lambert@mcvax.uucp (Lambert Meertens) (08/03/86)
Several people have referred to dictionaries to correct other people's
terminology.
Now that is fine, as long as you bear in mind that dictionaries report on
*actual usage*, rather than on what one ought to say. And then, with an
inevitable time lag of several years.
For example, no-one would complain now--I think--about calling ( )
`parentheses'. But once, `parenthesis' stood for a parenthetical remark,
like the `--I think--' in the previous sentence. Also, according to my
dictionary, the singular `parenthesis' can refer to the pair ( )
collectively. Now, in the context in which I need to call ( and ) names,
*that* would be confusing (and not understood either, I guess).
There is a difference between US usage and British English usage, in that (
) are commonly called `brackets' in the UK, and rarely `parentheses'.
My dictionary (The American College Dictionary, Random House, 1947) has:
bracket: [...] 5. one of two marks, [ ], used in writing
or printing to enclose parenthetical matter, interpolations,
etc. 6. Math. a. (pl.) parentheses of *various* [my emphasis
--LM] forms indicating that the enclosed quantity is to be
treated as a unit. b. (loosely) vinculum (def. 2). [...]
Mathematicians have never bothered to define their syntax and for their
needs informal terms suffice. In programming languages, we have a need to
explain things precisely and to minimize the risk of confusion.
What I usually do is to call these thus:
( ) (round) open, (round) close, (round) parens
[ ] square open, square close, square brackets
{ } curly open, curly close, curly braces
< > angle open, angle close, angle brackets
()[]{} opener, closer, various kinds of parentheses
(I also say things like `left paren' for `('.) It is all kind of awkward.
What I feel is missing is a generic term that carries no preference for a
particular form. Dutch has a generic term, `haakje', which literally means
`hooklet', and German has `Klammer', which means `clamp'. I like the
German form, because it combines somehow the form and the meaning. What
both languages don't have, as far as I am aware, are terms for specific
forms.
If you have suggestions for better terminology, especially for the generic
case, please send me mail. If I think I find something useful, I will
summarize to the net.
--
Lambert Meertens, CWI, Amsterdam; lambert@mcvax.UUCP