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John Carmack on mutable variables

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498 points azhenley | 1 comments | 31 Oct 25 02:34 UTC | HN request time: 0.207s | source
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anymouse123456 ◴[31 Oct 25 13:50 UTC] No.45771965[source]▶
I completely agree with the assertion and the benefits that ensue, but my attention is always snagged by the nomenclature.

I know there are alternate names available to us, but even in the context of this very conversation (and headline), the thing is being called a "variable."

What is a "variable" if not something that varies?

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1. throwaway_7274 ◴[31 Oct 25 14:18 UTC] No.45772262[source]▶
Right, yeah, it’s a funny piece of terminology! The sense in which a ‘variable’ ‘varies’ isn’t that its value changes in time, but that its value is context-dependent. This is the same sense of the word as used in math!