passing by refference [sic]

[Michael Chermside]

Mark Jackson writes:
> My collegiate debate coach did a fair amount of traveling, and as a
> consequence often found himself ordering breakfast in unfamiliar
> restaurants.  He fancied his eggs prepared in a particular way:  "break
> the yolks as soon as the eggs hit the pan, then over hard."  Bitter (or
> at least unpalatable) experience had taught him that these
> instructions, although unambiguous, were not robust; they were often
> understood as "over hard" and the eggs cooked accordingly.
> 
> So he invented a new label:  "Eggs Timbertrail."  Ordering this way
> would evoke a question ("what's that?"); the subsequent explanation was
> the same, but he was assured that the waitperson was already out of the
> "over hard mindset," and a successful breakfast was now much more
> likely.

Thank you. I think this anecdote very nicely summarizes the argument
for using the term "call-by-object".

-- Michael Chermside