From: David King Landrith <dlandrith@...>
Date: 2004-04-05T00:45:17+09:00
Subject: Re: Variable names

Too clever by half, Charles:

Just the same, you've hit upon why I seldom find this list to be very 
useful.


On Apr 4, 2004, at 10:41 AM, Charles Miller wrote:

> "Where can I find this fish's bicycle?"
>
> "Fish don't have bicycles."

The question appears to be enquiring about modes of travel.  Thus, a 
reasonable answer might point the user in the right direction to 
understand modes of fish travel.  Even if you don't understand what the 
questioner is trying to get at, if you still desire to offer some 
answer, then you should at least request clarification.

The answer you've proposed above offers as much illumination as the 
following exchange:

Q: "Why do fish hav fines?"

A: "Fish don't 'hav' fines."

Q: "OK.  Why do 'fishe' have fins?"

A: "'Fishe' don't have fins'."

etc.

> "But they must have something like it. Can I find their cars?"
>
> "No, they don't have cars."
>
> "But they have to get to work somehow!"
>
> "They do?"

If you really think that this is a reasonable type of conversation, 
then you may want to find and read some book on how to engage in 
fruitful conversation.  I understand that there are several good ones 
out there.  Books that have received good reviews on Amazon include 
_Conversationally Speaking : Tested New Ways to Increase Your Personal 
and Social Effectiveness_ by Alan Garner, or _How to Start a 
Conversation and Make Friends : Revised and Updated_ by Don Gabor.  I'm 
not offering this to be insulting or glib, if you think that this type 
of exchange is appropriate then you really may find them to be at least 
somewhat helpful.  (For the record: I have no relationship to these 
books at all, and I have nothing to gain by mentioning them.)

> "You guys are so unhelpful. I still don't know where I can find the 
> bicycles."

Actually it's more like the following:

After 2 days and several emails, I still have no idea how the 
characters are getting evaluated and resolved by the interpreter and at 
what point these resolved or evaluated characters are disposed of in 
favor of the objects that they represent.  Moreover, I still have no 
idea if or why this question may reflect a category mistake.

I have no experience in writing compilers/interpreters, and I don't 
believe that I should have to in order to learn about such topics.

Best regards,

Dave

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David King Landrith
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