Difference between revisions of "Foo"

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'''''foo''''' is a metasyntactic variable: a word that does not mean anything by itself but is used to represent other, unspecified words.
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'''''foo''''' is a [[wikipedia:metasyntactic variable|metasyntactic variable]]: a word that does not mean anything by itself but is used to represent other, unspecified words.
  
 
In the [[NetHack]] community, people may refer to [[foocubus|''foo''cubus]]  to represent a ''suc''cubus or ''in''cubus, or [[footrice|''foo''trice]] to refer to a ''chicka''trice or ''cocka''trice. To [[fooproof|''foo''proof]] an object is to make it ''rust''proof, ''fire''proof or ''corrode''proof, depending on the object, but a better word to use in this case is ''[[fixed]]''.
 
In the [[NetHack]] community, people may refer to [[foocubus|''foo''cubus]]  to represent a ''suc''cubus or ''in''cubus, or [[footrice|''foo''trice]] to refer to a ''chicka''trice or ''cocka''trice. To [[fooproof|''foo''proof]] an object is to make it ''rust''proof, ''fire''proof or ''corrode''proof, depending on the object, but a better word to use in this case is ''[[fixed]]''.
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NetHack players generally do not use ''bar'', ''baz'', and the rest of the common metasyntactic variables.
 
NetHack players generally do not use ''bar'', ''baz'', and the rest of the common metasyntactic variables.
  
{{wikipedia|Metasyntactic variable}}
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{{wikipedia|Foo}}
 
[[Category:Community]]
 
[[Category:Community]]
 
[[Category:Development]]
 
[[Category:Development]]

Revision as of 10:51, 15 November 2010

foo is a metasyntactic variable: a word that does not mean anything by itself but is used to represent other, unspecified words.

In the NetHack community, people may refer to foocubus to represent a succubus or incubus, or footrice to refer to a chickatrice or cockatrice. To fooproof an object is to make it rustproof, fireproof or corrodeproof, depending on the object, but a better word to use in this case is fixed.

The word foo is used widely in the hacker (and NetHack-er) community, but it can be traced back to World War II and earlier. Its precise origin is not clear; RFC 3092 lists several plausible etymologies of the word.

NetHack players generally do not use bar, baz, and the rest of the common metasyntactic variables.