CMU-associated variables include gorp.
     foo, bar, bletch: Waterloo University. We are informed that the
  CS
     club at Waterloo formerly had a sign on its door reading "Ye Olde Foo
     Bar and Grill"; this led to an attempt to establish "grill" as the
     third metasyntactic variable, but it never caught on.
     foo, bar, fum: This series is reported to be common at XEROX
  PARC.
     fred, jim, sheila, barney: See the entry for fred. These tend
  to
     be Britishisms.
     flarp: Popular at Rutgers University and among GOSMACS hackers.
     zxc, spqr, wombat: Cambridge University (England).
     shme Berkeley, GeoWorks, Ingres. Pronounced /shme/ with a short /e/.
     foo, bar, baz, bongo Yale, late 1970s.
     spam, eggs Python programmers.
     snork Brown University, early 1970s.
     foo, bar, zot Helsinki University of Technology, Finland.
     blarg, wibble New Zealand.
     toto, titi, tata, tutu France.
     pippo, pluto, paperino Italy. Pippo /pee'po/ and Paperino
     /pa.per.ee'.no/ are the Italian names for Goofy and Donald Duck.
     aap, noot, mies The Netherlands. These are the first words a child
     used to learn to spell on a Dutch spelling board.
     oogle, foogle, boogle; zork, gork, bork These two series (which may
  be
     continued with other initial consonents) are reportedly common in
     England, and said to go back to Lewis Carroll.
  
     Of all these, only foo and bar are universal (and baz nearly so).
     The compounds foobar and foobaz also enjoy very wide currency. Some
     jargon terms are also used as metasyntactic names; barf and
     mumble, for example. See also Commonwealth Hackish for discussion
     of numerous metasyntactic variables found in Great Britain and the
     Commonwealth.