What is the history of the use of "foo" and "bar" in source code examples?

Re:What is the history of the use of "foo" and "bar" in sour... by WalterBright on Sunday October 06, 2024 @02:08AM (#41755120)

My father had a first hand account from McAuliffe, like the other three, and had no reason whatsoever to misrepresent it.

> Is it all a grand conspiracy to protect the good name and reputation of McAuliffe?

A small conspiracy is not at all far-fetched. First off, it's an inconsequential thing. Secondly, if one of the three told the truth, then he'd be called a liar by the other two. Who needs that? If you're in the military, you don't get ahead by contradicting the narrative. (My dad found that out the hard way - he was punished more than once for not writing reports that fit the narrative.)

For a grand conspiracy, consider how long Biden's staff held out insisting that Biden was sharp as a tack and writing off contrary reports as disinformation.

The most compelling bit about my evidence is the frankly laughable idea that a GI would use the word "nuts".

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Re:What is the history of the use of "foo" and "bar" in sour... by WalterBright on Sunday October 06, 2024 @02:19AM (#41755162)

P.S. I understand you have no particular reason to believe me, and if I were in your shoes I wouldn't, either.

If there is any takeaway here, it would be that historical accounts are always suspect. History is written by the victors, as they say.

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