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Comment by antocv | Hacker News Reader

I dont read code aloud, but when reading it I have to make the sounds in my head. Makes sense?

fn calculate() does not lead my brain/mind to discover everything there is it already knows that is function and what it means in this specific context, but instead if I read it as fun it takes me to fun times calculating tip at college with friends.

mod means modification. Modulus. Or module. Why oh why, cant they just write freaking word module?!

Thats what programming is about - kill assumptions, define stuff, and Rust is flowing with assumptions and tersness.

Ada is what I am talking about - a very fine verbose language. Even Java is better than rust.

I think if Mozilla designed Java, it would look like this

pub cls Dfne {

priv stat fin Str hey;

}

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You better get over that problem because, depending on the language and context, you will find function written as fn, func, def, ->, lambda and many more. Some languages even don't offer a keyword for it.

In Rust, the function keyword is written 'fn', there're no assumptions or ambiguity there. You just have to learn "in Rust fn means function". It's as capricious as any other keyword, including function.

As a non-native English speaker I find this amusing because for me it's very clear that keywords are magic incantations for the compiler or interpreter, they aren't meant to explain anything. You just learn how to use those keywords and deal with it. For me, it's not clearer to write function instead of fn because in my native language you write it 'función'.

In my experience, it's not rare for Spanish-speaking programmers to ommit the t in function as it is the clearest and most natural way for them to write it. Then, when the program doesn't work, they have to add the missing ts. I feel fn is an improvement with regards to this, as it's not so English-centered. Let's stop pretending that programming a computer is a mixture of Logic, Math and English.

I agree with the core of what you're saying. fn vs function vs whatever is simply a way for the compiler to read your program. However, I feel like it's a mistake to say natural language has nothing to do with programming.

The most powerful metaphor I use when I explain to newer developers how to write clear code is simply "tell a story." Of course you're telling a very constrained story, and some parts need a little comment to explain them, but I strongly believe that even if you're using english keywords, you should be telling a story in the development team's native language if possible. Not everything is a binary choice, even in computing. ;)

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