jeenglis@nunki.usc.edu (Joe English) (04/24/89)
djones@megatest.UUCP (Dave Jones) writes: > [about the "telephone test"] This reminds me of a question I had a while ago but never asked anyone who would know... How does one "pronounce" C? I know that Lisp and Forth have certain pronunciation rules (caddr ==> "ka-duh-derr," etc.), but are there any guidelines for C? Some of the rules I use are: * is pronounced "pointer" in a declaration, "star" in an expression; char is pronounced "character," (as opposed to "car" or "care;" I assume that the listener knows how to spell it); a[stuff] is "a sub-stuff;" foo(a,b,c) is "foo of a comma b comma c" or just "foo a b c" if foo is known to be a function (I leave the punctuation implicit whenever reasonable); !, &&, and || are pronounced "not," "and," and "or," respectively, as are ~, &, and | except that in the latter case I prefix the entire expression with "bitwise," unless both logical and bitwise operators are used in which case I write the whole thing on a piece of paper; void (*funtab[MAX])(int,int,char *) is pronounced "funtab is an array, MAX long, of pointers to function returning void, taking int, int and character pointer." These seem to work pretty well (assuming my audience also speaks C) for all but really complicated expressions. What do other people do? In particular, what is the real name of this -> thing? How does one pronounce highly abbreviated standard library functions? (To read strrchr like it's spelled sounds like you're clearing your throat...) Is malloc "em-allock" or "mallock?" (I prefer the latter) and is fprintf "eff-prinf-eff" or "phprintph?" (I prefer the former, to avoid sounding like a Don Martin sound effect...) Or is this a stupid question? --Joe English jeenglis@nunki.usc.edu
krazy@claris.com (Jeff Erickson) (04/24/89)
"Pound include st'deeoh dot aitch. Main arg-see arg-vee. Int arg-see. Care
star star arg-vee. Open brace. Int eye. For eye equal one, eye less than
arg-see, eye plus plus. Print-eff quote argument percent dee is percent ess
period backslash enn endquote comma eye comma arg-vee sub eye. Close brace."
--
Jeff Erickson Claris Corporation | Birdie, birdie, in the sky,
408/987-7309 Applelink: Erickson4 | Why'd you do that in my eye?
krazy@claris.com ames!claris!krazy | I won't fret, and I won't cry.
"I'm a heppy, heppy ket!" | I'm just glad that cows don't fly.kevinf@infmx.UUCP (Kevin Franden) (04/24/89)
In article <9957@claris.com> krazy@claris.com (Jeff Erickson) writes: >"Pound include st'deeoh dot aitch. Main arg-see arg-vee. Int arg-see. Care >star star arg-vee. Open brace. Int eye. For eye equal one, eye less than ^ paren _should_ be here (notice the case sensitivity=-) >arg-see, eye plus plus. Print-eff quote argument percent dee is percent ess ^ paren here too? (or are you doing a one liner?) >period backslash enn endquote comma eye comma arg-vee sub eye. Close brace." -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Kevin Franden UUCP: {backbone}!pyramid!infmx!kevinf Informix Software Inc disclaimer("I said what I said and not my employer"); =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
djones@megatest.UUCP (Dave Jones) (04/25/89)
From article <3582@nunki.usc.edu>, by jeenglis@nunki.usc.edu (Joe English): > > djones@megatest.UUCP (Dave Jones) writes: > >> [about the "telephone test"] > > This reminds me of a question I had a while ago > but never asked anyone who would know... How does > one "pronounce" C? ... > Some of the rules I use are: ... > char is pronounced "character," (as opposed to > "car" or "care;" I assume that the listener knows > how to spell it); On the East Coast, it is pronounced "care". Here in Silicon Valley, it is pronounced "char". ... > ... is this a stupid question? Not at all. Having had quite a bit of experience recently discussing programs and proposed programs, both over the phone and in person, with persons from the other coast, it would seem advantageous to have some conventions. It would also seem like a dandy topic of personal preference and opinion which could provoke an amusing religious war here on the net. We'll see what happens.
krazy@claris.com (Jeff Erickson) (04/25/89)
From article <1261@infmx.UUCP>, by kevinf@infmx.UUCP (Kevin Franden): > In article <9957@claris.com> I write: >>"Pound include st'deeoh dot aitch. Main arg-see arg-vee. Int arg-see. Care >>star star arg-vee. Open brace. Int eye. For eye equal one, eye less than > ^ > paren _should_ be here > (notice the case sensitivity=-) >>arg-see, eye plus plus. Print-eff quote argument percent dee is percent ess > ^ > paren here too? (or are you doing a one liner?) >>period backslash enn endquote comma eye comma arg-vee sub eye. Close brace." Nope. No parens. I'm making the assumption that the listener knows the language. Notice I also left out every semicolon and all the other parens, as well as the angle brackets around "st'deeoh dot aitch". C'mon. You know the laguage well enough to have figured out that parens should go there. Why should I have to remind you? If I had been doing a one-liner, I would have explicitly stated "eye plus plus COMMA print-eff..." to make sure you knew. And I probably would've said the parens, too. -- Jeff Erickson Claris Corporation | Birdie, birdie, in the sky, 408/987-7309 Applelink: Erickson4 | Why'd you do that in my eye? krazy@claris.com ames!claris!krazy | I won't fret, and I won't cry. "I'm a heppy, heppy ket!" | I'm just glad that cows don't fly.
karl@haddock.ima.isc.com (Karl Heuer) (04/26/89)
In article <3582@nunki.usc.edu> jeenglis@nunki.usc.edu (Joe English) writes: >How does one "pronounce" C? Oh God, not this thread again. This is pretty much a religious issue. Some people pronounce "char" like the English word with the same spelling; others pronounce it like the first syllable of "character". (And whether the latter is the same as "care" depends on your dialect.) People will argue for one or the other on grounds of consistency, but it turns out that nobody uses a fully consistent style anyway. Next we start to discuss the correct pronunciation of symbols like `#' (sharp, pound, number, hash, mesh, grid, octothorp, tictactoeboard, etc.), common phrases like "bash bang splat", and then someone will post the complete list from The Hacker's Dictionary, including the Intercal names like "angle worm" for "<-". If we must go through this, let's keep it to comp.misc, okay? Karl W. Z. Heuer (ima!haddock!karl or karl@haddock.isc.com), The Walking Lint
pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) (04/27/89)
In article <4417@goofy.megatest.UUCP> djones@megatest.UUCP (Dave Jones) writes:
=On the East Coast, it is pronounced "care". Here in Silicon Valley, it
=is pronounced "char".
In the No'theast, it's pronounced "chah". ;-)
Seriously, I'm heard it pronounced both "char" and "care", right here in NJ.
Pete
--
Pete Holsberg UUCP: {...!rutgers!}princeton!mccc!pjh
Mercer College CompuServe: 70240,334
1200 Old Trenton Road GEnie: PJHOLSBERG
Trenton, NJ 08690 Voice: 1-609-586-4800pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) (04/27/89)
In article <686@mccc.UUCP> pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) writes: =In article <4417@goofy.megatest.UUCP> djones@megatest.UUCP (Dave Jones) writes: ==On the East Coast, it is pronounced "care". Here in Silicon Valley, it ==is pronounced "char". = =In the No'theast, it's pronounced "chah". ;-) = =Seriously, I'm heard it pronounced both "char" and "care", right here in NJ. ^^^^= I've Sorry. = =Pete =-- =Pete Holsberg UUCP: {...!rutgers!}princeton!mccc!pjh =Mercer College CompuServe: 70240,334 =1200 Old Trenton Road GEnie: PJHOLSBERG =Trenton, NJ 08690 Voice: 1-609-586-4800 -- Pete Holsberg UUCP: {...!rutgers!}princeton!mccc!pjh Mercer College CompuServe: 70240,334 1200 Old Trenton Road GEnie: PJHOLSBERG Trenton, NJ 08690 Voice: 1-609-586-4800
evil@arcturus.UUCP (Wade Guthrie) (04/28/89)
> On the East Coast, it is pronounced "care". Here in Silicon Valley, it > is pronounced "char". Yeah! I like to declare: char (like a well-done steak) splat splat arg-vee but always, at the top of my routines, I: pound include studio-h (dancers might include studio-54 :->) I've also noticed the following: while see equals get-char bang-equals eee-oh-ef . . . Wade Guthrie evil@arcturus.UUCP Rockwell International Anaheim, CA (Rockwell doesn't necessarily believe / stand by what I'm saying; how could they when *I* don't even know what I'm talking about???)
) (04/28/89)
I have also heard it pronounced both "care" and "char" from different
people at the same institution. Different people were brought up with
different ways of pronouncing. I will use either. Most people around here
do not seem to have a problem with either one.
Oh, well, just some thoughts I had.
/ aka Andy Santoro (ack@csuchico.edu)
__. _. /_ California State University, Chico
(_/|_(__/ <_ The opinions of this institution are not my mine.
My opinions are not this institutions.daveh@marob.MASA.COM (Dave Hammond) (05/02/89)
One person writes: >> On the East Coast, it is pronounced "care". Here in Silicon Valley, it >> is pronounced "char". Another person writes: >Yeah! I like to declare: > char (like a well-done steak) splat splat arg-vee >but always, at the top of my routines, I: > pound include studio-h (dancers might include studio-54 :->) My two cents worth: Since `char' is derived from `character', I've always pronounced it `kar', resulting in expressions like `kar star' and `kar star star'. The standard io header filename is pronounced `S T D eye-oh dot H', making its program inclusion line is `pound include S T D eye-oh dot H'. The contents of Array[] location subscript N is `Array sub N'. >I've also noticed the following: > while see equals get-char bang-equals eee-oh-ef . . . Sounds right to me. BTW, if regional affiliation matters -- I live on the East coast, but I was first introduced to C in the midwest. -- Dave Hammond daveh@marob.masa.com
pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) (05/04/89)
In article <630@marob.MASA.COM> daveh@marob.masa.com (Dave Hammond) writes:
=Since `char' is derived from `character', I've always pronounced it
=`kar', resulting in expressions like `kar star' and `kar star star'.
=
=BTW, if regional affiliation matters -- I live on the East coast, but
=I was first introduced to C in the midwest.
A dead giveaway. No died-in-the-wool Easterner could say it any way except
"kah stah stah". (-;
My first C instructor was from Spain and he pronounced stdio.h as "stoo-dee-yo
dot aish", and pointer as "pinter". Si? Si.
--
Pete Holsberg UUCP: {...!rutgers!}princeton!mccc!pjh
Mercer College CompuServe: 70240,334
1200 Old Trenton Road GEnie: PJHOLSBERG
Trenton, NJ 08690 Voice: 1-609-586-4800trebor@biar.UUCP (Robert J Woodhead) (05/05/89)
In article <699@mccc.UUCP> pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg) writes: >In article <630@marob.MASA.COM> daveh@marob.masa.com (Dave Hammond) writes: >> [Both posters mull over the ``char''wars A historical note; I remember bloody religious jihads over the pronounciation of char back in the mid '70s on the PLATO system. PLATO had user definable character sets or "charsets", and people were divided over whether this should be pronounced "char-set" or "kare-set". Probably 90% of the people used "char-set", because, whatever the derivation of the original word, you pronounce "charset" "char-set". The "kare-set" dweebs were all a bunch of elitists who didn't recognise that PLATO was for games instead of education anyway. -- Robert J Woodhead, Biar Games, Inc. !uunet!biar!trebor | trebor@biar.UUCP "The lamb will lie down with the lion, but the lamb won't get much sleep." -- Woody Allen.