- From: Brad Kemper <brkemper@comcast.net>
- Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:46:15 -0800
- To: www-style CSS <www-style@w3.org>
- Message-Id: <C035BBC3-69F1-4E86-B9DC-9AC6B3D9569D@comcast.net>
On Feb 12, 2008, at 8:20 AM, Brad Kemper wrote: > In my proposal, there was a variable (or "constant", which is > basically a variable that retains the same value instead of > varying) on the left hand side. It occurs to me that my use of the word "constant" has confused some people who are not familiar with the concept. I thought it was nearly as well known as "variable", but perhaps not. Perhaps "var" or "variable" would be a better choice then, and if you substitute that for all instances of "constant" in my previous posts, then perhaps my proposal will make more sense. My initial urge was to use the term "constant", because I did not think that most of the time people would change the contents of it once they assigned something to it. Here is something from Wikipedia about variables[1] and constants[2]: [1] In computer science and mathematics, a variable (pronounced / ˈveərɪəbl/) (sometimes called an object or identifier in computer science) is a symbolic representation used to denote a quantity or expression. In mathematics, a variable often represents an "unknown" quantity that has the potential to change; in computer science, it represents a place where a quantity can be stored. Variables are often contrasted with constants, which are known and unchanging. [2]...Although a constant value is specified only once, the constant can be referenced multiple times in a program. Using a constant instead of specifying a value multiple times in the program can not only simplify code maintenance, but it can also supply a meaningful name for it and consolidate such constant assignments to a standard code location (for example, at the beginning). [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variable#Constants
Received on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 16:46:25 UTC