last week in class I witnessed somebody reading a C program to
another person and they were having some difficulties because of
different pronunciation of some C language terms...so how do
professional programmers pronounce these things?

1. '\0'

2. '\n', '\a', '\b', '\f', etc.

3. NULL, nul (how to distinguish these two?)

4. char (3 possible ways I've heard are 4a) like the 1st syllable in
"character", 4b) like "char coal", and 4c) like "car"

5. Motif (like "motive" or more like the French word?)

6. x = y, x == y (how to distinguish these two?)

7. ++x, x++, x += n

8. argc, argv


thanks

Franz Hose wrote:

> last week in class I witnessed somebody reading a C program to
> another person and they were having some difficulties because of
> different pronunciation of some C language terms...so how do
> professional programmers pronounce these things?

Frankly code is not read aloud very often.

> 1. '\0'

null char

> 2. '\n', '\a', '\b', '\f', etc.

newline, bell, backspace, form feed.

> 3. NULL, nul (how to distinguish these two?)

null pointer constant, ASCII null.

> 4. char (3 possible ways I've heard are 4a) like the 1st syllable in
> "character", 4b) like "char coal", and 4c) like "car"

I'll pick 4a

> 5. Motif (like "motive" or more like the French word?)

As the dictionary pronounces it.

> 6. x = y, x == y (how to distinguish these two?)

y is assigned to x, x is equal to y.

> 7. ++x, x++, x += n

preincrement x, postincrement x, x plus equals n.

> 8. argc, argv

Aey-Aar-Gee-Cee, Aey-Aar-Gee-Vee.

> thanks

Your welcome.

santosh wrote:
> Franz Hose wrote:
>
>> last week in class I witnessed somebody reading a C program to
>> another person and they were having some difficulties because of
>> different pronunciation of some C language terms...so how do
>> professional programmers pronounce these things?
>
> Frankly code is not read aloud very often.
>
>> 1. '\0'
>
> null char
>
>> 2. '\n', '\a', '\b', '\f', etc.
>
> newline, bell, backspace, form feed.

apostrophe backslash n apostrophe, etc.

I know that there are one-syllable names for all the ASCII special
characters for reading out loud:
"tick slide n tick" for '\n', etc.
See ASCII in the Jargon file:
<http://www.ccil.org/jargon/jargon_16.html#SEC23>.

>> 3. NULL, nul (how to distinguish these two?)
>
> null pointer constant, ASCII null.

null, and n-u-l (spelled out, since it is not a special C identifier,
although ASCII null is good, too)

>> 6. x = y, x == y (how to distinguish these two?)
>
> y is assigned to x, x is equal to y.

x equal y, x equals y

>> 7. ++x, x++, x += n
>
> preincrement x, postincrement x, x plus equals n.

plus plus x, x plus plus, x plus equal n

>> 8. argc, argv
>
> Aey-Aar-Gee-Cee, Aey-Aar-Gee-Vee.

arg-cee, arg-vee


--
Thad

Franz Hose <franz_hose_1993AD@yahoo.dk> wrote:

> last week in class I witnessed somebody reading a C program to
> another person and they were having some difficulties because of
> different pronunciation of some C language terms...so how do
> professional programmers pronounce these things?

> 1. '\0'
> 2. '\n', '\a', '\b', '\f', etc.

back-zero, back-enn, back-ah etc.

> 3. NULL, nul (how to distinguish these two?)

What's nul ?

> 4. char (3 possible ways I've heard are 4a) like the 1st syllable in
> "character", 4b) like "char coal", and 4c) like "car"

I usually say 'car' but philological research supports the alternate
pronunciations 'tshar' and even 'shar'.
http://www.ioccc.org/1990/westley.c

> 5. Motif (like "motive" or more like the French word?)

As in French, but that's not a C question.

> 6. x = y, x == y (how to distinguish these two?)

x equals y, x equals-to y ?

> 7. ++x, x++, x += n
> 8. argc, argv

I don't see the problem here. Plus-plus-x, x-plus-plus etc.
Arg-see, arg-vee.


--
pa at panix dot com

Franz Hose said:

>
> last week in class I witnessed somebody reading a C program to
> another person and they were having some difficulties because of
> different pronunciation of some C language terms...so how do
> professional programmers pronounce these things?

Ask two professional programmers a question like this, and you'll get at
least three completely different answers.

> 1. '\0'

When reading it "in passing" as part of a wider context, I'd pronounce this
as "null" (and rely on its being disambiguated by the context in which it
appears). When it appears on its own without a C context to disambiguate
it (as in "you forgot to put a '\0' on there"), I'd say "null terminating
character" or "null terminator".

> 2. '\n', '\a', '\b', '\f', etc.

I think santosh's answer is fine here - "newline", "bell", "backspace",
"form feed".

> 3. NULL, nul (how to distinguish these two?)

"null" for the first, and I don't bother to use the second at all.

> 4. char (3 possible ways I've heard are 4a) like the 1st syllable in
> "character", 4b) like "char coal", and 4c) like "car"

4b

> 5. Motif (like "motive" or more like the French word?)

Mo' teef (think of someone trying to slangise "more teeth"!)

> 6. x = y, x == y (how to distinguish these two?)

x becomes y
x is equal to y

> 7. ++x, x++, x += n

plus plus x
x plus plus
x plus equals n (and yes, I realise this partly contradicts my answer to 6
above). One might strive for "x increases by n" in the interests of
consistency, but that isn't how *I* actually read it aloud. Others might,
of course.

> 8. argc, argv

argsee', argvee'

--
Richard Heathfield <http://www.cpax.org.uk>
Email: -http://www. +rjh@
Google users: <http://www.cpax.org.uk/prg/writings/googly.php>
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999

santosh <santosh.k83@gmail.com> writes:
> Franz Hose wrote:
>> last week in class I witnessed somebody reading a C program to
>> another person and they were having some difficulties because of
>> different pronunciation of some C language terms...so how do
>> professional programmers pronounce these things?
>
> Frankly code is not read aloud very often.

Agreed.

[...]

>> 3. NULL, nul (how to distinguish these two?)
>
> null pointer constant, ASCII null.

I wouldn't read NULL as "null pointer constant", since there are a
plethora of *other* null pointer constants.

>> 4. char (3 possible ways I've heard are 4a) like the 1st syllable in
>> "character", 4b) like "char coal", and 4c) like "car"
>
> I'll pick 4a

I use 4a, but I don't object to the other pronunciations.

[...]

>> 6. x = y, x == y (how to distinguish these two?)
>
> y is assigned to x, x is equal to y.

I think of "x = y" as "x assign y".

>> 7. ++x, x++, x += n
>
> preincrement x, postincrement x, x plus equals n.

There's a difference between reading C and re-interpreting it. C isn't
designed to be a spoken language, but if I'm going to read it out
loud, I prefer to keep a one-to-one correspondence between the text
and what I say. So: "x plus plus", "plus plus x", "x plus equals n".

>> 8. argc, argv
>
> Aey-Aar-Gee-Cee, Aey-Aar-Gee-Vee.

"arg-cee", "arg-vee". I wouldn't pronounce each letter without a very
good reason.

--
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) kst-u@mib.org <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
San Diego Supercomputer Center <*> <http://users.sdsc.edu/~kst>
"We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this."
-- Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, "Yes Minister"

Franz Hose wrote:
>
> last week in class I witnessed somebody reading a C program to
> another person and they were having some difficulties because of
> different pronunciation of some C language terms...so how do
> professional programmers pronounce these things?

There is no standard on these, and I'm sure any anwers you get will
include a different combination from each person. However, as one
who would consider himself a "professional programm", I will list
what I use as my own personal preferences.

> 1. '\0'
>
> 2. '\n', '\a', '\b', '\f', etc.

The above depend on context. I might say "backslash n", or I might
say "newline", as an example.

> 3. NULL, nul (how to distinguish these two?)

I pronounce them both the same. Context tells you which one I
mean: "NULL-terminated list", "nul-terminated string".

> 4. char (3 possible ways I've heard are 4a) like the 1st syllable in
> "character", 4b) like "char coal", and 4c) like "car"

I use 4b.

> 5. Motif (like "motive" or more like the French word?)

"Moe TEEF".

> 6. x = y, x == y (how to distinguish these two?)

Again, this is mostly from context, but typically I would
pronouce the above as "x equals y" and "x is equal to y".

For example:

x = y; --> "x equals y"

if ( x == y ) --> "if x equals y" (Or, if dictating, "if,
open-paren, x equals y, close-paren".)

> 7. ++x, x++, x += n

"plus plus x", "x plus plus", "x plus equals n".

> 8. argc, argv

"Arg SEE", "arg VEE". (Where "arg" is like "ark" with a "g".)

Or, on September 19, "AARRGH see" and "AARRGH vee".

--
+-------------------------+--------------------+-----------------------+
| Kenneth J. Brody | www.hvcomputer.com | #include |
| kenbrody/at\spamcop.net | www.fptech.com | <std_disclaimer.h> |
+-------------------------+--------------------+-----------------------+
Don't e-mail me at: <mailto:ThisIsASpamTrap@gmail.com>

On Oct 21, 6:43 pm, Franz Hose <franz_hose_199...@yahoo.dk> wrote:
> last week in class I witnessed somebody reading a C program to
> another person and they were having some difficulties because of
> different pronunciation of some C language terms...so how do
> professional programmers pronounce these things?
>
> 1. '\0'

"escape zero" aka "backslash zero" aka "null character" aka "end of
string"

> 2. '\n', '\a', '\b', '\f', etc.

"escape enn", "escape aey", "escape bee", etc
aka
"newline", "alert", "backspace", "formfeed", etc

> 3. NULL, nul (how to distinguish these two?)

"null"

> 4. char (3 possible ways I've heard are 4a) like the 1st syllable in
> "character", 4b) like "char coal", and 4c) like "car"

It depends. Mostly
"char" but sometimes "character"

> 5. Motif (like "motive" or more like the French word?)

Not a C term, but "Moe teef"


> 6. x = y, x == y (how to distinguish these two?)

"x takes the value of y" vs "x is equal to y"

> 7. ++x, x++, x += n

"plusplus x", "x plusplus", "x plusassign n"
or
"preincrement x", "postincrement x", "x increment by n"


> 8. argc, argv

"arg see", "arg vee"

> thanks