Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!cs.uoregon.edu!ogicse!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!percy!m2xenix!quagga!alpha!cspw From: cspw@alpha.cs.ru.ac.za (Peter Wentworth) Newsgroups: comp.lang.functional Subject: Re: thunk's Message-ID: Date: 23 Apr 91 09:16:04 GMT References: <1991Apr19.064216.23597@gucis.sct.gu.edu.au> <1151@creatures.cs.vt.edu> Sender: usenet@quagga.ru.ac.za (Rhodes University NNTP server) Organization: Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa Lines: 15 In <1151@creatures.cs.vt.edu> lavinus@csgrad.cs.vt.edu writes: >I have a question that has been nagging me for quite some time: why do we >call closures "thunk"s? I mean, where did that word come from? The only >two theories I've heard, neither with *any* supporting evidence, are that >it is an anagram for Knuth, and that perhaps it is a facetious past tense >of "think". Anyone know?? In Gries' book on compiler construction he says its because of the noise that the base pointer makes as you drop it back to the previous context. 'Thunk!' (It was a long time ago when we used the book ... hope I've remembered it right ...!) Pete -- EP Wentworth - Dept. of Computer Science - Rhodes University - Grahamstown. cspw@alpha.ru.ac.za