Define the word metasyntactic variable"metasyntactic variable" jargon "Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001)"
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
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 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.
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, 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.
"metasyntactic variable" foldoc "The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)"
metasyntactic variable
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)
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