# What does \`foo\` in the Parallel Computing docs refer to?

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-does-foo-in-the-parallel-computing-docs-refer-to/4182>\
**Category:** General Usage\
**Tags:** parallel\
**Created:** [June 9, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-does-foo-in-the-parallel-computing-docs-refer-to/4182 "2017-06-09T16:13:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![bluesmoon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/bluesmoon/32/327_2.png) [@bluesmoon](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/bluesmoon)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 4:13pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-does-foo-in-the-parallel-computing-docs-refer-to/4182/1 "2017-06-09T16:13:34Z")

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On this page: [https://docs.julialang.org/en/latest/manual/parallel-computing.html#Global-variables-1](https://docs.julialang.org/en/latest/manual/parallel-computing.html#Global-variables-1)

we have the following code snippet:

```julia
A = rand(10,10)
remotecall_fetch(()->foo(A), 2)

```

This function `foo` is repeated several times, but there is no explanation of what `foo` is. Do I use the actual function `foo`? Do I use any random identifier? Does this function need to exist on the local or the worker process? Can anyone clarify?

Thanks.

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**Author:** ![ohsonice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@ohsonice](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ohsonice)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-does-foo-in-the-parallel-computing-docs-refer-to/4182/2 "2017-06-09T16:42:19Z")

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`Foo` and `bar` are common words used as placeholders in programming. Wikipedia explains it better than I can: “… used to name entities such as variables, functions, and commands whose exact identity is unimportant and serve only to demonstrate a concept.”

So in this case, `foo` refers to any function.

> **[Foobar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foobar)**
>
> The terms foobar (/ˈfuːbɑːr/), foo, bar, baz, and others are used as metasyntactic variables and placeholder names in computer programming or computer-related documentation. They have been used to name entities such as variables, functions, and commands whose exact identity is unimportant and serve only to demonstrate a concept.
> It is possible that foobar is a playful allusion to the World War II-era military slang FUBAR (Fucked Up Beyond All Repair).
> According to an Internet Engineering Task ...

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**Author:** ![bluesmoon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/bluesmoon/32/327_2.png) [@bluesmoon](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/bluesmoon)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 4:55pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-does-foo-in-the-parallel-computing-docs-refer-to/4182/3 "2017-06-09T16:55:51Z")

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In that case the documentation needs to be updated. Any code example should actually work when you type it out unless the person writing the docs is trying really hard to frustrate readers.

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**Author:** ![avik](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/avik/32/17_2.png) [@avik](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/avik)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-does-foo-in-the-parallel-computing-docs-refer-to/4182/4 "2017-06-09T20:00:21Z")

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In this case `foo` is expected to be a function that takes 2D array as a parameter, and is defined in the remote process. So you could, for example, think of the term foo being replaced with the function `norm`. I agree this is confiusing as written.

## Regards

Avik

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**Author:** ![bluesmoon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/bluesmoon/32/327_2.png) [@bluesmoon](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/bluesmoon)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-does-foo-in-the-parallel-computing-docs-refer-to/4182/5 "2017-06-09T20:48:06Z")

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Thanks avik, now if we could just get this answer into the docs 🙂

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**Author:** ![dpsanders](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/dpsanders/32/3573_2.png) [@dpsanders](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/dpsanders)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-does-foo-in-the-parallel-computing-docs-refer-to/4182/6 "2017-06-09T21:09:36Z")

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Why don’t you try making a Pull Request. For things like this you can edit the file directly on GitHub using the pencil icon.

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**Author:** ![ChrisRackauckas](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/chrisrackauckas/32/77_2.png) [@ChrisRackauckas](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ChrisRackauckas)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:12pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-does-foo-in-the-parallel-computing-docs-refer-to/4182/7 "2017-06-09T21:12:20Z")

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> [@dpsanders](#):
>
> Why don’t you try making a Pull Request. For things like this you can edit the file directly on GitHub using the pencil icon.

> <https://github.com/JuliaLang/julia/blob/master/doc/src/manual/parallel-computing.md>

Click the pencil and type away 🙂. This is how Julia’s docs get better.

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**Author:** ![bluesmoon](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/bluesmoon/32/327_2.png) [@bluesmoon](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/bluesmoon)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 9:22pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-does-foo-in-the-parallel-computing-docs-refer-to/4182/8 "2017-06-09T21:22:11Z")

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Thanks all, this is now a pull request: [https://github.com/JuliaLang/julia/pull/22317](https://github.com/JuliaLang/julia/pull/22317)

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**Author:** ![avik](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/avik/32/17_2.png) [@avik](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/avik)\
**Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/what-does-foo-in-the-parallel-computing-docs-refer-to/4182/9 "2017-06-09T22:18:59Z")

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Thanks Phillip for the PR!