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Among the things that names/identifiers do: (1) They act as indexes or discriminators. (2) They describe. (3) They prescribe. (1) will be useful for at leas
by noblethrasher 13y ago
Among the things that names/identifiers do:
(1) They act as indexes or discriminators.
(2) They describe.
(3) They prescribe.
(1) will be useful for at least as long as we program in a textual medium. (2) is also useful, but type systems make it ancillary. (3) is dangerous since it's merely an ought statement that can easily get divorced from reality; decent type systems obviate the need for that role.
- gfodor 13y agoYou're completely ignoring the role and importance of notation. Type systems do not take on the role of efficiently conveying information to a reader visually through symbology, which is part of the role of notation. Types in a type system have names, after all, and the choice of those names is also one of notation. Good notation comes largely in part from good names and has little to do with type systems. Hungarian is an exercise in notation, hence the name.