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Phrase origin: Why do we "call" functions?

(quuxplusone.github.io)
156 points todsacerdoti | 2 comments | 09 Jul 25 04:04 UTC | HN request time: 0.409s | source
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userbinator ◴[09 Jul 25 04:29 UTC] No.44506358[source]▶
Somewhat less frequently, I also hear "invoke" or "execute", which is more verbose but also more generic.

Incidentally, I find strange misuses of "call" ("calling a command", "calling a button") one of the more grating phrases used by ESL CS students.

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pansa2 ◴[09 Jul 25 04:38 UTC] No.44506396[source]▶
> strange misuses of "call"

My favourite (least favourite?) is using “call” with “return”. On more than one occasion I’ve heard:

“When we call the return keyword, the function ends.”

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jamesfinlayson ◴[09 Jul 25 06:11 UTC] No.44506779[source]▶
I remember someone in university talking about the if function (which ostensibly takes one boolean argument).
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1. Delphiza ◴[09 Jul 25 10:10 UTC] No.44508128[source]▶
In Excel formulas everything is a function. IF, AND, OR, NOT are all functions. It is awkward and goes against what software devs are familiar with, but there are probably more people familiar with the Excel IF function than any other forms. Here is an example taken from the docs... =IF(AND(A3>B2,A3<C2),TRUE,FALSE)
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2. EForEndeavour ◴[09 Jul 25 10:58 UTC] No.44508460[source]▶
Excel cell formulas are the most widely used functional programming language in the world.