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Why is "function call" named so? Is the word "call" came from telecommunication? When a combination of words "function call" or "method call" was used for the first time?

I know what function call is and the difference between calling, invoking, applying, and executing a function.

I'm interested in the word "call" itself in the context of programming. This question is similar to the one about URL "slug".

Very likely, this question will be closed as off-topic. But anyway, what is the etymology of "function call"?

ilyazub
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    Does this answer your question? [Why is a function call called a "function call"?](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/41648797/why-is-a-function-call-called-a-function-call) – Raymond Chen Aug 03 '21 at 15:53
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    Partially but this cross-site answer answers it fully: [Where did the notion of 'calling' a function come from?](https://softwareengineering.stackexchange.com/a/253698/52614). It's linked to the question you suggested. Thank you, @RaymondChen! – ilyazub Aug 03 '21 at 16:16

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From the cross-site answer: Where did the notion of 'calling' a function come from?

The word call goes back at least to Fortran, the first widely used programming language. In Fortran, CALL is a keyword that passes control to a subroutine. It's not clear why John Backus chose that word to invoke subroutines -- you may need to read one or more biographies of Backus to discover that -- but it seems likely that the use in Fortran is the reason that we use the word call today with respect to functions, methods, etc.

Note that the use of call with respect to functions and other subroutines also fits well with several English-language definitions of call:

  • to make a brief visit
  • to demand something
  • to rouse from sleep
  • to invite

And from the comment to the mentioned answer

David Wheeler's 1952 ACM paper The use of sub-routines in programmes describes the concept, and I'd bet the use of the term "call" evolved between then and the appearance of CALL and RETURN in FORTRAN II in 1958, if it wasn't used in the paper itself.

ilyazub
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