The Etymology of Programming - Brittany Storoz - JSConf EU 2018

Developers are constantly throwing around jargon and buzz words when describing applications and talking through code. To a new engineer, it can seem like we’re speaking an entirely different language. One might assume we’ve tried come up with semantic metaphors for what we’re doing, but how often do we actually stop to think about where these terms came from? This talk will dig deep into the origins of our lingo and how we’ve built a vocabulary full of quirky terms and mysterious phrases.
OMG JSConf EU is coming back in 2019 2019.jsconf.eu/

[@DiogoFernandes]

As as non native english speaker, when I started to learn about javascript, I needed to learn english first. Not every rule in grammar and those things, tecnical english to have access to more resources. I think that I can construct an understandable statement in english. In every company that I worked on Brazil, they recomend to comment on pull requests in english, they are not rigorous on the language (there is a lot of errors in this message, problably). They do this for the employes to get used to the language they are programming and incentive to use some translator. From my point of view, this was benefical to me, because I could larn some words and even understand this whole talk without legends. But the beginning is always hard, learning another language and programming.

[@uziao]

This is an awesome talk :} thank you very much!

[@ornous]

Very cool talk.That distance with words that feel artificial is so important in language acquisition. I think it's caused by lack of context. When you've only heard of a heap or a stack in computer science, you end up with a very narrow view that doesn't lend much meaning. Hearing those words in other applications over time really helps crystallise my understanding. Same reason non-native speakers can be more liberal with words that would come across as rude to native speakers. There is no emotional attachment, until there is... I used to be very shocked by English speakers who don't have a problem saying "voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir?" with a straight face. Now it just makes me laugh :D

[@mamunurrashid5652]

Interesting talk..... I never thought in this way about 'words/terms' of programming language!

[@torch2424]

Super Interesting talk. Great work!

[@emerson0001]

The is a great talk. I love to see how Brittany cares about non-native English speakers and it's very impacting to see how emotive she gets when citing the horrible terms she found in the book, the first example is not only exclusive but also sexist. It's very eye-opening, tech industry should worry more about the developer experience and strive to make a more inclusive environment. BTW `foobar` was my official placeholder variable name. I'll rethink that convention!

[@bagoquarks]

In 'Saving Private Ryan', fubar is explained by one of the squad members as they move inland from Omaha Beach, which would place it as US Army slang in WWII.

[@bagoquarks]

The Admiral Hopper 'bug' story is epic. It is worth mentioning the famous related phrase: "It's not a bug, it's a feature." => Meaning: "Whoops, that's an unintended, counter-intuitive outcome that I (the programmer) will justify with a lame explanation after my users discover it."

[@ericsjoviksskolan7782]

Great speaker!

[@blundster]

Nice talk, what ( . Y . ) on the keyboard mean? I tried to google it but I failed.. ‘var’ in polish is called ‘zmienna’. How would you explain etymology of ‘let’? those are just concepts you have to grasp and use as an universal slang, a price to be included in developer community. Take care!

[@esquilax5563]

Let is used in mathematics, so probably came from there. E.g. "let m, n, be integers such that 0 < m < n..."

[@ochiorbus]

About her conclusion made at 11:11. Thats egoistic.... I dont agree! People should understand the etymology and not just scrape a commonly used and understood word because it hurts someones feelings.

[@javascriptlord8086]

Amazing woman.