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The '$' being used in variable names I think originates from the word 'string', from when it was necessary to differentiate types of variable in the code. It ne
by ksangeelee 4y ago
The '$' 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.
- shaftoe444 4y agoA 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.
- martin_a 4y agoI really think you shouldn't take the article, its conclusions and recommendations too serious.
- dools 4y agoYou mean ... seriously?
- elric 4y agoI always assumed it originated with Perl, where $ is for scalars and @ for arrays.
- avian 4y agoI'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.
- elric 4y agoYou're right, seems like this usage goes back to at least 1964 in BASIC.