On 10/5/06, Jason Grossman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On 06/10/2006, at 5:07 am, Axel Liljencrantz wrote: > > > Hello Jason, > > > > There are three levels of variable locality for variables in fish: > > > > * local, meaning local to some specific block of code. Once the end of > > that block is reached, the variable dissapears. > > * global, meaning that the variable is not specific to a block of code > > and will continue to exist until the program exits. > > * universal, meaning that the variable is not even specific to the > > current shell, it is shared between all the users shell instances now > > and in the future. It is even preserved across reboots and logouts. > ... > > I think that the term is very > > descriptive, as for me global is associated with the earth, as in > > global warming, etc., and universal would in that context mean > > something that is on an even higher level, as the universe contains > > many planets. > > Now that you've said that, I find the terms completely memorable. > > But I'm still not satisfied! fish is all about discoverability, so > the fact that I find the terms memorable only after you explain the > naming to me is worrying. I suggest we continue the search for > better names, at least for the third level.
As you say, it would be better if you understand what the names mean _before_ it is explained. > > How do you feel about Philip's suggestion of local, global, system? I responded to Philips mail separately. Very good suggestions, still not convinced that the names sahould be changed, but giving it some honest thought. > Local, global, megaglobal? That has the advantage of making the > ordering absolutely clear. > > Sudden brainwave: how about local, global, persistent? All these work as well. However, as I said in the mail to Philip, I like how the distance metaphor of 'universal' naturally explains variable precedence. Maybe that's the kind of aesthetics that only appeal to the designer of a language? To me, megaglobal sounds a bit silly, but persistent is pretty good. The downside is that while it implies that the value will be restored the next time the shell is started, it does not imply (to me, at least) that the value is also distributed to all other running shells at once, so the name is in a way misleading. > > Jason > -- Axel ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Take Surveys. Earn Cash. Influence the Future of IT Join SourceForge.net's Techsay panel and you'll get the chance to share your opinions on IT & business topics through brief surveys -- and earn cash http://www.techsay.com/default.php?page=join.php&p=sourceforge&CID=DEVDEV _______________________________________________ Fish-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/fish-users
