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juantwc
Visitor

Where does 'm' come from?

I'm a big fan of m, was just wondering...

Is it safe to say that it is a variation on VISUAL BASIC's Me keyword? Where does it come from? 
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8 REPLIES 8
EnTerr
Roku Guru

Re: Where does 'm' come from?

Great question! i have been asking the same thing and even people that should be in the know had no idea.

Alternative hypothesis: perhaps it's short for "My_precious!" variable (from LoTR) 😛
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belltown
Roku Guru

Re: Where does 'm' come from?

"Me" sounds plausible. From Wikipedia:
this, self, and Me are keywords used in some computer programming languages to refer to the object, class, or other entity that the currently running code is part of.

Do you think that if enough of us contributed to a Wikipedia article, we could turn this hypothesis into an actual fact?
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squirreltown
Roku Guru

Re: Where does 'm' come from?

"belltown" wrote:

Do you think that if enough of us contributed to a Wikipedia article, we could turn this hypothesis into an actual fact?


An alternate fact at the very least I would think. I'm in.
Kinetics Screensavers
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Komag
Roku Guru

Re: Where does 'm' come from?

Smiley LOL
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Tajson
Visitor

Re: Where does 'm' come from?

m is from Casino Royale like 1953. In BrightScript, which m are we referencing to?

My votes are for John Backus and Harold Lawson.
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EnTerr
Roku Guru

Re: Where does 'm' come from?

"Tajson" wrote:
My votes are for John Backus and Harold Lawson.

i require explanation
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Tajson
Visitor

Re: Where does 'm' come from?

"EnTerr" wrote:
"Tajson" wrote:
My votes are for John Backus and Harold Lawson.

i require explanation

The father of FORTRAN and the father of the pointer? Kinda depends on how you use the m.
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EnTerr
Roku Guru

Re: Where does 'm' come from?

"Tajson" wrote:
"EnTerr" wrote:
"Tajson" wrote:
My votes are for John Backus and Harold Lawson.
i require explanation
The father of FORTRAN and the father of the pointer? Kinda depends on how you use the m.

I still don't get it, re how they are related.

`m` is a special variable holding the invocation context:

  • If a function was called "straight", as in `myFun()` or `main()`, then on entering the function m=GetGlobalAA().

  • If OTOH it was called "like a method" - `myAA.myFun()` - then on entering m=myAA so we can do poor man's object-oriented programming.
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