I’ve just started reading TheBook - this isn’t my first language but none of the ones I know use :: so I’ve never had to read it out loud before. I found the thread on pronunciation but it didn’t mention this one. How do you pronounce :: ? For example, for std::cmp::Ordering, would you say, “standard colon colon comp colon colon ordering”?
I just don't pronounce the colons. And I also say the whole words for known abbreviations. I.e. I say it "standard compare ordering".
In my mind, I pronounce :: as "dot-dot". Which is wrong, and probably wouldn't work if I talked with someone else. But works when I just talk to myself.
"standard comp ordering"
It's just a space for me. I'd only pronounce the :: if I'm telling someone how to type it.
:: has its own name.
::PathSep Path separator
But I would agree with other replies that you shouldn't say :: directly just as you normally won't say a: u8 = 1 through a colon u8 equals one, you might say asign 1 to variable a as u8 instead.
"standard guts comp guts ordering"
dubbele dubbel punt (double double point)
In my mind I speak dutch. And I am the only one I speak about Rust.
In Finnish: "kaksi kaksoispistettä".
Actually these things just run through my mind as "std cmp ordering". With no regard for colons, my mind knows what it means and I bet ChatGPT would figure it out as well. Typically it's better not to actually verbalise such things for fear of scaring off all the Python heads in the office.
I would pronounce it "stood comp ordering."
Like a street address, :: as comma-like pauses.
esteedee, keempi, ordering.
Even though :: is a path separator as @vague mentioned, I tend to read this literally as:
s, t, d, colon, colon, c, m, p, colon, colon, Ordering. Sometimes I interchange between spelling modules and using their full-fledged name (i.e. standard in the case of std), depending on which one is shorter / easier to say.
Same thing for unix paths, I say literally:
slash, source, slash, utils for /src/utils.
Usually, I would not say it at all - as other said. If I were talking to a colleague, I'd say "use standard comp ordering" or "use S-T-D C-M-P Ordering"
But if I needed to say it to explain what to type, I'd call it a "double colon"
...and Paamayim Nekudotayim is still how I think of it, from early days of PHP in the 90s/early 00s. (Which in my head I pronounce as pam-YIM nii-KU-doty-im, which I doubt is correct)
Wikipedia has somewhat more detail about this name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paamayim_nekudotayim