Else is a given name in Denmark (a variation of Elsa, I'm guessing). At university we had a professor with the surname True; so if he had a daughter, her name could've been Else True. We found that quite funny.
Else If would also be a possible name in Denmark.
But, according to Statistics Denmark[1], none of those combinations exists:
Women with the first name 'Else' 13,047
Men and women with the last name 'True' 166
No one has the name 'Else True'
Women with the first name 'Else' 13,047
Men and women with the last name 'If' 6
No one has the name 'Else If'
It is nor far-fetched to suppose else is a translated German word because that is exactly what happened. The only question is which German word was is it.
You can also say "elsewise", which to me still sounds a little old school, but more natural than just using "else" like we do in programming languages.
It's almost tempting to reach for "elsewhen" or "elsewhy", since we have "elsewhere". But if saying "elsewise" feels like chatting with a very elderly relative, saying those ones feels more like a seance with distant ancestors. But apparently it used to be a thing!
I my head as a child I instantly understood and thought "Ahhh, they mean like 'OR else this happens.'
I have always assumed it was a boolean logic thing meant to help show that it wasn't an AND, but 'or' had already been used as a keyword so they did 'or else' and dropped the reserved 'or'.
Usually for speed and avoiding strain you want to incorporate as many fingers as possible. In fact it's a common mark against dvorak online that "ls -l" is all typed with the right pinky (not an issue in the workman layout luckily).
I was going to mention the MAD language by Bernard Galler et. al. that used whenever/otherwise, which I encountered in a book in the local library back in the days when everyone was coming up with "structured" programming languages, but then I scrolled to the bottom of the article ...
No. English has used else to mean "otherwise" since before computers came along. Wiktionary offers this quote from Call of the Wild (1903):
"He had never seen dogs fight as these wolfish creatures fought, and his first experience taught him an unforgetable lesson. It is true, it was a vicarious experience, else he would not have lived to profit by it."
There's also "or else", as made famous in crime dramas: "Meet me by the docks at midnight. Bring the money. Come alone. No cops... or else!" But in other usage it can of course be followed by something. "He had to get to work on time, or else he might be fired."
Article states else is archiac English but later says someone called it ignorantly incorrect English and suggested using "or".
Ive always assumed it was effectively "otherwise" but shortened to "or else" -> "else".
Given the alternative to use "or" as the first pushback I feel that acts as confirmation. I prefer else because "or" has implications in boolean and bitwise logic that else doesn't.
> > Perhaps it will all come back, but now if you love me, give me up . . . else I shall begin to hate you, I feel it.
It’s not being used in the programming if-else sense here. He’s not saying “if you don’t love me, I shall begin to hate you”. He’s saying “if you don’t give me up, I shall begin to hate you”.
Else can be found in English text prior to computer existence. Else can't be found in a German dictionary as a conjunction [1]. The first suggestion in Duden is the name for alder tree in lower German. Second suggestion is a firstname. If a word would come from German, it seems the first step would be to look up in a German dictionary.
While the look up for history of computer language is interesting, the conclusion is completely wrong.
The claim is that it is a literal translation, not that it is a loan word from German. Ie the Germans wrote their paper for this new control flow in German wenn/dann/sonst, then took their Langenscheidt and looked up "sonst".
I don't think the article author is concluding what you think they are.
The HN title reads "literal translation," which I didn't take to mean "literally".
The linked article doesn't really have a title. The article author states [...] "I think a carefully-chosen German word was probably translated as an archaic English word and then never revisited. Unfortunately we do not have the original German text to consult."
Else If would also be a possible name in Denmark.
But, according to Statistics Denmark[1], none of those combinations exists:
Women with the first name 'Else' 13,047 Men and women with the last name 'True' 166 No one has the name 'Else True'
Women with the first name 'Else' 13,047 Men and women with the last name 'If' 6 No one has the name 'Else If'
[1] https://www.dst.dk/en/Statistik/emner/borgere/navne/hvor-man...
"Take your coat or else you'll regret it."
"Hurry or else you'll miss the bus."
Etc.
> if something is true, then do a thing, else do a different thing.
> That's just English, right? Except that it isn't
No, it is English, grammatically correct English. It's not idiomatic English but it's a perfectly fine sentence otherwise.
Idiomatic English would simply require adding an or
But of course a native English programmer would quickly recognize the or is redundant even if it is idiomatic, and drop it.> I think a carefully-chosen German word was probably translated as an archaic English word and then never revisited
This is a weird reach. Else isn't an archaic word.
"Eat your dinner or else."
"If you don't do it someone else will have to."
Plus all the "or else" conjunction examples.
It was probably chosen because it was shorter than "otherwise" and not for any other reason.
Else, adverb or conjunction
1. Besides; except that mentioned; in addition; as, nowhere else; no one else.
2. Otherwise; in the other, or the contrary, case; if the facts were different.
“For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it.” – Ps. li. 16.
After ‘or’, else is sometimes used expletively, as simply noting an alternative. “Will you give thanks, … or else shall I?” – Shak.
It's almost tempting to reach for "elsewhen" or "elsewhy", since we have "elsewhere". But if saying "elsewise" feels like chatting with a very elderly relative, saying those ones feels more like a seance with distant ancestors. But apparently it used to be a thing!
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/elsewho#English
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/elsewhither#English
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/elsewhence#English
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/elsehow#English
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/elsewards#English
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/elsewhat#English
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/otherwhat#English
I my head as a child I instantly understood and thought "Ahhh, they mean like 'OR else this happens.'
I have always assumed it was a boolean logic thing meant to help show that it wasn't an AND, but 'or' had already been used as a keyword so they did 'or else' and dropped the reserved 'or'.
"while" on qwerty is sort of a chore.
edit: My criticism is for the suffix version to be clear. Unless / else is actually cool.
(But it's not remotely like come-from.)
P.S. in re the other response, "unless" is "if not". "until" is "while not".
https://arxiv.org/html/1501.05438v2#:~:text=otherwise,-%2C
https://arxiv.org/html/1302.5008v3#:~:text=otherwise
https://arxiv.org/html/1501.05438v2#:~:text=otherwise,-%2E
In fact, I think that's the most common alternative, not "else".
sure you can. who's going to stop you?
Such a funny movie.
I was going to mention the MAD language by Bernard Galler et. al. that used whenever/otherwise, which I encountered in a book in the local library back in the days when everyone was coming up with "structured" programming languages, but then I scrolled to the bottom of the article ...
I found it strange (merkwürdig) that they didn’t mention this in the article.
(It'll also let you use "unless ... else ..." - but please don't.)
Or if this other thing were to be true, then bar.
If it’s something else, then baz.
"He had never seen dogs fight as these wolfish creatures fought, and his first experience taught him an unforgetable lesson. It is true, it was a vicarious experience, else he would not have lived to profit by it."
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/else#Conjunction
There's also "or else", as made famous in crime dramas: "Meet me by the docks at midnight. Bring the money. Come alone. No cops... or else!" But in other usage it can of course be followed by something. "He had to get to work on time, or else he might be fired."
Even if it hasn't been invented as the author claims, the question of who used it in code first is a valid one, right?
Ive always assumed it was effectively "otherwise" but shortened to "or else" -> "else".
Given the alternative to use "or" as the first pushback I feel that acts as confirmation. I prefer else because "or" has implications in boolean and bitwise logic that else doesn't.
Fixed!
Not true. Here's an example from 1876 in which "else" is used as a conjunction.
> My brother is poor, and I want to look as much like him as I can, else he may feel distant from me.
-- George Eliot ( https://www.victorianlondon.org/etexts/eliot/deronda-0047.sh... )
---
Here's an example of "if ... else" from the 1914 translation of Crime and Punishment ( https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Crime_and_Punishment/Part_IV/... ):
> Perhaps it will all come back, but now if you love me, give me up . . . else I shall begin to hate you, I feel it.
It’s not being used in the programming if-else sense here. He’s not saying “if you don’t love me, I shall begin to hate you”. He’s saying “if you don’t give me up, I shall begin to hate you”.
While the look up for history of computer language is interesting, the conclusion is completely wrong.
[1] https://www.duden.de/suchen/dudenonline/Else
https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/sonst
https://de.langenscheidt.com/deutsch-englisch/sonst
The HN title reads "literal translation," which I didn't take to mean "literally".
The linked article doesn't really have a title. The article author states [...] "I think a carefully-chosen German word was probably translated as an archaic English word and then never revisited. Unfortunately we do not have the original German text to consult."