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JavaScript

Posted by Bob Main
Bob Main
4,183 Points

variable names... delta? foo? Just curious....

Sorry if this is answered in other courses, but I've just run across these names as variables pretty often and I'm just curious as to why they're used so much, or their significance... or their history?

Being 100% new to programming I feel like it's a silly question to ask, but I guess I feel like I'm often in a room where there's a joke or something everyone is getting except me! Or, it's valuable to know, idk!

1 Answer

Sean Ahern
Sean Ahern
7,533 Points

The usage of foo is a common placeholder word, that goes way back to early software development.

It's short, easily recognizable, and intentionally lacking any particular meaning. foo is often used with bar, as they are two halves of the word Foobar — a nonsensical, phonetic pronunciation of a military acronym FUBAR (F'd Up Beyond All Repair). Kind of an inside joke that is commonly found in introductory programming lessons and pseudocode — like "Hello World".

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foobar

Bob Main
Bob Main
4,183 Points

That's great! I appreciate the insight! Thought it might be something like that.

A X
A X
12,842 Points

I am humored that Treehouse would use foobar; I understand the tradition behind it, but its meaning is hardly PG. I'm more familiar with its use in the military, which I've heard as F***** Up Beyond All Recognition (vs. Sean's Repair). The wiki article on the use of foobar in programming is a very interesting read. Thanks for the link Sean.