https://whystartat.xyz/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Prime_symbol_in_variable_namesPrime symbol in variable names - Revision history2026-05-04T19:52:55ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.39.0https://whystartat.xyz/index.php?title=Prime_symbol_in_variable_names&diff=244&oldid=prevChristian Lawson-Perfect: /* Alternatives */2021-07-13T09:32:19Z<p><span dir="auto"><span class="autocomment">Alternatives</span></span></p>
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</table>Christian Lawson-Perfecthttps://whystartat.xyz/index.php?title=Prime_symbol_in_variable_names&diff=230&oldid=prevBenrbray: summarize ambiguities around using prime symbol in variable names2021-07-12T16:31:48Z<p>summarize ambiguities around using prime symbol in variable names</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>[[Category:Variable Names]]<br />
[[Category:Ambiguities]]<br />
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The prime symbol (\(\prime\)) is often used to distinguish between variable names. For example, given a variable \( f \), some authors might use \( f' \) as a separate variable name, which may or may not be related to the original \( f \). If more than one variation is needed, it is not uncommon to see two or more tick marks, as in \( f, f', f'', f''', f'''', \dots \).<br />
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==Disadvantages==<br />
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In calculus, the prime symbol is usually used to indicate differentiation, making the use of the prime symbol ambiguous when naming variables.<br />
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In some fonts, the tick mark might be too small to read.<br />
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This naming convention is popular enough that programming languages like Haskell and Coq permit the single quote symbol <code>'</code> as a valid identifier. Code is normally displayed in a monospace font, where extra space before the single quote may make the tick mark appear visually separated from the identifier that it modifies.<br />
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In monospace fonts, whitespace around the single quote <code>'</code> often causes it to appear visually separated from the identifier that it modifies. As an example,<br />
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==Alternatives==<br />
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For Pairs:<br />
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* Primes: (\( f, f' \))<br />
* Numbers: (\( f_0, f_1 \)) or (\( f_1, f_2 \))<br />
* Letter Pairs: (\( f, g \))<br />
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For Sequences: <br />
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* Primes: \( a, a', a'', a''', \dots \),<br />
* Numbers: \( a_0, a_1, a_2, a_3 \dots \)<br />
* Numbers: \( a, b, c, d \dots \)</div>Benrbray