Selfnames

Selfnames are identifiers that explicitly reference the entity that bears them, allowing an object, function, variable, or other symbol to denote itself by name within its own definition or execution context. The concept appears in programming language design, formal semantics, and linguistic theory, where it is used to describe self‑referential naming mechanisms. In object‑oriented languages, a selfname often corresponds to a special variable such as this, self, or the class name, which enables methods to access their own attributes or invoke other methods of the same instance. Functional languages may provide selfnames through recursive binding forms like letrec, where a function’s name is bound within its own body.

The term has also been adopted in metadata systems, where resources may include a self‑link, a URL that points to the resource’s own identifier, facilitating discovery and navigation in hypermedia. In taxonomy and linguistics, selfnames describe words that encode the notion of “self,” such as reflexive pronouns (himself, herself) that refer back to the subject of a clause.

Uses of selfnames include enabling encapsulation, supporting recursion, and simplifying code readability by making self‑references explicit. Critics note that overreliance on selfnames can obscure external dependencies and lead to tighter coupling, especially when self‑references are exposed in public interfaces. Design guidelines therefore recommend limiting selfname exposure to internal scopes or providing immutable references. Related concepts include closures, metaprogramming, and self‑describing data formats.