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You can already use Greek letter variable names in Python: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17043894/what-unicode-symbols-are-accepted-in-python3-variable-na

You can already use Greek letter variable names in Python: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17043894/what-unicode-symbols-are-accepted-in-python3-variable-names https://stackoverflow.com/questions/17043894/what-unicode-sy... I've used θ in code dealing with angles before.

enriquto 8y ago
yes, I want to use them in C. It is possible with clang but, unfortunately, not with gcc. I also want to be able to type them into TeX, both in math mode and in text mode, without much fuss.
- dubya 8y ago
  \theta doesn't seem that bad. Typing something like \kissyface or \poop seems better than clicking around or typing a numeric code, albeit with the usual name guessing problem. On OS X, and I assume others, you can add items to be automatically replaced, so something like "!t" could become a unicode theta if you want.
codedokode 8y ago
That's a bad idea. How are other developers supposed to type this character (unless they are from Greece)?
- roblabla 8y ago
  keep it in the copy paste buffer, obviously /s. For an even more extreme version, look at Perl6's atomic operators: https://docs.perl6.org/language/unicode_ascii#Atomic_operators https://docs.perl6.org/language/unicode_ascii#Atomic_operato... (or any other operators on this page for that matter). IMO, it's not a "bad idea". Code is meant to be read, not written. If it renders the code more readable, then that's a win. But obviously, whether those symbols actually make the code more readable is debatable.
  - enriquto 8y ago
    > whether those symbols actually make the code more readable is debatable. In general, it would be rather silly to use greek letters for variable names. Yet sometimes, they tend to make numerical code much more readable when you are copying a mathematical formula verbatim. Compare using "πθ" versus "M_PI*theta" several times on the same formula, for example.
- enriquto 8y ago
  I'm not from Greece and I can type any character I need to. It's just a matter of thinking very hard about it, and then the character "pops".
  - tripzilch 8y ago
    What do you mean? Remembering the compose key sequence?

enriquto 8y ago

yes, I want to use them in C. It is possible with clang but, unfortunately, not with gcc. I also want to be able to type them into TeX, both in math mode and in text mode, without much fuss.

dubya 8y ago
\theta doesn't seem that bad. Typing something like \kissyface or \poop seems better than clicking around or typing a numeric code, albeit with the usual name guessing problem. On OS X, and I assume others, you can add items to be automatically replaced, so something like "!t" could become a unicode theta if you want.

codedokode 8y ago

That's a bad idea. How are other developers supposed to type this character (unless they are from Greece)?

roblabla 8y ago
keep it in the copy paste buffer, obviously /s. For an even more extreme version, look at Perl6's atomic operators: https://docs.perl6.org/language/unicode_ascii#Atomic_operators https://docs.perl6.org/language/unicode_ascii#Atomic_operato... (or any other operators on this page for that matter). IMO, it's not a "bad idea". Code is meant to be read, not written. If it renders the code more readable, then that's a win. But obviously, whether those symbols actually make the code more readable is debatable.
- enriquto 8y ago
  > whether those symbols actually make the code more readable is debatable. In general, it would be rather silly to use greek letters for variable names. Yet sometimes, they tend to make numerical code much more readable when you are copying a mathematical formula verbatim. Compare using "πθ" versus "M_PI*theta" several times on the same formula, for example.
enriquto 8y ago
I'm not from Greece and I can type any character I need to. It's just a matter of thinking very hard about it, and then the character "pops".
- tripzilch 8y ago
  What do you mean? Remembering the compose key sequence?