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ksangeelee | 3 years ago

The '$' being used in variable names I think originates from the word 'string', from when it was necessary to differentiate types of variable in the code. It never related to currency.

discuss

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martin_a|3 years ago

I really think you shouldn't take the article, its conclusions and recommendations too serious.

dools|3 years ago

You mean ... seriously?

elric|3 years ago

I always assumed it originated with Perl, where $ is for scalars and @ for arrays.

avian|3 years ago

I'm sure this use of $ character is much older than Perl.

One counter-example I know first hand: Sinclair ROM BASIC uses $ for denoting strings, in both variable and function names.

The one I have in a Spectrum is copyrighted 1982, around 5 years before first Perl was released.

I'm sure there are older examples like this.

shaftoe444|3 years ago

A bit like people who get annoyed by the word soccer, an English word originally to distinguish Association Football (soccer) from Rugby Football (rugger) and other codes.

bearmode|3 years ago

Worth noting that this word also has class connotations, in that only toffs at Oxford called it soccer. Working class people never did.