Marshall wrote: > Torben Ægidius Mogensen wrote: > >>That's not true. ML has variables in the mathematical sense of >>variables -- symbols that can be associated with different values at >>different times. What it doesn't have is mutable variables (though it >>can get the effect of those by having variables be immutable >>references to mutable memory locations). > > While we're on the topic of terminology, here's a pet peeve of > mine: "immutable variable." > > immutable = can't change > vary-able = can change > > Clearly a contradiction in terms.
But one that is at least two hundred years old [*], and so unlikely to be fixed now. In any case, the intent of this usage (in both mathematics and programming) is that different *instances* of a variable can be associated with different values. [*] introduced by Leibniz, according to <http://members.aol.com/jeff570/v.html>, but that was presumably in Latin. The first use of "variable" as a noun recorded by the OED in written English is in 1816. -- David Hopwood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
