!?!? FOO???

[Michael Hart]

In <13530001 at hp-and.HP.COM> panek at hp-and.HP.COM (Jon Panek) writes:

>In <54483 at lanl.gov>, Mark C. Lowe writes

>>For SO LONG I have wondered what the heck FOO stands for!  I once knew, but
>>now I don't.  And it's bothered me every time I've seen it since!
>>
>>HELP!!

>It's my belief that FOO predates ADVENTURE, and its appearance there was
>simply an indication of its earlier existence.  My leanings are to side
>with those who advocate its military origins (FUBAR).  On the other hand,
>there's one other notable possibility:

>	F003		Divide by zero
>	F001		Printer not ready

>and the like.  When the machine ran into one of these, it would load the
>This explanation would go a long ways to explaining why "FOO" has
>appeared in the hacker community, as well as some support for its
>age.

>Any agreement on this?

I would have to agree with the military origin; especially as 
FOO is usually seen in close proximity to it's brother variable,
BAR. 

-- 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael G. Hart   hart at blackjack.dt.navy.mil /  mhart at dtrc.dt.navy.mil
DTRC/DoD			  |  "Wherever you go, there you are."- me
DISCLAIMER: If you want the Navy's opinion, talk to Secretary Cheney.
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael G. Hart   hart at blackjack.dt.navy.mil /  mhart at dtrc.dt.navy.mil
DTRC/DoD			  |  "Wherever you go, there you are."- me
DISCLAIMER: If you want the Navy's opinion, talk to Secretary Cheney.