Wikipedia:Cleanup Taskforce/Metasyntactic variable

Metasyntactic variable

Project complete

Problems with the article / recommendations

• The article for metasyntactic variable has been intermixed with the placeholder name article.
  • These concepts are related, but a metasyntactic variable is a special/specific use of a placeholder name.
• Also we need to move the "nonsense words" section to its own article so as not to confuse the concept.
  • Many words used as metasyntactic variable are nonsense words, but nonsense words are not metasyntactic variable unless used as such.
  • In fact any word can be used as a metasyntatic variable.
• The concept of a metasyntatic variable in stated poorly.
• It may be beneficial to merge this article with variable as a variable subtype or special use.

The concept of a metasyntactic variable is an advanced grammatical/linguistic concept please feel free to contact me with questions and clarifications. kf4yfd (talk)

I am myself unable to write a description of this concept that is clear enough to relay the concept to all readers and need help.

Explanation of the concept

First, lets dissect the word metasyntactic variable:

• 'Meta' means information about, more comprehensive, or transcending.
• 'Syntax' means the grammatical arrangement of words or The grammatical rules of a programming language.
• 'Variable' means something that can assume a value, or something likely to vary.

So we have a word that "transcends grammar and can assume a value".

Or one that is "more comprehensive than grammatical arrangement and is likely to vary".

If this does not help to explain then think of it this way:

• A metasyntactic variable is a word that is a variable for other words, just as in algebra letters are used as variables for numbers.

Explanation using analogy from algebra

We are all familiar with the concept of algebra, but lets give an example:

$a*b=c\,$

A B and C can be any value and this formula merely shows their relationship to one another. So far so good.

Now when we try to write a computer program that executes this function it would look something like this

function FOO(void){
int a;
int b;
int c;

c = a * b ;
}

Here FOO is used as a metasyntatic variable while A, B, and C are used as algebraic variables. Foo is just a variable name in which any name can be placed. Any word or single character real or nonsense can be used in place of FOO.

If this does not help to explain then think of it this way:

• A metasyntactic variable is a word that is a variable for other words, just as in algebra letters are used as variables for numbers.

Why is this important?

Metasyntatic variables are used extensively in what are known as RFC's, or "Request for Comments" articles. These articles are peer reviewed documents about the protocols and technical standards on which the internet is built. Currently there are over 5000 such articles [1].

Added to User:kf4yfd/Desk kf4yfd (talk) 18:22, 11 January 2008 (UTC)