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Comment by long_time_gone

4 years ago

> thisismyconfig.txt vs this is my config.txt or this_is_my_config.txt

Just wondering, what is the readability of this for people who are dyslexic?

12 comments

long_time_gone

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JCharante  4 years ago

I'm not sure, but my gut instinct is that it wouldn't help. Dyslexia rates are much lower in China, so if I suppose we could start naming files with Chinese characters (on systems that support Unicode). It would take a bit to get used to, but eventually we'd develop a pidgin language for when we talk about software, much like how if you overhear Chinese or Vietnamese developers they will mix in English words like "linked list" into their sentences, because there's not a more natural sounding alternative.

Switching to Chinese would also help eliminate the spaces issue.

teorema  4 years ago

tbh I'm not dyslexic and realized the spaces make it really difficult to know what the filename actually is. If you just take the second example, how would you know if the file was "this is my config.txt" versus "config.txt"?

Aside from parsing errors it just seems to lend itself to ambiguity.

  • vertere  4 years ago

    This. People are saying spaces improve ergonomics. Unless everyone always quotes their paths in documentation, emails, etc -- which they won't -- I say it actually reduces readability.

    Also programs automatically that turn paths into links don't work with spaces.

reaperducer  4 years ago

Or in my case, people for whom English is a second language, or have low education levels.

Saying, "who can't understand..." is arrogant, selfish, and an example of why normal people hate people in the SV echo chamber.

  • jeffwask  4 years ago

    cestmaconfig.txt vs cest ma config.txt vs cest_ma_config.txt

    It's the same in any language.

    Hugs who hurt you.

    I'm also pretty sure most of us in any language use Slack, SMS or other forms of communication where text isn't necessarily presented in a grammatical correct manner and we all figure out what the person is saying.

  • long_time_gone  4 years ago

    > Saying, "who can't understand..." is arrogant, selfish, and an example of why normal people hate people in the SV echo chamber

    Exactly how I feel every time Economics is brought up on HN.

  • throwaway2077  4 years ago

    SV echo chamber is on your side here - it is very in vogue to denounce anglocentrism. they were defending hieroglyphs and emoji in variable names in that thread about invisible javascript backdoor a day or two ago if you'd like a recent example