Wikipedia - User contributions [en]

Flat-file database

2008-04-13T06:01:39Z

Capi crimm: /* Practical Implementations */

[[Image:FigFileConvert000a.svg|270px|thumb|right|A simple diagram depicting conversion of a [[Comma-separated values|CSV]]-format flat file database table into a [[relational database]] [[Table (database)|table]].]]

A '''flat file database''' describes any of various means to encode a [[data model]] (most commonly a [[Table (database)|table]]) as a [[plain text]] file.

==Flat files==
A [[flat file]] is a file that contains [[database record|record]]s, and in which each record is specified in a single line. [[Field (computer science)|Field]]s from each record may simply have a [[fixed width]] with padding, or may be [[delimiter|delimited]] by [[whitespace (computer science)|whitespace]], tabs, commas ([[Comma-separated values|CSV]]) or other characters. Extra formatting may be needed to avoid [[Delimiter#Delimiter_collision|delimiter collision]]. There are no structural relationships. The data are "flat" as in a sheet of paper, in contrast to more complex models such as a [[relational database]].

The classic example of a flat file database is a basic name-and-address list, where the database consists of a small, fixed number of fields: ''Name'', ''Address'', and ''Phone Number''. Another example is a simple HTML table, consisting of rows and columns. This type of database is routinely encountered, although often not expressly recognized as a database.

== Implementation ==

It is possible to write out by hand, on a sheet of paper, a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers; this is a flat file database. This can also be done with any [[typewriter]] or [[word processor]]. But many pieces of computer software are designed to implement flat file databases.

=== Historical implementations ===

The first uses of computing machines were implementations of simple databases. [[Herman Hollerith]] conceived the idea that any resident of the United States could be represented by a string of exactly 80 digits and letters—name, age, and so forth, padded as needed with spaces to make everyone's name the same length, so the database fields would "line up" properly. He sold his concept, his machines, and the [[Punch card|punched cards]] which both recorded and stored this data to the [[United States Census Bureau|US Census Bureau]]; thus, the Census of [[1890]] was the first ever computerized database—consisting, in essence, of thousands of boxes full of punched cards.

Throughout the years following [[World War II]], primitive electronic computers were run by governments and corporations; these were very often used to implement flat file databases, the most typical of which were accounting functions, such as payroll. Very quickly, though, these wealthy customers demanded more from their extremely expensive machines, which led to early relational databases. Amusingly enough, these early applications continued to use Hollerith cards, slightly modified from the original design; Hollerith's enterprise grew into computer giant [[IBM]], which dominated the market of the time. The rigidity of the fixed-length field, 80-column punch card driven database made the early computer a target of attack{{Clarifyme|date=March 2008}}, and a mystery to the common man.

In the 1980s, configurable flat-file database [[computer application]]s were popular on [[DOS]] and the [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]]. These programs were designed to make it easy for individuals to design and use their own databases, and were almost on par with [[word processors]] and [[spreadsheet]]s in popularity. Examples of flat-file database products were early versions of [[FileMaker]] and the [[shareware]] [[PC-File]]. Some of these offered limited relational capabilities, allowing some data to be shared between files.

=== Contemporary implementations ===

Today, there are few programs designed to allow novices to create and use general-purpose flat file databases. This function is implemented in [[Microsoft Works]] (available only for some versions of Windows) and [[AppleWorks]], sometimes named ClarisWorks (available for both Macintosh and Windows platforms). Over time, products like [[Borland]]'s Paradox, and [[Microsoft]]'s Access started offering some relational capabilities, as well as built-in programming languages. Database Management Systems ([[DBMS]]) like [[MySQL]] or [[Oracle database|Oracle]] generally require programmers to build applications.

Flat file databases are still used internally by many computer applications to store configuration data. Many applications allow users to store and retrieve their own information from flat files using a pre-defined set of fields. Examples are programs to manage collections of books or appointments. Some small "contact" (name-and-address) database implementations essentially use flat files.

[[XML]] is now a popular format for storing data in plain text files, but as XML allows very complex nested data structures to be represented and contains the definition of the data, it would be incorrect to describe this type of database as conforming to the flat-file model.

== Terms ==

"Flat file database" may be defined very narrowly, or more broadly. The narrower interpretation is correct in [[Database|database theory]]; the broader covers the term as generally used.

Strictly, a flat file database should consist of nothing but data and delimiters. More broadly, the term refers to any database which exists in a single file in the form of rows and columns, with no relationships or links between records and fields except the table structure.

Terms used to describe different aspects of a database and its tools differ from one implementation to the next, but the concepts remain the same. FileMaker uses the term "Find", while MySQL uses the term "Query"; but the concept is the same. FileMaker "files" are equivalent to MySQL "tables", and so forth. To avoid confusing the reader, one consistent set of terms is used throughout this article.

However, the basic terms "record" and "field" are used in nearly every database implementation.

==Example database==
The following example illustrates the basic elements of a flat-file database. The [[data]] arrangement consists of a series of columns and rows organized into a [[table (information)|tabular format]]. This specific example uses only one table.

The columns include: ''name'' (a person's name, second column); ''team'' (the name of an athletic team supported by the person, third column); and a numeric ''unique ID'', (used to uniquely identify records, first column).

Here is an example textual representation of the described data:

id name team
1 Amy Blues
2 Bob Reds
3 Chuck Blues
4 Dick Blues
5 Ethel Reds
6 Fred Blues
7 Gilly Blues
8 Hank Reds

This type of data representation is quite standard for a flat-file database, although there are some additional considerations that are not readily apparent from the text:
* '''Data types:''' each column in a database table such as the one above is ordinarily restricted to a specific [[data type]]. Such restrictions are usually established by convention, but not formally indicated unless the data is transferred to a [[relational database]] system.
* '''Separated columns:''' In the above example, individual columns are separated using [[Whitespace (computer science)|whitespace]] characters. This is also called indentation or "fixed-width" data formatting. Another common convention is to separate columns using one or more [[delimiter]] characters. There are ''many'' different conventions for depicting data such as that above in text. (See e.g., [[Comma-separated values]], [[Delimiter-separated values]], [[Markup language]], [[Programming language]]).
* '''Relational algebra:''' Each row or record in the above table meets the standard definition of a [[tuple]] under [[relational algebra]] (the above example depicts a series of 3-tuples). Additionally, the first row specifies the [[Tuple#Field_names|field names]] that are associated with the values of each row.
* '''Database management system:''' Since the formal operations possible with a text file are usually more limited than desired. The text in the above example would ordinarily represent an intermediary state of the data prior to being transferred into a [[database management system]].

== Flat-File relational database storage model ==
There is a difference between the concept of a '''single''' flat-file database as a [[Database#Flat_model|flat database model]] as used above, and multiple flat-file tables as a [[Database#Relational_model|relational database model]].
In order for flat-files to be part of a relational database the [[Relational database management system|RDBMS]] must be able to recognize various foreign key relationships between multiple flat-file tables.

'''File1'''
file-offset id name team
0x00 8 Hank Reds
0x13 1 Amy Blues
0x27 3 Chuck Blues
0x3B 4 Dick Blues
0x4F 5 Ethel Reds
0x62 7 Gilly Blues
0x76 6 Fred Blues
0x8A 2 Bob Reds
The '''file-offset''' isn't actually part of the database, rather it is only there for clarification.

'''File2'''
team arena
Blues le Grand Bleu
Reds Super Smirnoff Stadium

In this setting, flat-files simply act as a data store of a modern relational-database, all that is needed to be a modern database are separate files supplied by the [[Relational database management system|RDBMS]] for storing indexes, constraints, triggers, foreign key relationships, fragmentation plans, replication plans, and other modern [[Distributed database|distributed]] [[Relational database|relational database concepts]].

=== Simple example ''name'' index on ''File1'' ===

0x00000013
0x0000008A
0x00000027
0x0000003B
0x0000004F
0x00000076
0x00000062
0x00000000

== Practical Implementations ==
* [[Berkeley DB]], a robust flat file database for critical applications which does ACID.
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/textdb TextDB], a file-based database designed to handle high loads.
* [[SQLite]], a small C library that implements a self-contained, embeddable, zero-configuration SQL database engine.
* [http://mimesis.110mb.com Mimesis], an ffdb that uses multiple files and folders in order to increase the reliability of atomic updates.

== See also ==
* [[Flat file]]
* "The Theory of the TAXIR Accessioner" by George F. Estabrook and Robert C. Brill, ''Mathematical Biosciences'' 5 (1969) pp. 327-340[http://home.comcast.net/~tolkin.family/]

{{databases}}

[[Category:Data management]]

[[ko:플랫 파일 데이터베이스]]
[[pl:Kartotekowa baza danych]]
[[uk:Плоска база даних]]

Caffeine

2008-04-11T10:56:32Z

Capi crimm: Removed strong coffee and weak tea remark. As it was the *strong* coffee was diluted by 1 ounce of water. Put in ranges and matched all liquid levels to the source articles levels.

{{otheruses}}
{{Chembox new
| Name = Caffeine
| ImageFile = Caffeine.svg
| ImageSize = 175px
| ImageName = Caffeine
| ImageFile1 = Caffeine-3D-QuteMol.png
| ImageSize1 = 135px
| ImageName1 = Caffeine
| IUPACName = 1,3,7-trimethyl-1''H''-purine-2,6(3''H'',7''H'')-dione
| OtherNames = 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, trimethylxanthine, theine, methyltheobromine
| Section1 = {{Chembox Identifiers
| SMILES = C[n]1cnc2N(C)C(=O)N(C)C(=O)c12
| CASNo = 58-08-2
| RTECS = EV6475000
}}
| Section2 = {{Chembox Properties
| Formula = [[carbon|C]]8[[hydrogen|H]]10[[nitrogen|N]]4[[oxygen|O]]2
| MolarMass = 194.19 g·mol−1
| Appearance = Odorless, white needles or powder
| Density = 1.2 g·cm−3, solid
| Solubility = 22 mg·mL−1 (25 °C) 180 mg·mL−1 (80 °C) 670 mg·mL−1 (100 °C)
| MeltingPt = 237 °C (non-equilibrium, superheated)
| BoilingPt = 178 °C ([[sublimation (chemistry)|sublimes]])
}}
| Section7 = {{Chembox Hazards
| ExternalMSDS = [http://www.sciencestuff.com/msds/C1410.html External MSDS]
| MainHazards = May be fatal if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin.
| NFPA-H = 2
| NFPA-F = 1
| NFPA-R =
| FlashPt = N/A
| LD50 = 192 mg/kg (rat, oral)<ref name=ld50/>}}
}}
'''Caffeine''' is a bitter white crystalline [[xanthine]] [[alkaloid]] that acts as a [[psychoactive]] [[stimulant]] [[drug]] and a mild [[diuretic]]<ref>[http://www.coffeescience.org/media/athletic CoffeeScience.org]</ref> in humans and other animals. Caffeine was discovered by a German chemist, Friedrich Ferdinand Runge, in 1819. He coined the term "kaffein", a chemical compound in coffee, which in English became caffeine. <ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/caffeine caffeine - Definitions from Dictionary.com]</ref> Caffeine is also called '''guaranine''' when found in [[guarana]], '''mateine''' when found in [[mate (beverage)|mate]], and '''theine''' when found in [[tea]]; all of these names are synonyms for the same chemical compound.

Caffeine is found in varying quantities in the [[bean]]s, [[leaf|leaves]], and [[fruit]] of over 60 [[plants]], where it acts as a natural [[pesticide]] that [[paralyze]]s and kills certain [[insect]]s feeding on the plants. It is most commonly consumed by humans in infusions extracted from the [[coffee bean|bean]]s of the [[Coffea arabica|coffee plant]] and the leaves of the [[Camellia sinensis|tea bush]], as well as from various foods and drinks containing products derived from the [[kola nut]] or from [[cacao]]. Other sources include [[yerba mate]], [[guarana]] berries, and the [[Yaupon Holly]].

In humans, caffeine is a [[central nervous system]] (CNS) [[stimulant]], having the effect of temporarily warding off [[drowsiness]] and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as [[coffee]], [[tea]], [[soft drink]]s and [[energy drink]]s enjoy great popularity. Caffeine is the world's most widely consumed [[psychoactive substance]], but unlike most other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily.<ref name="demon drink">{{cite journal | last = Lovett | first = Richard | title = Coffee: The demon drink? | journal = New Scientist | issue = 2518|date = [[24 September]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18725181.700 | accessdate=2007-11-19 | format=fee required}}</ref> The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists caffeine as a "Multiple Purpose Generally Recognized as Safe Food Substance".<ref name=GRAS">{{cite web |url=http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2003/aprqtr/21cfr182.1180.htm |title=21 CFR 182.1180 |accessdate=2007-02-16 |date=April 1, 2003 |work=U.S. [[Code of Federal Regulations]] |publisher=U.S. [[Office of the Federal Register]] |pages=462 }}</ref> Recent research, however, suggests that regular caffeine use during pregnancy may increase the risk of miscarriage.<ref name="PregDiffOutcomes">{{cite web
| last = Rubin
| first = Rita
| title = New studies, different outcomes on caffeine, pregnancy
| work = USA TODAY
| language = English
| date = 2008-01-20
| url = http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-01-20-caffeine_N.htm
| accessdate = 2008-02-20}}</ref>

==Occurrence==
[[Image:Coffee beans.jpg|180px|left|thumb|Roasted coffee beans, the world's primary source of caffeine]]
Caffeine is a [[plant]] [[alkaloid]], found in many plant species, where it acts as a natural [[pesticide]], with high caffeine levels being reported in seedlings that are still developing foliages, but are lacking mechanical protection;<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Frischknecht
| first = P. M.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Urmer-Dufek J. and Baumann T.W.]]
| title = Purine alkaloid formation in buds and developing leaflets of Coffea arabica: expression of an optimal defence strategy?
| journal = Phytochemistry
| volume = 25
| issue = 3
| pages = 613 - 616
| date = 1986
| publisher = Journal of the Phytochemical Society of Europe and the Phytochemical Society of North America.
| url = http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6TH7-431C7JN-PW-1&_cdi=5275&_user=121707&_orig=browse&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F1986&_sk=999749996&view=c&wchp=dGLzVlz-zSkWA&md5=c6a5ac763c68cd7daca8d0279bd66d24&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
| format = [[PDF]]
| id = ISSN: 0031-9422 }}</ref> caffeine [[paralyze]]s and kills certain [[insect]]s feeding upon the plant.<ref>{{cite journal
| last=Nathanson
| first=J. A.
| title=Caffeine and related methylxanthines: possible naturally occurring pesticides
| journal=Science
| volume=226
| issue=4671
| pages=184-187
| date=[[12 October]] [[1984]]
| id=PMID 6207592
| url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/226/4671/184 | doi = 10.1126/science.6207592 }}</ref> High caffeine levels have also been found in the surrounding soil of coffee bean seedlings. It is therefore understood that caffeine has a natural function in both a natural pesticide and as an inhibitor of seed germination of other nearby coffee seedlings<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Baumann
| first = T. W.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Gabriel H.
| title = Metabolism and excretion of caffeine during germination of Coffea arabica L.
| journal = Plant and Cell Physiology
| volume = 25
| issue = 8
| pages = 1431 - 1436
| date = 1984
| publisher = Oxford Journals
| url = http://pcp.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/25/8/1431
| format = [[PDF]]
| id = ISSN: 0032-0781 }}</ref> thus giving it a better chance of survival.

The most commonly used caffeine-containing plants are [[coffee]], [[tea]], and to a lesser extent [[cocoa]]. Other, less commonly used, sources of caffeine include the [[yerba mate]]<ref name=mateine>{{cite web
| title = Does Yerba Maté Contain Caffeine or Mateine?#
| publisher = [[Erowid|The Vaults of Erowid]]
| date = December 2003
| url = http://www.erowid.org/plants/yerba_mate/yerba_mate_chemistry1.shtml|accessdate = 2006-08-16 }}</ref> and [[guarana]] plants, which are sometimes used in the preparation of teas and energy drinks. Two of caffeine's alternative names, ''mateine''<ref>{{cite web
| title = PubChem: mateina
| publisher = National Library of Medicine
| url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pccompound&term=mateina
| accessdate = 2006-08-16 }}. Generally translated as ''mateine'' in articles written in English</ref> and ''guaranine'',<ref>{{cite web
| title = PubChem: guaranine
| publisher = National Library of Medicine
| url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pccompound&term=guaranine
| accessdate = 2006-08-16 }}</ref> are derived from the names of these plants. Some yerba mate enthusiasts assert that mateine is a [[stereoisomer]] of caffeine, which would make it a different substance altogether.<ref name=mateine/> However, caffeine is an [[Chirality (chemistry)|achiral]] molecule, and therefore has no [[enantiomer]]s; nor does it have other stereoisomers. Many natural sources of caffeine also contain widely varying mixtures of other [[xanthine]] [[alkaloid]]s, including the [[cardiac]] stimulants [[theophylline]] and [[theobromine]] and other substances such as [[polyphenols]] which can form insoluble complexes with caffeine.<ref>{{cite book
| author = Balentine D. A., Harbowy M. E. and Graham H. N.
| title = Tea: the Plant and its Manufacture; Chemistry and Consumption of the Beverage
| journal = Caffeine
| year = 1998
| editor = G Spiller}}</ref>

The world's primary source of caffeine is the coffee bean (the seed of the [[Coffea|coffee plant]]), from which [[coffee]] is brewed. Caffeine content in coffee varies widely depending on the type of [[coffee bean]] and the method of preparation used;<ref name=ICO>{{cite web
| title=Caffeine
| publisher=International Coffee Organization
| url=http://www.ico.org/caffeine.asp
| accessdate=2006-08-21}}</ref> even beans within a given bush can show variations in concentration. In general, one serving of coffee ranges from 40 milligrams, for a single shot (30 milliliters) of ''arabica''-variety [[espresso]], to about 100 milligrams for a cup (120 milliliters) of drip coffee. Generally, dark-roast coffee has less caffeine than lighter roasts because the roasting process reduces the bean's caffeine content.<ref name=caffaq_roast>{{cite web
| title=Coffee and Caffeine FAQ: Does dark roast coffee have less caffeine than light roast?
| url=http://coffeefaq.com/site/node/15
| accessdate=2007-01-02}}</ref><ref name=jeremiahspick>{{cite web
| title=All About Coffee: Caffeine Level
| publisher=Jeremiah’s Pick Coffee Co
| url=http://www.jeremiahspick.com/caffeine-e-13.html
| accessdate=2007-06-14}}</ref> [[Coffea arabica|''Arabica'']] coffee normally contains less caffeine than the [[Coffea canephora|''robusta'']] variety.<ref name=ICO/> Coffee also contains trace amounts of [[theophylline]], but no [[theobromine]].

[[Tea]] is another common source of caffeine. Tea usually contains about half as much caffeine per serving as coffee, depending on the strength of the brew. Certain types of tea, such as [[black tea|black]] and [[oolong]], contain somewhat more caffeine than most other teas. Tea contains small amounts of [[theobromine]] and slightly higher levels of [[theophylline]] than coffee. Preparation has a significant impact on tea, and color is a very poor indicator of caffeine content.<ref>{{cite web
| title=Caffeine in tea vs. steeping time
| date=September 1996
| url=http://www.nobleharbor.com/tea/caffiene.html
| accessdate=2006-08-12}}</ref> Teas like the pale Japanese [[green tea]] [[gyokuro]], for example, contain far more caffeine than much darker teas like [[lapsang souchong]], which has very little.

Caffeine is also a common ingredient of [[soft drink]]s such as [[cola]], originally prepared from [[kola nut]]s. Soft drinks typically contain about 10 to 50 milligrams of caffeine per serving. By contrast, [[energy drink]]s such as [[Red Bull]] contain as much as 80 milligrams of caffeine per serving. The caffeine in these drinks either originates from the ingredients used or is an additive derived from the product of [[decaffeination]] or from chemical synthesis. [[Guarana]], a prime ingredient of energy drinks, contains large amounts of caffeine with small amounts of [[theobromine]] and [[theophylline]] in a naturally occurring [[slow-release]] [[excipient]].<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Haskell
| first = C. F.
| coauthors = Kennedy D., Wesnes K. A., Milne A. L., Scholey A. B.
| title = A double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-dose evaluation of the acute behavioural effects of guarana in humans
| journal = J Psychopharmacol
| volume = 21
| issue = 1
| pages = 65–70
| date = January 2007
| pmid = 16533867
| accessdate = }}</ref>

[[Chocolate]] derived from [[cocoa]] contains a small amount of caffeine. The weak stimulant effect of chocolate may be due to a combination of [[theobromine]] and [[theophylline]] as well as caffeine.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Smit
| first = H. J.
| coauthors = Gaffan E. A., Rogers P. J.
| title = Methylxanthines are the psycho-pharmacologically active constituents of chocolate
| journal = Psychopharmacology
| volume = 176
| issue = 3–4
| pages = 412-9
| date = 2004 Nov
|pmid=15549276 | doi = 10.1007/s00213-004-1898-3 
}}</ref> Chocolate contains too little of these compounds for a reasonable serving to create effects in humans that are on par with [[coffee]]. A typical 28-gram serving of a milk [[chocolate bar]] has about as much caffeine as a cup of ''decaffeinated'' coffee.

In recent years various manufacturers have begun putting caffeine into shower products such as [[shampoo]] and [[soap]], claiming that caffeine can be absorbed through the skin.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Caffeine Accessories
| publisher = ThinkGeek, Inc
| url = http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/accessories
| accessdate = 2007-12-31 }}</ref> However, the effectiveness of such products has not been proven, and they are likely to have little stimulatory effect on the central nervous system because caffeine is not readily absorbed through the skin.<ref>{{cite web
| title = Does caffeinated soap really work?
| publisher = Erowid
| url = http://www.erowid.org/ask/ask.php?ID=3010
| accessdate = 2008-01-13 }}</ref>

==History==
[[Image:CoffeePalestineStereo.jpg|thumb|right|220px|A coffeehouse in Palestine, circa 1900]]
:''Main articles: [[Cocoa#History|History of cocoa]], [[History of coffee]], [[Tea#Origin and early history in Asia|Origin and early history of tea]]''
Humans have consumed caffeine since the [[Stone Age]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Escohotado | first = Antonio | coauthors = Ken Symington | title = A Brief History of Drugs: From the Stone Age to the Stoned Age | publisher = Park Street Press | date = May 1999 | id = ISBN 0-89281-826-3 }}</ref> Early peoples found that chewing the seeds, bark, or leaves of certain plants had the effects of easing fatigue, stimulating awareness, and elevating mood. Only much later was it found that the effect of caffeine was increased by steeping such plants in hot water. Many cultures have legends that attribute the discovery of such plants to people living many thousands of years ago.

According to one popular Chinese legend, the [[Emperor of China]] [[Shennong]], reputed to have reigned in about 3,000 BCE, accidentally discovered that when some leaves fell into boiling water, a fragrant and restorative [[caffeinated drink|drink]] resulted.<ref>Chow p. 19–20 (Czech edition); also Arcimovicova p. 9, Evans p. 2 and others</ref> Shennong is also mentioned in Lu Yu's ''Cha Jing'', a famous early work on the subject of tea.<ref>{{cite book | last = Yu | first = Lu | title = The Classic of Tea: Origins & Rituals | publisher = Ecco Pr; Reissue edition |date=October 1995 | url = http://www.amazon.com/dp/0880014164/ | id = ISBN 0-88001-416-4 }}</ref>
The history of coffee has been recorded as far back as the ninth century. During that time, coffee beans were available only in their native habitat, [[Ethiopia]]. A popular legend traces its discovery to a [[goatherder]] named [[Kaldi]], who apparently observed goats that became elated and sleepless at night after browsing on coffee shrubs and, upon trying the berries that the goats had been eating, experienced the same vitality. The earliest literary mention of coffee may be a reference to Bunchum in the works of the 9th century [[Persian people|Persian]] physician [[al-Razi]]. In 1587, [[Malaye Jaziri]] compiled a work tracing the history and legal controversies of coffee, entitled "Undat al safwa fi hill al-qahwa". In this work, Jaziri recorded that one [[Sheikh]], Jamal-al-Din al-Dhabhani, [[mufti]] of [[Aden]], was the first to adopt the use of coffee in 1454, and that in the 15th century the [[sufism|Sufis]] of [[Yemen]] routinely used coffee to stay awake during prayers.

Towards the close of the 16th century, the use of coffee was recorded by a [[Europe]]an resident in [[Egypt]], and about this time it came into general use in the [[Near East]]. The appreciation of coffee as a beverage in Europe, where it was first known as "Arabian wine," dates from the 17th century. During this time "[[coffee house]]s" were established, the first being opened in [[Constantinople]] and [[Venice]]. In Britain, the first coffee houses were opened in [[London]] in 1652, at St Michael's Alley, [[Cornhill, London|Cornhill]]. They soon became popular throughout [[Western Europe]], and played a significant role in [[social relation]]s in the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Coffee | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica | date = 1911}}</ref>

The [[kola nut]], like the coffee berry and tea leaf, appears to have ancient origins. It is chewed in many [[West Africa]]n cultures, individually or in a social setting, to restore vitality and ease hunger pangs. In 1911, kola became the focus of one of the earliest documented health scares when the US government seized 40 barrels and 20 kegs of [[Coca-Cola]] syrup in [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]], alleging that the caffeine in its drink was "injurious to health".<ref>{{cite journal | last = Benjamin | first = LT Jr | coauthors = Rogers AM, Rosenbaum A | title = Coca-Cola, caffeine, and mental deficiency: Harry Hollingworth and the Chattanooga trial of 1911 | journal = J Hist Behav Sci | volume = 27 | issue = 1 | pages = 42–55 | date = 1991 January | id = PMID 2010614 | accessdate = }}</ref> On [[March 13]], [[1911]], the government initiated ''The [[United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola]]'', hoping to force Coca-Cola to remove caffeine from its formula by making claims, such as that the excessive use of Coca-Cola at one girls' school led to "wild nocturnal freaks, violations of college rules and female proprieties, and even immoralities."<ref>{{cite web | last = Jarvis | first = Gail | title = The Rise and Fall of Cocaine Cola | date = [[May 21]] [[2002]] | url = http://www.lewrockwell.com/jarvis/jarvis17.html|accessdate = 2006-08-19 }}</ref> Although the judge ruled in favor of Coca-Cola, two bills were introduced to the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] in 1912 to amend the [[Pure Food and Drug Act]], adding caffeine to the list of "habit-forming" and "deleterious" substances which must be listed on a product's label.

The earliest evidence of [[cocoa]] use comes from residue found in an [[Maya civilization|ancient Maya]]n pot dated to 600 BCE. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a bitter and spicy drink called ''xocoatl'', often seasoned with [[vanilla]], [[chile pepper]], and [[achiote]]. Xocoatl was believed to fight fatigue, a belief that is probably attributable to the [[theobromine]] and caffeine content. Chocolate was an important luxury good throughout [[pre-Columbian]] [[Mesoamerica]], and cocoa beans were often used as currency.

Chocolate was introduced to [[Europe]] by the [[Spanish people|Spaniard]]s and became a popular beverage by 1700. They also introduced the [[cacao]] tree into the [[West Indies]] and the [[Philippines]]. It was used in [[alchemy|alchemical]] processes, where it was known as Black Bean.

In 1819, the [[Germany|German]] chemist [[Friedrich Ferdinand Runge]] isolated relatively pure caffeine for the first time. According to Runge, he did this at the behest of [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]].<ref name=weinberg>{{cite book | last = Weinberg | first = BA | coauthors = BK Bealer | title = The World of Caffeine | publisher = Routledge | date = January 2001 | id = ISBN 0-415-92722-6 }}</ref> In 1927, Oudry isolated "theine" from tea, but it was later proved by [[Gerardus Johannes Mulder|Mulder]] and Jobat that theine was the same as caffeine.<ref name=weinberg/> The structure of caffeine was elucidated near the end of the 19th century by [[Hermann Emil Fischer]], who was also the first to achieve its [[total synthesis]].<ref>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1902/press.html Nobel Prize Presentation Speech by Professor Hj. Théel, President of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences on December 10, 1902.]</ref> This was part of the work for which Fischer was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1902.

Today, global consumption of caffeine has been estimated at 120,000 tons per annum,<ref name="abc.net">{{cite web | title = What's your poison: caffeine | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date = 1997 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/quantum/poison/caffeine/caffeine.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-20 }}</ref> making it the world's most popular psychoactive substance. This number equates to one serving of a caffeine beverage for every person, per day. In North America, 90% of adults consume some amount of caffeine daily.<ref name="demon drink"/>

==Pharmacology==
Caffeine is a [[central nervous system]] and metabolic stimulant,<ref>{{cite journal | last = Nehlig | first = A | coauthors = Daval JL, Debry G | title = Caffeine and the central nervous system: Mechanisms of action, biochemical, metabolic, and psychostimulant effects | journal = Brain Res Rev | volume = 17 | issue = 2 | pages = 139-70 | date = 1992 May-Aug | id = PMID 1356551 }}</ref> and is used both recreationally and medically to reduce physical fatigue and restore mental alertness when unusual weakness or drowsiness occurs. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system first at the higher levels, resulting in increased alertness and wakefulness, faster and clearer flow of thought, increased focus, and better general body coordination, and later at the spinal cord level at higher doses.<ref name="effects">{{cite journal | last = Bolton, Ph.D. | first = Sanford | coauthors = Gary Null, M.S. | title = Caffeine: Psychological Effects, Use and Abuse | journal = Orthomolecular Psychiatry | volume = 10 | issue = 3 | pages = 202–211 | date = 1981 | url = http://www.garynull.com/Documents/CaffeineEffects.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-12 }}</ref> Once inside the body, it has a complex chemistry, and acts through several mechanisms as described below.

===Metabolism===
[[Image:Caffeine metabolites.svg|thumb|right|350px|Caffeine is metabolized in the liver into three primary metabolites:
[[paraxanthine]] (84%), [[theobromine]] (12%), and [[theophylline]] (4%)]]
Caffeine is completely absorbed by the stomach and small intestine within 45 minutes of ingestion. After ingestion it is distributed throughout all tissues of the body and is eliminated by [[Rate equation|first-order kinetics]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Newton | first = R | coauthors = Broughton LJ, Lind MJ, Morrison PJ, Rogers HJ, Bradbrook ID | title = Plasma and salivary pharmacokinetics of caffeine in man | journal = European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology | volume = 21 | issue = 1 | pages = 45–52 | date = 1981 | id = PMID 7333346 }}</ref>

The [[Biological half-life|half-life]] of caffeine—the time required for the body to eliminate one-half of the total amount of caffeine consumed at a given time—varies widely among individuals according to such factors as age, liver function, pregnancy, some concurrent medications, and the level of enzymes in the liver needed for caffeine metabolism. In healthy adults, caffeine's half-life is approximately 3–4 hours. In women taking oral contraceptives this is increased to 5–10 hours,<ref>{{cite journal | last = Meyer | first = FP | coauthors = Canzler E, Giers H, Walther H. | title = Time course of inhibition of caffeine elimination in response to the oral depot contraceptive agent Deposiston. Hormonal contraceptives and caffeine elimination | journal = Zentralbl Gynakol | volume = 113 | issue = 6 | pages = 297–302 | date = 1991 | id = PMID 2058339 }}</ref> and in pregnant women the half-life is roughly 9–11 hours.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Ortweiler | first = W | coauthors = Simon HU, Splinter FK, Peiker G, Siegert C, Traeger A. | title = Determination of caffeine and metamizole elimination in pregnancy and after delivery as an in vivo method for characterization of various cytochrome p-450 dependent biotransformation reactions | journal = Biomed Biochim Acta. | volume = 44 | issue = 7–8 | pages = 1189–99 | date = 1985 | id = PMID 4084271 }}</ref> Caffeine can accumulate in individuals with severe [[liver disease]] when its half-life can increase to 96 hours.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Bolton, Ph.D. | first = Sanford | coauthors = Gary Null, M.S. | title = Caffeine: Psychological Effects, Use and Abuse | journal = Orthomolecular Psychiatry | volume = 10 | issue = 3 | pages = 202–211 | date = 1981 | url = http://www.garynull.com/Documents/CaffeineEffects.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> In infants and young children, the half-life may be longer than in adults; half-life in a newborn baby may be as long as 30 hours. Other factors such as smoking can shorten caffeine's half-life.<ref>{{cite book | last = Springhouse | title = Physician's Drug Handbook; 11th edition | publisher = Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|date = [[January 1]] [[2005]] | id = ISBN 1-58255-396-3 }}</ref>

Caffeine is metabolized in the [[liver]] by the [[cytochrome P450 oxidase]] enzyme system (specifically, the [[CYP1A2|1A2]] isozyme) into three [[metabolism|metabolic]] [[xanthine|dimethylxanthines]],<ref>
{{cite web | title = Caffeine | publisher = The Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics Knowledge Base | url = http://www.pharmgkb.org/do/serve?objId=464&objCls=DrugProperties#biotransformationData | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> which each have their own effects on the body:
* [[Paraxanthine]] (84%): Has the effect of increasing [[lipolysis]], leading to elevated [[glycerol]] and free [[fatty acid]] levels in the [[blood plasma]].
* [[Theobromine]] (12%): Dilates [[blood vessel]]s and increases [[urine]] volume. Theobromine is also the principal alkaloid in [[cocoa]], and therefore [[chocolate]].
* [[Theophylline]] (4%): Relaxes [[smooth muscle]]s of the [[bronchus|bronchi]], and is used to treat [[asthma]]. The therapeutic dose of theophylline, however, is many times greater than the levels attained from caffeine metabolism.

Each of these metabolites is further metabolized and then excreted in the urine.

===Mechanism of action===
[[Image:Caffeine and adenosine.svg|thumb|left|350px|Caffeine's principal mode of action is as an [[receptor antagonist|antagonist]] of [[adenosine]] receptors in the brain. They are presented here side by side for comparison.]]

Caffeine acts through multiple mechanisms involving both action on receptors and channels on the cell membrane, as well as intracellular action on calcium and [[Cyclic adenosine monophosphate|cAMP]] pathways. By virtue of its [[purine]] structure it can act on some of the same targets as adenosine related nucleosides and nucleotides, like the cell surface P1 [[GPCR]]s for adenosine, as well as the intracellular [[Ryanodine receptor]] (RyR) which is the physiological target of cADPR ([[cyclic ADP-ribose]]), and [[phosphodiesterase|cAMP-phosphodiesterase]] (cAMP-PDE). Although the action is [[agonist]]ic in some cases, it is [[Receptor antagonist|antagonist]]ic in others. Physiologically, however, caffeine action is unlikely due to increased RyR opening, as it requires plasma concentration above lethal dosage. The action is most likely through adenosine receptors.{{Fact|date=March 2008}}

Like [[alcohol]], [[nicotine]], and [[antidepressant]]s, caffeine readily crosses the [[blood brain barrier]]. Once in the brain, the principal mode of action of caffeine is as an [[Receptor antagonist|antagonist]] of [[adenosine receptor]]s found in the brain.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Fisone G | first = G | coauthors = Borgkvist A, Usiello A | title = Caffeine as a psychomotor stimulant: mechanism of action | journal = Cell Mol Life Sci | volume = 61 | issue = 7–8 | pages = 857-72 |date=April 2004| id = PMID 15095008 | url = http://www.springerlink.com/content/605nwu366ay2c6xt/ | doi = 10.1007/s00018-003-3269-3  }}</ref> The caffeine molecule is structurally similar to [[adenosine]], and binds to adenosine receptors on the surface of cells without activating them (an "antagonist" mechanism of action). Therefore, caffeine acts as a [[competitive inhibitor]]. The reduction in adenosine activity results in increased activity of the [[neurotransmitter]] [[dopamine]], largely accounting for the stimulatory effects of caffeine. Caffeine can also increase levels of [[epinephrine|epinephrine/adrenaline]],<ref>{{cite journal | author = Graham T, Rush J, van Soeren M | title = Caffeine and exercise: metabolism and performance. | journal = Can J Appl Physiol | volume = 19 | issue = 2 | pages = 111-38 | year = 1994|id = PMID 8081318}}</ref> possibly via a different mechanism. Acute usage of caffeine also increases levels of [[serotonin]], causing positive changes in mood.<ref name=fredholm>{{cite journal | author = Fredholm B, Bättig K, Holmén J, Nehlig A, Zvartau E | title = Actions of caffeine in the brain with special reference to factors that contribute to its widespread use. | journal = Pharmacol Rev | volume = 51 | issue = 1 | pages = 83–133 | year = 1999|id = PMID 10049999}}''[http://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/full/51/1/83 Full text]''</ref>


Caffeine is also a known competitive inhibitor of the enzyme [[phosphodiesterase|cAMP-phosphodiesterase]] (cAMP-PDE), which converts [[Cyclic adenosine monophosphate|cyclic AMP]] (cAMP) in cells to its noncyclic form, allowing cAMP to build up in cells. Cyclic AMP participates in activation of [[Protein Kinase A]] (PKA) to begin the phosphorylation of specific enzymes used in glucose synthesis. By blocking its removal caffeine intensifies and prolongs the effects of [[epinephrine]] and epinephrine-like drugs such as [[amphetamine]], [[methamphetamine]], or [[methylphenidate]]. Increased concentrations of cAMP in [[parietal cell]]s causes an increased activation of [[CAMP-dependent protein kinase|protein kinase A]] (PKA) which in turn increases activation of [[Hydrogen potassium ATPase|H+/K+ ATPase]], resulting finally in increased [[gastric acid]] secretion by the cell.

Caffeine (and theophylline) can freely diffuse into cells and causes intracellular calcium release (independent of extracellular calcium) from the calcium stores in the [[endoplasmic reticulum]](ER). This release is only partially blocked by Ryanodine receptor blockade with [[ryanodine]], [[dantrolene]], [[ruthenium red]], and [[procaine]] (thus may involve [[ryanodine receptor]] and probably some additional calcium channels), but completely abolished after calcium depletion of ER by [[SERCA]] inhibitors like [[Thapsigargin]] (TG) or [[cyclopiazonic acid]] (CPA).<ref>{{cite journal | author = Verkhratsky A. | title = Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Calcium Store in the Endoplasmic Reticulum of Neurons | journal = Physiol. Rev. | volume = 85 | issue = 1 | pages = 201–279 | year = 2005|doi = 10.1152/physrev.00004.2004}}</ref> The action of caffeine on the ryanodine receptor may depend on both cytosolic and the luminal ER concentrations of Ca2+. At low millimolar concentration of caffeine, the RyR channel open probability (Po) is significantly increased mostly due to a shortening of the lifetime of the closed state. At concentrations >5 mM, caffeine opens RyRs even at picomolar cytosolic Ca2+ and dramatically increases the open time of the channel so that the calcium release is stronger than even an action potential can generate. This mode of action of caffeine is probably due to mimicking the action of the physiologic metabolite of NAD called cADPR ([[cyclic ADP ribose]]) which has a similar potentiating action on [[Ryanodine receptor]]s.

Caffeine may also directly inhibit delayed rectifier and A-type K+ currents and activate plasmalemmal Ca2+ influx in certain vertebrate and invertebrate neurons.

The metabolites of caffeine contribute to caffeine's effects. Theobromine is a [[vasodilation|vasodilator]] that increases the amount of oxygen and nutrient flow to the brain and muscles. Theophylline, the second of the three primary metabolites, acts as a smooth [[muscle relaxant]] that chiefly affects [[bronchiole]]s and acts as a [[chronotropic|chronotrope]] and [[inotrope]] that increases heart rate and efficiency. The third metabolic derivative, paraxanthine, is responsible for an increase in the [[lipolysis]] process, which releases [[glycerol]] and [[fatty acids]] into the blood to be used as a source of fuel by the muscles.<ref>{{cite book | last = Dews | first = P.B. | title = Caffeine: Perspectives from Recent Research | publisher = Berlin: Springer-Valerag | date = 1984 | id = ISBN 978-0387135328 }}</ref>

[[Image:Caffeinated spiderwebs.jpg|170px|left|thumb|Caffeine has a significant effect on [[spider]]s, which is reflected in their [[spider web|web]] construction]]

===Effects when taken in moderation===
The precise amount of caffeine necessary to produce effects varies from person to person depending on body size and degree of tolerance to caffeine. It takes less than an hour for caffeine to begin affecting the body and a mild dose wears off in three to four hours.<ref name= "effects" /> Consumption of caffeine does not eliminate the need for sleep: it only temporarily reduces the sensation of being tired.

With these effects, caffeine is an [[ergogenic aid|ergogenic]]: increasing the capacity for mental or physical labor. A study conducted in 1979 showed a 7% increase in distance cycled over a period of two hours in subjects who consumed caffeine compared to control tests.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Ivy | first = JL | coauthors = Costill DL, Fink WJ, Lower RW | title = Influence of caffeine and carbohydrate feedings on endurance performance | journal = Med Sci Sports | volume = 11 | issue = 1 | pages = 6–11 | date = 1979 Spring | id = PMID 481158 }}</ref> Other studies attained much more dramatic results; one particular study of trained runners showed a 44% increase in "race-pace" endurance, as well as a 51% increase in cycling endurance, after a dosage of 9 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Graham | first = TE | coauthors = Spriet, LL | title = Performance and metabolic responses to a high caffeine dose during prolonged exercise | journal = J Appl Physiol | volume = 71 | issue = 6 | pages = 2292–8 | date = 1991 December | id = PMID 1778925 }}</ref> The extensive boost shown in the runners is not an isolated case; additional studies have reported similar effects. Another study found 5.5 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body mass resulted in subjects cycling 29% longer during high intensity circuits.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Trice | first = I | coauthors = Haymes, EM | title = Effects of caffeine ingestion on exercise-induced changes during high-intensity, intermittent exercise | journal = Int J Sport Nutr | volume = 5 | issue = 1 | pages = 37–44 | date = March 1995 | id = PMID 7749424 }}</ref>

Breathing problems in [[premature birth|premature]] infants, [[apnea of prematurity]], are sometimes treated with [[Caffeine citrate|citrated caffeine]], which is available only by [[medical prescription|prescription]] in many countries.<ref>{{cite web | title = Caffeine (Systemic) | publisher = MedlinePlus | date = 05/25/2000 | url = http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202105.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070223063601/http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202105.html |archivedate=2007-02-23 | accessdate = 2006-08-12 }}</ref> A reduction in [[bronchopulmonary dysplasia]] has been exhibited in premature infants treated with caffeine citrate therapy regimens. The only short term risk associated with this treatment is a temporary reduction in weight gain during the therapy.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Schmidt | first = B | coauthors = Roberts, RS, Davis, P, Doyle, LW, et al | title = Caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity | journal = N Engl J Med | volume = 354 | issue = 20 | pages = 2112–21|date = [[May 18]] [[2006]]}}</ref> Longer term studies (18 to 21 months) have shown lasting benefits of treatment of premature infants with caffeine. <ref>{{cite journal | last = Schmidt | first = B | coauthors = Robin S. Roberts, M.Sc., Peter Davis, M.D., Lex W. Doyle, M.D., Keith J. Barrington, M.D., Arne Ohlsson, M.D., Alfonso Solimano, M.D., Win Tin, M.D. | title = Long-Term Effects of Caffeine Therapy for Apnea of Prematurity | journal = N Engl J Med | volume = 357 | issue = 19 | pages = 1893-1902 |date = [[November 8]] [[2007]] |url=http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/short/357/19/1893 | doi = 10.1056/NEJMoa073679 }}</ref> <ref>{{cite journal | last = Schmidt | first = B | title = Methylxanthine Therapy for Apnea of Prematurity: Evaluation of Treatment Benefits and Risks at Age 5 Years in the International Caffeine for Apnea of Prematurity (CAP) Trial | journal = Neonatology | volume = 88 | issue = 3 | pages = 208-213 |year =2005 |url=http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowAbstract&ArtikelNr=87584&Ausgabe=230969&ProduktNr=224215 | doi = 10.1159/000087584  }}</ref>

While relatively safe for humans, caffeine is considerably more toxic to some other animals such as dogs, horses and parrots due to a much poorer ability to metabolize this compound. Caffeine has a much more significant effect on [[spider]]s, for example, than most other drugs do.<ref>Noever, R., J. Cronise, and R. A. Relwani. 1995. Using spider-web patterns to determine toxicity. NASA Tech Briefs 19(4):82. Published in [[New Scientist]] magazine, [[27 April]] [[1995]].</ref>

Caffeine relaxes the [[Sphincter ani internus muscle|internal anal sphincter muscles]] and thus should be avoided by those with [[Fecal incontinence|incontinence]].<ref>[http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/fecalincontinence/ Fecal incontinence], NIH</ref>

===Tolerance and withdrawal===
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="width: 35%; float: right; clear: right; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; font-size: 85%"
|+ Caffeine content of select common food and drugs.<ref name="Caffeine Content of Food and Drugs">{{cite web |title=Caffeine Content of Food and Drugs |work=Nutrition Action Health Newsletter |publisher=[[Center for Science in the Public Interest]] |date=December 1996 |url=http://www.cspinet.org/nah/caffeine/caffeine_content.htm |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070614144016/http://www.cspinet.org/nah/caffeine/caffeine_content.htm |archivedate=2007-06-14 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 }}</ref> <ref name="Erowid Caffeine Content">{{cite web |title=Caffeine Content of Beverages, Foods, & Medications |publisher=[[Erowid|The Vaults of Erowid]] |date=[[July 7]] [[2006]] |url=http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine_info1.shtml |accessdate=2006-08-22}}</ref>
 
|-
! Product
!width="26%"| Serving size
!width="12%"| Caffeine per serving ([[Kilogram#SI multiples|mg]])
!width="12%"| Caffeine per [[litre]] ([[Kilogram#SI multiples|mg]])
|-
| Caffeine tablet (regular strength)
| 1 tablet
| 100
| —
|-
| Caffeine tablet (extra strength)
| 1 tablet
| 200
| —
|-
| [[Excedrin]] tablet
| 1 tablet
| 65
| —
|-
| [[Chocolate]], Dark ([[Hershey's]] Special Dark)
| {{nowrap|1 bar (43 [[gram|g]]; 1.5 [[ounce|oz]])}}
| 31
| —
|-
| Chocolate, Milk (Hershey Bar)
| {{nowrap|1 bar (43 g; 1.5 oz)}}
| 10
| —
|-
| [[Coffee]], brewed
| {{nowrap|207 [[Milliliter#SI prefixes applied to the litre|mL]] (7 U.S. [[fluid ounce|fl oz]])}}
| 80-135
| 386-652
|-
| [[Coffee]], drip
| {{nowrap|207 [[Milliliter#SI prefixes applied to the litre|mL]] (7 U.S. [[fluid ounce|fl oz]])}}
| 115-175
| 555-845
|-
| Coffee, [[decaffeinated]]
| {{nowrap|207 mL (7 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 5
| 24
|-
| Coffee, [[espresso]]
| {{nowrap|44-60 mL (1.5-2 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 100
| 1691-2254
|-
| Tea, leaf or bag
| {{nowrap|177 mL (6 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 50
| 281
|-
| Tea, green
| {{nowrap|177 mL (6 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 30
| 169
|-
| Soft drink, [[Coca-Cola]] Classic
| {{nowrap|355 mL (12 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 34
| 96
|-
| Soft drink, [[Mountain Dew]]
| {{nowrap|355 mL (12 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 54.5
| 154
|-
| Soft drink, [[Jolt Cola]]
| {{nowrap|694 mL (23.5 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 150
| 216
|-
| [[Red Bull]]
| {{nowrap|250 mL (8.2 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 80
| 320
|-
| [[Wired_Energy_Drink|Wired X344]]
| {{nowrap|473 mL (16 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 344
| 727
|}

Because caffeine is primarily an [[Receptor antagonist|antagonist]] of the central nervous system's receptors for the [[neurotransmitter]] [[adenosine]], the bodies of individuals who regularly consume caffeine adapt to the continual presence of the drug by substantially increasing the number of [[adenosine receptor]]s in the central nervous system. This increase in the number of the adenosine receptors makes the body much more sensitive to adenosine, with two primary consequences.<ref name="PMID 3003150">{{cite journal | last = Green | first = RM | coauthors = Stiles GL | title = Chronic caffeine ingestion sensitizes the A1 adenosine receptor-adenylate cyclase system in rat cerebral cortex | journal = J Clin Invest | volume = 77 | issue = 1 | pages = 222–227 | date = January 1986 | id = PMID 3003150 }}</ref> First, the stimulatory effects of caffeine are substantially reduced, a phenomenon known as a [[Drug tolerance|tolerance adaptation]]. Second, because these adaptive responses to caffeine make individuals much more sensitive to adenosine, a reduction in caffeine intake will effectively increase the normal physiological effects of adenosine, resulting in unwelcome withdrawal symptoms in tolerant users.<ref name="PMID 3003150"/>

Other research questions the idea that up-regulation of adenosine receptors is responsible for tolerance to the locomotor stimulant effects of caffeine, noting, among other things, that this tolerance is insurmountable by higher doses of caffeine (it should be surmountable if tolerance was due to an increase in receptors), and that the increase in adenosine receptor number is modest and doesn't explain the large tolerance which develops to caffeine.<ref name="pmid1846425">{{cite journal |author=Holtzman SG, Mante S, Minneman KP |title=Role of adenosine receptors in caffeine tolerance |journal=J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. |volume=256 |issue=1 |pages=62-8 |year=1991 |pmid=1846425 |doi=|url=http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=1846425}}</ref>

Caffeine tolerance develops very quickly, especially among heavy coffee and energy drink consumers. Complete tolerance to sleep disruption effects of caffeine develops after consuming 400 mg of caffeine 3 times a day for 7 days. Complete tolerance to subjective effects of caffeine was observed to develop after consuming 300 mg 3 times per day for 18 days, and possibly even earlier.<ref>[http://www.acnp.org/G4/GN401000165/CH161.html Caffeine - A Drug of Abuse?]</ref> Partial tolerance to caffeine has been observed in other areas. Studies with mice indicate that after a long period of caffeine exposure, the learning benefits of caffeine observed earlier cannot be found to any significant level. Considering that 80% to 90% of American adults consume caffeine daily, and their mean daily caffeine intake exceeds 200 mg/day,<ref>[http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12355000/pdf/caffeine.PDF Intakes of Selenium, Caffeine, and Theobromine by Adults, 1994–1996]</ref> it can be surmised that a large fraction of the U.S. adult population is completely tolerant to most of the effects of caffeine.

Because adenosine, in part, serves to regulate blood pressure by causing [[vasodilation]], the increased effects of adenosine due to caffeine withdrawal cause the blood vessels of the head to dilate, leading to an excess of blood in the head and causing a [[headache]] and [[nausea]]. Reduced [[catecholamine]] activity may cause feelings of [[fatigue (physical)|fatigue]] and drowsiness. A reduction in serotonin levels when caffeine use is stopped can cause anxiety, irritability, inability to concentrate and diminished motivation to initiate or to complete daily tasks; in extreme cases it may cause mild [[Depression (mood)|depression]]. Together, these effects have come to be known as a "crash".<ref>[http://www.healthandgoodness.com/health/stimulants_risks.html Health risks of Stimulants, healthandgoodness.com]</ref>

[[Withdrawal]] symptoms—possibly including headache, irritability, an inability to concentrate, and stomach aches<ref>{{cite journal | last = Juliano | first = L M | title = A critical review of caffeine withdrawal: empirical validation of symptoms and signs, incidence, severity, and associated features. | journal = Psychopharmacology | volume = 176 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–29 | date = 21 September 2004 | doi=10.1007/s00213-004-2000-x }}</ref>—may appear within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of caffeine intake, peak at roughly 48 hours, and usually last from one to five days, representing the time required for the number of adenosine receptors in the brain to revert to "normal" levels, uninfluenced by caffeine consumption. [[Analgesic]]s, such as [[aspirin]], can relieve the pain symptoms, as can a small dose of caffeine.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Sawynok | first = J | title = Pharmacological rationale for the clinical use of caffeine. | journal = Drugs | volume = 49 | issue = 1 | pages = 37–50 | date = January 1995 | id = PMID 7705215 | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> Most effective is a combination of both an analgesic and a small amount of caffeine.

This is not the only case where caffeine increases the effectiveness of a drug. Caffeine makes pain relievers 40% more effective in relieving headaches and helps the body absorb headache medications more quickly, bringing faster relief.<ref>{{cite web | title = Headache Triggers: Caffeine | publisher = WebMD | date = June 2004 | url = http://www.webmd.com/content/article/46/1826_50681.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> For this reason, many over-the-counter headache drugs include caffeine in their formula. It is also used with [[ergotamine]] in the treatment of [[migraine]] and [[cluster headaches]] as well as to overcome the drowsiness caused by [[antihistamine]]s.

===Overuse===
In large amounts, and especially over extended periods of time, caffeine can lead to a condition known as ''caffeinism.''<ref>{{cite journal | last = Mackay | first = DC | coauthors = Rollins JW. | title = Caffeine and caffeinism | journal = Journal of the Royal Naval Medical Service | volume = 75 | issue = 2 | pages = 65-7 |date=1989 Summer | id = PMID 2607498 }}</ref><ref name="BJoA">{{cite journal | last = James | first = JE | coauthors = KP Stirling | title = Caffeine: A summary of some of the known and suspected deleterious effects of habitual use | journal = British Journal of Addiction | volume = 78 | issue = 3 | pages = 251-8 |date=September 1983 | id = PMID 6354232 }}</ref> Caffeinism usually combines caffeine [[chemical dependency|dependency]] with a wide range of unpleasant physical and mental conditions including [[anxiety|nervousness]], [[irritability]], [[anxiety]], [[Tremor|tremulousness]], [[muscle twitching]] ([[hyperreflexia]]), [[insomnia]], [[headaches]], [[respiratory alkalosis]]<ref name="COAM">{{cite web | title = Caffeine overdose in an adolescent male | publisher = J Toxicol Clin Toxicol | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=3193494&query_hl=34&itool=pubmed_docsum|accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> and [[heart palpitation]]s.<ref name="EofMD">{{cite web | title = Caffeine-related disorders | publisher = Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders | url = http://www.minddisorders.com/Br-Del/Caffeine-related-disorders.html|accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> Furthermore, because caffeine increases the production of stomach acid, high usage over time can lead to [[peptic ulcer]]s, erosive [[esophagitis]], and [[gastroesophageal reflux disease]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) | publisher = Cedars-Sinai | url = http://www.csmc.edu/pf_5543.html | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref>

There are four caffeine-induced psychiatric disorders recognized by the ''[[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]], Fourth Edition'': caffeine intoxication, caffeine-induced anxiety disorder, [[caffeine-induced sleep disorder]], and caffeine-related disorder not otherwise specified (NOS).

====Caffeine intoxication====
An acute overdose of caffeine, usually in excess of about 300 milligrams, dependent on body weight and level of caffeine tolerance, can result in a state of central nervous system over-stimulation called ''caffeine intoxication''.<ref name="DSM-IV">{{cite book | authorlink = http://www.psych.org/ | title = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth Edition.|publisher = [[American Psychiatric Association]] | date = 1994 | id = ISBN 0-89042-062-9 }}</ref> Some people seeking caffeine intoxication resort to [[insufflate|insufflation]] (snorting) of caffeine powder, usually finely crushed caffeine tablets. This induces a faster and more intense reaction. The symptoms of caffeine intoxication are not unlike overdoses of other [[stimulants]]. It may include restlessness, [[nervousness]], excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, [[diuresis|increased urination]], [[Gastrointestinal tract|gastrointestinal]] disturbance, [[fasciculation|muscle twitching]], a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, [[cardiac arrhythmia|irregular]] or [[tachycardia|rapid heart beat]], and [[psychomotor agitation]].<ref name="EofMD"/> In cases of much larger overdoses [[mania]], [[depression (mood)|depression]], lapses in judgment, [[disorientation]], loss of social inhibition, [[delusions]], [[hallucinations]], [[psychosis]], [[rhabdomyolysis]], and [[death]] may occur.<ref>{{cite web | title = Caffeine overdose | publisher = MedlinePlus | date = 4/4/2006 | url = http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002579.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Kamijo | first = Y | coauthors = Soma K, Asari Y, Ohwada T | title = Severe rhabdomyolysis following massive ingestion of oolong tea: caffeine intoxication with coexisting hyponatremia | journal = Veterinary and Human Toxicology | volume = 41 | issue = 6 | pages = 381-3 | date = 1999 December | id = PMID 10592946 }}</ref>

In cases of extreme overdose, death can result. The median lethal dose ([[LD50|LD50]]) given orally, is 192 milligrams per kilogram in rats.<ref name=ld50>{{cite journal | title = Factors Affecting Caffeine Toxicity: A Review of the Literature | last=Peters| first=Josef M. | journal = The Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and the Journal of New Drugs | year= 1967 | issue=7|pages=131-141 url = http://jcp.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/7/3/131 | accessdate = 2008-03-29 }}</ref> The LD50 of caffeine in humans is dependent on weight and individual sensitivity and estimated to be about 150 to 200 milligrams per kilogram of body mass, roughly 80 to 100 cups of coffee for an average adult taken within a limited time frame that is dependent on [[Biological halflife|half-life]]. Though achieving lethal dose with caffeine would be exceptionally difficult with regular coffee, there have been reported deaths from overdosing on caffeine pills, with serious symptoms of overdose requiring hospitalization occurring from as little as 2 grams of caffeine.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Kerrigan | first = S | coauthors = Lindsey T | title = Fatal caffeine overdose: two case reports | journal = Forensic Sci Int | volume = 153 | issue = 1 | pages = 67–69 | date = [[October 4]], [[2005]] | url = http://www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?A=ShowDoc1&ID=6700 |format=reprint |pmid=15935584 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Holmgren | first = P | coauthors = Nordén-Pettersson L, Ahlner J | title = Caffeine fatalities — four case reports | journal = Forensic Sci Int | volume = 139 | issue = 1 | pages = 71–73 | date = [[January 6]], [[2004]] | url = http://www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?A=ShowDoc1&ID=6702 |format=reprint |pmid=14687776 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Walsh | first = I | coauthors = Wasserman GS, Mestad P, Lanman RC | title = Near-fatal caffeine intoxication treated with peritoneal dialysis | journal = Pediatr Emerg Care | volume = 3 | issue = 4 | pages = 244-9 | date = December 1987 | id = PMID 3324064 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Mrvos | first = RM | coauthors = Reilly PE, Dean BS, Krenzelok EP | title = Massive caffeine ingestion resulting in death | journal = Vet Hum Toxicol | volume = 31 | issue = 6 | pages = 571-2 | date = December 1989 | id = PMID 2617841 }}</ref> Death typically occurs due to [[ventricular fibrillation]] brought about by effects of caffeine on the [[cardiovascular system]].

Treatment of severe caffeine intoxication is generally supportive, providing treatment of the immediate symptoms, but if the patient has very high serum levels of caffeine then [[peritoneal dialysis]], [[hemodialysis]], or [[hemofiltration]] may be required.

====Anxiety and sleep disorders====
Long-term overuse of caffeine can elicit a number of psychiatric disturbances. Two such disorders recognized by the [[American Psychiatric Association]] (APA) are ''caffeine-induced sleep disorder'' and ''caffeine-induced anxiety disorder''.

In the case of caffeine-induced [[sleep disorder]], an individual regularly ingests high doses of caffeine sufficient to induce a significant disturbance in his or her sleep, sufficiently severe to warrant clinical attention.<ref name="DSM-IV" \>

In some individuals, the large amounts of caffeine can induce [[anxiety]] severe enough to necessitate clinical attention. This caffeine-induced [[anxiety disorder]] can take many forms, from [[general anxiety disorder|generalized anxiety]] to [[panic attack]]s, [[obsessive-compulsive]] symptoms, or even [[Phobia|phobic symptoms]].<ref name="DSM-IV"/> Because this condition can mimic organic mental disorders, such as [[panic disorder]], [[generalized anxiety disorder]], [[bipolar disorder]], or even [[schizophrenia]], a number of medical professionals believe caffeine-intoxicated people are routinely misdiagnosed and unnecessarily medicated when the treatment for caffeine-induced psychosis would simply be to withhold further caffeine.<ref>{{cite book | last = Shannon | first = MW | coauthors = Haddad LM, Winchester JF | title = Clinical Management of Poisoning and Drug Overdose, 3rd ed. | date = 1998 | id = ISBN 0-7216-6409-1 }}</ref> A study in the ''British Journal of Addiction'' concluded that caffeinism, although infrequently diagnosed, may afflict as many as one person in ten of the population.<ref name="BJoA"/>

===Parkinson's disease===
Several large studies have shown that caffeine intake is associated with a reduced risk of developing [[Parkinson's disease]] (PD) in men, but studies in women have been inconclusive.<ref>[http://www.researchmatters.harvard.edu/story.php?article_id=198 Effects of caffeine on Parkinson's disease, Harvard research]</ref> The mechanism by which caffeine affects PD remains a mystery. In animal models, researchers have shown that caffeine can prevent the loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells seen in Parkinson's Disease, but researchers still do not know how this occurs.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/news_article_parkinson_caffeine_hrt.htm | title=New Findings About Parkinson's Disease: Coffee and Hormones Don't Mix | publisher=[[NIH|National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke]]}}</ref>

===Effects on memory and learning===
An array of studies found that caffeine could have [[nootropic]] effects, inducing certain changes in memory and learning. However, it is still not definitely clear whether the effect is negative or positive.

Researchers have found that long-term consumption of low dose caffeine (0.3 g/L) slowed [[hippocampus]]-dependent learning and impaired long-term memory. Caffeine consumption for 4 weeks also significantly reduced hippocampal neurogenesis compared to controls during the experiment. The conclusion was that long-term consumption of caffeine could inhibit hippocampus-dependent learning and memory partially through inhibition of hippocampal neurogenesis.
<ref>
{{Citation
| last1 = Han | first1 = ME
| author1-link = Han ME
| last2 = Park | first2 = KH
| author2-link = Park KH
| last3 = Baek | first3 = SY
| a-uthor3-link = Baek SY
| last4 = Kim | first4 = BS
| author4 = Kim BS
| last5 = Han | first5 = ME
| author5-link = Han ME
| last6 = Kim | first5 = JB
| author6-link = Kim JB
| last7 = Oh | first6 = SO
| author7-link = Oh SO
| title = Inhibitory effects of caffeine on hippocampal neurogenesis and function.
| journal = Biochem Biophys Res Commun.
| volume = 18
| issue = 4
| pages = 976-80
| publisher = Epub
| location = Korea
| date = [[2007-03-26]]
| year = 2007
| url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17400186?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
| issn = 0343-6993 }}.
</ref>

In one study, caffeine was added to rat neurons ''[[in vitro]]''. The [[dendritic spines]] (a part of the brain cell used in forming connections between neurons) taken from the [[hippocampus]] (a part of the brain associated with memory), grew by 33% and new spines formed. After an hour or two, however, these cells returned to their original shape.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/472473.stm | title=Caffeine clue to better memory |date=October 12, 1999 | publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

Another study showed that subjects—after receiving 100 milligrams of caffeine—had increased activity in brain regions located in the frontal lobe, where a part of the working memory network is located, and the [[anterior cingulum]], a part of the brain that controls attention. The caffeinated subjects also performed better on the memory tasks.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/Caffeine-Boosts-Short-Time-Memory-13828.shtml | title=Caffeine Boosts Short-Time Memory }}</ref>

However, a different study showed that caffeine could impair short term memory and increase the likelihood of the [[tip of the tongue]] phenomenon. The study allowed the researchers to suggest that caffeine could aid short-term memory when the information to be recalled is related to the current [[train of thought]], but also to hypothesize that caffeine hinders short-term memory when the train of thought is unrelated.<ref name="TOT-Lesk_Womble">{{cite journal | author=Lesk VE, Womble SP. | title=Caffeine, priming, and tip of the tongue: evidence for plasticity in the phonological system. | journal=Behavioral Neuroscience. | year=2004 | pages=453–61 | volume=118 | issue=2 | id=PMID 15174922}}</ref> In essence, focused thought coupled with caffeine consumption increases mental performance.

===Effects on the heart===
Caffeine increases the levels of cAMP in the heart cells, mimicking the effects of [[epinephrine]]. cAMP diffuses through the cell and acts as a "secondary messenger," activating protein kinase A (PKA; [[cAMP-dependent protein kinase]]). According to one study, caffeine, in the form of coffee, significantly reduces the risk of [[heart disease]] in epidemiological studies. However, the protective effect was found only in participants who were not severely [[hypertensive]] (i.e. patients that are not suffering from a very high blood pressure). Furthermore, no significant protective effect was found in participants aged less than 65 years or in [[cerebrovascular disease]] mortality for those aged equal or more than 65 years.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Greenberg | first = J.A. | coauthors = Dunbar, C.C.; Schnoll, R.; Kokolis, R.; Kokolis, S.; Kassotis, J. | year = 2007 | month = Feb | title = Caffeinated beverage intake and the risk of heart disease mortality in the elderly: a prospective analysis | journal = Am J Clin Nutr | volume = 85 | issue = 2 | pages = 392–398 | pmid = 17284734 | accessdate = 2007-02-26 }}</ref>

===Effects on children===
It is commonly believed that caffeine consumption causes stunted growth in children, but this is not supported by scientific research.<ref>{{cite web | title = Fact or fiction: Common diet myths dispelled | publisher = MSNBC | date = December 2006 | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16280050 | accessdate = 2007-05-10 }}</ref> However, just as with adults, there may be legitimate reason to limit the amount consumed by children.<ref>{{cite web | title = Caffeine and Your Child | publisher = KidsHealth | date = January 2005 | url = http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/food/general/caffeine.html | accessdate = 2007-05-10 }}</ref>

===Caffeine intake during pregnancy===
The [[Food Standards Agency]] has recommended that pregnant women should limit their caffeine intake to less than 300 mg of caffeine a day – the equivalent of four cups of coffee a day. A higher intake may be associated with miscarriage.<ref>[http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2001/oct/caffeinepregnancy Agency issues caffeine advice to pregnant women]</ref><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/01/21/hfh.caffeine.miscarriage/index.html?iref=mpstoryview Study: Caffeine may boost miscarriage risk]</ref>

Dr De-Kun Li of Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, which appears in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, concludes that an intake of 200 milligrams or more per day, representing two or more cups, "significantly increases the risk of miscarriage". <ref>[http://ckp.kp.org/newsroom/national/archive/nat_080121_caffeine.html Kaiser Permanente Study Shows Newer, Stronger Evidence that Caffeine During Pregnancy Increases Miscarriage Risk]</ref> However, an epidemiologic study published in early January 2008 found no observable increase in risk on miscarriage from caffeine. <ref name="PregDiffOutcomes" />

==Production==
[[Image:Caffeine USP.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Anhydrous]] (dry) [[United States Pharmacopoeia|USP]]-grade caffeine]]
Being readily available as a byproduct of decaffeination of tea and coffee, caffeine is not usually manufactured.<ref>{{cite web | author = Simon Tilling | publisher = [[Bristol University]] | url = http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2001/tilling/synthesis.htm | title = Crystalline Caffeine}}</ref> If desired, it may be synthesized from [[dimethyl urea]] and [[malonic acid]].<ref>{{cite book | title = Beverages in Nutrition and Health | author = Ted Wilson, Norman J. Temple | pages = 172 | isbn = 1588291731 | publisher = Humana Press | year = 2004}}</ref>

==Decaffeination==
{{main|Decaffeination}}
Pure caffeine is a white powder, and can be extracted from a variety of natural sources. Caffeine extraction is an important industrial process and can be performed using a number of different solvents. [[Benzene]], [[chloroform]], [[trichloroethylene]] and [[dichloromethane]] have all been used over the years but for reasons of safety, environmental impact, cost and flavor, they have been superseded by the following main methods:

===Water extraction===
Coffee beans are soaked in water. The water, which contains not only caffeine but also many other compounds which contribute to the flavor of coffee, is then passed through [[Activated carbon|activated charcoal]], which removes the caffeine. The water can then be put back with the beans and evaporated dry, leaving decaffeinated coffee with a good flavor.<ref name=Decaffeination>{{cite web |last=Senese | first=Fred | title=How is coffee decaffeinated? | publisher=General Chemistry Online | date=2005-09-20 | url=http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/consumer/faq/decaffeinating-coffee.shtml | accessdate=2006-08-21}}</ref> Coffee manufacturers recover the caffeine and resell it for use in soft drinks and over-the-counter [[caffeine tablets]].

===Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction===
[[Supercritical carbon dioxide]] is an excellent nonpolar solvent for caffeine (as well as many other organic compounds), and is safer than the organic solvents that are used for caffeine extraction. The extraction process is simple: CO2 is forced through the green coffee beans at temperatures above 31.1 °C and pressures above 73 [[Atmosphere (unit)|atm]]. Under these conditions, CO2 is in a "[[Supercritical fluid|supercritical]]" [[Phase (matter)|state]]: it has gaslike properties which allow it to penetrate deep into the beans but also liquid-like properties which dissolve 97–99% of the caffeine. The caffeine-laden CO2 is then sprayed with high pressure water to remove the caffeine. The caffeine can then be isolated by [[Activated carbon|charcoal]] [[adsorption]] (as above) or by [[distillation]], [[recrystallization]], or [[reverse osmosis]].<ref name=Decaffeination />

===Extraction by nonhazardous organic solvents===
Organic solvents such as [[ethyl acetate]] present much less health and environmental hazard than previously used chlorinated and aromatic solvents. The hydrolysis products of ethyl acetate are [[ethanol]] and [[acetic acid]], both nonhazardous in small quantities. Another method is to use triglyceride oils obtained from spent coffee grounds.

==Stereochemistry==
The nitrogen atoms are all essentially planar (in sp2 [[orbital hybridisation]]). Even though some are often drawn with three single bonds, the lone pairs on these atoms are involved in resonance with adjacent double-bonded carbon atoms, resulting in the caffeine molecule having [[aromaticity|aromatic]] character.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
=== General information ===
* [http://home.howstuffworks.com/caffeine.htm How Stuff Works: "How Caffeine Works"]
* [http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine.shtml Erowid Caffeine Vaults]
* [http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0501/feature1/index.html National Geographic January 2005: Caffeine]
* [http://www.caffeinezone.com Caffeine Zone: Social and Medical info on caffeine and its effects.]
* [http://www.caffeinated.jp/ #caffeine! The Caffeine Information Archive]
* [http://www.thenakedscientists.com/html/columnists/dalyacolumn2.htm Naked Scientists Online: Why do plants make caffeine?]
* [http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1997/11nov/caffeine.htm ''The Physician and Sportsmedicine'': Caffeine: A User's Guide]
* [http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/CU21.html The Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs, Caffeine-Part 1] [http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/CU22.html Part 2]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6155178 Coffee: A Little Really Does Go a Long Way, NPR, [[September 28]], [[2006]]]
* [http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/4664/Does-coffee-really-give-you-a-buzz- Does coffee really give you a buzz? by John Triggs in the Daily Express April 17 2007]

===News===
* [http://historyofalcoholanddrugs.typepad.com/alcohol_and_drugs_history/caffeine/index.html Alcohol and Drugs History Society: Caffeine news page]
*[http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=30d6d514-1c68-441a-bbec-5b80ae23627f&k=45911 National Post: Caffeine linked to psychiatric disorders]
* [http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/09_29_04.html Caffeine Withdrawal Recognized as a Disorder]

===Health===
* [http://www.benbest.com/health/caffeine.html Is Caffeine a Health Hazard?]
* [http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3115.htm eMedicine Caffeine-Related Psychiatric Disorders]
* [http://www.mycaffeineaddiction.com The Effects Of Caffeine Addiction]
* [http://www.garynull.com/Documents/CaffeineEffects.htm Caffeine: Psychological Effects, Use & Abuse]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7326839.stm Protects brain from Alzheimer's?]

==Appendix==
===Relative content: comparison of different sources===
{| class="toccolours" border="1" style="margin: 0 2em 1em 0; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%"
!Caffeine equivalents<ref name="Caffeine Content of Food and Drugs" /><ref name="Erowid Caffeine Content" />
|-
|In general, each of the following contains approximately 200 [[kilogram#SI multiples|milligrams]] of caffeine:
<div class="toccolors" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
* '''One''' 200 milligram caffeine pill
* '''One''' 12 [[fluid ounce]] cup of regular [[Starbucks]] coffee (355 [[Milliliter#SI prefixes applied to the litre|millilitres]])
* '''One and one quarter''' 16 fluid ounce cans of [[Monster Energy]] (590 millilitres)
* '''One and a half''' [[Pound (mass)|pound]]s of [[milk chocolate]][a] (680 [[gram]]s)
* '''Two''' 8 fluid ounce containers of regular [[coffee]] (470  millilitres)
* '''1/2 tube of '''Spazzstick Caffeinated Lip Balm'''
* '''Two''' Foosh Energy Mints
* '''Two''' Buzz Bites Chocolate Energy Chews
* '''Two and a half''' 10 fluid ounce bottles of [[Bawls]] caffeinated drink (740 millilitres)
* '''Three''' 6 fluid ounce cups of [[black tea]] (0.54 litres) (70 mg per 6 oz cup according to <ref name="Caffeine Content of Food and Drugs" />)
* '''Three''' standard [[Excedrin]] pills
* '''Three''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[Red Bull]] energy drink (710 millilitres)
* '''Four''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[Vault (soft drink)|Vault]] energy drink (1.0 [[litre]])
* '''Five''' 1 fluid ounce shots of [[espresso]] from [[Coffea canephora|robusta]] beans (150 millilitres)
* '''Five''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[Mountain Dew]] (1.2 litres)
* '''Five''' 12 fluid ounce cans of typical [[soda pop]] (1.8 litres) (variable)
* '''Eight and a half''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[Coca-Cola Classic]] (68 fl oz is approximately 2.0 litres)
* '''Ten''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[green tea]] (2.4 litres)
* '''Fifty''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[decaf]]feinated coffee (12 litres)
</div>
Notes:

a. Chocolate and other products of [[cacao]] contain substantial quantities of other caffeine-like chemicals (especially [[theobromine]]) as well as actual caffeine. The properties of these substances are in at least some respects very similar to caffeine.
|}

{{Coffee|nocat=1}}
{{Stimulants}}
{{Psychostimulants, agents used for ADHD and nootropics}}
{{Featured article}}

[[Category:Caffeine| ]]
[[Category:Coffee]]
[[Category:Xanthines]]
[[Category:Bitter compounds]]

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Leprechaun

2008-03-26T01:35:05Z

Capi crimm: sentence made no sense.

{{otheruses4|the creature in Irish mythology}}
{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}
[[Image:Leprechaun ill artlibre jnl.png|thumb|170px|A depiction of a Leprechaun of the type [[popular culture|popularised]] in the [[20th Century]].]]
In [[Irish mythology]], a '''leprechaun''' ({{lang-ga|leipreachán}}) is a type of male [[faerie]] said to inhabit the island of [[Ireland]]. They are a class of "[[faerie]] folk" associated in Irish mythology and folklore, as with all faeries, with the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] and other quasi-historical peoples said to have inhabited Ireland before the arrival of the [[Celts]].

As with other creatures of Irish mythology, leprechauns are often associated with "[[Fairy fort|faerie forts]]" or "[[Fairy_ring#Folklore|faerie rings]]" — often the sites of ancient (Celtic or pre-Celtic) [[earthworks (engineering)|earthworks]] or [[drumlin]]s. Although the Leprechaun has a significant body of literature reaching back into the 19th century and perhaps beyond via oral history there is no direct reference to the Leprechaun in what are known as "ancient Irish tales". One reference from the life of [[St. Brendan]] of Clonfert does mention an island of little people however, they do not have the cultural traits of the Leprechaun. (See: [http://mysite.verizon.net/cbladey/chaun/chaun.html#Leprechauns%20in%20Lives%20of%20the%20Saints])

They usually take the form of old men or woman (sometimes called aoife) who enjoy partaking in mischief. Their trade is that of a [[cobbler]] or [[shoemaker]]. Prior to extensive working of metals the leather worker as tanner as well as producing such things as shields as well as clothing, bowls and buckets would have been an important figure in ancient Ireland. The Leprechaun therefore, is a craft specialist - a professional in the community. The Leprechauns are said to be very rich, having many treasure crocks buried during war-time. Therefore, Leprechauns are not only professionals but thrifty. According to legend, if anyone keeps an eye fixed upon one, he cannot escape, but the moment the gaze is withdrawn, he vanishes. If one captures a Leprechaun he must be truthful and honest and tell you where he has hidden his treasure. The Leprechaun although honest and obeying the laws is crafty. This is an important skill for any person who wishes to make the best of any legal system. The Leprechaun therefore, has worked hard to become a professional, saves his money, is honest and follows the laws while being careful to maximize the use of legal loopholes. He is essentially a very good role model well suited to the genre of what are called "[[peasant tale]]s" of the 18th and 19th century in Ireland. For literature reflecting these values see:{{ [http://mysite.verizon.net/cbladey/chaun/chaunsay.html ]}}
== Mythology ==

Leprechauns rarely appear in what would be classed as a [[folk tale]]; in almost all cases the interest of these stories centres round a human [[hero]]. Stories about leprechauns are generally very brief and generally have local names and scenery attached to them. The tales are usually told conversationally as any other occurrence might be told, whereas there is a certain solemnity about the repetition of a folk-tale proper.

In most tales and stories leprechauns are depicted as generally harmless creatures who enjoy solitude and live in remote locations, although opinion is divided as to if they ever enjoy the company of other spirits. Although rarely seen in social situations, leprechauns are supposedly very well spoken and, if ever spoken to, could make good conversation.
[[Image:Leprechaun engraving 1858.jpg|thumb|right|140px|A leprechaun is shown crafting [[shoes]] in this [[Engraving]] made in [[1858]]. In previous years leprechauns had a less [[wiktionary:homogeneous|homogenised]] appearance.]]
Among the most popular of beliefs about leprechauns is that they are extremely wealthy and like to hide their [[gold]] in secret locations, which can only be revealed if a person were to actually capture and interrogate a leprechaun for its money.

By nature, leprechauns are said to be ill-natured and mischievous.

== Appearance ==

The leprechaun originally had a different appearance depending on where in Ireland he was found.{{ref|ie1}} Prior to the [[20th century]], it was generally agreed that the leprechaun wore red and not green. [[Samuel Lover]], writing in the 1831 describes the leprechaun as,

:... quite a beau in his dress, notwithstanding, for he wears a red square-cut coat, richly laced with gold, and inexpressible of the same, cocked hat, shoes and buckles.{{ref|lover1}}

Yeats, in his 1888 book entitled ''Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry'' describes the leprechaun as follows:

:He is something of a dandy, and dresses in a red coat with seven rows of buttons, seven buttons on each row, and wears a cocked-hat, upon whose pointed end he is wont in the north-eastern counties, according to McAnally, to spin like a top when the fit seizes him.{{ref|yeats1a}}

In a poem entitled ''The Lepracaun; or, Fairy Shoemaker'', the [[18th century]] Irish poet [[William Allingham]] describes the appearance of the leprechaun as:
[[Image:Leprechaun or Clurichaun.png|thumb|right|A [[cluricaun]] with a jug of wine. The cluricaun is often confused with the leprechaun.]]
:...A wrinkled, wizen'd, and bearded Elf,
:Spectacles stuck on his pointed nose,
:Silver buckles to his hose,
:Leather apron - shoe in his lap... {{ref|allingham1}}

Some commentators accuse Allingham of leaving the legacy of the modern image of the leprechaun described below. {{ref|pearsecom1}}

The modern image of the leprechaun is almost invariant: he is depicted wearing an [[Emerald (color)|emerald green]] [[frock coat]], and bestowed with the knowledge of the location of buried [[treasure]], often in a [[Crock (dishware)|crock]] of [[gold]].

==Related creatures==

The leprechaun is related to the ''[[clurichaun]]'' and the ''[[far darrig]]'' in that he is a solitary creature. Some writers even go as far as to substitute these second two less well-known spirits for the leprechaun in stories or tales to reach a wider audience. The clurichaun is considered by some to be merely a leprechaun on a spree.{{ref|yeats1b}}

==In politics==
In the [[politics of the Republic of Ireland]], leprechauns have been used to refer to the [[wikt:twee|twee]] aspects of the tourist industry in Ireland {{ref|oireachtas1998}} {{ref|oireachtas1963}}. This can be seen from this example of [[John A. Costello]] addressing the [[Oireachtas]] in 1963:

:For many years, we were afflicted with the miserable trivialities of our tourist advertising. Sometimes it descended to the lowest depths, to the [[caubeen]] and the [[shillelagh (weapon)|shillelagh]], not to speak of the leprechaun. {{ref|oireachtas1963a}}

Leprechauns have also been used in jokes regarding fiscal irresponsibility, the idea being that the politician or political party being attacked has found a ''pot of gold'', or is going to ask a leprechaun for the location of such a pot, accommodating their spending.

The term ''leprechaun language'', has been used by some [[Unionism (Ireland)|Unionists]] in [[Northern Ireland]], and is a [[pejorative]] for the [[Irish language]].{{ref|rsf2000}}{{ref|celticleague}}

== Popular culture ==
Movies, television cartoons and advertising have popularised a specific dim-witted image of leprechauns which bears scant resemblance to anything found in the cycles of Irish mythology. Many Irish people find the popularised image of a leprechaun to be little more than a series of offensive Irish [[stereotype]]s and a trivialisation of Ireland's rich and ancient [[Irish culture|culture]].{{ref|negra2006}}

Similarly, the phrase ''[[leprechaun music]]'' is used as a pejorative reference to sentimental Irish music.

The stereotypical image of a leprechaun bedecked in green is particularly strong in the [[United States]], where it is widely used for a variety of purposes, both commercial and non-commercial. A series of [[horror film]]s beginning with ''[[Leprechaun (film)|Leprechaun]]'' in 1992 have depicted the stereotype as malevolent.

There was also a [[pyromaniac]] leprechaun on an episode of [[The Simpsons]], who repeatedly told [[Ralph Wiggum]] to "Burn them all".

The mascot for the cereal Lucky Charms is a Leprechaun.

The mascot for the Boston Celtics is a Leprechaun.

The mascot for Notre Dame is an individual that looks like a Leprechaun.

== See also ==
{{wikisource}}
{{commons|Leprechaun}}
{{wiktionary|leprechaun}}
*[[Clurichaun]] ("cousin" of the Leprechaun)
*[[Far darrig]]
*[[Kallikantzaros]]
*[[Menehune]]
*[[Sprite (creature)]]
*[[Cultural appropriation]]
*[[Leprechaunism]] (Donohue syndrome)

== Notes ==

<div class="references-small">











#{{note|ie1}} [http://www.emigrant.ie/article.asp?iCategoryID=189&iArticleID=1463 Little Guy Style]
#{{note|lover1}} From ''Legends and Stories of Ireland''
#{{note|yeats1a}} From ''Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry''.
#{{note|allingham1}} [http://faerylands.org/faerie/poems/Lepracaun.html William Allingham - The Leprechaun]
#{{note|pearsecom1}} [http://www.pearsecom.com/Ireland/poems/fairies.htm Criticism of William Allingham's ''The Fairies'']
#{{note|yeats1b}} From ''Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry''.
#{{note|oireachtas1998}} [http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0495/D.0495.199810200015.html Dáil Éireann - Volume 495 - 20 October, 1998 - Tourist Traffic Bill, 1998: Second Stage.]
#{{note|oireachtas1963}} [http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0206/D.0206.196312110087.html Dáil Éireann - Volume 206 - 11 December, 1963 Committee on Finance. - Vote 13—An Chomhairle Ealaoín.]
#{{note|oireachtas1963a}} [http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/D/0206/D.0206.196312110087.html Dáil Éireann - Volume 206 - 11 December, 1963 Committee on Finance. - Vote 13—An Chomhairle Ealaoín.]
#{{note|rsf2000}} [http://www.rsf.ie/gaeilge.htm Republican Sinn Féin - AN GHAEILGE Why it is so important]
#{{note|celticleague}} [http://www.gwalarn.org/diellou/belfastgaelique.pdf Celtic League - Press Release - PSNI Not 'On Message' over Language Rights]
#{{note|negra2006}} Negra, D. (ed.) (2006) ''The Irish in Us: Irishness, Performativity and Popular Culture''. (Durham : Duke University Press)
</div>

== Further reading ==

* [[Thomas Crofton Croker|Croker, T. C.]] (1862) ''Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland ''
* [[William Butler Yeats|Yeats, W. B.]] (1888) [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/yeats/fip/ ''Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry'']
* [[David Rice McAnally|McAnally, D. R.]] (1900) ''The Leprechawn''
* [[Samuel Lover|Lover, S.]] (1831) [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/lasi/ ''Legends and Stories of Ireland'']
* [[Douglas Hyde|Hyde, D.]] (1910) [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/btf/ ''Beside The Fire'']
* [[Thomas Keightley|Keightley, T.]] (1870) [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tfm/ ''The Fairy Mythology: Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries'']
* [[Jane Wilde|Wilde, F. S.]] (1887) [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/ali/ ''Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland'']

== External links ==

* [http://www.unicorngarden.com/bkleprec.htm The Leprechaun Companion] (an illustrated guide)
* [http://mysite.verizon.net/cbladey/chaun/chaun.html Extensive Leprechaun Resource Center](resource center for all things leprechaun)
* [http://www.irelandseye.com/leprechaun/leprechaun.htm The Leprechaun Watch] (An intense surveillance of a remote, picturesque area near Thurles in County Tipperary where alleged Leprechaun sightings have been reported)
[[Category:Irish mythology]]
[[Category:Legendary creatures]]
[[Category:Fairies]]
[[Category:Irish words and phrases]]

[[ast:Leprechaun]]
[[de:Leprechaun]]
[[es:Leprechaun]]
[[fr:Leprechaun]]
[[ga:Leipreachán]]
[[hr:Irski vilenjak]]
[[id:Leprechaun]]
[[it:Leprechaun]]
[[he:לפרקון]]
[[lt:Leprechaunas]]
[[ja:レプラコーン]]
[[no:Leprechaun]]
[[pl:Leprechaun]]
[[pt:Leprechaun]]
[[ru:Лепрекон]]
[[sv:Leprechaun]]
[[tr:Leprikon]]

Vocal range

2008-03-05T15:40:20Z

Capi crimm: undid edit. Was reading the numbers wrong.

[[Human voice]]s may be classified according to their '''vocal range''' — the highest and lowest pitches that they can produce.
{{Vocal range}}
==Vocal range defined==

The broadest definition of vocal range, given above, is simply the span from the highest to the lowest note a particular voice can produce. This broad definition, however, is quite often not the one meant when someone speaks of "vocal range." This is because some of the notes a voice can produce may not be considered "musically useful" for a particular purpose. For example, when speaking of the vocal range of a male opera singer, one usually excludes [[falsetto]] pitches, which are not used in most opera. A male [[doo-wop]] singer, on the other hand, might quite regularly deploy his falsetto pitches in performance and thus include them in determining his range.

For this reason, it is important to clearly define what is meant when discussing a vocal range. For example, one might say of a man that he has a two and one-half [[octave]] range in full voice and an additional one half octave in falsetto. Similarly, when discussing the range of a woman one might say that she has a "useful" two octave range with an additional major third on the bottom that is only audible with amplification. Unfortunately, there is no standardization in this nomenclature outside of [[voice type|classical unamplified singing]].

== Vocal range in classical music ==
Vocal range is generally very important in classical music. In [[opera]] and solo classical music, two considerations are paramount in determining vocal range: consistency of timbre across the vocal range, and ability to project the pitches (that is, to be heard clearly over an orchestra without amplification). Of course, if any pitch cannot be properly projected, it is not considered part of the range. See [[voice type]].

[[Choral music]] is somewhat less stringent than [[opera]]. In contrast to opera, the large number of voices that can be deployed in each group make it somewhat less important that each individual voice be flawlessly produced and completely audible. Thus, for example, choirs can often deploy notes that are lower than those that might be deployed in an operatic performance - no single member of the choir might be able to project such a low note individually, but taken together the note might be quite audible.

In much choral music the vocal ranges are often divided not into the three parts per sex as they are in operatic solo music but into only two parts per sex - Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass - or into four parts per sex - Soprano I, Soprano II, Alto I, Alto II, Tenor I, Tenor II, Bass I (or baritone), Bass II. For example see the [[Mass in B Minor]]. There is therefore some ambiguity in mapping the solo baritone voice defined in the three way solo system to the four way choral system. Many high baritone soloists like [[Sherrill Milnes]] might have sung Second Tenor in a chorus, (usually not a preferred compromise) whereas other baritones such as [[Bryn Terfel]] might have sung First Bass. They would have had to choose one or the other as any baritone part is labeled in that manner.

== Classification of vocal range ==
{{Vocal_ranges_visual}}
Basic Choral Ranges:
* [[Soprano]] C4- C6
* [[Mezzo-Soprano]]: G3 - G5
* [[Alto]]: E3 - E5
* [[Tenor]]: C3 - C5
* [[Baritone]]: F2 - G4
* [[Bass (vocal range)|Bass]]: C2 - E4

Note: Depending upon the conductor's vocal exercises & observations, an individual may possess an extended range which may allow a shifting of choral sections.

Basic Operatic ranges:<ref>[http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/vocalrg.htm Vocal ranges]</ref>
* [[Soprano]]: C4 - A5
* [[Mezzo-Soprano]]: A3 - F5
* [[Contralto]]: F3 - D5
* [[Tenor]]: B2 - G4
* [[Baritone]]: G2 - E4
* [[Bass (vocal range)|Bass]]/[[Basso]]: E2 - C4

[[Image:Vocal_range.ogg|thumb|right|200px|Hear the basic choral ranges (soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass) played on the piano.]]

A [[soprano]] who can sing higher than C{{music|sharp}}6 is known as a sopranino and a [[Bass (vocal range)|Bass]] who can sing G1 or lower is known as a [[sub-bass]] singer or a basso profondo. However, many people will still call sopraninos [[soprano]]s and basso profondos [[Bass (vocal range)|basses/bassos]].

[[Falsetto]] and [[flageolet register]] can extend the vocal range of a singer higher.

Males who possess high ranges or can project falsetto in a clear sound, are referred to as [[countertenors]] and possess ranges equivalent to those of the female ranges, alto, mezzo-soprano and soprano (a male soprano is specifically referred to as [[sopranist]]). Contraltos have been known to sing Tenor (although this is strongly discouraged, especially among younger contraltos), and occasionally men will sing in the upper three ranges.

In addition to these general classifications, additional subdivisions are very commonly deployed in opera and other classical music for solo voice. There are a number of such detailed classification schemes, some of which are historical or country-specific. See [[voice type]].

=== Induced vocal range ===

Where the above are largely achieved through practice and natural aptitude, adult vocal ranges can be obtained by means of [[physiological]] modification. The most notable example of this would be [[castrato]] singers, although modern examples include the lowering of the voice through [[tobacco smoking]].

== Vocal range in terms of frequency ==
In terms of [[frequency]], human voices are roughly in the range of 80 Hz to 1100 Hz (that is, E2 to C6) for normal male and female voices together.

{{Vocal and instrumental pitch ranges}}

The world records for high and low pitch extend well outside of this range, and extend outside the range of human [[hearing (sense)|hearing]].'''
'''

==World records and extremes of vocal range==
As noted above, claims of exceptionally wide vocal ranges are not uncommon among some singers. The biggest claim came from [[Charles Kellogg (naturalist)|Charles Kellogg]], who claimed to have a vocal range of 12.5 octaves. Kellogg could accurately imitate birdcalls, which sometimes went up into the ultrasonic range, according to Kellogg as high as 14,000 Hz (14 080Hz is A9). Some recordings of Kellogg's birdcalls still exist. However, Kellogg's claims are very hard to verify. <ref>Mythbusters Episode 76: "Voice Flame Extinguisher"</ref>
[[Nicola Sedda]] Hit an A9 14079 Hz broke Adam Lopez's record for highest vocal note and claims to have a vocal range spanning 8.5 octaves but has not been recognized by the [[Guinness Book of Records]] yet.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}
In [[2006]] the [[Guinness Book of Records]] published several categories relating to extremes of "Human vocal range." It stated the following:

'''Females'''

* Greatest range: Eight octaves G2-G10, [[Georgia Brown (Brazilian singer)|Georgia Brown]], [[Brazil]] [http://youtube.com/watch?v=P6wSyIdwCFM Watch Here] (example of E7)
* Highest vocal note: G10 (25087Hz), Georgia Brown, Brazil
* Guinness lists the highest demanded note in the classical repertoire as G6 in 'Popoli di Tessaglia,' a concert aria by [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|W. A. Mozart]]. However, this is not a standard repertory piece. (One should also note that the instruments used when Mozart composed were pitched a whole step lower than contemporary instruments such that a G6 as he wrote it would be produced in the same anatomical position as the contemporary F6. The fact that Mozart composed with a G6 does not, therefore, indicate that the human voice is broadly capable of producing that pitch as it is contemporarily defined. A contemporary F6 is a different matter, however; the F6 (which is the contemporary tone produced if one were to sing "Popoli di Tessaglia" with period instruments) is a commonly produced pitch for sopranos as "Der Hölle Rache," for instance, is performed as written--with an F6--on today's instruments <producing what would have for Mozart been a G6>) The highest note in the standard repertoire is F6 in Mozart's aria "''[[Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen]]''" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvuKxL4LOqc&feature=related Watch Clip]" (sometimes called "The Queen of the Night's aria," though this character actually has two arias) from the opera [[Die Zauberflöte]]. It calls for four F6's, which is often cited as the highest note in classical vocal music (she sings an additional F6 during the first Act aria, "''[[O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn]]''"). Several little-known works call for pitches higher than G6. For example, the soprano [[Mado Robin]], who was known for her exceptionally high voice, sang a number of compositions created especially to exploit her highest notes, reaching C7 according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (edited by Harold Rosenthal)

'''Males'''
* Greatest range: Six octaves, [[Tim Storms]], [[USA]] [http://youtube.com/watch?v=LFbjtmubBFQ Watch Clip]
* Highest vocal note: C#8 [[Adam Lopez]], [[Australia]] [http://youtube.com/watch?v=F_9J1teiRKw Watch Clip]
* Lowest vocal note: B -2 (B minus 2, two octaves below the lowest B on the piano)(8 Hz), Tim Storms, USA
* Guinness lists the lowest demanded note in the classical repertoire as a "Low D" (two Ds below [[Middle C]]) in Osmin's aria in Mozart's [[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]. Although Osmin's note is the lowest ''demanded'' and commonly performed in the operatic repertoire, [[Gustav Mahler|Mahler]]'s [[Symphony No. 2 (Mahler)|second symphony]] contains an optional B{{music|flat}}1 in the choral section at the end of the piece: basses who cannot reach it are requested to remain silent rather than sing a B{{music|flat}}2. [[Leonard Bernstein|Leonard Bernstein's]] ''[[Candide (operetta)|Candide]]'' has an optional low B (a [[minor third]] below the low D) in a bass aria of its opera house version. Some choral works and songs also call for notes lower than the low D. For example, Pavel Chesnokov's "Do not deny me in my old age" features a basso profondo soloist, sometimes reaching as low as G1, depending on the arrangement.

In considering the above, however, it is important to note that "Human Vocal Range" is different than "Human Singing Range." The fact that one can produce a sound on a pitch--for instance, birdcalls, does not mean that one can meaningfully sing on the same pitch. Unfortunately, many people confuse "Vocal Range" with "Singing Range," particularly in the debate over singers who claim six and seven octave ranges. The question then becomes is the production of a pitch meaningful singing? (Or should one confine the definition of one's range to what one can meaningfully produce in song?) Keep in mind that a piano has only seven octaves <plus a minor third>.

==References==
<references />

==See also==
*[[Choir]]
*[[Ambitus (music)|Ambitus]] 
*[[Voice type]]
*[[Fach]]
*[[Voice classification in non-classical music]]

== External links ==

* [http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/misc/voices.html A history of vocal definition]
* [http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/vocalrg.htm Accurate average vocal ranges]
* [http://www.schillerinstitute.org/music/rev_chart.html]

[[Category:Vocal ranges| ]]
[[Category:Opera terminology]]

[[de:Stimmlage]]
[[it:Intervallo vocale]]
[[ko:성악 음역]]
[[he:קולות (מוזיקה)]]
[[ms:Lingkungan_Suara]]
[[no:Vokalist]]
[[sr:Гласовни фахови]]
[[fi:Ääniala]]

Vocal range

2008-03-05T15:39:17Z

Capi crimm: tenor's range start was below bass, seemed like a typo so I changed B2 to B3. Don't know if B3 is correct.

[[Human voice]]s may be classified according to their '''vocal range''' — the highest and lowest pitches that they can produce.
{{Vocal range}}
==Vocal range defined==

The broadest definition of vocal range, given above, is simply the span from the highest to the lowest note a particular voice can produce. This broad definition, however, is quite often not the one meant when someone speaks of "vocal range." This is because some of the notes a voice can produce may not be considered "musically useful" for a particular purpose. For example, when speaking of the vocal range of a male opera singer, one usually excludes [[falsetto]] pitches, which are not used in most opera. A male [[doo-wop]] singer, on the other hand, might quite regularly deploy his falsetto pitches in performance and thus include them in determining his range.

For this reason, it is important to clearly define what is meant when discussing a vocal range. For example, one might say of a man that he has a two and one-half [[octave]] range in full voice and an additional one half octave in falsetto. Similarly, when discussing the range of a woman one might say that she has a "useful" two octave range with an additional major third on the bottom that is only audible with amplification. Unfortunately, there is no standardization in this nomenclature outside of [[voice type|classical unamplified singing]].

== Vocal range in classical music ==
Vocal range is generally very important in classical music. In [[opera]] and solo classical music, two considerations are paramount in determining vocal range: consistency of timbre across the vocal range, and ability to project the pitches (that is, to be heard clearly over an orchestra without amplification). Of course, if any pitch cannot be properly projected, it is not considered part of the range. See [[voice type]].

[[Choral music]] is somewhat less stringent than [[opera]]. In contrast to opera, the large number of voices that can be deployed in each group make it somewhat less important that each individual voice be flawlessly produced and completely audible. Thus, for example, choirs can often deploy notes that are lower than those that might be deployed in an operatic performance - no single member of the choir might be able to project such a low note individually, but taken together the note might be quite audible.

In much choral music the vocal ranges are often divided not into the three parts per sex as they are in operatic solo music but into only two parts per sex - Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass - or into four parts per sex - Soprano I, Soprano II, Alto I, Alto II, Tenor I, Tenor II, Bass I (or baritone), Bass II. For example see the [[Mass in B Minor]]. There is therefore some ambiguity in mapping the solo baritone voice defined in the three way solo system to the four way choral system. Many high baritone soloists like [[Sherrill Milnes]] might have sung Second Tenor in a chorus, (usually not a preferred compromise) whereas other baritones such as [[Bryn Terfel]] might have sung First Bass. They would have had to choose one or the other as any baritone part is labeled in that manner.

== Classification of vocal range ==
{{Vocal_ranges_visual}}
Basic Choral Ranges:
* [[Soprano]] C4- C6
* [[Mezzo-Soprano]]: G3 - G5
* [[Alto]]: E3 - E5
* [[Tenor]]: C3 - C5
* [[Baritone]]: F2 - G4
* [[Bass (vocal range)|Bass]]: C2 - E4

Note: Depending upon the conductor's vocal exercises & observations, an individual may possess an extended range which may allow a shifting of choral sections.

Basic Operatic ranges:<ref>[http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/vocalrg.htm Vocal ranges]</ref>
* [[Soprano]]: C4 - A5
* [[Mezzo-Soprano]]: A3 - F5
* [[Contralto]]: F3 - D5
* [[Tenor]]: B3 - G4
* [[Baritone]]: G2 - E4
* [[Bass (vocal range)|Bass]]/[[Basso]]: E2 - C4

[[Image:Vocal_range.ogg|thumb|right|200px|Hear the basic choral ranges (soprano, mezzo-soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass) played on the piano.]]

A [[soprano]] who can sing higher than C{{music|sharp}}6 is known as a sopranino and a [[Bass (vocal range)|Bass]] who can sing G1 or lower is known as a [[sub-bass]] singer or a basso profondo. However, many people will still call sopraninos [[soprano]]s and basso profondos [[Bass (vocal range)|basses/bassos]].

[[Falsetto]] and [[flageolet register]] can extend the vocal range of a singer higher.

Males who possess high ranges or can project falsetto in a clear sound, are referred to as [[countertenors]] and possess ranges equivalent to those of the female ranges, alto, mezzo-soprano and soprano (a male soprano is specifically referred to as [[sopranist]]). Contraltos have been known to sing Tenor (although this is strongly discouraged, especially among younger contraltos), and occasionally men will sing in the upper three ranges.

In addition to these general classifications, additional subdivisions are very commonly deployed in opera and other classical music for solo voice. There are a number of such detailed classification schemes, some of which are historical or country-specific. See [[voice type]].

=== Induced vocal range ===

Where the above are largely achieved through practice and natural aptitude, adult vocal ranges can be obtained by means of [[physiological]] modification. The most notable example of this would be [[castrato]] singers, although modern examples include the lowering of the voice through [[tobacco smoking]].

== Vocal range in terms of frequency ==
In terms of [[frequency]], human voices are roughly in the range of 80 Hz to 1100 Hz (that is, E2 to C6) for normal male and female voices together.

{{Vocal and instrumental pitch ranges}}

The world records for high and low pitch extend well outside of this range, and extend outside the range of human [[hearing (sense)|hearing]].'''
'''

==World records and extremes of vocal range==
As noted above, claims of exceptionally wide vocal ranges are not uncommon among some singers. The biggest claim came from [[Charles Kellogg (naturalist)|Charles Kellogg]], who claimed to have a vocal range of 12.5 octaves. Kellogg could accurately imitate birdcalls, which sometimes went up into the ultrasonic range, according to Kellogg as high as 14,000 Hz (14 080Hz is A9). Some recordings of Kellogg's birdcalls still exist. However, Kellogg's claims are very hard to verify. <ref>Mythbusters Episode 76: "Voice Flame Extinguisher"</ref>
[[Nicola Sedda]] Hit an A9 14079 Hz broke Adam Lopez's record for highest vocal note and claims to have a vocal range spanning 8.5 octaves but has not been recognized by the [[Guinness Book of Records]] yet.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}
In [[2006]] the [[Guinness Book of Records]] published several categories relating to extremes of "Human vocal range." It stated the following:

'''Females'''

* Greatest range: Eight octaves G2-G10, [[Georgia Brown (Brazilian singer)|Georgia Brown]], [[Brazil]] [http://youtube.com/watch?v=P6wSyIdwCFM Watch Here] (example of E7)
* Highest vocal note: G10 (25087Hz), Georgia Brown, Brazil
* Guinness lists the highest demanded note in the classical repertoire as G6 in 'Popoli di Tessaglia,' a concert aria by [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|W. A. Mozart]]. However, this is not a standard repertory piece. (One should also note that the instruments used when Mozart composed were pitched a whole step lower than contemporary instruments such that a G6 as he wrote it would be produced in the same anatomical position as the contemporary F6. The fact that Mozart composed with a G6 does not, therefore, indicate that the human voice is broadly capable of producing that pitch as it is contemporarily defined. A contemporary F6 is a different matter, however; the F6 (which is the contemporary tone produced if one were to sing "Popoli di Tessaglia" with period instruments) is a commonly produced pitch for sopranos as "Der Hölle Rache," for instance, is performed as written--with an F6--on today's instruments <producing what would have for Mozart been a G6>) The highest note in the standard repertoire is F6 in Mozart's aria "''[[Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen]]''" [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvuKxL4LOqc&feature=related Watch Clip]" (sometimes called "The Queen of the Night's aria," though this character actually has two arias) from the opera [[Die Zauberflöte]]. It calls for four F6's, which is often cited as the highest note in classical vocal music (she sings an additional F6 during the first Act aria, "''[[O zittre nicht, mein lieber Sohn]]''"). Several little-known works call for pitches higher than G6. For example, the soprano [[Mado Robin]], who was known for her exceptionally high voice, sang a number of compositions created especially to exploit her highest notes, reaching C7 according to the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (edited by Harold Rosenthal)

'''Males'''
* Greatest range: Six octaves, [[Tim Storms]], [[USA]] [http://youtube.com/watch?v=LFbjtmubBFQ Watch Clip]
* Highest vocal note: C#8 [[Adam Lopez]], [[Australia]] [http://youtube.com/watch?v=F_9J1teiRKw Watch Clip]
* Lowest vocal note: B -2 (B minus 2, two octaves below the lowest B on the piano)(8 Hz), Tim Storms, USA
* Guinness lists the lowest demanded note in the classical repertoire as a "Low D" (two Ds below [[Middle C]]) in Osmin's aria in Mozart's [[Die Entführung aus dem Serail]]. Although Osmin's note is the lowest ''demanded'' and commonly performed in the operatic repertoire, [[Gustav Mahler|Mahler]]'s [[Symphony No. 2 (Mahler)|second symphony]] contains an optional B{{music|flat}}1 in the choral section at the end of the piece: basses who cannot reach it are requested to remain silent rather than sing a B{{music|flat}}2. [[Leonard Bernstein|Leonard Bernstein's]] ''[[Candide (operetta)|Candide]]'' has an optional low B (a [[minor third]] below the low D) in a bass aria of its opera house version. Some choral works and songs also call for notes lower than the low D. For example, Pavel Chesnokov's "Do not deny me in my old age" features a basso profondo soloist, sometimes reaching as low as G1, depending on the arrangement.

In considering the above, however, it is important to note that "Human Vocal Range" is different than "Human Singing Range." The fact that one can produce a sound on a pitch--for instance, birdcalls, does not mean that one can meaningfully sing on the same pitch. Unfortunately, many people confuse "Vocal Range" with "Singing Range," particularly in the debate over singers who claim six and seven octave ranges. The question then becomes is the production of a pitch meaningful singing? (Or should one confine the definition of one's range to what one can meaningfully produce in song?) Keep in mind that a piano has only seven octaves <plus a minor third>.

==References==
<references />

==See also==
*[[Choir]]
*[[Ambitus (music)|Ambitus]] 
*[[Voice type]]
*[[Fach]]
*[[Voice classification in non-classical music]]

== External links ==

* [http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/misc/voices.html A history of vocal definition]
* [http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/music/vocalrg.htm Accurate average vocal ranges]
* [http://www.schillerinstitute.org/music/rev_chart.html]

[[Category:Vocal ranges| ]]
[[Category:Opera terminology]]

[[de:Stimmlage]]
[[it:Intervallo vocale]]
[[ko:성악 음역]]
[[he:קולות (מוזיקה)]]
[[ms:Lingkungan_Suara]]
[[no:Vokalist]]
[[sr:Гласовни фахови]]
[[fi:Ääniala]]

4′33″

2008-03-03T14:18:16Z

Capi crimm: pointless sentence.

'''''4′33″''''' (''Four minutes, thirty-three seconds'') is a three-[[movement (music)|movement]] composition<ref>James Pritchett, Laura Kuhn. "John Cage", ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove Music Online]]'', ed. L. Macy, [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).</ref><ref>Richard Kostelanetz. ''Conversing with John Cage'', pp. 69–71, 86, 105, 198, 218, 231. Routledge, 2003. ISBN 0-415-93792-2</ref> by [[United States|American]] [[avant-garde]] composer [[John Cage]] ([[1912]]–[[1992]]). It was composed in [[1952]] for any instrument (or combination of instruments), and the score instructs the performer to not play the instrument during the entire duration of the piece. Although commonly perceived as "four minutes thirty-three seconds of [[silence]]",<ref>William Fetterman. ''John Cage's Theatre Pieces: Notations and Performances'', p. 69. Routledge, 1996. ISBN 3718656434</ref><ref>John H. Lienhard. ''Inventing Modern: Growing Up with X-Rays, Skyscrapers, and Tailfins'', p. 254. Oxford University Press US, 2003. ISBN 0195189515</ref> the piece actually consists of the sounds of the environment that the listeners hear while it is performed.<ref>Richard Kostelanetz. ''Conversing with John Cage'', p. 69-70. Routledge, 2003. ISBN 0-415-93792-2</ref> Over the years, ''4′33″'' became Cage's most famous and most controversial composition.<ref name="grove">James Pritchett, Laura Kuhn. "John Cage", ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove Music Online]]'', ed. L. Macy, [http://www.grovemusic.com/ grovemusic.com] (subscription access).</ref>

Conceived in [[1948]], while Cage was working on ''[[Sonatas and Interludes]]'',<ref name="grove"> </ref> ''4′33″'' was for Cage the epitome of [[aleatoric music]] and of his idea that any sounds constitute, or may constitute, [[Definition of music|music]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.classicalnotes.net/columns/silence.html| title = John Cage and the Avant-Garde: The Sounds of Silence| accessdate = 2007-04-04| last = Gutmann| first = Peter| authorlink = Peter Gutmann (journalist)| year = 1999}}</ref> It was also a reflection of the influence of [[Zen Buddhism]]{{Fact|date=January 2008}}, which Cage studied since the late [[1940s]]. In a [[1982]] interview, and on numerous other occasions, Cage has stated that ''4′33″'' is, in his opinion, his most important work.<ref>Richard Kostelanetz. ''Conversing with John Cage'', p. 70. Routledge, 2003. ISBN 0-415-93792-2</ref> It is widely believed that Cage's piece is representative of the death of music's coupling of form and expression, and the idea that the piece was written solely for profit is now ubiquitous.

==Background and influences==
In 1951, Cage visited the [[anechoic chamber]] at [[Harvard University]]. An anechoic chamber is a room designed in such a way that the walls, ceiling and floor absorb all sounds made in the room, rather than reflecting them as echoes. They are also externally sound-proofed. Cage entered the chamber expecting to hear silence, but he wrote later, "I heard two sounds, one high and one low. When I described them to the engineer in charge, he informed me that the high one was my [[nervous system]] in operation, the low one my blood in [[circulatory system|circulation]]."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sask/features/artist/journal2.html|title=A few notes about silence and John Cage|date=[[2004-11-24]]|publisher=CBC.ca}}</ref>

There has been some skepticism about the accuracy of the engineer's explanation, especially as to being able to hear one's own nervous system. A mild case of [[tinnitus]] might cause one to hear a small, high-pitched sound. It has been asserted by acoustic scientists{{Who|date=June 2007}} that, after a long time in such a quiet environment, air molecules can be heard bumping into one's eardrums in an elusive hiss (0 [[decibel|dB]], or 20 [[micropascal]]s). Whatever the truth of these explanations, Cage had gone to a place where he expected total silence, and yet heard sound. "Until I die there will be sounds. And they will continue following my death. One need not fear about the future of music."<ref name="silence">{{cite book|last=Cage|first=John|title=Silence|location=Hanover, N.H.|publisher=Wesleyan University Press|year=1961|url=http://www.cis.vt.edu/modernworld/d/Cage.html}}</ref> The realisation as he saw it of the impossibility of silence led to the composition of ''4'33″''.

Cage wrote in "A Composer's Confessions" (1948) that he had the desire to "compose a piece of uninterrupted silence and sell it to the [[Muzak]] Co. It will be 4 [and a half] minutes long — these being the standard lengths of 'canned' music, and its title will be 'Silent Prayer'. It will open with a single idea which I will attempt to make as seductive as the color and shape or fragrance of a flower. The ending will approach imperceptibly."<ref name="pritchett">{{cite book|last=Pritchett|first=James|title=The Music of John Cage|year=1993|publisher=Cambridge University Press|series=Music in the Twentieth Century (No. 5)|pages=59;138|id=ISBN 0-52-156544-8|id2=ISBN-13 9780521565448}}</ref>

Another cited influence for this piece came from the field of the visual arts. Cage's friend and sometimes colleague [[Robert Rauschenberg]] had produced, in 1951, a series of white paintings, seemingly "blank" canvases (though painted with white house paint) that in fact change according to varying light conditions in the rooms in which they were hung, the shadows of people in the room and so on. This inspired Cage to use a similar idea, as he later stated, "Actually what pushed me into it was not guts but the example of Robert Rauschenberg. His white paintings… when I saw those, I said, 'Oh yes, I must. Otherwise I'm lagging, otherwise music is lagging'." Cage's musical equivalent to the Rauschenberg paintings uses the "silence" of the piece as an aural "blank canvas" to reflect the dynamic flux of ambient sounds surrounding each performance; the music of the piece is natural sounds of the players, the audience, the building, and the outside environment.

Cage was not the first composer to conceive of a piece consisting solely of silence. One precedent is "In futurum", a movement from the ''Fünf Pittoresken'' for piano by Czech composer [[Erwin Schulhoff]]. Written in 1919, Schulhoff's meticulously notated composition is made up entirely of rests.<ref>[http://www.anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=18999 Anecdotage.Com - Thousands of true funny stories about famous people. Anecdotes from Gates to Yeats]</ref> Cage was, however, almost certainly unaware of Schulhoff's work. Another prior example is [[Alphonse Allais]]'s ''Funeral March for the Obsequies of a Deaf Man'', written in 1897, and consisting of nine blank measures. Allais's composition is arguably closer in spirit to Cage's work; Allais was an associate of [[Erik Satie]], and given Cage's profound admiration for Satie, the possibility that Cage was inspired by the ''Funeral March'' is tempting. However, according to Cage himself, he was unaware of Allais's composition at the time (though he had heard of a 19th-century book that was completely blank).<ref name="dickinson">{{cite journal|last=Dickinson|first=Peter|title=[Reviews of three books on Satie]|journal=Musical Quarterly|volume=75|issue=3|pages=404-409|year=1991}}</ref>

==Performances==
The premiere of the three-movement ''4'33″'' was given by [[David Tudor]] on [[August 29]], [[1952]], at [[Woodstock, New York]] as part of a recital of contemporary piano music. The audience saw him sit at the piano and, to mark the beginning of the piece, close the keyboard lid. Some time later he opened it briefly, to mark the end of the first movement. This process was repeated for the second and third movements<ref>The actions of Tudor in the first performance are often misdescribed so that the lid is explained as being open during the movements. Cage's handwritten score (produced after the first performance) states that the lid was closed during the movements, and opened to mark the spaces between.</ref>. The piece had passed without a note being played—in fact without Tudor (or anyone else) having made any deliberate sound as part of the piece. Tudor timed the three movements with a stopwatch while turning the pages of the score.{{Fact|date=July 2007}}

[[Richard Kostelanetz]] suggests that the very fact that Tudor, a man known for championing [[experimental music]], was the performer, and that Cage, a man known for introducing unexpected non-musical [[noise]] into his work, was the composer, would have led the audience to expect unexpected sounds{{Fact|date=July 2007}}. Anybody listening intently would have heard them: while the performer produces no deliberately musical sound, there will nonetheless be sounds in the concert hall (just as there were sounds in the anechoic chamber at Harvard). It is these sounds, unpredictable and unintentional, that are to be regarded as constituting the music in this piece. The piece remains controversial to this day, and is seen as challenging the very [[definition of music]].

The title and therefore the length of ''4'33″'' is in fact not designated by its score. The instructions for the work indicate that it consists of three movements, for each of which the only instruction is "[[tacet]]," indicating silence on the part of the performer or performers. The title of the piece in each performance is determined by the length of silence chosen. Cage chose the length of the famous premiere performance by chance methods using [[I Ching]] models, the results of which happen to coincide with average lengths of pieces of so-called 'canned' music, where the applicability of those models is valid too, because both fields are dealing in some or the other way with the attentiveness and concentration abilities of humans. There is no evidence supporting the claim that Cage chose the length deliberately.

On [[January 16]], [[2004]], at the Barbican in [[London]], the [[BBC]] Symphony Orchestra gave the UK's first orchestral performance of this work. The performance was broadcast live on BBC Radio 3, and one of the main challenges was that the station's emergency backup systems are designed to switch on whenever apparent silence ([[dead air]]) is detected. They had to be switched off for the sole purpose of this performance.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2004/01_january/12/john_cage.shtml|title=BBC Press Office, Cage Uncaged|date=[[2007-02-21]]}}</ref>

==Recordings==
''4'33″'' has been recorded on several occasions: [[Frank Zappa]] recorded it as part of ''A Chance Operation: The John Cage Tribute'', on the Koch label, [[1993]]; in 2002, [[James Tenney]] performed ''4'33"'' at Rudolf Schindler's historic [[Kings Road House]] in celebration of the work's 50th anniversary.<ref>Tenney's recording is archived on line via The Society for the Activation of Social Space through Art and Sound (SASSAS)</ref> A recording of an orchestral version of ''4'33″'' by the [[BBC Symphony Orchestra]] was broadcast on [[BBC]] [[BBC Radio 3|Radio 3]] in January [[2004]]; this performance may have been simultaneously televised on [[BBC Four]]; it was made available on [[iFilm]] in [[2006]].

A [[tongue-in-cheek]] version was recorded by the staff of the UK ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]]'' newspaper on [[2004-01-16]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stream.guardian.co.uk:7080/ramgen/sys-audio/Guardian/audio/2004/01/16/silence.ra|title=Guardian recording of 4'33″|date=[[2004-01-16]]}}</ref> A (probably [[fiction|fictitious]]) story tells that a 7" [[vinyl]] version of ''4'33″'' was at one time popular on the [[juke box]]es of a number of bars, as it gave customers a relief from an otherwise relentless soundtrack of [[rock and roll]].

A performance of ''4'33″'' was broadcast on Australian radio station ABC Classic FM, as part of a program exploring "sonic responses" to Cage's work.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/classic/daily/stories/s376971.htm|title=ABC Classic FM}}</ref> A mocking, jazz version (not following the score) was performed as part of ''[[The Fast Show]]'' on [[BBC]]. A short version, lasting only a few seconds, by [[punk rock|punk]] band Benny was included on the [[Boss Tuneage]] compilation cd Boss Samplerage 3.

[[The Magnetic Fields]] recorded a version of ''4'33″'' to separate the two parts of their double album compilation of ''[[The Wayward Bus (album)|The Wayward Bus]]'' and ''[[Distant Plastic Trees]]''.

==References by other artists==
Several other artists have paid tribute to Cage's work. Some of the more notable include the following:

* The [[Anarcho-punk|anarchist punk]] band [[Crass]] alluded to ''4'33″'' with their song "They've Got a Bomb", which includes a silent gap in the music. The band has acknowledged the influence of Cage, and said that the idea of the space in the song, when performed live, was to suddenly stop the energy, dancing and noise and allow the audience to momentarily "confront themselves" and consider the reality of [[nuclear war]] (a film projected onto a screen behind the band continued to show images of [[Hiroshima]] and [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]]). A studio recording of the song appears on their [[1978]] ''[[The Feeding of the 5000 (album)|The Feeding of the 5000]]'' LP. Early pressings of the album also feature two minutes of silence entitled "The Sound of Free Speech." The gap was left by a poem called "Asylum" that workers at the record plant refused to press.<ref>Berger, George ''The Story of Crass'' (Omnibus Press, 2006)</ref>

*[[Ciccone Youth]], the collaboration between members of [[Sonic Youth]] and [[Mike Watt]], included a track titled "(silence)" on ''[[The Whitey Album]]'' that consists of 63 seconds of just that. Sonic Youth is also known for experimental music and have covered other pieces by John Cage on their [[Sonic Youth Recordings|SYR]] release [[SYR4: Goodbye 20th Century|Goodbye 20th Century]].

*[[John Lennon]] and [[Yoko Ono]] also showed a Cage influence, especially that of 4'33″ on their [[1969]] [[Plastic Ono Band]] collaboration [[Unfinished Music No.2: Life With The Lions ]]. This is heard mainly on tracks 3 & 4: "Baby's heartbeat" and "Two Minutes Silence" which are both tributes to the memory of their son [[John Ono Lennon II]], who died in a [[miscarriage]].

*In July [[2002]] composer [[Mike Batt]] (best known for being behind the [[1970s]] novelty/children's act [[The Wombles]]) had charges of [[plagiarism]] filed against him by the estate of John Cage after crediting his track "A Minute's Silence" as being written by "Batt/Cage". Batt initially vowed to fight the suit, even going so far as to claim that his piece is "a much better silent piece. I have been able to say in one minute what Cage could only say in four minutes and 33 seconds." Batt told the London Independent that "My silence is original silence, not a quotation from his silence." Batt eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed six figure sum in September [[2002]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2276621.stm|title=BBC News}}</ref>

* [[Covenant (band)|Covenant]] closed their 2000 album ''[[United States of Mind (album)|United States of Mind]]'' with four minutes and 33 seconds of silence entitled "You Can Make Your Own Music."

* Rap artist [[MC Paul Barman]] proclaims in his song 'Excuse You' from the Paullelujah album that he "…can rock the mic to "Silence" by John Cage with the arty flavor".

* Experimental/Noise act [[Wolf Eyes]] included an untitled track on their [[2004]] album [[Burned Mind]] of silence that lasts exactly 4 minutes and 33 seconds.

* Popular musician [[John Mayer]] explains 4'33" on his blog at Honeyee.com: John Cage's 4'33". <ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.honeyee.com/john/archives/2008/02/john_cages_433.html|title=John Cage's 4'33"}}</ref> From that blog Mayer links to a .wav <ref>{{cite web|url=http://interglacial.com/~sburke/pub/sound/433.zip|title=.wav}}</ref> file of the piece and includes two YouTube videos of the piece being performed. Video 1: John Cage's 4'33" performed by an orchestra <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUJagb7hL0E|title=John Cage "4'33"}}</ref> and Video 2: John Cage - 4'33" by David Tudor <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HypmW4Yd7SY|title=John Cage - 4'33" by David Tudor}}</ref>

==4'33" No. 2==
In 1962, Cage wrote '''''0'00"''''', which is also referred to as '''''4'33" No. 2'''''. The directions originally consisted of one sentence: "In a situation provided with maximum amplification, perform a disciplined action." The first performance had Cage write that sentence.

The second performance added four new qualifications to the directions: "the performer should allow any interruptions of the action, the action should fulfill an obligation to others, the same action should not be used in more than one performance, and should not be the performance of a musical composition."<ref name="pritchett" />

==References & footnotes==
{{reflist|2}}

==See also==
* [[List of compositions by John Cage]]

==External links==
*"[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3401901.stm Radio 3 plays 'silent symphony']", ''BBC Online''. (includes [[Real Audio]] sound file)
*[http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1125447,00.html A quiet night out with Cage] from the UK [[Observer newspaper|Observer]]
*[http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/fridayreview/story/0,12102,1123639,00.html The Music of Chance] from the UK [[The Guardian|Guardian]] newspaper
*[http://www.classicalnotes.net/columns/silence.html The Sounds of Silence] further commentary by Peter Gutmann
*[http://www.lichtensteiger.de/stories.html Silence/Stories:] related texts and poems by, among others, Lowell Cross, AP Crumlish, Karlheinz Essl, Raymond Federman, August Highland, George Koehler, Richard Kostelanetz, Ian S. Macdonald, Beat Streuli, Dan Waber, Sigi Waters and John Whiting
*"[http://www.cybergrain.com/404/ #404]" by Cybergrain
*[http://www.ubu.com/film/cage_433.html Video] of a 2004 orchestral performance
*''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59kxAqEkIww Knock Knock Joke]'' by Ali Rahman, a video interpretation of 4'33".

===Audio (ersatz)===
*[http://interglacial.com/~sburke/stuff/cage_433.html John Cage's 4'33"] in [[Musical Instrument Digital Interface|MIDI]], [[Ogg Vorbis|OGG]], [[Au file format|Au]], and [[WAV]] formats.
*[http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/atc/20000508.atc.08.rmm John Cage's 4'33"] from [[National Public Radio]]'s "The 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century" ([[Real Audio]] file format)

[[Category:1952 works]]
[[Category:Compositions by John Cage]]
[[Category:Experimental music]]
[[Category:Postmodern art]]
[[Category:Nothing]]

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Hey There Delilah

2008-02-26T06:30:04Z

Capi crimm:

{{Infobox Single
| Name = Hey There Delilah
| Cover = Plain white t's here there delilah.jpg
| Artist = [[Plain White T's]]
| from Album = [[All That We Needed]] ''and re-released on'' [[Every Second Counts]]
| B-side = "Easy Way Out"
| Released = [[May 9]], [[2006]] (U.S.) [[September 3]], [[2007]] (UK)
| Format = [[CD single]], [[digital download]]
| Recorded = [[2005]]
| Genre = [[Acoustic music|Acoustic]], [[Folk-pop]]
| Length = 3:52
| Label = [[Hollywood Records]] / [[Fearless Records]]
| Writer = Tom Higgenson
| Producer = [[Ariel Rechtshaid]]
| Certification = 2X Platinum (2,177,054 Downloads)<ref>noticiasmusicais.radioativohits.com. [http://www.noticiasmusicais.radioativohits.com/billboarddownloads.htm "''Top 50 Downloads from September 18 to September 25''"]. Retrieved [[September 28]] [[2007]].</ref>
| Last single = "[[Hate (I Really Don't Like You)]]" (2006)
| This single = "'''Hey There Delilah (Re-release) (2007)
| Next single = "[[Our Time Now]]" (2007)
|
}}

"'''Hey There Delilah'''" is the third [[Single (music)|single]] released from rock band [[Plain White T's]] [[2006]] [[album]] ''[[All That We Needed]]''. The song is about a long-distance relationship. In June [[2007]], over two years after the song's initial release, it became the band's first mainstream hit in the [[United States]], eventually reaching the top spot on the [[Billboard]] [[Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100]] in July. From [[July 3]], [[2007]] through [[July 28]], the song was the number one most played song on the radio, and the number one downloaded song on the [[United States|U.S.]] [[iTunes Store|iTunes Music Store]]. After a few days, the version of the song found on ''[[Every Second Counts]]'' became the number one most downloaded but was eventually replaced by "[[Beautiful Girls (Sean Kingston song)|Beautiful Girls]]" by [[Sean Kingston]].

After the song jumped from number 16 to number 6 on the chart it continued to climb one position every week (6-5-4-3-2-1), making it the first chart-topping hit to have this pattern on the Hot 100 in 21 years.<ref>[http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/chart_beat/bonus_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003614432 Chart Beat]</ref>

The song ended 2007 as the year's 14th biggest-selling single in the UK.<ref>[[BBC Music]]. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/singles2007.shtml "Top 40 Singles of the Year 2007 "]. Retrieved [[2007-12-27]]</ref>

Although "Hey There Delilah" is from the Plain White T's third album, ''[[All That We Needed]]'', since the single's popularity new versions of the intervening fourth album, ''[[Every Second Counts]]'', have "Hey There Delilah" added as a bonus track with a string section augmenting the original recording.<ref>ultimate-guitar.com. [http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/video_news/plain_white_ts_hey_there_delilah_is_number_one.html "''Plain White T's 'Hey There Delilah' Is Number One''"]. Retrieved [[July 29]] [[2007]].</ref>

==History==
The song, written by Higgenson, is based on 24-year-old [[Steeplechase (athletics)|steeplechase]] runner Delilah DiCrescenzo whom he asked out but she turned him down. "I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen," Higgenson says. "I told her, 'I have a song about you already.' Obviously, there was no song. But I thought it was smooth." A year later he wrote 'Hey There Delilah'. <ref>http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2007-06-25-plain-white-ts_N.htm"</ref>

==Critical reaction==
''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine named "Hey There Delilah" one of The 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at #7. Writer [[Josh Tyrangiel]] called it “an intimate love song that’s damn near universal”. Tyrangiel praised the Plain White T’s for managing to make another “aching guy reaching out to distant girl song feel fresh”, singling out singer Tom Higgenson’s otherwise imperfect voice and “nasal delivery [for making] the nearly-comic sincerity of the lyrics seem completely genuine."<ref>Tyrangiel, Josh ([[December 24]], [[2007]])[http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/top10/article/0,30583,1686204_1686244_1690647,00.html "The Best Top 10 Lists of the Year: The 10 Best Songs"]. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]''. '''170''' (26):68 Retrieved on [[2008-01-29]]</ref>

The song is a [[50th Grammy Awards|2008 Grammy Award]] nominee for [[Grammy Award for Song of the Year|Song of the Year]] and [[Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal|Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal]].

On [[VH1]]'s [[Top 40 Videos Of 2007]], "Hey There Delilah" was #8, ahead of "[[If Everyone Cared]]" by Nickelback and behind "[[Say It Right]]" by [[Nelly Furtado]]

==Charts==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!align="left"|Chart (2007)
!align="center"|Peak position
|-
|align="left"|[[ARIA Charts|Australia ARIA Singles Chart]]<ref>[http://www.ariacharts.com.au/pages/charts_display.asp?chart=1U50 Top 50 Singles Chart - Australian Record Industry Assocation]</ref>
|align="center"|3
|-
|align="left"|[[Ö3 Austria Top 40]]<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|2
|-
|align="left"|Belgium Singles Chart<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|3
|-
|align="left"|Brazil Singles Chart<ref>[http://www.hot100brasil.com/chtsinglesb.html Hot100Brasil]</ref>
|align="center"|21
|-
|align="left"|Canada Singles Chart<ref name="World Peaks">[http://acharts.us/song/12459 Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah - Music Charts]</ref>
|align="center"|1
|-
|align="left"|Czech Singles Chart<ref>[http://www.ifpicr.cz/hitparada/index.php?a=titul&hitparada=2&titul=145135&sec=a2b8f4cf6a767caa42915cd5e9ac3e69 Czech Singles Chart]</ref>
|align="center"|1
|-
|align="left"|EURO 200<ref name="Euro 200 Singles & tracks">[http://www.euro200.eu euro200.eu]</ref>
|align="center"|4
|-
|align="left"|[[Media Control Charts|Germany Singles Chart]]<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|1
|-
|align="left"|Ibero América Singles Chart<ref>[http://www.americatop100.com/iberoamerica/index.htm Ibero América Singles Chart]</ref>
|align="center"|52
|-
|align="left"|[[Italy Singles Chart]]<ref>[http://www.fimi.it/classifiche.asp?idtipo_classifica=1 Italian Singles Chart]</ref>
|align="center"|7
|-
|align="left"|[[Israel Singles Chart]]<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|2
|-
|align="left"|[[Ireland Singles Chart]]<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|2
|-
|align="left"|[[Luxembourg Singles Chart]]
|align="center"|6
|-
|align="left"|[[Malta Singles Chart]]
|align="center"|6
|-
|align="left"|[[Dutch Top 40|Netherlands Singles Chart 1]]<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|10
|-
|align="left"|[[Netherlands Antilles Singles]] Chart<ref>[http://www.dolfijnfm.com/top40.php Netherlands Antilles Singles Top 40]</ref>
|align="center"|17
|-
|align="left"|[[Recording Industry Association of New Zealand|New Zealand Singles Chart]]<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|9
|-
|align="left"|[[Norway Singles Chart]]<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|20
|-
|align="left"|[[Poland Singles Chart]]<ref>[http://euro200.eu.mialias.net/Polish-Top50.htm Poland Singles Chart]</ref>
|align="center"|8
|-
|align="left"|[[Portugal Singles Chart]]<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|31
|-
|align="left"|[[Singapore Singles Chart]]<ref>[http://www.power98.com.sg/pages/red_hot_30.php Singapore Singles Chart]</ref>
|align="center"|3
|-
|align="left"|[[Slovenia Singles Chart]]
|align="center"|10
|-
|align="left"|[[Sweden Singles Chart]]<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|6
|-
|align="left"|[[Switzerland Singles Chart]]<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|9
|-
|align="left"|[[UK Singles Chart]]<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|2
|-
|align="left"|U.S. [[Billboard Hot 100]]<ref name="Billboard Peaks"/>
|align="center"|1
|-
|align="left"|U.S. [[Billboard Pop 100]]<ref name="Billboard Peaks"/>
|align="center"|1
|-
|align="left"|U.S. [[Billboard]] [[Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks]]<ref name="Billboard Peaks">[http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.vnuArtistId=484894&model.vnuAlbumId=900535 Billboard.com - Artist Chart History - Plain White T's]</ref>
|align="center"|3
|-
|align="left"|U.S. [[Billboard]] [[Modern Rock Tracks]]<ref name="Billboard Peaks"/>
|align="center"|3
|-
|align="left"|[[United World Chart]]<ref name="World Peaks"/>
|align="center"|5
|}
{{start}}
{{s-bef|rows=1|before= "[[Umbrella (song)|Umbrella]]" by [[Rihanna]] featuring [[Jay-Z]]}}
{{s-ttl|title = [[Billboard Hot 100]] [[List of number-one hits (United States)|number-one single]]|years = [[July 28]] [[2007]] - [[August 4]], [[2007]]}}
{{s-aft|rows=3|after= "[[Beautiful Girls (Sean Kingston song)|Beautiful Girls]]" by [[Sean Kingston]]}}
|-
{{s-bef|rows=2|before= "[[Big Girls Don't Cry (Fergie song)|Big Girls Don't Cry]]" by [[Fergie (singer)|Fergie]]}}
{{s-ttl | title = [[Pop 100|Billboard Pop 100]] [[Pop 100 number-one hits of 2007 (USA)|number-one single]]|| years = [[August 4]], [[2007]] - [[July 26]] [[2007]]}}
|-
{{s-ttl | title = [[Canadian Hot 100]] [[Canadian Hot 100 number-one hits of 2007|number-one single]] (First run)| years = [[August 4]], [[2007]]}}
|-
{{succession box
|before = "[[Beautiful Girls (Sean Kingston song)|Beautiful Girls]]" by [[Sean Kingston]]
|title = [[Canadian Hot 100]] [[Canadian Hot 100 number-one hits of 2007|number-one single]] (Second run)
|years = [[August 25]] [[2007]] - [[September 1]] [[2007]]
|after = "[[The Way I Are]]" by [[Timbaland]] Feat. [[Keri Hilson]] and [[D.O.E.]]
}}
{{succession box
|before = "[[Junge]]" by [[Die Ärzte]]
|title = [[German Singles Chart]] number-one single
|years = [[November 2]] [[2007]] - [[September 1]] [[2007]]
|after = "[[Du Hast Den Schönsten Arsch Der Welt ]]" by [[Alex C.]] Feat. [[Y-ass]]
}}
{{end box}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Plain white t's}}

[[Category:2006 singles]]
[[Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles]]
[[Category:Billboard Pop 100 number-one singles]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Canada]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Croatia]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in Germany]]
[[Category:Plain White T's songs]]

[[fr:Hey There Delilah]]
[[he:Hey There Delilah]]
[[it:Hey There Delilah]]
[[nl:Hey There Delilah]]
[[simple:Hey There Delilah]]

Talk:Hey There Delilah

2008-02-26T06:29:06Z

Capi crimm: /* Parodies Section */

==Parodies Section==

Is it just me, or are the parodies in this article not noteworthy enough to be included in this article?

:I'm not sure it should be included. It needs to be at least retooled Since the professionalism decreases as you go through the section. We don't need to include every parody. Espcially since thats slowly going to increase and be longer than the article itself. I vote for keeping the top two or three, and mentioning that many more exist. [[User:Smashmore|Smashmore]] ([[User talk:Smashmore|talk]]) 15:10, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

:Agree[[User:Mathwhiz 29|Mathwhiz 29]] ([[User talk:Mathwhiz 29|talk]]) 23:21, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

::Until someone wants to defend it or it's notability I took it out. --[[User:Capi crimm|Capi crimm]] ([[User talk:Capi crimm|talk]]) 06:29, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

== Inspiration and composition ==

This section does not site any sources. I added a tag to it, someone needs to verify all that or get rid of it. [[User:58.161.91.37|58.161.91.37]] 03:03, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

==Needs Work==

I'm not sure how this artical could possibly be improved, but it no doubt needs some work. Maybe a full summary of the music video could help(although, very simple). It being such a popular song, you'd think a fan or two would try and add some life to the artical, but as I said, I'm not sure how this could be made better. I might just have peices remain a stub for the time being. [[User:-FallingSkies|-FallingSkies]] 19:25, 16 July 2007 (UTC)

This page is pretty ridiculous. It's entirely subjective and personal opinion and I hereby propose it be at least merged or possibly deleted. --[[User:DaveyE|DaveyE]] 06:14, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

The Music video sectional really needs to be expanded. ~mthefool
==Fair use rationale for Image:Plain white t's here there delilah.jpg==
[[Image:Nuvola apps important.svg|70px|left]]
'''[[:Image:Plain white t's here there delilah.jpg]]''' is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under [[Wikipedia:Fair use|fair use]] but there is no [[Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline|explanation or rationale]] as to why its use in '''this''' Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the [[Wikipedia:Image copyright tags/Fair use|boilerplate fair use template]], you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with [[WP:FU|fair use]].

Please go to [[:Image:Plain white t's here there delilah.jpg|the image description page]] and edit it to include a [[Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline |fair use rationale]]. Using one of the templates at [[Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline]] is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on [[Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion#Images.2FMedia|criteria for speedy deletion]]. If you have any questions please ask them at the [[Wikipedia:Media copyright questions|Media copyright questions page]]. Thank you.

[[User:BetacommandBot|BetacommandBot]] 11:22, 6 July 2007 (UTC)

==Inspiration section contradicts itself==
It seems someone added a comment in response to the writing above.

==CD was released in 2005==
The CD was released in 2005. I do not know why someone changed the article to say it was released in 2007. It was rereleased with their 4th album in 2007, but the original release date, as the Wikipedia article on the album states, was 2005. Therefore, it also stands to reason that the song did indeed have an late increase in popularity, over 2 years after the initial release.

==This song is a cover==

This article mentions nothing of the fact that it is a cover of a very creapy older song, which also disputes the whole inspiration section of this article. I don't know enough of the original to correct the article, but i feal it needs researching and correcting. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/84.65.133.206|84.65.133.206]] ([[User talk:84.65.133.206|talk]]) 09:46, 3 September 2007 (UTC) 

...I'll research it, but I highly doubt that. [[User:DrowningInRoyalty|DrowningInRoyalty]] 23:38, 12 September 2007 (UTC)

:It's not a lyrical cover, but I recently heard a song that had a nearly identical melody. I'll get back to you with an artist and title. --[[User:Haizum|Haizum]] μολὼν λαβέ 01:43, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

'''AH HAAAAA!''' "FEELIN' GOOD AGAIN" BY ROBERT EARL KEEN! BLATANT RIPOFF! --[[User:Haizum|Haizum]] μολὼν λαβέ 01:49, 22 September 2007 (UTC)
:Yeah, you're right. Strange. [[User:12.26.115.28|12.26.115.28]] 03:19, 23 September 2007 (UTC)
:It's a cover in the same way "Connection" by Elastica is a cover of "Three Girl Rhumba" by Wire [[User:Doc Strange|Doc Strange]] 17:53, 9 October 2007 (UTC)
:Um, no.

==Napoleon Dynamite==
Did this song feature in Napolean Dynamite at the beginning of the film? Or was that the older version? Who wrote this first version SineBot is talking about? [[User:A.J.Chesswas|A.J.Chesswas]] 20:49, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

: That was "You and I Are Going To Be Friends" by the White Stripes. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/64.194.27.58|64.194.27.58]] ([[User talk:64.194.27.58|talk]]) 04:48, 10 September 2007 (UTC) 
:Actual title of the song is "We're Going to Be Freinds", which on the White Stripes 2001 record ''White Blood Cells'' [[User:Doc Strange|Doc Strange]] 17:52, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

==Bringing back Inspiration and Composition section==

I believe the Inspiration and composition section needs to be brought back. It explained a great deal about the song and let readers know that the song is about a real person and what the relationship was between the two people (since most think it was a romantic relationship). It could be labeled as background, or something similar. If you go back far enough in the history of this article you will find versions [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hey_There_Delilah&oldid=149874934] that have references in the inspiration section, therefore it does site at least one source. sirgregmac 20:12, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

::Well if you can find sources that are up to Wikipedia standards, (see [[WP:VERIFY]] ), then by all means bring it back. [[User:58.161.90.38|58.161.90.38]] 02:57, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

== Deletion of References ==

Apparently the edits made by 67.116.236.200 on 28 October 2007 resulted in the deletion of the References section. I'm unsure how to restore the references. Anyone? [[User:Shakespeareanpie|Shakespeareanpie]] 23:18, 31 October 2007 (UTC)

== Hey There Khalilah ==

I Think this should be included in the Parodies section [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMqTKA8BxvE] It's Brilliant. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/213.6.101.154|213.6.101.154]] ([[User talk:213.6.101.154|talk]]) 16:58, 28 November 2007 (UTC) 

== Plagorism? ==

Has anyone listened to the "plagarism" clip? They sound almost nothing alike. How ridiculous that this should make in on an encyclopedia. Get rid of it. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/24.138.51.29|24.138.51.29]] ([[User talk:24.138.51.29|talk]]) 05:04, 16 January 2008 (UTC) 

A blog article [http://www.thegossipfix.com/2007/09/16/the-truth-behind-hey-there-delilah/] contains the Inspiration/Composition section verbatim.

Thus it would appear that either the section of this WP article is a plagarism or the blog entry in question is a GFDL violation

Should someone investigate this?

--[[User:Phoenix9|Phoenix9]] ([[User talk:Phoenix9|talk]]) 22:20, 4 December 2007 (UTC)

Talk:New standard tuning

2008-02-24T21:35:04Z

Capi crimm:

Could someone please explain how tuning the top two strings (normally E and B) up does not snap them? I've almost snapped those string by tuning them only one whole step higher -- so how does that work?

Also, it is inconsistent with another page: ''The tuning is similar to all fifths except the first string is dropped from b' to g'.''

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_tuning

[[User:Sp3z1aL|Sp3z1aL]] 00:11, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

The strings don't snap because a set with different guages is used - top G .010 or .011; E .013 and so forth. There is also the problem of taking the bottom string from E down to C, which makes it a bit floppy, so a thicker guage would be used there. Sometimes (particularly in the early days) NST would be tuned from EADGBE and, yes, strings would snap.

The statement from the other page is not untrue, but not terribly helpful either.[[User:Grangousier|Grangousier]] 23:38, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I have switched my strings to compensate for the slack 'bottom' strings. It's all about the gauges. I use .054 .042 .036 .016 .011 .009 with great success and stability on a Ibanez Jem equipped with a floyd rose tremolo. Oddly enough the .016 breaks the most often, mostly due to my unnecessarily violent left hand tremolo technique. Your mileage may vary!--[[User:Dukeres|Dukeres]] 21:10, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Based on the comments above, it seems the article could use a section on NST string gauges, along with a caution about OST string gauges being somewhat different; otherwise somebody may read it and break perfectly good strings. --[[User:AC|AC]] 02:10, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

Click on the link on Steve Ball's name. I suppose this footballer Steve Ball is not the person mentioned in this article. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[User:Telep|Telep]] ([[User talk:Telep|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Telep|contribs]]) 09:17, August 25, 2007 (UTC) 

== On deleting the section about tuning, harmonics, etc. ==

I am deleting the following section since it contains a lot of factual errors and doesn't even make sense:
<blockquote>
Because NST is also pentatonic in nature (there are no thirds in the open strings if you consider C or G as the root), its natural harmonics also make it easier to tune than the OST which has a major third (which is technically 'out of tune' by definition in a non-equal-tempered instrument such as a guitar) stuck right in the middle of its open strings (G-B). In NST, tuning is possible via the first harmonic rather than the more-awkward second-harmonic tuning which many OST players use to tune their guitars.
</blockquote>
* It's not clear what "no thirds in the open strings" could mean. There is a major third (plus two octaves) between the C and E strings, and there is a minor third between the consecutive E and G strings.
* The guitar is equal-tempered, not non-equal-tempered.
* The equal tempered third (and all other intervals) are by definition ''in tune'', although non-unisons and non-octaves may sound out of tune when compared to a just interval.
* Either the term "harmonic" has been used when "overtone" would have been correct, or the harmonics are misnumbered. The first harmonic is the lowest pitch the string will vibrate at, i.e., the pitch of the open string. The pitch that sounds at the 12th fret is the second harmonic, also known as the first overtone.
* The advantage that NST has over OST when tuning with 12th fret harmonics is not made clear; it doesn't seem to have any advantage at all. Tuning with the second harmonic (12th fret) can be done equally well (or awkwardly, as the case may be) in either tuning. In both NST and OST it would usually involve tuning a harmonic on one string with a fretted note on another. (Side note: the 7th fret harmonic is out of tune with the equal-tempered scale, don't use it to tune with any equal-tempered tuning. Further note: the harmonics of all physical strings are slightly sharp due to the stiffness of the string; this is why pianos use stretch tuning.)

[[User:Atomota|Atomota]] 06:49, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

== Fixing Section on Downside ==

It seems to me that it's a little unrealistic. It's fairly obvious that your voicing will change when you change the tunings. However, there are still reasonable voicing of 9th chords and 9b5(which is what the article really seems to be talking about). --[[User:Capi crimm|Capi crimm]] ([[User talk:Capi crimm|talk]]) 21:35, 24 February 2008 (UTC)

Talk:New standard tuning

2008-02-24T21:34:38Z

Capi crimm:

Could someone please explain how tuning the top two strings (normally E and B) up does not snap them? I've almost snapped those string by tuning them only one whole step higher -- so how does that work?

Also, it is inconsistent with another page: ''The tuning is similar to all fifths except the first string is dropped from b' to g'.''

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_tuning

[[User:Sp3z1aL|Sp3z1aL]] 00:11, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

The strings don't snap because a set with different guages is used - top G .010 or .011; E .013 and so forth. There is also the problem of taking the bottom string from E down to C, which makes it a bit floppy, so a thicker guage would be used there. Sometimes (particularly in the early days) NST would be tuned from EADGBE and, yes, strings would snap.

The statement from the other page is not untrue, but not terribly helpful either.[[User:Grangousier|Grangousier]] 23:38, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I have switched my strings to compensate for the slack 'bottom' strings. It's all about the gauges. I use .054 .042 .036 .016 .011 .009 with great success and stability on a Ibanez Jem equipped with a floyd rose tremolo. Oddly enough the .016 breaks the most often, mostly due to my unnecessarily violent left hand tremolo technique. Your mileage may vary!--[[User:Dukeres|Dukeres]] 21:10, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

Based on the comments above, it seems the article could use a section on NST string gauges, along with a caution about OST string gauges being somewhat different; otherwise somebody may read it and break perfectly good strings. --[[User:AC|AC]] 02:10, 25 August 2007 (UTC)

Click on the link on Steve Ball's name. I suppose this footballer Steve Ball is not the person mentioned in this article. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[User:Telep|Telep]] ([[User talk:Telep|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/Telep|contribs]]) 09:17, August 25, 2007 (UTC) 

== On deleting the section about tuning, harmonics, etc. ==

I am deleting the following section since it contains a lot of factual errors and doesn't even make sense:
<blockquote>
Because NST is also pentatonic in nature (there are no thirds in the open strings if you consider C or G as the root), its natural harmonics also make it easier to tune than the OST which has a major third (which is technically 'out of tune' by definition in a non-equal-tempered instrument such as a guitar) stuck right in the middle of its open strings (G-B). In NST, tuning is possible via the first harmonic rather than the more-awkward second-harmonic tuning which many OST players use to tune their guitars.
</blockquote>
* It's not clear what "no thirds in the open strings" could mean. There is a major third (plus two octaves) between the C and E strings, and there is a minor third between the consecutive E and G strings.
* The guitar is equal-tempered, not non-equal-tempered.
* The equal tempered third (and all other intervals) are by definition ''in tune'', although non-unisons and non-octaves may sound out of tune when compared to a just interval.
* Either the term "harmonic" has been used when "overtone" would have been correct, or the harmonics are misnumbered. The first harmonic is the lowest pitch the string will vibrate at, i.e., the pitch of the open string. The pitch that sounds at the 12th fret is the second harmonic, also known as the first overtone.
* The advantage that NST has over OST when tuning with 12th fret harmonics is not made clear; it doesn't seem to have any advantage at all. Tuning with the second harmonic (12th fret) can be done equally well (or awkwardly, as the case may be) in either tuning. In both NST and OST it would usually involve tuning a harmonic on one string with a fretted note on another. (Side note: the 7th fret harmonic is out of tune with the equal-tempered scale, don't use it to tune with any equal-tempered tuning. Further note: the harmonics of all physical strings are slightly sharp due to the stiffness of the string; this is why pianos use stretch tuning.)

[[User:Atomota|Atomota]] 06:49, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

== Removing Section on Downside ==

It seems to me that it's a little unrealistic. It's fairly obvious that your voicing will change when you change the tunings. However, there are still reasonable voicing of 9th chords and 9b5(which is what the article really seems to be talking about).

Guitar showmanship

2008-02-12T03:25:38Z

Capi crimm:

{{Refimprove|date=July 2007}}
'''Guitar moves''' are moves or stunts, which are done involving (most commonly) an [[electric guitar]] or [[bass guitar]]. These moves exist as pieces of stage flair used by band members to either emphasize a climax to a song or as a piece of visual entertainment to impress the audience.

[[Image:TownshendWindmill.gif|thumb|right|180px|Pete Townshend does The Windmill at Woodstock in 1969]]

==Windmill==
Made famous by [[The Who]]'s guitarist [[Pete Townshend]].<ref>[http://www.thewho.net/faq/part1.html#1.2 thewho.net FAQ] describes "windmill" style</ref> Townshend claimed he first saw it performed by [[Keith Richards]] while warming up for a concert, and after the concert Pete asked Keith if he could use the move, Keith had no recollection of doing it. The windmill involves holding the guitar in a chord position while rotating the picking arm quickly and hitting the strings, thereby striking the chord.

==Duck Walk==
{{main|Duck Walk}}

Made famous by [[Chuck Berry]]. The Duck Walk is a guitar move that consists of jumping on one leg and moving the other in a back-and-forth motion, which looks vaguely like the awkward waddle of a duck.

==Playing With Teeth==
A move coined by [[Jimi Hendrix]]<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsgHyauIUZY A video] of Hendrix playing Hey Joe with his teeth</ref> that involves plucking strings with the upper teeth. Because it doesn't allow much dexterity, it normally accompanies a fairly simple part of the solo or lick.

==Setting guitar on fire==
A move usually credited to Jimi Hendrix,<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/27/hendrix.guitar/ CNN.com - 'Flaming' Hendrix guitar for sale - August 29, 2002]</ref> involves literally setting the guitar on fire and burning it partially or fully, sometimes playing it during the process, sometimes with an outcome of injury. Setting the guitar on fire is often also followed by smashing it to pieces.

Jimi Hendrix is known to have performed this trick on at least three occasions with his [[Fender Stratocaster]] guitars:

* [[March 31]], [[1967]] at [[London Astoria]] club.<ref>[http://www.thetabworld.com/Jimi_Hendrix_biography.html Jimi Hendrix biography]</ref> Going a bit too far, Hendrix sustained hand burns and visited the hospital.
* [[June 18]], [[1967]] at the [[Monterey International Pop Festival]] while performing "[[Wild Thing (The Troggs song)|Wild Thing]]" (this event is illustrated in the [[Monterey Pop]] documentary). [[Jimi Hendrix Experience]] was working as an opening act for [[The Monkees]] and later left the tour.
* May, 1968 at [[Miami Pop Festival]], after playing 4 songs of his set (including "[[Foxy Lady]]" and "[[Purple Haze]]"). Jimi gave away the burnt guitar to his friend, [[Frank Zappa]], who restored it and played it afterwards. After Frank's death, his son, [[Dweezil Zappa]] inherited all his guitars, including Jimi's burnt Stratocaster, and sold it in an auction in [[September 24]], [[2002]] in UK for ₤400,000 ($615,000).

==Guitar smashing==
Another move popularised by [[Pete Townshend]], guitar smashing is just as the name suggests, smashing the guitar, usually at the climax of a set.

== References ==
<references/>

== See also ==

* [[Air guitar]]

[[Category:Guitar moves|*]]
[[Category:Guitar performance techniques]]

Caffeine

2007-10-12T19:51:11Z

Capi crimm:

<noinclude>{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}</noinclude>
{{otheruses}}
{{Chembox new
| Name = Caffeine
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| ImageSize = 175px
| ImageName = Caffeine
| ImageFile1 = Caffeine-3D-QuteMol.png
| ImageSize1 = 135px
| ImageName1 = Caffeine
| IUPACName = 1,3,7-trimethyl-1''H''-purine-2,6(3''H'',7''H'')-dione
| OtherNames = 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, trimethylxanthine, theine, methyltheobromine
| Section1 = {{Chembox Identifiers
| SMILES = C[n]1cnc2N(C)C(=O)N(C)C(=O)c12
| CASNo = 58-08-2
| RTECS = EV6475000
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| Section2 = {{Chembox Properties
| Formula = [[carbon|C]]8[[hydrogen|H]]10[[nitrogen|N]]4[[oxygen|O]]2
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| Solubility = 22 mg·mL−1 (25 °C) 180 mg·mL−1 (80 °C) 670 mg·mL−1 (100 °C)
| MeltingPt = 237 °C (non-equilibrium, superheated)
| BoilingPt = 178 °C ([[sublimation (chemistry)|sublimes]])
}}
| Section7 = {{Chembox Hazards
| ExternalMSDS = [http://www.sciencestuff.com/msds/C1410.html External MSDS]
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'''Caffeine''' is a [[xanthine]] [[alkaloid]] [[Chemical compound|compound]] that acts as a [[psychoactive]] [[stimulant]] in humans. The word comes from the French term for coffee, café.<ref> "Caffeine" in ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', Fourth Edition, 2000, [http://www.bartleby.com/61/80/C0018000.html]</ref> Caffeine is also called '''guaranine''' when found in [[guarana]], '''mateine''' when found in [[mate (beverage)|mate]], and '''theine''' when found in [[tea]]; all these names are considered chemical synonyms for the same chemical compound.

Caffeine is found in varying quantites in the [[bean]]s, [[leaf|leaves]], and [[fruit]] of over 60 [[plants]], where it acts as a natural [[pesticide]] that [[paralyze]]s and kills certain [[insect]]s feeding on the plants. It is most commonly consumed by humans in infusions extracted from the [[coffee bean|bean]]s of the [[Coffea arabica|coffee plant]] and the leaves of the [[Camellia sinensis|tea bush]], as well as from various foods and drinks containing products derived from the [[kola nut]] or from [[cacao]]. Other sources include [[yerba mate]], [[guarana]] berries, and the [[Yaupon Holly]].

In humans, caffeine is a [[central nervous system]] (CNS) [[stimulant]], having the effect of temporarily warding off [[drowsiness]] and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as [[coffee]], [[tea]], [[soft drink]]s and [[energy drink]]s enjoy great popularity; caffeine is the world's most widely consumed [[psychoactive substance]], but unlike most other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily.<ref name="demon drink">{{cite journal | last = Lovett | first = Richard | title = Coffee: The demon drink? | journal = New Scientist | issue = 2518|date = [[24 September]] [[2005]] }}</ref> The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists caffeine as a "Multiple Purpose Generally Recognized as Safe Food Substance".<ref name=GRAS">{{cite web |url=http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2003/aprqtr/21cfr182.1180.htm |title=21 CFR 182.1180 |accessdate=2007-02-16 |date=April 1, 2003 |work=U.S. [[Code of Federal Regulations]] |publisher=U.S. [[Office of the Federal Register]] |pages=462 }}</ref>

==Sources==
[[Image:Coffee beans.jpg|180px|left|thumb|Roasted coffee beans, the world's primary source of caffeine]]

Caffeine is a [[plant]] [[alkaloid]], found in numerous plant species, where it acts as a natural [[pesticide]] with high caffeine levels being reported in seedlings that are still developing foliages which are lacking in mechanical protection;<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Frischknecht
| first = P. M.
| authorlink = T. W. Baumann
| coauthors = [[J. Urmer-Dufek| Urmer-Dufek J]] and [[T.W. Baumann| Baumann T.W.]]
| title = Purine alkaloid formation in buds and developing leaflets of Coffea arabica: expression of an optimal defence strategy?
| journal = Phytochemistry
| volume = 25
| issue = 3
| pages = 613 - 616
| date = [[1986]]
| publisher = Journal of the Phytochemical Society of Europe and the Phytochemical Society of North America.
| url = http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6TH7-431C7JN-PW-1&_cdi=5275&_user=121707&_orig=browse&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F1986&_sk=999749996&view=c&wchp=dGLzVlz-zSkWA&md5=c6a5ac763c68cd7daca8d0279bd66d24&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
| format = [[PDF]]
| id = ISSN: 0031-9422 }}</ref> caffeine [[paralyze]]s and kills certain [[insect]]s feeding upon the plant.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Nathanson|first=J A|title=Caffeine and related methylxanthines: possible naturally occurring pesticides|journal=Science|volume=226|issue=4671|pages=184-187|date=[[12 October]] [[1984]]|id=PMID 6207592|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/226/4671/184}}</ref> High caffeine levels have also been found in the surrounding soil of coffee bean seedlings, it is therefore understood that caffeine has a natural function in both a natural pesticide and as an inhibitor of seed germination of other nearby coffee seedlings<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Baumann
| first = T. W.
| authorlink = T. W. Baumann
| coauthors = [[H. Gabriel| Gabriel H.]]
| title = Metabolism and excretion of caffeine during germination of Coffea arabica L.
| journal = Plant and Cell Physiology
| volume = 25
| issue = 8
| pages = 1431 - 1436
| date = [[1984]]
| publisher = Oxford Journals
| url = http://pcp.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/25/8/1431
| format = [[PDF]]
| id = ISSN: 0032-0781 }}</ref> thus giving it a better chance of survival.

The most commonly used caffeine-containing plants are [[coffee]], [[tea]], and to a small extent [[cocoa]]. Other, less commonly used, sources of caffeine include the [[yerba mate]]<ref name=mateine>{{cite web | title = Does Yerba Maté Contain Caffeine or Mateine? | publisher = [[Erowid|The Vaults of Erowid]] | date = December 2003 | url = http://www.erowid.org/plants/yerba_mate/yerba_mate_chemistry1.shtml|accessdate = 2006-08-16 }}</ref> and [[guarana]] plants, which are sometimes used in the preparation of teas and energy drinks. Two of caffeine's alternative names, ''mateine''<ref>{{cite web | title = PubChem: mateina| publisher = National Library of Medicine | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pccompound&term=mateina | accessdate = 2006-08-16 }}. Generally translated as ''mateine'' in articles written in English</ref> and ''guaranine'',<ref>{{cite web | title = PubChem: guaranine | publisher = National Library of Medicine | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pccompound&term=guaranine | accessdate = 2006-08-16 }}</ref> are derived from the names of these plants. Some yerba mate enthusiasts assert that mateine is a [[stereoisomer]] of caffeine, which would make it a different substance altogether.<ref name=mateine/> However, caffeine is an [[Chirality (chemistry)|achiral]] molecule, and therefore has no stereoisomers. Many natural sources of caffeine also contain widely varying mixtures of other [[xanthine]] [[alkaloid]]s, including the [[cardiac]] stimulants [[theophylline]] and [[theobromine]] and other substances such as [[polyphenols]] which can form insoluble complexes with caffeine.<ref>Balentine DA, Harbowy ME and Graham HN, ''Tea: the Plant and its Manufacture; Chemistry and Consumption of the Beverage'' in Caffeine (1998), ed. G Spiller</ref>

The world's primary source of caffeine is the coffee bean (the seed of the [[Coffea|coffee plant]]), from which [[coffee]] is brewed. Caffeine content in coffee varies widely depending on the type of [[coffee bean]] and the method of preparation used;<ref name=ICO>{{cite web | title=Caffeine |publisher=International Coffee Organization | url=http://www.ico.org/caffeine.asp|accessdate=2006-08-21}}</ref> even beans within a given bush can show variations in concentration. In general, one serving of coffee ranges from 40 milligrams, for a single shot (30 milliliters) of ''arabica''-variety [[espresso]], to about 100 milligrams for a cup (120 milliliters) of drip coffee. Generally, dark-roast coffee has less caffeine than lighter roasts because the roasting process reduces the bean's caffeine content.<ref name=caffaq_roast>{{cite web | title=Coffee and Caffeine FAQ: Does dark roast coffee have less caffeine than light roast? | url=http://coffeefaq.com/site/node/15 | accessdate=2007-01-02}}</ref><ref name=jeremiahspick>{{cite web | title=All About Coffee: Caffeine Level | publisher=Jeremiah’s Pick Coffee Co | url=http://www.jeremiahspick.com/caffeine-e-13.html | accessdate=2007-06-14}}</ref> [[Coffea arabica|''Arabica'']] coffee normally contains less caffeine than the [[Coffea canephora|''robusta'']] variety.<ref name=ICO/> Coffee also contains trace amounts of [[theophylline]], but no [[theobromine]].

[[Tea]] is another common source of caffeine. Tea usually contains about half as much caffeine per serving as coffee, depending on the strength of the brew. Certain types of tea, such as [[black tea|black]] and [[oolong]], contain somewhat more caffeine than most other teas. Tea contains small amounts of theobromine and slightly higher levels of theophylline than coffee. Preparation has a significant impact on tea, and color is a very poor indicator of caffeine content.<ref>{{cite web|title=Caffeine in tea vs. steeping time|date=September 1996|url=http://www.nobleharbor.com/tea/caffiene.html|accessdate=2006-08-12}}</ref> Teas like the pale Japanese [[green tea]] [[gyokuro]], for example, contain far more caffeine than much darker teas like [[lapsang souchong]], which has very little.

Caffeine is also a common ingredient of [[soft drink]]s such as [[cola]], originally prepared from [[kola nut]]s. Soft drinks typically contain about 10 to 50 milligrams of caffeine per serving. By contrast, [[energy drink]]s such as [[Red Bull]] contain as much as 80 milligrams of caffeine per serving. The caffeine in these drinks either originates from the ingredients used or is an additive derived from the product of [[decaffeination]] or from chemical synthesis. [[Guarana]], a prime ingredient of energy drinks, contains large amounts of caffeine with small amounts of [[theobromine]] and [[theophylline]] in a naturally occurring [[slow-release]] [[excipient]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Haskell | first = CF | coauthors = Kennedy D, Wesnes KA, Milne AL, Scholey AB | title = A double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-dose evaluation of the acute behavioural effects of guarana in humans | journal = J Psychopharmacol | volume = 21 | issue = 1 | pages = 65–70 |date = January 2007 | pmid = 16533867 | accessdate = }}</ref>

[[Chocolate]] derived from [[cocoa]] contains a small amount of caffeine. The weak stimulant effect of chocolate may be due to a combination of [[theobromine]] and [[theophylline]] as well as caffeine.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Smit | first = HJ | coauthors = Gaffan EA, Rogers PJ. | title = Methylxanthines are the psycho-pharmacologically active constituents of chocolate | journal = Psychopharmacology | volume = 176 | issue = 3–4 | pages = 412-9 | date = 2004 Nov |pmid=15549276 }}</ref> Chocolate contains too little of these compounds for a reasonable serving to create effects in humans that are on par with [[coffee]]. A typical 28-gram serving of a milk [[chocolate bar]] has about as much caffeine as a cup of ''decaffeinated'' coffee.

==History==
[[Image:CoffeePalestineStereo.jpg|thumb|right|220px|A coffeehouse in Palestine, circa 1900]]
:''Main articles: [[Cocoa#History|History of cocoa]], [[History of coffee]], [[Tea#Origin and early history in Asia|Origin and early history of tea]]''
Humans have consumed caffeine since the [[Stone Age]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Escohotado | first = Antonio | coauthors = Ken Symington | title = A Brief History of Drugs: From the Stone Age to the Stoned Age | publisher = Park Street Press | date = May 1999 | id = ISBN 0-89281-826-3 }}</ref> Early peoples found that chewing the seeds, bark, or leaves of certain plants had the effects of easing fatigue, stimulating awareness, and elevating mood. Only much later was it found that the effect of caffeine was increased by steeping such plants in hot water. Many cultures have legends that attribute the discovery of such plants to people living many thousands of years ago.

According to one popular Chinese legend, the [[Emperor of China]] [[Shennong]], reputed to have reigned in about 3,000 BC, accidentally discovered that when some leaves fell into boiling water, a fragrant and restorative [[caffeinated drink|drink]] resulted.<ref>Chow p. 19–20 (Czech edition); also Arcimovicova p. 9, Evans p. 2 and others</ref> Shennong is also mentioned in Lu Yu's ''Cha Jing'', a famous early work on the subject of tea.<ref>{{cite book | last = Yu | first = Lu | title = The Classic of Tea: Origins & Rituals | publisher = Ecco Pr; Reissue edition |date=October 1995 | url = http://www.amazon.com/dp/0880014164/ | id = ISBN 0-88001-416-4 }}</ref>
The history of coffee has been recorded as far back as the ninth century. During that time, coffee beans were available only in their native habitat, [[Ethiopia]]. A popular legend traces its discovery to a [[goatherder]] named [[Kaldi]], who apparently observed goats that became elated and sleepless at night after browsing on coffee shrubs and, upon trying the berries that the goats had been eating, experienced the same vitality. The earliest literary mention of coffee may be a reference to Bunchum in the works of the 9th century [[Persian people|Persian]] physician [[al-Razi]]. In 1587, [[Malaye Jaziri]] compiled a work tracing the history and legal controversies of coffee, entitled "Umdat al safwa fi hill al-qahwa". In this work, Jaziri recorded that one [[Sheikh]], Jamal-al-Din al-Dhabhani, [[mufti]] of [[Aden]], was the first to adopt the use of coffee in 1454, and that in the 15th century the [[sufism|Sufis]] of [[Yemen]] routinely used coffee to stay awake during prayers.

Towards the close of the 16th century, the use of coffee was recorded by a [[Europe]]an resident in [[Egypt]], and about this time it came into general use in the [[Near East]]. The appreciation of coffee as a beverage in Europe, where it was first known as "Arabian wine," dates from the 17th century. During this time "[[coffee house]]s" were established, the first being opened in [[Constantinople]] and [[Venice]]. In Britain, the first coffee houses were opened in [[London]] in 1652, at St Michael's Alley, [[Cornhill]]. They soon became popular throughout [[Western Europe]], and played a significant role in [[social relation]]s in the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Coffee | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica | date = 1911}}</ref>

The [[kola nut]], like the coffee berry and tea leaf, appears to have ancient origins. It is chewed in many [[West Africa]]n cultures, individually or in a social setting, to restore vitality and ease hunger pangs. In 1911, kola became the focus of one of the earliest documented health scares when the US government seized 40 barrels and 20 kegs of [[Coca-Cola]] syrup in [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]], alleging that the caffeine in its drink was "injurious to health".<ref>{{cite journal | last = Benjamin | first = LT Jr | coauthors = Rogers AM, Rosenbaum A | title = Coca-Cola, caffeine, and mental deficiency: Harry Hollingworth and the Chattanooga trial of 1911 | journal = J Hist Behav Sci | volume = 27 | issue = 1 | pages = 42–55 | date = 1991 January | id = PMID 2010614 | accessdate = }}</ref> On [[March 13]], [[1911]], the government initiated ''The [[United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola]]'', hoping to force Coca-Cola to remove caffeine from its formula by making claims, such as that the excessive use of Coca-Cola at one girls' school led to "wild nocturnal freaks, violations of college rules and female proprieties, and even immoralities."<ref>{{cite web | last = Jarvis | first = Gail | title = The Rise and Fall of Cocaine Cola | date = [[May 21]] [[2002]] | url = http://www.lewrockwell.com/jarvis/jarvis17.html|accessdate = 2006-08-19 }}</ref> Although the judge ruled in favor of Coca-Cola, two bills were introduced to the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] in 1912 to amend the [[Pure Food and Drug Act]], adding caffeine to the list of "habit-forming" and "deleterious" substances which must be listed on a product's label.

The earliest evidence of [[cocoa]] use comes from residue found in an [[Maya civilization|ancient Maya]]n pot dated to 600 BC. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a bitter and spicy drink called ''xocoatl'', often seasoned with [[vanilla]], [[chile pepper]], and [[achiote]]. Xocoatl was believed to fight fatigue, a belief that is probably attributable to the [[theobromine]] and caffeine content. Chocolate was an important luxury good throughout [[pre-Columbian]] [[Mesoamerica]], and cocoa beans were often used as currency.

Chocolate was introduced to [[Europe]] by the [[Spanish people|Spaniard]]s and became a popular beverage by 1700. They also introduced the [[cacao]] tree into the [[West Indies]] and the [[Philippines]]. It was used in [[alchemy|alchemical]] processes, where it was known as Black Bean.

In 1819, the [[Germany|German]] chemist [[Friedrich Ferdinand Runge]] isolated relatively pure caffeine for the first time. According to Runge, he did this at the behest of [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]].<ref name=weinberg>{{cite book | last = Weinberg | first = BA | coauthors = BK Bealer | title = The World of Caffeine | publisher = Routledge | date = January 2001 | id = ISBN 0-415-92722-6 }}</ref> In 1927, Oudry isolated "theine" from tea, but it was later proved by [[Gerardus Johannes Mulder|Mulder]] and Jobat that theine was the same as caffeine.<ref name=weinberg/> The structure of caffeine was elucidated near the end of the 19th century by [[Hermann Emil Fischer]], who was also the first to achieve its [[total synthesis]].<ref>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1902/press.html Nobel Prize Presentation Speech by Professor Hj. Théel, President of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences on December 10, 1902.]</ref> This was part of the work for which Fischer was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1902.

Today, global consumption of caffeine has been estimated at 120,000 tons per annum,<ref name="abc.net">{{cite web | title = What's your poison: caffeine | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date = 1997 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/quantum/poison/caffeine/caffeine.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-20 }}</ref> making it the world's most popular psychoactive substance. This number equates to one serving of a caffeine beverage for every person, per day. In North America, 90% of adults consume some amount of caffeine daily.<ref name="demon drink"/>

==Pharmacology==
Caffeine is a [[central nervous system]] and metabolic stimulant,<ref>{{cite journal | last = Nehlig | first = A | coauthors = Daval JL, Debry G | title = Caffeine and the central nervous system: Mechanisms of action, biochemical, metabolic, and psychostimulant effects | journal = Brain Res Rev | volume = 17 | issue = 2 | pages = 139-70 | date = 1992 May-Aug | id = PMID 1356551 }}</ref> and is used both recreationally and medically to reduce physical fatigue and restore mental alertness when unusual weakness or drowsiness occurs. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system first at the higher levels, resulting in increased alertness and wakefulness, faster and clearer flow of thought, increased focus, and better general body coordination, and later at the spinal cord level at higher doses.<ref name="effects">{{cite journal | last = Bolton, Ph.D. | first = Sanford | coauthors = Gary Null, M.S. | title = Caffeine: Psychological Effects, Use and Abuse | journal = Orthomolecular Psychiatry | volume = 10 | issue = 3 | pages = 202–211 | date = 1981 | url = http://www.garynull.com/Documents/CaffeineEffects.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-12 }}</ref> Once inside the body, it has a complex chemistry, and acts through several mechanisms as described below.

===Metabolism===
[[Image:Caffeine metabolites.svg|thumb|right|350px|Caffeine is metabolized in the liver into three primary metabolites:
[[paraxanthine]] (84%), [[theobromine]] (12%), and [[theophylline]] (4%)]]
Caffeine is completely absorbed by the stomach and small intestine within 45 minutes of ingestion. After ingestion it is distributed throughout all tissues of the body and is eliminated by [[Rate equation|first-order kinetics]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Newton | first = R | coauthors = Broughton LJ, Lind MJ, Morrison PJ, Rogers HJ, Bradbrook ID | title = Plasma and salivary pharmacokinetics of caffeine in man | journal = European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology | volume = 21 | issue = 1 | pages = 45–52 | date = 1981 | id = PMID 7333346 }}</ref>

The [[Biological half-life|half-life]] of caffeine—the time required for the body to eliminate one-half of the total amount of caffeine consumed at a given time—varies widely among individuals according to such factors as age, liver function, pregnancy, some concurrent medications, and the level of enzymes in the liver needed for caffeine metabolism. In healthy adults, caffeine's half-life is approximately 3–4 hours. In women taking oral contraceptives this is increased to 5–10 hours,<ref>{{cite journal | last = Meyer | first = FP | coauthors = Canzler E, Giers H, Walther H. | title = Time course of inhibition of caffeine elimination in response to the oral depot contraceptive agent Deposiston. Hormonal contraceptives and caffeine elimination | journal = Zentralbl Gynakol | volume = 113 | issue = 6 | pages = 297–302 | date = 1991 | id = PMID 2058339 }}</ref> and in pregnant women the half-life is roughly 9–11 hours.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Ortweiler | first = W | coauthors = Simon HU, Splinter FK, Peiker G, Siegert C, Traeger A. | title = Determination of caffeine and metamizole elimination in pregnancy and after delivery as an in vivo method for characterization of various cytochrome p-450 dependent biotransformation reactions | journal = Biomed Biochim Acta. | volume = 44 | issue = 7–8 | pages = 1189–99 | date = 1985 | id = PMID 4084271 }}</ref> Caffeine can accumulate in individuals with severe [[liver disease]] when its half-life can increase to 96 hours.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Bolton, Ph.D. | first = Sanford | coauthors = Gary Null, M.S. | title = Caffeine: Psychological Effects, Use and Abuse | journal = Orthomolecular Psychiatry | volume = 10 | issue = 3 | pages = 202–211 | date = 1981 | url = http://www.garynull.com/Documents/CaffeineEffects.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> In infants and young children, the half-life may be longer than in adults; half-life in a newborn baby may be as long as 30 hours. Other factors such as smoking can shorten caffeine's half-life.<ref>{{cite book | last = Springhouse | title = Physician's Drug Handbook; 11th edition | publisher = Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|date = [[January 1]] [[2005]] | id = ISBN 1-58255-396-3 }}</ref>

Caffeine is metabolized in the [[liver]] by the [[cytochrome P450 oxidase]] enzyme system (specifically, the [[CYP1A2|1A2]] isozyme) into three [[metabolism|metabolic]] [[xanthine|dimethylxanthines]],<ref>
{{cite web | title = Caffeine | publisher = The Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics Knowledge Base | url = http://www.pharmgkb.org/do/serve?objId=464&objCls=DrugProperties#biotransformationData | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> which each have their own effects on the body:
* [[Paraxanthine]] (84%): Has the effect of increasing [[lipolysis]], leading to elevated [[glycerol]] and free [[fatty acid]] levels in the [[blood plasma]].
* [[Theobromine]] (12%): Dilates [[blood vessel]]s and increases [[urine]] volume. Theobromine is also the principal alkaloid in [[cocoa]], and therefore [[chocolate]].
* [[Theophylline]] (4%): Relaxes [[smooth muscle]]s of the [[bronchus|bronchi]], and is used to treat [[asthma]]. The therapeutic dose of theophylline, however, is many times greater than the levels attained from caffeine metabolism.

Each of these metabolites is further metabolized and then excreted in the urine.

===Mechanism of action===
[[Image:Caffeine and adenosine.svg|thumb|left|350px|Caffeine's principal mode of action is as an [[Receptor antagonist|antagonist]] of [[adenosine]] receptors in the brain. They are presented here side by side for comparison.]]

Caffeine acts through multiple mechanisms involving both action on receptors and channels on the cell membrane, as well as intracellular action on calcium and [[cAMP]] pathways. By virtue of its [[purine]] structure it can act on some of the same targets as adenosine related nucleosides and nucleotides, like the cell surface P1 [[GPCR]]s for adenosine, as well as the intracellular [[Ryanodine receptor]] (RyR) which is the physiological target of cADPR ([[cyclic ADP-ribose]]), and [[phosphodiesterase|cAMP-phosphodiesterase]] (cAMP-PDE). Although the action is [[agonist]]ic in some cases, it is [[Receptor antagonist|antagonist]]ic in others. Physiologically, however, caffeine action is unlikely due to increased RyR opening, as it requires plasma concentration above lethal dosage. The action is most likely through adenosine receptors.

Like alcohol, nicotine, and antidepressants, caffeine readily crosses the [[blood brain barrier]]. Once in the brain, the principal mode of action of caffeine is as an [[Receptor antagonist|antagonist]] of [[adenosine receptor]]s found in the brain.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Fisone G | first = G | coauthors = Borgkvist A, Usiello A | title = Caffeine as a psychomotor stimulant: mechanism of action | journal = Cell Mol Life Sci | volume = 61 | issue = 7–8 | pages = 857-72 | date = 2004 April | id = PMID 15095008 | url = http://www.springerlink.com/content/605nwu366ay2c6xt/ }}</ref> The caffeine molecule is structurally similar to [[adenosine]], and binds to adenosine receptors on the surface of cells without activating them (an "antagonist" mechanism of action). Therefore, caffeine acts as a [[competitive inhibitor]]. The reduction in adenosine activity results in increased activity of the [[neurotransmitter]] [[dopamine]], largely accounting for the stimulatory effects of caffeine. Caffeine can also increase levels of [[epinephrine|epinephrine/adrenaline]],<ref>{{cite journal | author = Graham T, Rush J, van Soeren M | title = Caffeine and exercise: metabolism and performance. | journal = Can J Appl Physiol | volume = 19 | issue = 2 | pages = 111-38 | year = 1994|id = PMID 8081318}}</ref> possibly via a different mechanism. Acute usage of caffeine also increases levels of [[serotonin]], causing positive changes in mood.<ref name="in da brain">{{cite journal | author = Fredholm B, Bättig K, Holmén J, Nehlig A, Zvartau E | title = Actions of caffeine in the brain with special reference to factors that contribute to its widespread use. | journal = Pharmacol Rev | volume = 51 | issue = 1 | pages = 83–133 | year = 1999|id = PMID 10049999}}''[http://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/full/51/1/83 Full text]''</ref>


Caffeine is also a known competitive inhibitor of the enzyme [[phosphodiesterase|cAMP-phosphodiesterase]] (cAMP-PDE), which converts [[Cyclic adenosine monophosphate|cyclic AMP]] (cAMP) in cells to its noncyclic form, allowing cAMP to build up in cells. Cyclic AMP participates in activation of [[Protein Kinase A]] (PKA) to begin the phosphorylation of specific enzymes used in glucose synthesis. By blocking its removal caffeine intensifies and prolongs the effects of [[epinephrine]] and epinephrine-like drugs such as [[amphetamine]], [[methamphetamine]], or [[methylphenidate]]. Increased concentrations of cAMP in [[parietal cell]]s causes an increased activation of [[CAMP-dependent protein kinase|protein kinase A]] (PKA) which in turn increases activation of [[Hydrogen potassium ATPase|H+/K+ ATPase]], resulting finally in increased [[gastric acid]] secretion by the cell.

Caffeine (and theophylline) can freely diffuse into cells and causes intracellular calcium release (independent of extracellular calcium) from the calcium stores in the [[Endoplasmic Reticulum]](ER). This release is only partially blocked by Ryanodine receptor blockade with [[ryanodine]], [[dantrolene]], [[ruthenium red]], and [[procaine]] (thus may involve [[ryanodine receptor]] and probably some additional calcium channels), but completely abolished after calcium depletion of ER by [[SERCA]] inhibitors like [[Thapsigargin]] (TG) or [[cyclopiazonic acid]] (CPA).<ref>{{cite journal | author = Verkhratsky A. | title = Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Calcium Store in the Endoplasmic Reticulum of Neurons | journal = Physiol. Rev. | volume = 85 | issue = 1 | pages = 201–279 | year = 2005|doi = 10.1152/physrev.00004.2004}}</ref> The action of caffeine on the ryanodine receptor may depend on both cytosolic and the luminal ER concentrations of Ca2+. At low millimolar concentration of caffeine, the RyR channel open probability (Po) is significantly increased mostly due to a shortening of the lifetime of the closed state. At concentrations >5 mM, caffeine opens RyRs even at picomolar cytosolic Ca2+ and dramatically increases the open time of the channel so that the calcium release is stronger than even an action potential can generate. This mode of action of caffeine is probably due to mimicking the action of the physiologic metabolite of NAD called cADPR ([[cyclic ADP ribose]]) which has a similar potentiating action on [[Ryanodine receptor]]s.

Caffeine may also directly inhibit delayed rectifier and A-type K+ currents and activate plasmalemmal Ca2+ influx in certain vertebrate and invertebrate neurons.

The metabolites of caffeine contribute to caffeine's effects. Theobromine is a [[vasodilation|vasodilator]] that increases the amount of oxygen and nutrient flow to the brain and muscles. Theophylline, the second of the three primary metabolites, acts as a smooth [[muscle relaxant]] that chiefly affects [[bronchiole]]s and acts as a [[chronotropic|chronotrope]] and [[inotrope]] that increases heart rate and efficiency. The third metabolic derivative, paraxanthine, is responsible for an increase in the [[lipolysis]] process, which releases [[glycerol]] and [[fatty acids]] into the blood to be used as a source of fuel by the muscles.<ref>{{cite book | last = Dews | first = P.B. | title = Caffeine: Perspectives from Recent Research | publisher = Berlin: Springer-Valerag | date = 1984 | id = ISBN 978-0387135328 }}</ref>

[[Image:Caffeinated spiderwebs.jpg|170px|left|thumb|Caffeine has a significant effect on [[spider]]s, which is reflected in their [[spider web|web]] construction]]

===Effects when taken in moderation===
The precise amount of caffeine necessary to produce effects varies from person to person depending on body size and degree of tolerance to caffeine. It takes less than an hour for caffeine to begin affecting the body and a mild dose wears off in three to four hours.<ref name= "effects" /> Consumption of caffeine does not eliminate the need for sleep: it only temporarily reduces the sensation of being tired.

With these effects, caffeine is an [[ergogenic aid|ergogenic]]: increasing the capacity for mental or physical labor. A study conducted in 1979 showed a 7% increase in distance cycled over a period of two hours in subjects who consumed caffeine compared to control tests.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Ivy | first = JL | coauthors = Costill DL, Fink WJ, Lower RW | title = Influence of caffeine and carbohydrate feedings on endurance performance | journal = Med Sci Sports | volume = 11 | issue = 1 | pages = 6–11 | date = 1979 Spring | id = PMID 481158 }}</ref> Other studies attained much more dramatic results; one particular study of trained runners showed a 44% increase in "race-pace" endurance, as well as a 51% increase in cycling endurance, after a dosage of 9 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Graham | first = TE | coauthors = Spriet, LL | title = Performance and metabolic responses to a high caffeine dose during prolonged exercise | journal = J Appl Physiol | volume = 71 | issue = 6 | pages = 2292–8 | date = 1991 December | id = PMID 1778925 }}</ref> The extensive boost shown in the runners is not an isolated case; additional studies have reported similar effects. Another study found 5.5 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body mass resulted in subjects cycling 29% longer during high intensity circuits.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Trice | first = I | coauthors = Haymes, EM | title = Effects of caffeine ingestion on exercise-induced changes during high-intensity, intermittent exercise | journal = Int J Sport Nutr | volume = 5 | issue = 1 | pages = 37–44 | date = March 1995 | id = PMID 7749424 }}</ref>

Breathing problems in [[premature birth|premature]] infants, [[apnea of prematurity]], are sometimes treated with [[Caffeine citrate|citrated caffeine]], which is available only by [[medical prescription|prescription]] in many countries.<ref>{{cite web | title = Caffeine (Systemic) | publisher = MedlinePlus | date = 05/25/2000 | url = http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202105.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070223063601/http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202105.html |archivedate=2007-02-23 | accessdate = 2006-08-12 }}</ref> A reduction in [[bronchopulmonary dysplasia]] has been exhibited in premature infants treated with caffeine citrate therapy regimens. The only short term risk associated with this treatment is a temporary reduction in weight gain during the therapy.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Schmidt | first = B | coauthors = Roberts, RS, Davis, P, Doyle, LW, et al | title = Caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity | journal = N Engl J Med | volume = 354 | issue = 20 | pages = 2112–21|date = [[May 18]] [[2006]]}}</ref>

While relatively safe for humans, caffeine is considerably more toxic to some other animals such as dogs, horses and parrots due to a much poorer ability to metabolize this compound. Caffeine has a much more significant effect on [[spider]]s, for example, than most other drugs do.<ref>Noever, R., J. Cronise, and R. A. Relwani. 1995. Using spider-web patterns to determine toxicity. NASA Tech Briefs 19(4):82. Published in [[New Scientist]] magazine, [[27 April]] [[1995]].</ref> Another substance toxic to dogs, for the same reasons, is [[theobromine]] - found in [[chocolate]].

===Tolerance and withdrawal===
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="width: 35%; float: right; clear: right; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; font-size: 85%"
|+ Caffeine content of select common food and drugs.<ref name="Caffeine Content of Food and Drugs">{{cite web |title=Caffeine Content of Food and Drugs |work=Nutrition Action Health Newsletter |publisher=[[Center for Science in the Public Interest]] |date=December 1996 |url=http://www.cspinet.org/nah/caffeine/caffeine_content.htm |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070614144016/http://www.cspinet.org/nah/caffeine/caffeine_content.htm |archivedate=2007-06-14 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 }}</ref> <ref name="Erowid Caffeine Content">{{cite web |title=Caffeine Content of Beverages, Foods, & Medications |publisher=[[Erowid|The Vaults of Erowid]] |date=[[July 7]] [[2006]] |url=http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine_info1.shtml |accessdate=2006-08-22}}</ref>
 *This table assumes that coffee is drunk fairly strong, and tea very weak; as is normally the case in North America, and ignores other caffeine-like substances, for instance theobromine, present in some sources. 
|-
! Product
!width="26%"| Serving size
!width="12%"| Caffeine per serving ([[Kilogram#SI multiples|mg]])
!width="12%"| Caffeine per [[litre]] ([[Kilogram#SI multiples|mg]])
|-
| Caffeine tablet (regular strength)
| 1 tablet
| 100
| —
|-
| Caffeine tablet (extra strength)
| 1 tablet
| 200
| —
|-
| [[Excedrin]] tablet
| 1 tablet
| 65
| —
|-
| [[Chocolate]], Dark ([[Hershey's]] Special Dark)
| {{nowrap|1 bar (43 [[gram|g]]; 1.5 [[ounce|oz]])}}
| 31
| —
|-
| Chocolate, Milk (Hershey Bar)
| {{nowrap|1 bar (43 g; 1.5 oz)}}
| 10
| —
|-
| [[Coffee]], brewed
| {{nowrap|240 [[Milliliter#SI prefixes applied to the litre|mL]] (8 U.S. [[fluid ounce|fl oz]])}}
| 135*
| 563*
|-
| Coffee, [[decaffeinated]]
| {{nowrap|240 mL (8 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 5*
| 21*
|-
| Coffee, [[espresso]]
| {{nowrap|57 mL (2 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 100*
| 1750*
|-
| Tea, leaf or bag
| {{nowrap|240 mL (8 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 50*
| 208*
|-
| Tea, green
| {{nowrap|240 mL (8 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 30*
| 63*
|-
| Soft drink, [[Coca-Cola]] Classic
| {{nowrap|355 mL (12 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 34
| 96
|-
| Soft drink, [[Mountain Dew]]
| {{nowrap|355 mL (12 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 54.5
| 154
|-
| [[Mountain Dew AMP]]
| {{nowrap|473ml (16 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 142
| 300
|-
| Soft drink, [[Jolt Cola]]
| {{nowrap|694 mL (23.5 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 150
| 216
|-
| [[Red Bull]]
| {{nowrap|250 mL (8.2 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 80
| 320
|-
| Powershot
| {{nowrap|30 mL (1 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 100
| 3333
|-
| [[Cocaine Energy Drink]]
| {{nowrap|250 mL (8.4 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 280
| 1120
|-
| [[Wired Energy Drink|Wired X 344]]
| {{nowrap|344 mL (16 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 344
| 727
|-
| [[Rockstar Energy Drink]]
| {{nowrap|473 mL (16 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 160
| 338
|-
| [[Full Throttle (drink)|Full Throttle]]
| {{nowrap|473 mL (16 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 141
| 298
|-
| [[Bawls|Bawls Guarana]]
| {{nowrap|296 mL (10 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 67
| 226
|-
| Alcoholic drink, [[Buckfast Tonic Wine]]
| {{nowrap|750ml (24.6 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 281.25
| 375
|-
| [[Shock-A-Lots]] (Candy-Coated Chocolate-Covered Coffee Beans)
| {{nowrap|1 oz. pack}}
| 300
| —
|-
| [[Foosh| Foosh Energy Mints]]
| {{nowrap|one mint}}
| 102
| —
|}
Because caffeine is primarily an [[Receptor antagonist|antagonist]] of the central nervous system's receptors for the [[neurotransmitter]] [[adenosine]], the bodies of individuals who regularly consume caffeine adapt to the continual presence of the drug by substantially increasing the number of [[adenosine receptor]]s in the central nervous system. This increase in the number of the adenosine receptors makes the body much more sensitive to adenosine, with two primary consequences.<ref name="PMID 3003150">{{cite journal | last = Green | first = RM | coauthors = Stiles GL | title = Chronic caffeine ingestion sensitizes the A1 adenosine receptor-adenylate cyclase system in rat cerebral cortex | journal = J Clin Invest | volume = 77 | issue = 1 | pages = 222–227 | date = January 1986 | id = PMID 3003150 }}</ref> First, the stimulatory effects of caffeine are substantially reduced, a phenomenon known as a [[Drug tolerance|tolerance adaptation]]. Second, because these adaptive responses to caffeine make individuals much more sensitive to adenosine, a reduction in caffeine intake will effectively increase the normal physiological effects of adenosine, resulting in unwelcome withdrawal symptoms in tolerant users.<ref name="PMID 3003150"/>

Other research questions the idea that up-regulation of adenosine receptors is responsible for tolerance to the locomotor stimulant effects of caffeine, noting, among other things, that this tolerance is insurmountable by higher doses of caffeine (it should be surmountable if tolerance was due to an increase in receptors), and that the increase in adenosine receptor number is modest and doesn't explain the large tolerance which develops to caffeine.<ref name="pmid1846425">{{cite journal |author=Holtzman SG, Mante S, Minneman KP |title=Role of adenosine receptors in caffeine tolerance |journal=J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. |volume=256 |issue=1 |pages=62-8 |year=1991 |pmid=1846425 |doi=|url=http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=1846425}}</ref>

Caffeine tolerance develops very quickly, especially among heavy coffee and energy drink consumers. Complete tolerance to sleep disruption effects of caffeine develops after consuming 400 mg of caffeine 3 times a day for 7 days. Complete tolerance to subjective effects of caffeine was observed to develop after consuming 300 mg 3 times per day for 18 days, and possibly even earlier.<ref>[http://www.acnp.org/G4/GN401000165/CH161.html Caffeine - A Drug of Abuse?]</ref> Partial tolerance to caffeine has been observed in all other areas, studies with mice indicate that after a long period of caffeine exposure the learning benefits of caffeine observed earlier cannot be found to any significant level. Considering that 80% to 90% of American adults consume caffeine daily, and their mean daily caffeine intake exceeds 200 mg/day,<ref>[http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12355000/pdf/caffeine.PDF Intakes of Selenium, Caffeine, and Theobromine by Adults, 1994–1996]</ref> it can be surmised that a large fraction of the U.S. adult population is completely tolerant to most of the effects of caffeine.

Because adenosine, in part, serves to regulate blood pressure by causing [[vasodilation]], the increased effects of adenosine due to caffeine withdrawal cause the blood vessels of the head to dilate, leading to an excess of blood in the head and causing a [[headache]] and [[nausea]]. Reduced [[catecholamine]] activity may cause feelings of [[fatigue (physical)|fatigue]] and drowsiness. A reduction in serotonin levels when caffeine use is stopped can cause anxiety, irritability, inability to concentrate and diminished motivation to initiate or to complete daily tasks; in extreme cases it may cause mild [[Depression (mood)|depression]]. Together, these effects have come to be known as a "crash".<ref>[http://www.healthandgoodness.com/health/stimulants_risks.html Health risks of Stimulants, healthandgoodness.com]</ref>

[[Withdrawal]] symptoms—possibly including headache, irritability, an inability to concentrate, and stomach aches<ref>{{cite journal | last = Juliano | first = L M | title = A critical review of caffeine withdrawal: empirical validation of symptoms and signs, incidence, severity, and associated features. | journal = Psychopharmacology | volume = 176 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–29 | date = 21 September 2004 | doi=10.1007/s00213-004-2000-x }}</ref>—may appear within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of caffeine intake, peak at roughly 48 hours, and usually last from one to five days, representing the time required for the number of adenosine receptors in the brain to revert to "normal" levels, uninfluenced by caffeine consumption. Caffeine causes excess release of stomach acids during ingestion.<ref>{{cite journal
| author = Cohen S., Booth G. H.
| title = Gastric acid secretion and lower-esophageal-sphincter pressure in response to coffee and caffeine
| journal = The New England Journal of Medicine
| volume = 293
| issue = 18
| pages = 897–899
| year = 1975
| id = PMID 1177987
}}</ref> When in withdrawal the stomach acid levels decrease substantially and can cause some stomach aches in certain people.<ref>[http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=240&np=158&id=2003#7 Caffeine withdrawal, CYH]</ref> [[Analgesic]]s, such as [[aspirin]], can relieve the pain symptoms, as can a small dose of caffeine.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Sawynok | first = J | title = Pharmacological rationale for the clinical use of caffeine. | journal = Drugs | volume = 49 | issue = 1 | pages = 37–50 | date = January 1995 | id = PMID 7705215 | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> Most effective is a combination of both an analgesic and a small amount of caffeine.

This is not the only case where caffeine increases the effectiveness of a drug. Caffeine makes pain relievers 40% more effective in relieving headaches and helps the body absorb headache medications more quickly, bringing faster relief.<ref>{{cite web | title = Headache Triggers: Caffeine | publisher = WebMD | date = June 2004 | url = http://www.webmd.com/content/article/46/1826_50681.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> For this reason, many over-the-counter headache drugs include caffeine in their formula. It is also used with [[ergotamine]] in the treatment of [[migraine]] and [[cluster headaches]] as well as to overcome the drowsiness caused by [[antihistamine]]s.

===Overuse===
In large amounts, and especially over extended periods of time, caffeine can lead to a condition known as ''caffeinism.''<ref>{{cite journal | last = Mackay | first = DC | coauthors = Rollins JW. | title = Caffeine and caffeinism | journal = Journal of the Royal Naval Medical Service | volume = 75 | issue = 2 | pages = 65-7 |date=1989 Summer | id = PMID 2607498 }}</ref><ref name="BJoA">{{cite journal | last = James | first = JE | coauthors = KP Stirling | title = Caffeine: A summary of some of the known and suspected deleterious effects of habitual use | journal = British Journal of Addiction | volume = 78 | issue = 3 | pages = 251-8 |date=September 1983 | id = PMID 6354232 }}</ref> Caffeinism usually combines caffeine [[chemical dependency|dependency]] with a wide range of unpleasant physical and mental conditions including [[anxiety|nervousness]], [[irritability]], [[anxiety]], [[Tremor|tremulousness]], [[muscle twitching]] ([[hyperreflexia]]), [[insomnia]], [[headaches]], [[respiratory alkalosis]]<ref name="COAM">{{cite web | title = Caffeine overdose in an adolescent male | publisher = J Toxicol Clin Toxicol | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=3193494&query_hl=34&itool=pubmed_docsum|accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> and [[heart palpitation]]s.<ref name="EofMD">{{cite web | title = Caffeine-related disorders | publisher = Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders | url = http://www.minddisorders.com/Br-Del/Caffeine-related-disorders.html|accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> Furthermore, because caffeine increases the production of stomach acid, high usage over time can lead to [[peptic ulcer]]s, erosive [[esophagitis]], and [[gastroesophageal reflux disease]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) | publisher = Cedars-Sinai | url = http://www.csmc.edu/pf_5543.html | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> However, since both "regular" and decaffeinated coffees have been shown to stimulate the gastric mucosa and increase stomach acid secretion, caffeine is probably not the sole component of coffee responsible.<ref>{{cite web | title = Erowid Caffeine Vault: Effects | publisher = [[Erowid|The Vaults of Erowid]] | date = July 8, 2006 | url = http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine_effects.shtml | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref>

There are four caffeine-induced psychiatric disorders recognized by the ''[[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]], Fourth Edition'': caffeine intoxication, caffeine-induced anxiety disorder, [[caffeine-induced sleep disorder]], and caffeine-related disorder not otherwise specified (NOS).

===Caffeine intoxication===
An acute overdose of caffeine, usually in excess of 400 milligrams (more than 3–4 cups of brewed coffee), can result in a state of central nervous system overstimulation called caffeine intoxication. Some people seeking caffeine intoxication resort to [[insufflate|insufflation]] (snorting) of caffeine powder, usually finely crushed caffeine tablets. This induces a faster and more intense reaction. The symptoms of caffeine intoxication are not unlike overdoses of other [[stimulants]]. It may include restlessness, [[nervousness]], excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, [[diuresis|increased urination]], [[Gastrointestinal tract|gastrointestinal]] disturbance, [[fasciculation|muscle twitching]], a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, [[cardiac arrhythmia|irregular]] or [[tachycardia|rapid heart beat]], and [[psychomotor agitation]].<ref name="EofMD"> In cases of much larger overdoses [[mania]], [[depression (mood)|depression]], lapses in judgment, [[disorientation]], loss of social inhibition, [[delusions]], [[hallucinations]], [[psychosis]], [[rhabdomyolysis]], and [[death]] may occur.<ref>{{cite web | title = Caffeine overdose | publisher = MedlinePlus | date = 4/4/2006 | url = http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002579.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Kamijo | first = Y | coauthors = Soma K, Asari Y, Ohwada T | title = Severe rhabdomyolysis following massive ingestion of oolong tea: caffeine intoxication with coexisting hyponatremia | journal = Veterinary and Human Toxicology | volume = 41 | issue = 6 | pages = 381-3 | date = 1999 December | id = PMID 10592946 }}</ref>

In cases of extreme overdose, death can result. The median lethal dose ([[LD50|LD50]]) of caffeine is 192 milligrams per kilogram in rats.<ref>{{cite web | title = Erowid Caffeine Vault: Caffeine Dosage | publisher = [[Erowid|The Vaults of Erowid]] | date = July 8, 2006 | url = http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine_dose.shtml | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> The LD50 of caffeine in humans is dependent on weight and individual sensitivity and estimated to be about 150 to 200 milligrams per kilogram of body mass, roughly 80 to 100 cups of coffee for an average adult taken within a limited timeframe that is dependent on [[Biological halflife|half-life]]. Though achieving lethal dose with caffeine would be exceptionally difficult with regular coffee, there have been reported deaths from overdosing on caffeine pills, with serious symptoms of overdose requiring hospitalization occurring from as little as 2 grams of caffeine.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Kerrigan | first = S | coauthors = Lindsey T | title = Fatal caffeine overdose: two case reports | journal = Forensic Sci Int | volume = 153 | issue = 1 | pages = 67–69 | date = [[October 4]], [[2005]] | url = http://www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?A=ShowDoc1&ID=6700 |format=reprint |pmid=15935584 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Holmgren | first = P | coauthors = Nordén-Pettersson L, Ahlner J | title = Caffeine fatalities — four case reports | journal = Forensic Sci Int | volume = 139 | issue = 1 | pages = 71–73 | date = [[January 6]], [[2004]] | url = http://www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?A=ShowDoc1&ID=6702 |format=reprint |pmid=14687776 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Walsh | first = I | coauthors = Wasserman GS, Mestad P, Lanman RC | title = Near-fatal caffeine intoxication treated with peritoneal dialysis | journal = Pediatr Emerg Care | volume = 3 | issue = 4 | pages = 244-9 | date = December 1987 | id = PMID 3324064 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Mrvos | first = RM | coauthors = Reilly PE, Dean BS, Krenzelok EP | title = Massive caffeine ingestion resulting in death | journal = Vet Hum Toxicol | volume = 31 | issue = 6 | pages = 571-2 | date = December 1989 | id = PMID 2617841 }}</ref> Death typically occurs due to [[ventricular fibrillation]] brought about by effects of caffeine on the cardiovascular system.

Treatment of severe caffeine intoxication is generally supportive, providing treatment of the immediate symptoms, but if the patient has very high serum levels of caffeine then [[peritoneal dialysis]], [[hemodialysis]], or [[hemofiltration]] may be required.

===Anxiety and sleep disorders===
Long-term overuse of caffeine can elicit a number of psychiatric disturbances. Two such disorders recognized by the [[American Psychiatric Association]] (APA) are ''caffeine-induced sleep disorder'' and ''caffeine-induced anxiety disorder''.

In the case of caffeine-induced [[sleep disorder]], an individual regularly ingests high doses of caffeine sufficient to induce a significant disturbance in his or her sleep, sufficiently severe to warrant clinical attention.<ref name="DSM-IV">{{cite book | authorlink = http://www.psych.org/ | title = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth Edition.|publisher = [[American Psychiatric Association]] | date = 1994 | id = ISBN 0-89042-062-9 }}</ref>

In some individuals, the large amounts of caffeine can induce [[anxiety]] severe enough to necessitate clinical attention. This caffeine-induced [[anxiety disorder]] can take many forms, from [[general anxiety disorder|generalized anxiety]] to [[panic attack]]s, [[obsessive-compulsive]] symptoms, or even [[Phobia|phobic symptoms]].<ref name="DSM-IV"/> Because this condition can mimic organic mental disorders, such as [[panic disorder]], [[generalized anxiety disorder]], [[bipolar disorder]], or even [[schizophrenia]], a number of medical professionals believe caffeine-intoxicated people are routinely misdiagnosed and unnecessarily medicated when the treatment for caffeine-induced psychosis would simply be to withhold further caffeine.<ref>{{cite book | last = Shannon | first = MW | coauthors = Haddad LM, Winchester JF | title = Clinical Management of Poisoning and Drug Overdose, 3rd ed. | date = 1998 | id = ISBN 0-7216-6409-1 }}</ref> A study in the ''British Journal of Addiction'' concluded that caffeinism, although infrequently diagnosed, may afflict as many as one person in ten of the population.<ref name="BJoA">

===Parkinson's disease===
Several large studies have shown that caffeine intake is associated with a reduced risk of developing [[Parkinson's disease]] (PD) in men, but studies in women have been inconclusive.<ref>[http://www.researchmatters.harvard.edu/story.php?article_id=198 Effects of caffeine on Parkinson's disease, Harvard research]</ref> The mechanism by which caffeine affects PD remains a mystery. In animal models, researchers have shown that caffeine can prevent the loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells seen in Parkinson's Disease, but researchers still do not know how this occurs.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/news_article_parkinson_caffeine_hrt.htm | title=New Findings About Parkinson's Disease: Coffee and Hormones Don't Mix | publisher=[[NIH|National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke]]}}</ref>

===Effects on memory and learning===
An array of studies found that caffeine could induce certain changes in memory and learning. In one study, caffeine was added to rat neurons ''[[in vitro]]''. The [[dendritic spines]] (a part of the brain cell used in forming connections between neurons) taken from the [[hippocampus]] (a part of the brain associated with memory), grew by 33% and new spines formed. After an hour or two, however, these cells returned to their original shape.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/472473.stm | title=Caffeine clue to better memory |date=October 12, 1999 | publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

Another study showed that subjects—after receiving 100 milligrams of caffeine—had increased activity in brain regions located in the frontal lobe, where a part of the working memory network is located, and the [[anterior cingulum]], a part of the brain that controls attention. The caffeinated subjects also performed better on the memory tasks.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/Caffeine-Boosts-Short-Time-Memory-13828.shtml | title=Caffeine Boosts Short-Time Memory }}</ref>

However, a different study showed that caffeine could impair short term memory and increase the likelihood of the [[tip of the tongue]] phenomenon. The study allowed the researchers to suggest that caffeine could aid short-term memory when the information to be recalled is related to the current [[train of thought]], but also to hypothesize that caffeine hinders short-term memory when the train of thought is unrelated.<ref>{{cite news | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3909085.stm | title=A coffee can make you forgetful | date=20 July, 2004 | publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> In essence, focused thought coupled with caffeine consumption increases mental performance.

===Effects on the heart===

Caffeine increases the levels of cAMP in the heart cells, mimicking the effects of epinephrine. cAMP diffuses through the cell and acts as a "secondary messenger," activating protein kinase A (PKA; cAMP- dependent Protein Kinase). According to one study, caffeine, in the form of coffee, significantly reduces the risk of [[heart disease]] in epidemiological studies. However, the protective effect was found only in participants who were not severely [[hypertensive]] (i.e. patients that are not suffering from a very high blood pressure). Furthermore, no significant protective effect was found in participants aged less than 65 years or in [[cerebrovascular disease]] mortality for those aged equal or more than 65 years.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Greenberg | first = J.A. | coauthors = Dunbar, C.C.; Schnoll, R.; Kokolis, R.; Kokolis, S.; Kassotis, J. | year = 2007 | month = Feb | title = Caffeinated beverage intake and the risk of heart disease mortality in the elderly: a prospective analysis | journal = Am J Clin Nutr | volume = 85 | issue = 2 | pages = 392–398 | pmid = 17284734 | accessdate = 2007-02-26 }}</ref>

===Effects on children===

It is commonly believed that caffeine consumption causes stunted growth in children, but this is not supported by scientific research.<ref>{{cite web | title = Fact or fiction: Common diet myths dispelled | publisher = MSNBC | date = December 2006 | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16280050 | accessdate = 2007-05-10 }}</ref> However, just as with adults, there is legitimate reason to limit the amount consumed by children.<ref>{{cite web | title = Caffeine and Your Child | publisher = KidsHealth | date = January 2005 | url = http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/food/general/caffeine.html | accessdate = 2007-05-10 }}</ref>

===Caffeine intake during pregnancy===
The [[Food Standards Agency]] has recommended that pregnant women should limit their caffeine intake to less than 300 mg of caffeine a day – the equivalent of four cups of coffee a day. A higher intake may be associated with miscarriage.<ref>[http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2001/oct/caffeinepregnancy Agency issues caffeine advice to pregnant women]</ref>

==Extraction of pure caffeine==
{{main|Decaffeination}}
[[Image:Caffeine USP.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Anhydrous]] (dry) [[United States Pharmacopoeia|USP]]-grade caffeine]]

Pure caffeine is a white powder, and can be extracted from a variety of natural sources. Caffeine extraction is an important industrial process and can be performed using a number of different solvents. [[Benzene]], [[chloroform]], [[trichloroethylene]] and [[dichloromethane]] have all been used over the years but for reasons of safety, environmental impact, cost and flavor, they have been superseded by the following main methods:

===Water extraction===
Coffee beans are soaked in water. The water, which contains not only caffeine but also many other compounds which contribute to the flavor of coffee, is then passed through [[Activated carbon|activated charcoal]], which removes the caffeine. The water can then be put back with the beans and evaporated dry, leaving decaffeinated coffee with a good flavor.<ref name=Decaffeination>{{cite web |last=Senese | first=Fred | title=How is coffee decaffeinated? | publisher=General Chemistry Online | date=2005-09-20 | url=http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/consumer/faq/decaffeinating-coffee.shtml | accessdate=2006-08-21}}</ref> Coffee manufacturers recover the caffeine and resell it for use in soft drinks and over-the-counter [[caffeine tablets]].

===Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction===
[[Supercritical carbon dioxide]] is an excellent nonpolar solvent for caffeine (as well as many other organic compounds), and is safer than the organic solvents that are used for caffeine extraction. The extraction process is simple: CO2 is forced through the green coffee beans at temperatures above 31.1 °C and pressures above 73 [[Atmosphere (unit)|atm]]. Under these conditions, CO2 is in a "[[Supercritical fluid|supercritical]]" [[Phase (matter)|state]]: it has gaslike properties which allow it to penetrate deep into the beans but also liquid-like properties which dissolve 97–99% of the caffeine. The caffeine-laden CO2 is then sprayed with high pressure water to remove the caffeine. The caffeine can then be isolated by [[Activated carbon|charcoal adsorption]] (as above) or by [[distillation]], [[recrystallization]], or [[reverse osmosis]].<ref name=Decaffeination />

===Extraction by nonhazardous organic solvents===
Organic solvents such as [[ethyl acetate]] present much less health and environmental hazard than previously used chlorinated and aromatic solvents. The hydrolysis products of ethyl acetate are [[ethanol]] and [[acetic acid]], both nonhazardous in small quantities. Another method is to use triglyceride oils obtained from spent coffee grounds.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://purecaffeine.info/info.html Pure caffeine information]
* [http://home.howstuffworks.com/caffeine.htm Caffeine: How Stuff Works]
* [http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0501/feature1/index.html National Geographic January 2005]
* [http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine.shtml Erowid Caffeine Vaults]
* [http://www.caffeinated.jp/ #caffeine! - The Caffeine Information Archive]
* [http://www.thenakedscientists.com/html/columnists/dalyacolumn2.htm Naked Scientists Online: Why do plants make caffeine?]
* [http://www.benbest.com/health/caffeine.html Is Caffeine a Health Hazard?]
* [http://www.coffeefaq.com/caffaq.html The Coffee and Caffeine FAQ]
* [http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1997/11nov/caffeine.htm ''The Physician and Sportsmedicine'': Caffeine: A User's Guide]
* [http://www.garynull.com/Documents/CaffeineEffects.htm Caffeine: Psychological Effects, Use & Abuse]
* [http://historyofalcoholanddrugs.typepad.com/alcohol_and_drugs_history/caffeine/index.html Alcohol and Drugs History Society: Caffeine news page]
* [http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3115.htm eMedicine Caffeine-Related Psychiatric Disorders]
* [http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/CU21.html The Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs, Caffeine-Part 1] [http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/CU22.html Part 2]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6155178 Coffee: A Little Really Does Go a Long Way, NPR, [[September 28]], [[2006]]]
* [http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/09_29_04.html Caffeine Withdrawal Recognized as a Disorder]

===News===
*[http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=30d6d514-1c68-441a-bbec-5b80ae23627f&k=45911 National Post: Caffeine linked to psychiatric disorders]

==Appendix==
===Relative content: comparison of different sources===
{| class="toccolours" border="1" style="margin: 0 2em 1em 0; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%"
!Caffeine equivalents<ref name="Caffeine Content of Food and Drugs" /><ref name="Erowid Caffeine Content" />
|-
|In general, each of the following contains approximately 200 [[kilogram#SI multiples|milligrams]] of caffeine:
<div class="toccolors" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
* '''One''' 200 milligram caffeine pill
* '''One''' 12 [[fluid ounce]] cup of regular [[Starbucks]] coffee (355 [[Milliliter#SI prefixes applied to the litre|millilitres]])
* '''One and one quarter''' 16 fluid ounce cans of [[Monster Energy]] (590 millilitres)
* '''One and a half''' [[Pound (mass)|pound]]s of [[milk chocolate]][a] (680 [[gram]]s)
* '''Two''' 8 fluid ounce containers of regular [[coffee]] (470  millilitres)
* '''1/2 tube of '''Spazzstick Caffeinated Lip Balm'''
* '''Two''' [[Foosh Energy Mints]]
* '''Two''' [[Buzz Bites]] Chocolate Energy Chews[a]
* '''Two and a half''' 10 fluid ounce bottles of [[Bawls]] caffeinated drink (740 millilitres)
* '''Three''' standard [[Excedrin]] pills
* '''Three''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[Red Bull]] energy drink (710 millilitres)
* '''Four''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[Vault (soft drink)|Vault]] energy drink (1.0 [[litre]])
* '''Five''' 1 fluid ounce shots of [[espresso]] from [[Coffea canephora|robusta]] beans (150 millilitres)
* '''Five''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[black tea]][b] (1.2 litres)
* '''Five''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[Mountain Dew]] (1.2 litres)
* '''Five''' 12 fluid ounce cans of typical [[soda pop]] (1.8 litres) (variable)
* '''Eight and a half''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[Coca-Cola Classic]] (2.0 litres)
* '''Ten''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[green tea]][b] (2.4 litres)
* '''Fifty''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[decaf]]feinated coffee (12 litres)
</div>
Notes:

a. Chocolate and other products of [[cacao]] contain substantial quantities of other caffeine-like chemicals (especially [[theobromine]]) as well as actual caffeine. The properties of these substances are in at least some respects very similar to caffeine.

b. The figures are probably reasonably accurate for the very weak tea typically consumed in North America, but may be considerably understated for the much stronger tea drunk in some other places.
|}

{{Coffee}}
{{Stimulants}}
{{Psychostimulants, agents used for ADHD and nootropics}}
{{Featured article}}

[[Category:Caffeine| ]]
[[Category:Coffee]]
[[Category:Xanthines]]

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Caffeine

2007-10-12T19:46:04Z

Capi crimm:

<noinclude>{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}</noinclude>
{{otheruses}}
{{Chembox new
| Name = Caffeine
| ImageFile = Caffeine.svg
| ImageSize = 175px
| ImageName = Caffeine
| ImageFile1 = Caffeine-3D-QuteMol.png
| ImageSize1 = 135px
| ImageName1 = Caffeine
| IUPACName = 1,3,7-trimethyl-1''H''-purine-2,6(3''H'',7''H'')-dione
| OtherNames = 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine, trimethylxanthine, theine, methyltheobromine
| Section1 = {{Chembox Identifiers
| SMILES = C[n]1cnc2N(C)C(=O)N(C)C(=O)c12
| CASNo = 58-08-2
| RTECS = EV6475000
}}
| Section2 = {{Chembox Properties
| Formula = [[carbon|C]]8[[hydrogen|H]]10[[nitrogen|N]]4[[oxygen|O]]2
| MolarMass = 194.19 g·mol−1
| Appearance = Odorless, white needles or powder
| Density = 1.2 g·cm−3, solid
| Solubility = 22 mg·mL−1 (25 °C) 180 mg·mL−1 (80 °C) 670 mg·mL−1 (100 °C)
| MeltingPt = 237 °C (non-equilibrium, superheated)
| BoilingPt = 178 °C ([[sublimation (chemistry)|sublimes]])
}}
| Section7 = {{Chembox Hazards
| ExternalMSDS = [http://www.sciencestuff.com/msds/C1410.html External MSDS]
| MainHazards = May be fatal if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin.
| NFPA-H = 2
| NFPA-F = 1
| NFPA-R =
| FlashPt = N/A}}
}}
'''Caffeine''' is a [[xanthine]] [[alkaloid]] [[Chemical compound|compound]] that acts as a [[psychoactive]] [[stimulant]] in humans. The word comes from the French term for coffee, café.<ref> "Caffeine" in ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', Fourth Edition, 2000, [http://www.bartleby.com/61/80/C0018000.html]</ref> Caffeine is also called '''guaranine''' when found in [[guarana]], '''mateine''' when found in [[mate (beverage)|mate]], and '''theine''' when found in [[tea]]; all these names are considered chemical synonyms for the same chemical compound.

Caffeine is found in varying quantites in the [[bean]]s, [[leaf|leaves]], and [[fruit]] of over 60 [[plants]], where it acts as a natural [[pesticide]] that [[paralyze]]s and kills certain [[insect]]s feeding on the plants. It is most commonly consumed by humans in infusions extracted from the [[coffee bean|bean]]s of the [[Coffea arabica|coffee plant]] and the leaves of the [[Camellia sinensis|tea bush]], as well as from various foods and drinks containing products derived from the [[kola nut]] or from [[cacao]]. Other sources include [[yerba mate]], [[guarana]] berries, and the [[Yaupon Holly]].

In humans, caffeine is a [[central nervous system]] (CNS) [[stimulant]], having the effect of temporarily warding off [[drowsiness]] and restoring alertness. Beverages containing caffeine, such as [[coffee]], [[tea]], [[soft drink]]s and [[energy drink]]s enjoy great popularity; caffeine is the world's most widely consumed [[psychoactive substance]], but unlike most other psychoactive substances, it is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. In North America, 90% of adults consume caffeine daily.<ref name="demon drink">{{cite journal | last = Lovett | first = Richard | title = Coffee: The demon drink? | journal = New Scientist | issue = 2518|date = [[24 September]] [[2005]] }}</ref> The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists caffeine as a "Multiple Purpose Generally Recognized as Safe Food Substance".<ref name=GRAS">{{cite web |url=http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2003/aprqtr/21cfr182.1180.htm |title=21 CFR 182.1180 |accessdate=2007-02-16 |date=April 1, 2003 |work=U.S. [[Code of Federal Regulations]] |publisher=U.S. [[Office of the Federal Register]] |pages=462 }}</ref>

==Sources==
[[Image:Coffee beans.jpg|180px|left|thumb|Roasted coffee beans, the world's primary source of caffeine]]

Caffeine is a [[plant]] [[alkaloid]], found in numerous plant species, where it acts as a natural [[pesticide]] with high caffeine levels being reported in seedlings that are still developing foliages which are lacking in mechanical protection;<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Frischknecht
| first = P. M.
| authorlink = T. W. Baumann
| coauthors = [[J. Urmer-Dufek| Urmer-Dufek J]] and [[T.W. Baumann| Baumann T.W.]]
| title = Purine alkaloid formation in buds and developing leaflets of Coffea arabica: expression of an optimal defence strategy?
| journal = Phytochemistry
| volume = 25
| issue = 3
| pages = 613 - 616
| date = [[1986]]
| publisher = Journal of the Phytochemical Society of Europe and the Phytochemical Society of North America.
| url = http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6TH7-431C7JN-PW-1&_cdi=5275&_user=121707&_orig=browse&_coverDate=12%2F31%2F1986&_sk=999749996&view=c&wchp=dGLzVlz-zSkWA&md5=c6a5ac763c68cd7daca8d0279bd66d24&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
| format = [[PDF]]
| id = ISSN: 0031-9422 }}</ref> caffeine [[paralyze]]s and kills certain [[insect]]s feeding upon the plant.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Nathanson|first=J A|title=Caffeine and related methylxanthines: possible naturally occurring pesticides|journal=Science|volume=226|issue=4671|pages=184-187|date=[[12 October]] [[1984]]|id=PMID 6207592|url=http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/226/4671/184}}</ref> High caffeine levels have also been found in the surrounding soil of coffee bean seedlings, it is therefore understood that caffeine has a natural function in both a natural pesticide and as an inhibitor of seed germination of other nearby coffee seedlings<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Baumann
| first = T. W.
| authorlink = T. W. Baumann
| coauthors = [[H. Gabriel| Gabriel H.]]
| title = Metabolism and excretion of caffeine during germination of Coffea arabica L.
| journal = Plant and Cell Physiology
| volume = 25
| issue = 8
| pages = 1431 - 1436
| date = [[1984]]
| publisher = Oxford Journals
| url = http://pcp.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/25/8/1431
| format = [[PDF]]
| id = ISSN: 0032-0781 }}</ref> thus giving it a better chance of survival.

The most commonly used caffeine-containing plants are [[coffee]], [[tea]], and to a small extent [[cocoa]]. Other, less commonly used, sources of caffeine include the [[yerba mate]]<ref name=mateine>{{cite web | title = Does Yerba Maté Contain Caffeine or Mateine? | publisher = [[Erowid|The Vaults of Erowid]] | date = December 2003 | url = http://www.erowid.org/plants/yerba_mate/yerba_mate_chemistry1.shtml|accessdate = 2006-08-16 }}</ref> and [[guarana]] plants, which are sometimes used in the preparation of teas and energy drinks. Two of caffeine's alternative names, ''mateine''<ref>{{cite web | title = PubChem: mateina| publisher = National Library of Medicine | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pccompound&term=mateina | accessdate = 2006-08-16 }}. Generally translated as ''mateine'' in articles written in English</ref> and ''guaranine'',<ref>{{cite web | title = PubChem: guaranine | publisher = National Library of Medicine | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pccompound&term=guaranine | accessdate = 2006-08-16 }}</ref> are derived from the names of these plants. Some yerba mate enthusiasts assert that mateine is a [[stereoisomer]] of caffeine, which would make it a different substance altogether.<ref name=mateine/> However, caffeine is an [[Chirality (chemistry)|achiral]] molecule, and therefore has no stereoisomers. Many natural sources of caffeine also contain widely varying mixtures of other [[xanthine]] [[alkaloid]]s, including the [[cardiac]] stimulants [[theophylline]] and [[theobromine]] and other substances such as [[polyphenols]] which can form insoluble complexes with caffeine.<ref>Balentine DA, Harbowy ME and Graham HN, ''Tea: the Plant and its Manufacture; Chemistry and Consumption of the Beverage'' in Caffeine (1998), ed. G Spiller</ref>

The world's primary source of caffeine is the coffee bean (the seed of the [[Coffea|coffee plant]]), from which [[coffee]] is brewed. Caffeine content in coffee varies widely depending on the type of [[coffee bean]] and the method of preparation used;<ref name=ICO>{{cite web | title=Caffeine |publisher=International Coffee Organization | url=http://www.ico.org/caffeine.asp|accessdate=2006-08-21}}</ref> even beans within a given bush can show variations in concentration. In general, one serving of coffee ranges from 40 milligrams, for a single shot (30 milliliters) of ''arabica''-variety [[espresso]], to about 100 milligrams for a cup (120 milliliters) of drip coffee. Generally, dark-roast coffee has less caffeine than lighter roasts because the roasting process reduces the bean's caffeine content.<ref name=caffaq_roast>{{cite web | title=Coffee and Caffeine FAQ: Does dark roast coffee have less caffeine than light roast? | url=http://coffeefaq.com/site/node/15 | accessdate=2007-01-02}}</ref><ref name=jeremiahspick>{{cite web | title=All About Coffee: Caffeine Level | publisher=Jeremiah’s Pick Coffee Co | url=http://www.jeremiahspick.com/caffeine-e-13.html | accessdate=2007-06-14}}</ref> [[Coffea arabica|''Arabica'']] coffee normally contains less caffeine than the [[Coffea canephora|''robusta'']] variety.<ref name=ICO/> Coffee also contains trace amounts of [[theophylline]], but no [[theobromine]].

[[Tea]] is another common source of caffeine. Tea usually contains about half as much caffeine per serving as coffee, depending on the strength of the brew. Certain types of tea, such as [[black tea|black]] and [[oolong]], contain somewhat more caffeine than most other teas. Tea contains small amounts of theobromine and slightly higher levels of theophylline than coffee. Preparation has a significant impact on tea, and color is a very poor indicator of caffeine content.<ref>{{cite web|title=Caffeine in tea vs. steeping time|date=September 1996|url=http://www.nobleharbor.com/tea/caffiene.html|accessdate=2006-08-12}}</ref> Teas like the pale Japanese [[green tea]] [[gyokuro]], for example, contain far more caffeine than much darker teas like [[lapsang souchong]], which has very little.

Caffeine is also a common ingredient of [[soft drink]]s such as [[cola]], originally prepared from [[kola nut]]s. Soft drinks typically contain about 10 to 50 milligrams of caffeine per serving. By contrast, [[energy drink]]s such as [[Red Bull]] contain as much as 80 milligrams of caffeine per serving. The caffeine in these drinks either originates from the ingredients used or is an additive derived from the product of [[decaffeination]] or from chemical synthesis. [[Guarana]], a prime ingredient of energy drinks, contains large amounts of caffeine with small amounts of [[theobromine]] and [[theophylline]] in a naturally occurring [[slow-release]] [[excipient]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Haskell | first = CF | coauthors = Kennedy D, Wesnes KA, Milne AL, Scholey AB | title = A double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-dose evaluation of the acute behavioural effects of guarana in humans | journal = J Psychopharmacol | volume = 21 | issue = 1 | pages = 65–70 |date = January 2007 | pmid = 16533867 | accessdate = }}</ref>

[[Chocolate]] derived from [[cocoa]] contains a small amount of caffeine. The weak stimulant effect of chocolate may be due to a combination of [[theobromine]] and [[theophylline]] as well as caffeine.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Smit | first = HJ | coauthors = Gaffan EA, Rogers PJ. | title = Methylxanthines are the psycho-pharmacologically active constituents of chocolate | journal = Psychopharmacology | volume = 176 | issue = 3–4 | pages = 412-9 | date = 2004 Nov |pmid=15549276 }}</ref> Chocolate contains too little of these compounds for a reasonable serving to create effects in humans that are on par with [[coffee]]. A typical 28-gram serving of a milk [[chocolate bar]] has about as much caffeine as a cup of ''decaffeinated'' coffee.

==History==
[[Image:CoffeePalestineStereo.jpg|thumb|right|220px|A coffeehouse in Palestine, circa 1900]]
:''Main articles: [[Cocoa#History|History of cocoa]], [[History of coffee]], [[Tea#Origin and early history in Asia|Origin and early history of tea]]''
Humans have consumed caffeine since the [[Stone Age]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Escohotado | first = Antonio | coauthors = Ken Symington | title = A Brief History of Drugs: From the Stone Age to the Stoned Age | publisher = Park Street Press | date = May 1999 | id = ISBN 0-89281-826-3 }}</ref> Early peoples found that chewing the seeds, bark, or leaves of certain plants had the effects of easing fatigue, stimulating awareness, and elevating mood. Only much later was it found that the effect of caffeine was increased by steeping such plants in hot water. Many cultures have legends that attribute the discovery of such plants to people living many thousands of years ago.

According to one popular Chinese legend, the [[Emperor of China]] [[Shennong]], reputed to have reigned in about 3,000 BC, accidentally discovered that when some leaves fell into boiling water, a fragrant and restorative [[caffeinated drink|drink]] resulted.<ref>Chow p. 19–20 (Czech edition); also Arcimovicova p. 9, Evans p. 2 and others</ref> Shennong is also mentioned in Lu Yu's ''Cha Jing'', a famous early work on the subject of tea.<ref>{{cite book | last = Yu | first = Lu | title = The Classic of Tea: Origins & Rituals | publisher = Ecco Pr; Reissue edition |date=October 1995 | url = http://www.amazon.com/dp/0880014164/ | id = ISBN 0-88001-416-4 }}</ref>
The history of coffee has been recorded as far back as the ninth century. During that time, coffee beans were available only in their native habitat, [[Ethiopia]]. A popular legend traces its discovery to a [[goatherder]] named [[Kaldi]], who apparently observed goats that became elated and sleepless at night after browsing on coffee shrubs and, upon trying the berries that the goats had been eating, experienced the same vitality. The earliest literary mention of coffee may be a reference to Bunchum in the works of the 9th century [[Persian people|Persian]] physician [[al-Razi]]. In 1587, [[Malaye Jaziri]] compiled a work tracing the history and legal controversies of coffee, entitled "Umdat al safwa fi hill al-qahwa". In this work, Jaziri recorded that one [[Sheikh]], Jamal-al-Din al-Dhabhani, [[mufti]] of [[Aden]], was the first to adopt the use of coffee in 1454, and that in the 15th century the [[sufism|Sufis]] of [[Yemen]] routinely used coffee to stay awake during prayers.

Towards the close of the 16th century, the use of coffee was recorded by a [[Europe]]an resident in [[Egypt]], and about this time it came into general use in the [[Near East]]. The appreciation of coffee as a beverage in Europe, where it was first known as "Arabian wine," dates from the 17th century. During this time "[[coffee house]]s" were established, the first being opened in [[Constantinople]] and [[Venice]]. In Britain, the first coffee houses were opened in [[London]] in 1652, at St Michael's Alley, [[Cornhill]]. They soon became popular throughout [[Western Europe]], and played a significant role in [[social relation]]s in the 17th and 18th centuries.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = Coffee | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica | date = 1911}}</ref>

The [[kola nut]], like the coffee berry and tea leaf, appears to have ancient origins. It is chewed in many [[West Africa]]n cultures, individually or in a social setting, to restore vitality and ease hunger pangs. In 1911, kola became the focus of one of the earliest documented health scares when the US government seized 40 barrels and 20 kegs of [[Coca-Cola]] syrup in [[Chattanooga, Tennessee]], alleging that the caffeine in its drink was "injurious to health".<ref>{{cite journal | last = Benjamin | first = LT Jr | coauthors = Rogers AM, Rosenbaum A | title = Coca-Cola, caffeine, and mental deficiency: Harry Hollingworth and the Chattanooga trial of 1911 | journal = J Hist Behav Sci | volume = 27 | issue = 1 | pages = 42–55 | date = 1991 January | id = PMID 2010614 | accessdate = }}</ref> On [[March 13]], [[1911]], the government initiated ''The [[United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola]]'', hoping to force Coca-Cola to remove caffeine from its formula by making claims, such as that the excessive use of Coca-Cola at one girls' school led to "wild nocturnal freaks, violations of college rules and female proprieties, and even immoralities."<ref>{{cite web | last = Jarvis | first = Gail | title = The Rise and Fall of Cocaine Cola | date = [[May 21]] [[2002]] | url = http://www.lewrockwell.com/jarvis/jarvis17.html|accessdate = 2006-08-19 }}</ref> Although the judge ruled in favor of Coca-Cola, two bills were introduced to the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] in 1912 to amend the [[Pure Food and Drug Act]], adding caffeine to the list of "habit-forming" and "deleterious" substances which must be listed on a product's label.

The earliest evidence of [[cocoa]] use comes from residue found in an [[Maya civilization|ancient Maya]]n pot dated to 600 BC. In the New World, chocolate was consumed in a bitter and spicy drink called ''xocoatl'', often seasoned with [[vanilla]], [[chile pepper]], and [[achiote]]. Xocoatl was believed to fight fatigue, a belief that is probably attributable to the [[theobromine]] and caffeine content. Chocolate was an important luxury good throughout [[pre-Columbian]] [[Mesoamerica]], and cocoa beans were often used as currency.

Chocolate was introduced to [[Europe]] by the [[Spanish people|Spaniard]]s and became a popular beverage by 1700. They also introduced the [[cacao]] tree into the [[West Indies]] and the [[Philippines]]. It was used in [[alchemy|alchemical]] processes, where it was known as Black Bean.

In 1819, the [[Germany|German]] chemist [[Friedrich Ferdinand Runge]] isolated relatively pure caffeine for the first time. According to Runge, he did this at the behest of [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]].<ref name=weinberg>{{cite book | last = Weinberg | first = BA | coauthors = BK Bealer | title = The World of Caffeine | publisher = Routledge | date = January 2001 | id = ISBN 0-415-92722-6 }}</ref> In 1927, Oudry isolated "theine" from tea, but it was later proved by [[Gerardus Johannes Mulder|Mulder]] and Jobat that theine was the same as caffeine.<ref name=weinberg/> The structure of caffeine was elucidated near the end of the 19th century by [[Hermann Emil Fischer]], who was also the first to achieve its [[total synthesis]].<ref>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1902/press.html Nobel Prize Presentation Speech by Professor Hj. Théel, President of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences on December 10, 1902.]</ref> This was part of the work for which Fischer was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1902.

Today, global consumption of caffeine has been estimated at 120,000 tons per annum,<ref name="abc.net">{{cite web | title = What's your poison: caffeine | publisher = Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date = 1997 | url = http://www.abc.net.au/quantum/poison/caffeine/caffeine.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-20 }}</ref> making it the world's most popular psychoactive substance. This number equates to one serving of a caffeine beverage for every person, per day. In North America, 90% of adults consume some amount of caffeine daily.<ref name="demon drink"/>

==Pharmacology==
Caffeine is a [[central nervous system]] and metabolic stimulant,<ref>{{cite journal | last = Nehlig | first = A | coauthors = Daval JL, Debry G | title = Caffeine and the central nervous system: Mechanisms of action, biochemical, metabolic, and psychostimulant effects | journal = Brain Res Rev | volume = 17 | issue = 2 | pages = 139-70 | date = 1992 May-Aug | id = PMID 1356551 }}</ref> and is used both recreationally and medically to reduce physical fatigue and restore mental alertness when unusual weakness or drowsiness occurs. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system first at the higher levels, resulting in increased alertness and wakefulness, faster and clearer flow of thought, increased focus, and better general body coordination, and later at the spinal cord level at higher doses.<ref name="effects">{{cite journal | last = Bolton, Ph.D. | first = Sanford | coauthors = Gary Null, M.S. | title = Caffeine: Psychological Effects, Use and Abuse | journal = Orthomolecular Psychiatry | volume = 10 | issue = 3 | pages = 202–211 | date = 1981 | url = http://www.garynull.com/Documents/CaffeineEffects.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-12 }}</ref> Once inside the body, it has a complex chemistry, and acts through several mechanisms as described below.

===Metabolism===
[[Image:Caffeine metabolites.svg|thumb|right|350px|Caffeine is metabolized in the liver into three primary metabolites:
[[paraxanthine]] (84%), [[theobromine]] (12%), and [[theophylline]] (4%)]]
Caffeine is completely absorbed by the stomach and small intestine within 45 minutes of ingestion. After ingestion it is distributed throughout all tissues of the body and is eliminated by [[Rate equation|first-order kinetics]].<ref>{{cite journal | last = Newton | first = R | coauthors = Broughton LJ, Lind MJ, Morrison PJ, Rogers HJ, Bradbrook ID | title = Plasma and salivary pharmacokinetics of caffeine in man | journal = European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology | volume = 21 | issue = 1 | pages = 45–52 | date = 1981 | id = PMID 7333346 }}</ref>

The [[Biological half-life|half-life]] of caffeine—the time required for the body to eliminate one-half of the total amount of caffeine consumed at a given time—varies widely among individuals according to such factors as age, liver function, pregnancy, some concurrent medications, and the level of enzymes in the liver needed for caffeine metabolism. In healthy adults, caffeine's half-life is approximately 3–4 hours. In women taking oral contraceptives this is increased to 5–10 hours,<ref>{{cite journal | last = Meyer | first = FP | coauthors = Canzler E, Giers H, Walther H. | title = Time course of inhibition of caffeine elimination in response to the oral depot contraceptive agent Deposiston. Hormonal contraceptives and caffeine elimination | journal = Zentralbl Gynakol | volume = 113 | issue = 6 | pages = 297–302 | date = 1991 | id = PMID 2058339 }}</ref> and in pregnant women the half-life is roughly 9–11 hours.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Ortweiler | first = W | coauthors = Simon HU, Splinter FK, Peiker G, Siegert C, Traeger A. | title = Determination of caffeine and metamizole elimination in pregnancy and after delivery as an in vivo method for characterization of various cytochrome p-450 dependent biotransformation reactions | journal = Biomed Biochim Acta. | volume = 44 | issue = 7–8 | pages = 1189–99 | date = 1985 | id = PMID 4084271 }}</ref> Caffeine can accumulate in individuals with severe [[liver disease]] when its half-life can increase to 96 hours.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Bolton, Ph.D. | first = Sanford | coauthors = Gary Null, M.S. | title = Caffeine: Psychological Effects, Use and Abuse | journal = Orthomolecular Psychiatry | volume = 10 | issue = 3 | pages = 202–211 | date = 1981 | url = http://www.garynull.com/Documents/CaffeineEffects.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> In infants and young children, the half-life may be longer than in adults; half-life in a newborn baby may be as long as 30 hours. Other factors such as smoking can shorten caffeine's half-life.<ref>{{cite book | last = Springhouse | title = Physician's Drug Handbook; 11th edition | publisher = Lippincott Williams & Wilkins|date = [[January 1]] [[2005]] | id = ISBN 1-58255-396-3 }}</ref>

Caffeine is metabolized in the [[liver]] by the [[cytochrome P450 oxidase]] enzyme system (specifically, the [[CYP1A2|1A2]] isozyme) into three [[metabolism|metabolic]] [[xanthine|dimethylxanthines]],<ref>
{{cite web | title = Caffeine | publisher = The Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics Knowledge Base | url = http://www.pharmgkb.org/do/serve?objId=464&objCls=DrugProperties#biotransformationData | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> which each have their own effects on the body:
* [[Paraxanthine]] (84%): Has the effect of increasing [[lipolysis]], leading to elevated [[glycerol]] and free [[fatty acid]] levels in the [[blood plasma]].
* [[Theobromine]] (12%): Dilates [[blood vessel]]s and increases [[urine]] volume. Theobromine is also the principal alkaloid in [[cocoa]], and therefore [[chocolate]].
* [[Theophylline]] (4%): Relaxes [[smooth muscle]]s of the [[bronchus|bronchi]], and is used to treat [[asthma]]. The therapeutic dose of theophylline, however, is many times greater than the levels attained from caffeine metabolism.

Each of these metabolites is further metabolized and then excreted in the urine.

===Mechanism of action===
[[Image:Caffeine and adenosine.svg|thumb|left|350px|Caffeine's principal mode of action is as an [[Receptor antagonist|antagonist]] of [[adenosine]] receptors in the brain. They are presented here side by side for comparison.]]

Caffeine acts through multiple mechanisms involving both action on receptors and channels on the cell membrane, as well as intracellular action on calcium and [[cAMP]] pathways. By virtue of its [[purine]] structure it can act on some of the same targets as adenosine related nucleosides and nucleotides, like the cell surface P1 [[GPCR]]s for adenosine, as well as the intracellular [[Ryanodine receptor]] (RyR) which is the physiological target of cADPR ([[cyclic ADP-ribose]]), and [[phosphodiesterase|cAMP-phosphodiesterase]] (cAMP-PDE). Although the action is [[agonist]]ic in some cases, it is [[Receptor antagonist|antagonist]]ic in others. Physiologically, however, caffeine action is unlikely due to increased RyR opening, as it requires plasma concentration above lethal dosage. The action is most likely through adenosine receptors.

Like alcohol, nicotine, and antidepressants, caffeine readily crosses the [[blood brain barrier]]. Once in the brain, the principal mode of action of caffeine is as an [[Receptor antagonist|antagonist]] of [[adenosine receptor]]s found in the brain.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Fisone G | first = G | coauthors = Borgkvist A, Usiello A | title = Caffeine as a psychomotor stimulant: mechanism of action | journal = Cell Mol Life Sci | volume = 61 | issue = 7–8 | pages = 857-72 | date = 2004 April | id = PMID 15095008 | url = http://www.springerlink.com/content/605nwu366ay2c6xt/ }}</ref> The caffeine molecule is structurally similar to [[adenosine]], and binds to adenosine receptors on the surface of cells without activating them (an "antagonist" mechanism of action). Therefore, caffeine acts as a [[competitive inhibitor]]. The reduction in adenosine activity results in increased activity of the [[neurotransmitter]] [[dopamine]], largely accounting for the stimulatory effects of caffeine. Caffeine can also increase levels of [[epinephrine|epinephrine/adrenaline]],<ref>{{cite journal | author = Graham T, Rush J, van Soeren M | title = Caffeine and exercise: metabolism and performance. | journal = Can J Appl Physiol | volume = 19 | issue = 2 | pages = 111-38 | year = 1994|id = PMID 8081318}}</ref> possibly via a different mechanism. Acute usage of caffeine also increases levels of [[serotonin]], causing positive changes in mood.<ref name="in da brain">{{cite journal | author = Fredholm B, Bättig K, Holmén J, Nehlig A, Zvartau E | title = Actions of caffeine in the brain with special reference to factors that contribute to its widespread use. | journal = Pharmacol Rev | volume = 51 | issue = 1 | pages = 83–133 | year = 1999|id = PMID 10049999}}''[http://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/full/51/1/83 Full text]''</ref>


Caffeine is also a known competitive inhibitor of the enzyme [[phosphodiesterase|cAMP-phosphodiesterase]] (cAMP-PDE), which converts [[Cyclic adenosine monophosphate|cyclic AMP]] (cAMP) in cells to its noncyclic form, allowing cAMP to build up in cells. Cyclic AMP participates in activation of [[Protein Kinase A]] (PKA) to begin the phosphorylation of specific enzymes used in glucose synthesis. By blocking its removal caffeine intensifies and prolongs the effects of [[epinephrine]] and epinephrine-like drugs such as [[amphetamine]], [[methamphetamine]], or [[methylphenidate]]. Increased concentrations of cAMP in [[parietal cell]]s causes an increased activation of [[CAMP-dependent protein kinase|protein kinase A]] (PKA) which in turn increases activation of [[Hydrogen potassium ATPase|H+/K+ ATPase]], resulting finally in increased [[gastric acid]] secretion by the cell.

Caffeine (and theophylline) can freely diffuse into cells and causes intracellular calcium release (independent of extracellular calcium) from the calcium stores in the [[Endoplasmic Reticulum]](ER). This release is only partially blocked by Ryanodine receptor blockade with [[ryanodine]], [[dantrolene]], [[ruthenium red]], and [[procaine]] (thus may involve [[ryanodine receptor]] and probably some additional calcium channels), but completely abolished after calcium depletion of ER by [[SERCA]] inhibitors like [[Thapsigargin]] (TG) or [[cyclopiazonic acid]] (CPA).<ref>{{cite journal | author = Verkhratsky A. | title = Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Calcium Store in the Endoplasmic Reticulum of Neurons | journal = Physiol. Rev. | volume = 85 | issue = 1 | pages = 201–279 | year = 2005|doi = 10.1152/physrev.00004.2004}}</ref> The action of caffeine on the ryanodine receptor may depend on both cytosolic and the luminal ER concentrations of Ca2+. At low millimolar concentration of caffeine, the RyR channel open probability (Po) is significantly increased mostly due to a shortening of the lifetime of the closed state. At concentrations >5 mM, caffeine opens RyRs even at picomolar cytosolic Ca2+ and dramatically increases the open time of the channel so that the calcium release is stronger than even an action potential can generate. This mode of action of caffeine is probably due to mimicking the action of the physiologic metabolite of NAD called cADPR ([[cyclic ADP ribose]]) which has a similar potentiating action on [[Ryanodine receptor]]s.

Caffeine may also directly inhibit delayed rectifier and A-type K+ currents and activate plasmalemmal Ca2+ influx in certain vertebrate and invertebrate neurons.

The metabolites of caffeine contribute to caffeine's effects. Theobromine is a [[vasodilation|vasodilator]] that increases the amount of oxygen and nutrient flow to the brain and muscles. Theophylline, the second of the three primary metabolites, acts as a smooth [[muscle relaxant]] that chiefly affects [[bronchiole]]s and acts as a [[chronotropic|chronotrope]] and [[inotrope]] that increases heart rate and efficiency. The third metabolic derivative, paraxanthine, is responsible for an increase in the [[lipolysis]] process, which releases [[glycerol]] and [[fatty acids]] into the blood to be used as a source of fuel by the muscles.<ref>{{cite book | last = Dews | first = P.B. | title = Caffeine: Perspectives from Recent Research | publisher = Berlin: Springer-Valerag | date = 1984 | id = ISBN 978-0387135328 }}</ref>

[[Image:Caffeinated spiderwebs.jpg|170px|left|thumb|Caffeine has a significant effect on [[spider]]s, which is reflected in their [[spider web|web]] construction]]

===Effects when taken in moderation===
The precise amount of caffeine necessary to produce effects varies from person to person depending on body size and degree of tolerance to caffeine. It takes less than an hour for caffeine to begin affecting the body and a mild dose wears off in three to four hours.<ref name= "effects" /> Consumption of caffeine does not eliminate the need for sleep: it only temporarily reduces the sensation of being tired.

With these effects, caffeine is an [[ergogenic aid|ergogenic]]: increasing the capacity for mental or physical labor. A study conducted in 1979 showed a 7% increase in distance cycled over a period of two hours in subjects who consumed caffeine compared to control tests.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Ivy | first = JL | coauthors = Costill DL, Fink WJ, Lower RW | title = Influence of caffeine and carbohydrate feedings on endurance performance | journal = Med Sci Sports | volume = 11 | issue = 1 | pages = 6–11 | date = 1979 Spring | id = PMID 481158 }}</ref> Other studies attained much more dramatic results; one particular study of trained runners showed a 44% increase in "race-pace" endurance, as well as a 51% increase in cycling endurance, after a dosage of 9 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Graham | first = TE | coauthors = Spriet, LL | title = Performance and metabolic responses to a high caffeine dose during prolonged exercise | journal = J Appl Physiol | volume = 71 | issue = 6 | pages = 2292–8 | date = 1991 December | id = PMID 1778925 }}</ref> The extensive boost shown in the runners is not an isolated case; additional studies have reported similar effects. Another study found 5.5 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body mass resulted in subjects cycling 29% longer during high intensity circuits.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Trice | first = I | coauthors = Haymes, EM | title = Effects of caffeine ingestion on exercise-induced changes during high-intensity, intermittent exercise | journal = Int J Sport Nutr | volume = 5 | issue = 1 | pages = 37–44 | date = March 1995 | id = PMID 7749424 }}</ref>

Breathing problems in [[premature birth|premature]] infants, [[apnea of prematurity]], are sometimes treated with [[Caffeine citrate|citrated caffeine]], which is available only by [[medical prescription|prescription]] in many countries.<ref>{{cite web | title = Caffeine (Systemic) | publisher = MedlinePlus | date = 05/25/2000 | url = http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202105.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070223063601/http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/uspdi/202105.html |archivedate=2007-02-23 | accessdate = 2006-08-12 }}</ref> A reduction in [[bronchopulmonary dysplasia]] has been exhibited in premature infants treated with caffeine citrate therapy regimens. The only short term risk associated with this treatment is a temporary reduction in weight gain during the therapy.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Schmidt | first = B | coauthors = Roberts, RS, Davis, P, Doyle, LW, et al | title = Caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity | journal = N Engl J Med | volume = 354 | issue = 20 | pages = 2112–21|date = [[May 18]] [[2006]]}}</ref>

While relatively safe for humans, caffeine is considerably more toxic to some other animals such as dogs, horses and parrots due to a much poorer ability to metabolize this compound. Caffeine has a much more significant effect on [[spider]]s, for example, than most other drugs do.<ref>Noever, R., J. Cronise, and R. A. Relwani. 1995. Using spider-web patterns to determine toxicity. NASA Tech Briefs 19(4):82. Published in [[New Scientist]] magazine, [[27 April]] [[1995]].</ref> Another substance toxic to dogs, for the same reasons, is [[theobromine]] - found in [[chocolate]].

===Tolerance and withdrawal===
{| class="sortable wikitable" style="width: 35%; float: right; clear: right; margin: 0 0 0.5em 1em; font-size: 85%"
|+ Caffeine content of select common food and drugs.<ref name="Caffeine Content of Food and Drugs">{{cite web |title=Caffeine Content of Food and Drugs |work=Nutrition Action Health Newsletter |publisher=[[Center for Science in the Public Interest]] |date=December 1996 |url=http://www.cspinet.org/nah/caffeine/caffeine_content.htm |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070614144016/http://www.cspinet.org/nah/caffeine/caffeine_content.htm |archivedate=2007-06-14 | accessdate = 2006-08-22 }}</ref> <ref name="Erowid Caffeine Content">{{cite web |title=Caffeine Content of Beverages, Foods, & Medications |publisher=[[Erowid|The Vaults of Erowid]] |date=[[July 7]] [[2006]] |url=http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine_info1.shtml |accessdate=2006-08-22}}</ref>
 *This table assumes that coffee is drunk fairly strong, and tea very weak; as is normally the case in North America, and ignores other caffeine-like substances, for instance theobromine, present in some sources. 
|-
! Product
!width="26%"| Serving size
!width="12%"| Caffeine per serving ([[Kilogram#SI multiples|mg]])
!width="12%"| Caffeine per [[litre]] ([[Kilogram#SI multiples|mg]])
|-
| Caffeine tablet (regular strength)
| 1 tablet
| 100
| —
|-
| Caffeine tablet (extra strength)
| 1 tablet
| 200
| —
|-
| [[Excedrin]] tablet
| 1 tablet
| 65
| —
|-
| [[Chocolate]], Dark ([[Hershey's]] Special Dark)
| {{nowrap|1 bar (43 [[gram|g]]; 1.5 [[ounce|oz]])}}
| 31
| —
|-
| Chocolate, Milk (Hershey Bar)
| {{nowrap|1 bar (43 g; 1.5 oz)}}
| 10
| —
|-
| [[Coffee]], brewed
| {{nowrap|240 [[Milliliter#SI prefixes applied to the litre|mL]] (8 U.S. [[fluid ounce|fl oz]])}}
| 135*
| 563*
|-
| Coffee, [[decaffeinated]]
| {{nowrap|240 mL (8 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 5*
| 21*
|-
| Coffee, [[espresso]]
| {{nowrap|57 mL (2 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 100*
| 1750*
|-
| Tea, leaf or bag
| {{nowrap|240 mL (8 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 50*
| 208*
|-
| Tea, green
| {{nowrap|240 mL (8 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 30*
| 63*
|-
| Soft drink, [[Coca-Cola]] Classic
| {{nowrap|355 mL (12 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 34
| 96
|-
| Soft drink, [[Mountain Dew]]
| {{nowrap|355 mL (12 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 54.5
| 154
|-
| [[Mountain Dew AMP]]
| {{nowrap|473ml (16 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 142
| 300
|-
| Soft drink, [[Jolt Cola]]
| {{nowrap|694 mL (23.5 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 150
| 216
|-
| [[Red Bull]]
| {{nowrap|250 mL (8.2 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 80
| 320
|-
| Powershot
| {{nowrap|30 mL (1 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 100
| 3333
|-
| [[Cocaine Energy Drink]]
| {{nowrap|250 mL (8.4 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 280
| 1120
|-
| [[Wired X 344]]
| {{nowrap|344 mL (16 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 344
| 727
|-
| [[Rockstar Energy Drink]]
| {{nowrap|473 mL (16 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 160
| 338
|-
| [[Full Throttle (drink)|Full Throttle]]
| {{nowrap|473 mL (16 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 141
| 298
|-
| [[Bawls|Bawls Guarana]]
| {{nowrap|296 mL (10 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 67
| 226
|-
| Alcoholic drink, [[Buckfast Tonic Wine]]
| {{nowrap|750ml (24.6 U.S. fl oz)}}
| 281.25
| 375
|-
| [[Shock-A-Lots]] (Candy-Coated Chocolate-Covered Coffee Beans)
| {{nowrap|1 oz. pack}}
| 300
| —
|-
| [[Foosh| Foosh Energy Mints]]
| {{nowrap|one mint}}
| 102
| —
|}
Because caffeine is primarily an [[Receptor antagonist|antagonist]] of the central nervous system's receptors for the [[neurotransmitter]] [[adenosine]], the bodies of individuals who regularly consume caffeine adapt to the continual presence of the drug by substantially increasing the number of [[adenosine receptor]]s in the central nervous system. This increase in the number of the adenosine receptors makes the body much more sensitive to adenosine, with two primary consequences.<ref name="PMID 3003150">{{cite journal | last = Green | first = RM | coauthors = Stiles GL | title = Chronic caffeine ingestion sensitizes the A1 adenosine receptor-adenylate cyclase system in rat cerebral cortex | journal = J Clin Invest | volume = 77 | issue = 1 | pages = 222–227 | date = January 1986 | id = PMID 3003150 }}</ref> First, the stimulatory effects of caffeine are substantially reduced, a phenomenon known as a [[Drug tolerance|tolerance adaptation]]. Second, because these adaptive responses to caffeine make individuals much more sensitive to adenosine, a reduction in caffeine intake will effectively increase the normal physiological effects of adenosine, resulting in unwelcome withdrawal symptoms in tolerant users.<ref name="PMID 3003150"/>

Other research questions the idea that up-regulation of adenosine receptors is responsible for tolerance to the locomotor stimulant effects of caffeine, noting, among other things, that this tolerance is insurmountable by higher doses of caffeine (it should be surmountable if tolerance was due to an increase in receptors), and that the increase in adenosine receptor number is modest and doesn't explain the large tolerance which develops to caffeine.<ref name="pmid1846425">{{cite journal |author=Holtzman SG, Mante S, Minneman KP |title=Role of adenosine receptors in caffeine tolerance |journal=J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. |volume=256 |issue=1 |pages=62-8 |year=1991 |pmid=1846425 |doi=|url=http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/pmidlookup?view=long&pmid=1846425}}</ref>

Caffeine tolerance develops very quickly, especially among heavy coffee and energy drink consumers. Complete tolerance to sleep disruption effects of caffeine develops after consuming 400 mg of caffeine 3 times a day for 7 days. Complete tolerance to subjective effects of caffeine was observed to develop after consuming 300 mg 3 times per day for 18 days, and possibly even earlier.<ref>[http://www.acnp.org/G4/GN401000165/CH161.html Caffeine - A Drug of Abuse?]</ref> Partial tolerance to caffeine has been observed in all other areas, studies with mice indicate that after a long period of caffeine exposure the learning benefits of caffeine observed earlier cannot be found to any significant level. Considering that 80% to 90% of American adults consume caffeine daily, and their mean daily caffeine intake exceeds 200 mg/day,<ref>[http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/12355000/pdf/caffeine.PDF Intakes of Selenium, Caffeine, and Theobromine by Adults, 1994–1996]</ref> it can be surmised that a large fraction of the U.S. adult population is completely tolerant to most of the effects of caffeine.

Because adenosine, in part, serves to regulate blood pressure by causing [[vasodilation]], the increased effects of adenosine due to caffeine withdrawal cause the blood vessels of the head to dilate, leading to an excess of blood in the head and causing a [[headache]] and [[nausea]]. Reduced [[catecholamine]] activity may cause feelings of [[fatigue (physical)|fatigue]] and drowsiness. A reduction in serotonin levels when caffeine use is stopped can cause anxiety, irritability, inability to concentrate and diminished motivation to initiate or to complete daily tasks; in extreme cases it may cause mild [[Depression (mood)|depression]]. Together, these effects have come to be known as a "crash".<ref>[http://www.healthandgoodness.com/health/stimulants_risks.html Health risks of Stimulants, healthandgoodness.com]</ref>

[[Withdrawal]] symptoms—possibly including headache, irritability, an inability to concentrate, and stomach aches<ref>{{cite journal | last = Juliano | first = L M | title = A critical review of caffeine withdrawal: empirical validation of symptoms and signs, incidence, severity, and associated features. | journal = Psychopharmacology | volume = 176 | issue = 1 | pages = 1–29 | date = 21 September 2004 | doi=10.1007/s00213-004-2000-x }}</ref>—may appear within 12 to 24 hours after discontinuation of caffeine intake, peak at roughly 48 hours, and usually last from one to five days, representing the time required for the number of adenosine receptors in the brain to revert to "normal" levels, uninfluenced by caffeine consumption. Caffeine causes excess release of stomach acids during ingestion.<ref>{{cite journal
| author = Cohen S., Booth G. H.
| title = Gastric acid secretion and lower-esophageal-sphincter pressure in response to coffee and caffeine
| journal = The New England Journal of Medicine
| volume = 293
| issue = 18
| pages = 897–899
| year = 1975
| id = PMID 1177987
}}</ref> When in withdrawal the stomach acid levels decrease substantially and can cause some stomach aches in certain people.<ref>[http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=240&np=158&id=2003#7 Caffeine withdrawal, CYH]</ref> [[Analgesic]]s, such as [[aspirin]], can relieve the pain symptoms, as can a small dose of caffeine.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Sawynok | first = J | title = Pharmacological rationale for the clinical use of caffeine. | journal = Drugs | volume = 49 | issue = 1 | pages = 37–50 | date = January 1995 | id = PMID 7705215 | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> Most effective is a combination of both an analgesic and a small amount of caffeine.

This is not the only case where caffeine increases the effectiveness of a drug. Caffeine makes pain relievers 40% more effective in relieving headaches and helps the body absorb headache medications more quickly, bringing faster relief.<ref>{{cite web | title = Headache Triggers: Caffeine | publisher = WebMD | date = June 2004 | url = http://www.webmd.com/content/article/46/1826_50681.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> For this reason, many over-the-counter headache drugs include caffeine in their formula. It is also used with [[ergotamine]] in the treatment of [[migraine]] and [[cluster headaches]] as well as to overcome the drowsiness caused by [[antihistamine]]s.

===Overuse===
In large amounts, and especially over extended periods of time, caffeine can lead to a condition known as ''caffeinism.''<ref>{{cite journal | last = Mackay | first = DC | coauthors = Rollins JW. | title = Caffeine and caffeinism | journal = Journal of the Royal Naval Medical Service | volume = 75 | issue = 2 | pages = 65-7 |date=1989 Summer | id = PMID 2607498 }}</ref><ref name="BJoA">{{cite journal | last = James | first = JE | coauthors = KP Stirling | title = Caffeine: A summary of some of the known and suspected deleterious effects of habitual use | journal = British Journal of Addiction | volume = 78 | issue = 3 | pages = 251-8 |date=September 1983 | id = PMID 6354232 }}</ref> Caffeinism usually combines caffeine [[chemical dependency|dependency]] with a wide range of unpleasant physical and mental conditions including [[anxiety|nervousness]], [[irritability]], [[anxiety]], [[Tremor|tremulousness]], [[muscle twitching]] ([[hyperreflexia]]), [[insomnia]], [[headaches]], [[respiratory alkalosis]]<ref name="COAM">{{cite web | title = Caffeine overdose in an adolescent male | publisher = J Toxicol Clin Toxicol | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=3193494&query_hl=34&itool=pubmed_docsum|accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> and [[heart palpitation]]s.<ref name="EofMD">{{cite web | title = Caffeine-related disorders | publisher = Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders | url = http://www.minddisorders.com/Br-Del/Caffeine-related-disorders.html|accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> Furthermore, because caffeine increases the production of stomach acid, high usage over time can lead to [[peptic ulcer]]s, erosive [[esophagitis]], and [[gastroesophageal reflux disease]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) | publisher = Cedars-Sinai | url = http://www.csmc.edu/pf_5543.html | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> However, since both "regular" and decaffeinated coffees have been shown to stimulate the gastric mucosa and increase stomach acid secretion, caffeine is probably not the sole component of coffee responsible.<ref>{{cite web | title = Erowid Caffeine Vault: Effects | publisher = [[Erowid|The Vaults of Erowid]] | date = July 8, 2006 | url = http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine_effects.shtml | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref>

There are four caffeine-induced psychiatric disorders recognized by the ''[[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders]], Fourth Edition'': caffeine intoxication, caffeine-induced anxiety disorder, [[caffeine-induced sleep disorder]], and caffeine-related disorder not otherwise specified (NOS).

===Caffeine intoxication===
An acute overdose of caffeine, usually in excess of 400 milligrams (more than 3–4 cups of brewed coffee), can result in a state of central nervous system overstimulation called caffeine intoxication. Some people seeking caffeine intoxication resort to [[insufflate|insufflation]] (snorting) of caffeine powder, usually finely crushed caffeine tablets. This induces a faster and more intense reaction. The symptoms of caffeine intoxication are not unlike overdoses of other [[stimulants]]. It may include restlessness, [[nervousness]], excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, [[diuresis|increased urination]], [[Gastrointestinal tract|gastrointestinal]] disturbance, [[fasciculation|muscle twitching]], a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, [[cardiac arrhythmia|irregular]] or [[tachycardia|rapid heart beat]], and [[psychomotor agitation]].<ref name="EofMD"> In cases of much larger overdoses [[mania]], [[depression (mood)|depression]], lapses in judgment, [[disorientation]], loss of social inhibition, [[delusions]], [[hallucinations]], [[psychosis]], [[rhabdomyolysis]], and [[death]] may occur.<ref>{{cite web | title = Caffeine overdose | publisher = MedlinePlus | date = 4/4/2006 | url = http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002579.htm | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Kamijo | first = Y | coauthors = Soma K, Asari Y, Ohwada T | title = Severe rhabdomyolysis following massive ingestion of oolong tea: caffeine intoxication with coexisting hyponatremia | journal = Veterinary and Human Toxicology | volume = 41 | issue = 6 | pages = 381-3 | date = 1999 December | id = PMID 10592946 }}</ref>

In cases of extreme overdose, death can result. The median lethal dose ([[LD50|LD50]]) of caffeine is 192 milligrams per kilogram in rats.<ref>{{cite web | title = Erowid Caffeine Vault: Caffeine Dosage | publisher = [[Erowid|The Vaults of Erowid]] | date = July 8, 2006 | url = http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine_dose.shtml | accessdate = 2006-08-14 }}</ref> The LD50 of caffeine in humans is dependent on weight and individual sensitivity and estimated to be about 150 to 200 milligrams per kilogram of body mass, roughly 80 to 100 cups of coffee for an average adult taken within a limited timeframe that is dependent on [[Biological halflife|half-life]]. Though achieving lethal dose with caffeine would be exceptionally difficult with regular coffee, there have been reported deaths from overdosing on caffeine pills, with serious symptoms of overdose requiring hospitalization occurring from as little as 2 grams of caffeine.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Kerrigan | first = S | coauthors = Lindsey T | title = Fatal caffeine overdose: two case reports | journal = Forensic Sci Int | volume = 153 | issue = 1 | pages = 67–69 | date = [[October 4]], [[2005]] | url = http://www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?A=ShowDoc1&ID=6700 |format=reprint |pmid=15935584 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Holmgren | first = P | coauthors = Nordén-Pettersson L, Ahlner J | title = Caffeine fatalities — four case reports | journal = Forensic Sci Int | volume = 139 | issue = 1 | pages = 71–73 | date = [[January 6]], [[2004]] | url = http://www.erowid.org/references/refs_view.php?A=ShowDoc1&ID=6702 |format=reprint |pmid=14687776 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Walsh | first = I | coauthors = Wasserman GS, Mestad P, Lanman RC | title = Near-fatal caffeine intoxication treated with peritoneal dialysis | journal = Pediatr Emerg Care | volume = 3 | issue = 4 | pages = 244-9 | date = December 1987 | id = PMID 3324064 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Mrvos | first = RM | coauthors = Reilly PE, Dean BS, Krenzelok EP | title = Massive caffeine ingestion resulting in death | journal = Vet Hum Toxicol | volume = 31 | issue = 6 | pages = 571-2 | date = December 1989 | id = PMID 2617841 }}</ref> Death typically occurs due to [[ventricular fibrillation]] brought about by effects of caffeine on the cardiovascular system.

Treatment of severe caffeine intoxication is generally supportive, providing treatment of the immediate symptoms, but if the patient has very high serum levels of caffeine then [[peritoneal dialysis]], [[hemodialysis]], or [[hemofiltration]] may be required.

===Anxiety and sleep disorders===
Long-term overuse of caffeine can elicit a number of psychiatric disturbances. Two such disorders recognized by the [[American Psychiatric Association]] (APA) are ''caffeine-induced sleep disorder'' and ''caffeine-induced anxiety disorder''.

In the case of caffeine-induced [[sleep disorder]], an individual regularly ingests high doses of caffeine sufficient to induce a significant disturbance in his or her sleep, sufficiently severe to warrant clinical attention.<ref name="DSM-IV">{{cite book | authorlink = http://www.psych.org/ | title = Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth Edition.|publisher = [[American Psychiatric Association]] | date = 1994 | id = ISBN 0-89042-062-9 }}</ref>

In some individuals, the large amounts of caffeine can induce [[anxiety]] severe enough to necessitate clinical attention. This caffeine-induced [[anxiety disorder]] can take many forms, from [[general anxiety disorder|generalized anxiety]] to [[panic attack]]s, [[obsessive-compulsive]] symptoms, or even [[Phobia|phobic symptoms]].<ref name="DSM-IV"/> Because this condition can mimic organic mental disorders, such as [[panic disorder]], [[generalized anxiety disorder]], [[bipolar disorder]], or even [[schizophrenia]], a number of medical professionals believe caffeine-intoxicated people are routinely misdiagnosed and unnecessarily medicated when the treatment for caffeine-induced psychosis would simply be to withhold further caffeine.<ref>{{cite book | last = Shannon | first = MW | coauthors = Haddad LM, Winchester JF | title = Clinical Management of Poisoning and Drug Overdose, 3rd ed. | date = 1998 | id = ISBN 0-7216-6409-1 }}</ref> A study in the ''British Journal of Addiction'' concluded that caffeinism, although infrequently diagnosed, may afflict as many as one person in ten of the population.<ref name="BJoA">

===Parkinson's disease===
Several large studies have shown that caffeine intake is associated with a reduced risk of developing [[Parkinson's disease]] (PD) in men, but studies in women have been inconclusive.<ref>[http://www.researchmatters.harvard.edu/story.php?article_id=198 Effects of caffeine on Parkinson's disease, Harvard research]</ref> The mechanism by which caffeine affects PD remains a mystery. In animal models, researchers have shown that caffeine can prevent the loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells seen in Parkinson's Disease, but researchers still do not know how this occurs.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.ninds.nih.gov/news_and_events/news_articles/news_article_parkinson_caffeine_hrt.htm | title=New Findings About Parkinson's Disease: Coffee and Hormones Don't Mix | publisher=[[NIH|National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke]]}}</ref>

===Effects on memory and learning===
An array of studies found that caffeine could induce certain changes in memory and learning. In one study, caffeine was added to rat neurons ''[[in vitro]]''. The [[dendritic spines]] (a part of the brain cell used in forming connections between neurons) taken from the [[hippocampus]] (a part of the brain associated with memory), grew by 33% and new spines formed. After an hour or two, however, these cells returned to their original shape.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/472473.stm | title=Caffeine clue to better memory |date=October 12, 1999 | publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref>

Another study showed that subjects—after receiving 100 milligrams of caffeine—had increased activity in brain regions located in the frontal lobe, where a part of the working memory network is located, and the [[anterior cingulum]], a part of the brain that controls attention. The caffeinated subjects also performed better on the memory tasks.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/Caffeine-Boosts-Short-Time-Memory-13828.shtml | title=Caffeine Boosts Short-Time Memory }}</ref>

However, a different study showed that caffeine could impair short term memory and increase the likelihood of the [[tip of the tongue]] phenomenon. The study allowed the researchers to suggest that caffeine could aid short-term memory when the information to be recalled is related to the current [[train of thought]], but also to hypothesize that caffeine hinders short-term memory when the train of thought is unrelated.<ref>{{cite news | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3909085.stm | title=A coffee can make you forgetful | date=20 July, 2004 | publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> In essence, focused thought coupled with caffeine consumption increases mental performance.

===Effects on the heart===

Caffeine increases the levels of cAMP in the heart cells, mimicking the effects of epinephrine. cAMP diffuses through the cell and acts as a "secondary messenger," activating protein kinase A (PKA; cAMP- dependent Protein Kinase). According to one study, caffeine, in the form of coffee, significantly reduces the risk of [[heart disease]] in epidemiological studies. However, the protective effect was found only in participants who were not severely [[hypertensive]] (i.e. patients that are not suffering from a very high blood pressure). Furthermore, no significant protective effect was found in participants aged less than 65 years or in [[cerebrovascular disease]] mortality for those aged equal or more than 65 years.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Greenberg | first = J.A. | coauthors = Dunbar, C.C.; Schnoll, R.; Kokolis, R.; Kokolis, S.; Kassotis, J. | year = 2007 | month = Feb | title = Caffeinated beverage intake and the risk of heart disease mortality in the elderly: a prospective analysis | journal = Am J Clin Nutr | volume = 85 | issue = 2 | pages = 392–398 | pmid = 17284734 | accessdate = 2007-02-26 }}</ref>

===Effects on children===

It is commonly believed that caffeine consumption causes stunted growth in children, but this is not supported by scientific research.<ref>{{cite web | title = Fact or fiction: Common diet myths dispelled | publisher = MSNBC | date = December 2006 | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16280050 | accessdate = 2007-05-10 }}</ref> However, just as with adults, there is legitimate reason to limit the amount consumed by children.<ref>{{cite web | title = Caffeine and Your Child | publisher = KidsHealth | date = January 2005 | url = http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/food/general/caffeine.html | accessdate = 2007-05-10 }}</ref>

===Caffeine intake during pregnancy===
The [[Food Standards Agency]] has recommended that pregnant women should limit their caffeine intake to less than 300 mg of caffeine a day – the equivalent of four cups of coffee a day. A higher intake may be associated with miscarriage.<ref>[http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2001/oct/caffeinepregnancy Agency issues caffeine advice to pregnant women]</ref>

==Extraction of pure caffeine==
{{main|Decaffeination}}
[[Image:Caffeine USP.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Anhydrous]] (dry) [[United States Pharmacopoeia|USP]]-grade caffeine]]

Pure caffeine is a white powder, and can be extracted from a variety of natural sources. Caffeine extraction is an important industrial process and can be performed using a number of different solvents. [[Benzene]], [[chloroform]], [[trichloroethylene]] and [[dichloromethane]] have all been used over the years but for reasons of safety, environmental impact, cost and flavor, they have been superseded by the following main methods:

===Water extraction===
Coffee beans are soaked in water. The water, which contains not only caffeine but also many other compounds which contribute to the flavor of coffee, is then passed through [[Activated carbon|activated charcoal]], which removes the caffeine. The water can then be put back with the beans and evaporated dry, leaving decaffeinated coffee with a good flavor.<ref name=Decaffeination>{{cite web |last=Senese | first=Fred | title=How is coffee decaffeinated? | publisher=General Chemistry Online | date=2005-09-20 | url=http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/consumer/faq/decaffeinating-coffee.shtml | accessdate=2006-08-21}}</ref> Coffee manufacturers recover the caffeine and resell it for use in soft drinks and over-the-counter [[caffeine tablets]].

===Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction===
[[Supercritical carbon dioxide]] is an excellent nonpolar solvent for caffeine (as well as many other organic compounds), and is safer than the organic solvents that are used for caffeine extraction. The extraction process is simple: CO2 is forced through the green coffee beans at temperatures above 31.1 °C and pressures above 73 [[Atmosphere (unit)|atm]]. Under these conditions, CO2 is in a "[[Supercritical fluid|supercritical]]" [[Phase (matter)|state]]: it has gaslike properties which allow it to penetrate deep into the beans but also liquid-like properties which dissolve 97–99% of the caffeine. The caffeine-laden CO2 is then sprayed with high pressure water to remove the caffeine. The caffeine can then be isolated by [[Activated carbon|charcoal adsorption]] (as above) or by [[distillation]], [[recrystallization]], or [[reverse osmosis]].<ref name=Decaffeination />

===Extraction by nonhazardous organic solvents===
Organic solvents such as [[ethyl acetate]] present much less health and environmental hazard than previously used chlorinated and aromatic solvents. The hydrolysis products of ethyl acetate are [[ethanol]] and [[acetic acid]], both nonhazardous in small quantities. Another method is to use triglyceride oils obtained from spent coffee grounds.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://purecaffeine.info/info.html Pure caffeine information]
* [http://home.howstuffworks.com/caffeine.htm Caffeine: How Stuff Works]
* [http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0501/feature1/index.html National Geographic January 2005]
* [http://www.erowid.org/chemicals/caffeine/caffeine.shtml Erowid Caffeine Vaults]
* [http://www.caffeinated.jp/ #caffeine! - The Caffeine Information Archive]
* [http://www.thenakedscientists.com/html/columnists/dalyacolumn2.htm Naked Scientists Online: Why do plants make caffeine?]
* [http://www.benbest.com/health/caffeine.html Is Caffeine a Health Hazard?]
* [http://www.coffeefaq.com/caffaq.html The Coffee and Caffeine FAQ]
* [http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/1997/11nov/caffeine.htm ''The Physician and Sportsmedicine'': Caffeine: A User's Guide]
* [http://www.garynull.com/Documents/CaffeineEffects.htm Caffeine: Psychological Effects, Use & Abuse]
* [http://historyofalcoholanddrugs.typepad.com/alcohol_and_drugs_history/caffeine/index.html Alcohol and Drugs History Society: Caffeine news page]
* [http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic3115.htm eMedicine Caffeine-Related Psychiatric Disorders]
* [http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/CU21.html The Consumers Union Report on Licit and Illicit Drugs, Caffeine-Part 1] [http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/CU22.html Part 2]
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6155178 Coffee: A Little Really Does Go a Long Way, NPR, [[September 28]], [[2006]]]
* [http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_releases/2004/09_29_04.html Caffeine Withdrawal Recognized as a Disorder]

===News===
*[http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=30d6d514-1c68-441a-bbec-5b80ae23627f&k=45911 National Post: Caffeine linked to psychiatric disorders]

==Appendix==
===Relative content: comparison of different sources===
{| class="toccolours" border="1" style="margin: 0 2em 1em 0; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%"
!Caffeine equivalents<ref name="Caffeine Content of Food and Drugs" /><ref name="Erowid Caffeine Content" />
|-
|In general, each of the following contains approximately 200 [[kilogram#SI multiples|milligrams]] of caffeine:
<div class="toccolors" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
* '''One''' 200 milligram caffeine pill
* '''One''' 12 [[fluid ounce]] cup of regular [[Starbucks]] coffee (355 [[Milliliter#SI prefixes applied to the litre|millilitres]])
* '''One and one quarter''' 16 fluid ounce cans of [[Monster Energy]] (590 millilitres)
* '''One and a half''' [[Pound (mass)|pound]]s of [[milk chocolate]][a] (680 [[gram]]s)
* '''Two''' 8 fluid ounce containers of regular [[coffee]] (470  millilitres)
* '''1/2 tube of '''Spazzstick Caffeinated Lip Balm'''
* '''Two''' [[Foosh Energy Mints]]
* '''Two''' [[Buzz Bites]] Chocolate Energy Chews[a]
* '''Two and a half''' 10 fluid ounce bottles of [[Bawls]] caffeinated drink (740 millilitres)
* '''Three''' standard [[Excedrin]] pills
* '''Three''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[Red Bull]] energy drink (710 millilitres)
* '''Four''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[Vault (soft drink)|Vault]] energy drink (1.0 [[litre]])
* '''Five''' 1 fluid ounce shots of [[espresso]] from [[Coffea canephora|robusta]] beans (150 millilitres)
* '''Five''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[black tea]][b] (1.2 litres)
* '''Five''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[Mountain Dew]] (1.2 litres)
* '''Five''' 12 fluid ounce cans of typical [[soda pop]] (1.8 litres) (variable)
* '''Eight and a half''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[Coca-Cola Classic]] (2.0 litres)
* '''Ten''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[green tea]][b] (2.4 litres)
* '''Fifty''' 8 fluid ounce cups of [[decaf]]feinated coffee (12 litres)
</div>
Notes:

a. Chocolate and other products of [[cacao]] contain substantial quantities of other caffeine-like chemicals (especially [[theobromine]]) as well as actual caffeine. The properties of these substances are in at least some respects very similar to caffeine.

b. The figures are probably reasonably accurate for the very weak tea typically consumed in North America, but may be considerably understated for the much stronger tea drunk in some other places.
|}

{{Coffee}}
{{Stimulants}}
{{Psychostimulants, agents used for ADHD and nootropics}}
{{Featured article}}

[[Category:Caffeine| ]]
[[Category:Coffee]]
[[Category:Xanthines]]

{{Link FA|simple}}
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Talk:Halloween (2007 film)

2007-10-02T07:44:19Z

Capi crimm:

{{talkheader}}
{{WikiProject Illinois|class=Start|importance=Low}}
{{Film|class=Future}}
{{HorrorWikiProject|class=}}

==Adding an Alternate Ending==

Since the bootlegged version definitely exists, would anyone be opposed to simply adding a subsection for it under plot? I think this talk page shows it is notable and common enough to warrant mention.

==What the hell?!==

Excuse me, but someone has defaced the hell out of this article and no one has caught it. Particularly the "ending" listed in the "Plot" section. The "ending" described here is FAKE and ridiculous. Please, please someone else that has seen the film like I have, please vouch that this ending listed here is fake. None of that "ending" listed here, happens in this 2007 film.
The ending is corrected as this: The climax of the movie does not take place on a balcony. It takes place in front of the house. The police pull up and there is a standoff between Loomis and Michaels as the police ride up. Michael listens to Loomis and releases Laurie. Then the police officers shoot him down.
That is the true ending and whoever added this ridiculous ending in which Laurie has the gun and kills Loomis is FAKE and INCORRECT. Someone please add the REAL ending. [[User:UltimateZeroX|UltimateZeroX]] 05:07, 9 September 2007 (UTC)
:Apparently you only saw the workprint and didn't bother to actually pay to see the film in theaters.--[[User:CyberGhostface|CyberGhostface]] 20:18, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
:What are you talking about. That does not happen. The police did not shoot him down. The only other cops were the ones he killed before grabbing Laurie the first time. When he released Laurie in front of the house he goes after Loomis and kills him and then chases Laurie upstairs. After they fall over the balcony she shoots him. Sorry, I saw it with my own eyes. [[User:Bignole|'''  BIGNOLE ''']] [[User talk:Bignole|(Contact me)]] 05:13, 9 September 2007 (UTC)
::Theatrical release shows Laurie killing Myers by the end of the film. Nothing in the article changes.--[[User:The Scourge|The Scourge]] 03:36, 14 September 2007 (UTC)

The reception section keeps changing from "poor reviews" to "mixed." Something needs to be done about the fans of this film that try to give it too much rope. I've never seen a film with so low a percentage on Rotten Tomatoes deemed as having "mixed reviews," that's a bunch of crap. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/74.73.71.128|74.73.71.128]] ([[User talk:74.73.71.128|talk]]) 17:21, 17 September 2007 (UTC) 

I know, the ending described here is COMPLETELY wrong and fake. But it does sound better than how it actually ended in the film.

-G —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/134.117.158.83|134.117.158.83]] ([[User talk:134.117.158.83|talk]]) 03:49, 25 September 2007 (UTC) 

I just watched the 2007 Halloween and it was a compleatly different ending to the plot on this site. Myers is killed by the police. Im confused. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/82.38.227.76|82.38.227.76]] ([[User talk:82.38.227.76|talk]]) 23:00, 29 September 2007 (UTC) 

:I'm curious as to where you guys are seeing this alternate ending, because I saw the film in theaters--the day it was released--and it had the ending that is written here. I have to assume that you guys are watching some bootleg version that was not a final cut of the film. [[User:Bignole|'''  BIGNOLE ''']] [[User talk:Bignole|(Contact me)]] 23:17, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

The ending where the cops kill michael is the workprint version. Which is an early cut for test audiences and things like that. I assume this was Zombie's original ending, but it is not the ending of the theatrical release. So if you downloaded the movie the workprint version is likely what you saw. The ending here is correct, so until you actually pay to see the real movie quit talking out of your ass.[[User:71.51.44.120|71.51.44.120]] 02:05, 2 October 2007 (UTC)jl

== Release date ==

Is the Halloween 9 release date October 19, 2007 PLEASE TELL ME SO , if its not than would be vandalism THANKS.

That's weird october 19 is Micheal Myers birthday. -- [[User:Metal Maiden|Metal]] 17:42, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

October 19th is the UK release date. August 31st is the current set release date for the USA.

==IMDB==
Why are we even talking about who the IMDB listed? IMDB credit listings for upcoming films are submitted by fans. I'm going to remove it as the IMDB isn't even tabloid-status, unless someone else has other evidence. [[User:Jack O'Lantern|Mad Jack]] 07:57, 17 June 2006 (UTC)

yes it is, cause rob wanted it to be on michaels 50th birthday

october 19, 1957 - present

== year it will take place in ==

What year will the storyline take place in please tell me?

As far as I know, it will take place in 1978 just as the original.[[User:MFuture|MFuture]] 00:50, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

== To those who are adding plot information and cast information ==

I have already warned you for vandalism. If you persist, I will have no chance but to report you.--[[User:CyberGhostface|CyberGhostface]] 21:51, 6 November 2006 (UTC)

some one should fix the plot section... whats up now is the entire movie verbatim... —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/208.63.48.34|208.63.48.34]] ([[User talk:208.63.48.34|talk]]) 20:47, 31 August 2007 (UTC) 

==Continuity crap==

This is so ridiculous. Just because one movie doesn't mention the events of another doesn't mean that it's a separate continuity. OVERKILL folks. That is overkill. They all work together just fine. One continuity.{{unsigned|12.210.199.220}}
:Okay then. How do the two coexist?--[[User:CyberGhostface|CyberGhostface]] 20:19, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

You can accually peice together the new film with the second film the way it is...Watch it and you will find out.[[User:72.84.57.146|72.84.57.146]] 05:07, 1 September 2007 (UTC)TheLastNightmare

:No you can't... other than being a variation of the window scene, the ending is completely different. [[User:Ophois|Ophois]] 21:57, 2 September 2007 (UTC)

== Clean up ==

I went through the article and tried to clean it up the best I could, based on other FA articles. We don't list every single cast member, even if they are "famous" by some degree. If you want to have a "cameo" paragraph (paragraph, not section) under the cast list, that's fine, but we need sources to confirm who they are. The cast list that is there now is one of the individuals that are more "core" to the film. [[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information|Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information]], and so listing every cast member is not necessary. That is why we have a link to IMDb.com.

I've rewritten the plot to be less "stolen" from other websites, and to be more paraphrased. I've also included information from the cast breakdown, to add a bit more for the plot. Since the synopsis isn't going to be that large until August, I've moved the production section to the top. This helps with the images that we have in the article, so that there are no gaps between areas. I've also reformatted the cast list to be more FA, and included some information about the characters. I don't have something for each character because I couldn't find sources talking about them. We need some reliable sources for the production section that talks about the casting of the principle characters. If we get enough information then we can break that into a "casting" subsection, but not until then. One of the major things I did, when I went through the production section, was remove anything that did not have a source, or was said previously. There were some things that were redundantly stated throughout the plot, and a lot of things that lacked sources. Just because the MySpace account is in the external links section doesn't mean that we don't put in-text citations. Also, we need to avoid using the MySpace profile as a source, because I also noticed that a lot of the older blogs that announced the casting of certain people have since been deleted. That would be of no use to us. I've found that many times there are sites that will report what is posted on the MySpace account, try and find those. Also, we need to avoid hearsay. Don't use sources that say something like "someone close to someone said ...", that's not reliable.

I removed that bit about the script being reviewed as the authenticity of the script is in question, as even Zombie stated that he didn't know what they were reading, but it sounded like something that was old and not even being used. Also, it isn't new to have scripts "stolen" and reviewed early. Since we cannot verify that what they read is what will be on the screen, we cannot add it. The same goes for that MTV interview where they miscontrude what Zombie said about the music. It's fan trivia, as it had to be clarified that they misunderstood him. We need to actually find sources. You cannot say something like "According to HalloweenFlash.com" and then not provide a source. We need to be able to verify that. If there wasn't a source to back it up then I removed it. If you find provide a source then we can work it back in. Also, there was a full paragraph of production information in the lead, which shouldn't have been there. The page still needs some work, and more information, but it's not due out until August 31, so we have time. [[User:Bignole|'''  BIGNOLE ''']] [[User talk:Bignole|(Contact me)]] 04:29, 13 April 2007 (UTC)

==Just something I was wondering==
Just thought you should change the plot on the Halloween remake. The character of Annie was not stabbed, she was brutally beaten and survived the movie. Keep the facts straight and stop making the page protected, when it's unprotected you get the correct info about the plot and other things. If it's left up to just one or two people, much of the infor will be incorrect.

Is there any proof of any information to be able to answer my question of: Will this film be ''just'' a remake of the the first, or will it use some elements from the second film, considering that the second is sort of a continuation, because it shows what happened that same night (unlike the other later films)? Just a question I had. Thanks for any help! --[[User:JpGrB|JpGrB]]

:Not the place for such a question, as it doesn't pertain to editing the article. You could read through the article, there are interviews with Zombie in there. I'd assume it's mainly just the first film. The only thing from the second they are using is the fact that Laurie is Michael's younger sister, as this movie will make that clear from the getgo. [[User:Bignole|'''  BIGNOLE ''']] [[User talk:Bignole|(Contact me)]] 01:45, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Ok, sorry, and thank you. I just thought I'd ask, so possibly, it could be added, but thank you. --[[User:JpGrB|JpGrB]]

I'm not sure if Rob Zombie intended for Danielle Harris' character (Annie) to survive this movie, as an homage to her survival through Halloween IV and V, but she was certainly stabbed. 17 times I believe the radio reports at the end of the movie. [[User:76.190.164.114|76.190.164.114]] 00:49, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

==Fair use rationale for Image:Soundtrackcover.jpg==
[[Image:Nuvola apps important.svg|70px|left]]
'''[[:Image:Soundtrackcover.jpg]]''' is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under [[Wikipedia:Fair use|fair use]] but there is no [[Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline|explanation or rationale]] as to why its use in '''this''' Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the [[Wikipedia:Image copyright tags/Fair use|boilerplate fair use template]], you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with [[WP:FU|fair use]].

Please go to [[:Image:Soundtrackcover.jpg|the image description page]] and edit it to include a [[Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline |fair use rationale]]. Using one of the templates at [[Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline]] is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on [[Wikipedia:Criteria for speedy deletion#Images.2FMedia|criteria for speedy deletion]]. If you have any questions please ask them at the [[Wikipedia:Media copyright questions|Media copyright questions page]]. Thank you.

[[User:BetacommandBot|BetacommandBot]] 01:26, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

== Under "Plot" paragraph starting with "At the Doyle House" ==

Based on my personal recollection from my viewing of the film ending two hours ago, I believe the last two sentences should be revised to reflect the sheriff's stated desire to not have the baby live with the "stigma" of what her family has gone through as his motivation to drop her off at an emergency room where he states he thought "that'd be the end of it." The article currently states that the sheriff dropped the baby off at a foster home, presumably the Strode's. From my recollection of the movie, the next dialog after the sheriff states that he dropped the baby off at an ER reflects his surprise/dismay that it is another Haddonfield couple, the Strode's, that end up adopting baby Myers. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/24.15.227.119|24.15.227.119]] ([[User talk:24.15.227.119|talk]]) 06:08, 1 September 2007 (UTC) 

== semi-protected for 2 days ==

I have semi-protected this page for 48 hours due to a strong series of IP vandals attacking the page. Editing by new named accounts and IP addresses is blocked for that length of time.

If anyone strongly objects, please feel free to contact me here or on my talk page, or if I don't respond ask another administrator to review; I have no problem with it being unprotected if enoug people want it that way. [[User:Georgewilliamherbert|Georgewilliamherbert]] 00:39, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Lock the Page to where non users will not vandalize the page. --[[Special:Contributions/Mithos90|҉]] [[User:Mithos90|რɫՒ◌§ 9¤]] [[User talk:Mithos90|ॐ]] 02:03, 3 September 2007 (UTC)

Should be either not protected, or edited for adding information about the Workprint version that wanders around the internet, which is full of major differences, including scenes that are in not in the final cut (some of the scenes of the final cut are missing too and some of them are entirely different). —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/84.110.147.73|84.110.147.73]] ([[User talk:84.110.147.73|talk]]) 13:13, 3 September 2007 (UTC) 

== Plot ==

I dont know what movie this article refers to, but it certainly isnt the 2007 remake. The end in particular is wildly inaccurate. [[User:65.25.24.245|65.25.24.245]] 21:27, 3 September 2007 (UTC)
:What's innaccurate? Keep in mind that there are two versions of the film out, so you might be referring to a different cut.--[[User:CyberGhostface|CyberGhostface]] 00:59, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
:: Ahh, okay. i've only seen the version where Mike goes down in a hail of police gunfire after surrendering. The end as described in this article doesn't even resemble my cut.[[User:65.25.24.245|65.25.24.245]] 00:40, 7 September 2007 (UTC)
:::Sorry, but here in the States that ending is what happens. [[User:Bignole|'''  BIGNOLE ''']] [[User talk:Bignole|(Contact me)]] 00:43, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

== Problems with the plot ==

The plot section (as it was before trimmed) failed [[WP:PLOT]], [[WP:MOS#FILM]], [[WP:WAF]] and anything else you can think of that deals with this information. It fails [[WP:NPOV]] as well, because it's written in a dramaticized way. We are not here to promote films, nor to provide a substitute for watching a movie. Notice the length of the plot section for ''[[Halloween (1978 film)]]'', it's very concise and to the point. We do not need to know every last detail of the film. It's called [[WP:SUMMARY|summary style]]. If you find it bland, oh well, that is the point. Plots are meant to provide context for the real world content of the article, not to entise a reader to go watch the film. [[User:Bignole|'''  BIGNOLE ''']] [[User talk:Bignole|(Contact me)]] 01:02, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

== Plot summary ==

Sorry, bignole, but the plot summary you restored, I deleted for a reason: It's terribly written. I think it's much easier to have a plot summary that's too long, and clip off irrelevant information, than to have a plot summary that is just plain mish mash. Some examples:

''Ten-year-old Michael Myers (Daeg Faerch) is tormented by his family, and school bullies, as well as showing an interest in masks and killing animals.''

If we're going to keep this--which I advise against, as it's a lousy way to segue into a plot--it should read:

''Ten-year-old Michael Myers is tormented by his family and school bullies, and shows an interest in masks and killing animals.''

or

''Ten-year-old Michael Myers is tormented by his family and school bullies. He also shows an interest in masks and killing animals.''

In either instance, the thougths behind the sentences, albeit relevant, are poorly constructed.

''He is characterized by Dr. Samuel J. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell), a child psychologist, as showing "warning signs"''

Warning signs of what? Loomis makes it clear in the movie that he fears Michael is a psychopath. Here, the reader is left with no clue, as warning signs are included in a cryptic set of quotation marks that abruptly close the first part of the sentence.

''That Halloween night, when his mother goes to work, Michael murders his mother's boyfriend (William Forsythe), his sister Judith (Hanna R. Hall), and her boyfriend.''

Here we run into the problem that the reader has not been informed that everything is happening within a 24 hour time-frame. Suddenly interjecting "that Halloween" 1) Does not work because no prior point of reference has been included and 2) Is so vague that it leaves open for interpretation by the reader that an indeterminate period of time has passed from an unlabeled point A to Halloween, point B. It needs to be established that Michael is introduced to us and committs his murders within a single day.

''Michael is convicted of first degree murder and taken to Smith's Grove Sanitarium, where he is placed under the supervision of Dr. Loomis.''

At this point I must interject that no mention has been made of Michael's baby sister, or the fact that he spares her from his killing spree when he had her at his mercy. Not knowing this piece of information makes large portions of the summary to come largely irrelevant.

''For the first eleven months, Michael cooperates with Dr. Loomis, claiming no memory of killing anyone. His mother Deborah (Sheri Moon Zombie) visits him regularly, where he shows her the masks he has been creating.''

The part about the masks lacks context. What masks? If we are going to leave it vague, we must remove 'the,' as it implies there are specific masks that the reader should know about. To make it correct it should read:

''...shows her masks he has been creating.''

Moving on:

''Upon some advice from an orderly, Michael closes himself off, and does not speak to anyone.''

"Closes himself off" is incredibly vague and has no context whatsoever. To someone unfamilair with the expression, "closes himself off" and "does not speak to anyone" can be two entirely different sets of behavior referred to within the same sentence.

''After an incident where Michael attacks and kills a nurse, Deborah Myers, unable to cope with all the tragedy, takes her own life; her infant daughter is put up for adoption.''

The proper phrase here is "in which Michael..." not "where Michael." "Where" is used to denote a physical or theoretical location, not an incident.

''For the next fifteen years, Michael (Tyler Mane) continues making his masks and not speaking to anyone. Dr. Loomis' experience with Michael allows him to write a book, and give seminars on what he deems as the look of a true psychopath.''

"Loomis' experience" indicates that Loomis only encountered Michael once or had one impacting experience with him, which is inaccurate. It should be "experiences." The tidbit about his seminars also indicates that Loomis is purely fascinated with Michael's aesthetics; while the segment of Loomis' seminar does focus on Michael's eyes, the title of his book and his conversations with the Sheriff indicate that Loomis, a psychologist, of course has more than an interest in Michael's facial features.

''On the eve of Halloween, Michael was to be transferred to a more maximum security prison room. While being transferred, he breaks free of the chains and handcuffs that were holding him against his will and kills the guards and managers, escaping.''

We suddenly encounter a tense shift. Now we're in the past, with "was." In addition, stating that Michael is being held against his will by handcuffs is completely redundant.

I could go on, but I hope I have demonstrated my point. [[User:Timmybiscool|Timmybiscool]] 01:11, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

== Bignole ==

I do not wish to engage in a revert war or have to appeal to "higher powers." If you like, simply go through the "too long" version and clip out what you deem irrelevant. It is far easier than having to completely re-word the above version and correct all of its terrible grammar and other errors.[[User:Timmybiscool|Timmybiscool]] 01:14, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
:How about you take your own advice. How about clarifying things, instead of reverting to a poorly written, extended version. "It is Halloween", gee thanks for that 1st grade sentence. ''Ten year old Michael Myers begins his day by vivisecting his beloved pet rat and wandering his house in the clown mask he intends to wear trick-or-treating that night'' - easily summarized by saying "he tortures animals", the details are irrelevant. How about you try explaining things that need explaining and leaving the excessive, irrelevant details out. I already trimmed it, I should not have to do so a second time because you are too lazy to go in an clarify things that you think need clarifying. [[User:Bignole|'''  BIGNOLE ''']] [[User talk:Bignole|(Contact me)]] 01:27, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
:You are getting unecessarily rude about this and seriously tempting me to contact a Wikipedia mod. I am trying to be civil. Please explain how my version is poorly written. I did that task with the version you insist upon keeping. If you are so adamant to keep it, at least try to correct all of the errors I pointed out above. "It is Halloween" is not a "first grade sentence," it is a [[simple sentence]] that provides context for the time span of the opening of the movie, a context that is sorely missing in that version you insist upon restoring.[[User:Timmybiscool|Timmybiscool]] 01:32, 4 September 2007 (UTC)
::Be nice, Bignole. Timmybiscool, the article could be summarised better. I know it's difficult to remove information which you believe is important or entertaining, but Wikipedia is not a substitute for actually ''watching'' the film. Simply include the bare bones of the plot, enough to provide context for the out-of-universe information which should provide the bulk of the article. [[User:Paul730|Paul730]] 01:43, 4 September 2007 (UTC)

== Ending of the movie ==

Just a question. I may be wrong, but when I watched the movie I left with the impression that Michael had grabbed Laurie's gun (rather than her wrist) while she was sitting on him, pulling the trigger himself in a suicidal fashion. Don't know if anyone else agrees, but it would have been a great ending. Maybe someone with a bootleg copy can shed some light on this. [[User:76.190.164.114|76.190.164.114]] 00:55, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

This could be. I was also under the impression that Dr. Loomis didn't indeed die. When I saw the movie, I knew that Malcolm McDowell had already signed on for two more potential sequels, so I made sure to watch his 'death' scene very closely. There was blood, but not that much. I feel as though maybe Loomis was knocked unconscious by the pressure of Michael's hands. Just my personal thoughts on the matter. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/67.48.247.167|67.48.247.167]] ([[User talk:67.48.247.167|talk]]) 05:18, 6 September 2007 (UTC) 

:Ok guys/gals, this isn't a forum. Let's keep the discussions to the improvement of the article. If you'd like to discuss the film on general terms I'd suggest going to a forum like IMDb or another similar site. You could both also register here and carry on the conversation on your user talk pages. [[User:Bignole|'''  BIGNOLE ''']] [[User talk:Bignole|(Contact me)]] 05:38, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

The version of the movie I've seen, Loomis convinces Michael to let the girl go and then the cops shoot him until he's dead. [[User:80.229.169.189|80.229.169.189]] 16:34, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

:Well, considering that I have never read any news reports that there are two versions floating around I would have to say that you didn't view a theatrical release but possibly some bootleg version that was not the final cut. [[User:Bignole|'''  BIGNOLE ''']] [[User talk:Bignole|(Contact me)]] 17:02, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

== Shedding some light on the plot confustion... ==

The ending of the movie where Michael is shot in the head by his sister is the one that appears in theaters, and should be considered the final cut. However, in the weeks before the film's theatrical release, an internal workprint was leaked onto the web, with several changes including an entirely new ending.

In this preliminary version, Michael appears and pulls Laurie from the car a few minutes after Michael gets shot three times by Loomis. At that moment, the police arrive in force. Michael drags Laurie to the walkway in front of the house, until Loomis convinces him to stop. Michael is holding the knife and Laurie, and Loomis is attemping to talk Michael out of killing her. Loomis says that he is the one that deserves to die, because he "Failed you, Michael". Michael drops the knife and lets Laurie go. Loomis walks Laurie away from Michael toward the police cars. At this point, Michael is a few feet behind them and slightly out of focus. It appears that he may have moved forward slightly after them (hard to tell the way the shot was, but I assume something must have provoked the next action). After he moves, the police simultaneously beging emptying thier guns into Michael. So Michael is gunned down, Loomis and Laurie both live. The video ends with the audio of Loomis's initial interview with young Michael, where the boy inquires about Loomis's accent, and Loomis sort of laughts off the question. In the new context of the final scene, this suggests that Loomis may have prevented everything my being more receptive to Michael's question. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|unsigned]] comment added by [[Special:Contributions/71.246.65.29|71.246.65.29]] ([[User talk:71.246.65.29|talk]]) 07:25, 9 September 2007 (UTC) 

==Critical reception==
The critical reception of this movie was poor and some fanboys apparently want to gloss this over. According to rottentomatoes it received 22% positive reviews which means almost 8 out of every 10 reviews for this film were negative. JpGrB made the unintentionally comedic statement about the section of "too bad it's not just talking about rotten tomatoes" which makes it sound like rt is one opinion. Rottentomatoes is the best source we have for giving an overview of critical reception of a movie and this movie clearly had a poor critical reception. Pointing out that it received some or any positive reviews does not change this. [[User:72.64.165.157|72.64.165.157]] 22:25, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

:I have the perfect solution, remove it entirely. We don't need to qualify information that readers can do for themselves. If a film has a 22% approval rating, then it should be obvious that critics didn't like it, and there's no reason to restate the obvious. [[User:Bignole|'''  BIGNOLE ''']] [[User talk:Bignole|(Contact me)]] 22:31, 22 September 2007 (UTC)

::Good idea. Done.--[[User:CyberGhostface|CyberGhostface]] 23:24, 22 September 2007 (UTC)
:::Agreed, I never even thought of that. [[User:72.64.165.157|72.64.165.157]] 00:11, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

::::No biggy (pardon the pun on my name). Most of the time the best ideas come from group thinktanks. You say "this doesn't work," and it triggers in the mind of someone else a new idea. [[User:Bignole|'''  BIGNOLE ''']] [[User talk:Bignole|(Contact me)]] 00:13, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

Six Flags Great America

2007-07-23T04:17:10Z

Capi crimm: Removed again. See previous edit + vandalism

{{npov}}
{{Infobox Amusement park
| name = Six Flags Great America
| image = [[Image:Six Flags Great America Gurnee,IL.jpg|250px|]]
| caption = Sign at the entrance of Six Flags Great America
| location = {{flagicon|USA}} [[U.S.A.]]
| address = 542 N. [[Illinois Route 21|Route 21]] [[Gurnee, IL]] 60031-9916 
{{coor at dms|42|22|7.3|N|87|56|5|W}}
| phone_numbers = 1-847-249-1776 1-847-249-2390 [[fax]]
| homepage = [http://www.sixflags.com/greatAmerica/ SixFlags.com]
| owner = [[Six Flags|Six Flags, Inc.]]
| general_manager = Hank Salemi
| operations_manager = John Curty
| season = May through October
| opening_date = [[May 29]], [[1976]]
| previous_names = Marriott's Great America ([[1976]] to 1984)
| area = 300 acres 
| rides = 50
| coasters = 12
| water_rides = 4
}}

'''Six Flags Great America''' is [[Chicago]] and [[Milwaukee]]'s Six Flags [[theme park]] located in [[Gurnee, Illinois]]. It first opened in 1976 as '''Marriott's Great America'''. [[Six Flags]] purchased the park from the [[Marriott Corporation]] in 1984 making it the seventh park in the chain. Today, the park boasts eight themed sections, a 13-acre [[water park]], three specially themed children's areas, and various other forms of entertainment.

==Marriott era==
[[Marriott Corporation]] began construction on the park in 1974 and opened on May 29, 1976, as "Marriott's Great America". The park was an immediate success due in part to its [[Americana]] themes and grand opening during the [[American Bicentennial]]. It originally consisted of six themed areas: Carousel Plaza, the first section beyond the main gates; small-town-themed Hometown Square; The Great Midwest Livestock Exposition And County Fair with its [[1900s|Turn of the Century]] rural fair theme; Yankee Harbor, inspired by a [[19th Century]] [[New England]] port; Yukon Territory, resembling a [[Canada|Canadian]]/[[Alaska]]n [[logging]] camp; and the [[French Quarter]]-modeled Orleans Place. A seventh area, The Great Southwest, was planned but was not built until 1996, when it opened as Southwest Territory.

Each themed area had its own costumes, and the buildings, shops, and restaurants were also all unique to each theme. For example, the Klondike Cafe in Yukon Territory served beef dishes in large pans like those used for [[placer mining|panning for gold]].

Customers were referred to as "guests." Staff members had a strict code of personal appearance and upkeep of the required costume, as well as the trademark sendoff of all ride operators: "Thank you for riding, and we hope you enjoy the rest of your day here at Marriott's Great America."

===Rides and attractions===
[[Image:Sfgam columbiacarousel.jpg|left|thumb|300px|[[Columbia Carousel]] is Great America's signature ride.]]
Originally the park included three [[roller coasters]]: [[Willard's Whizzer]], the [[The Demon (Six Flags Great America)|Turn of the Century]], and the [[Gulf Coaster]], with the [[Greezed Lightnin'|Tidal Wave]] being added two years later. The Gulf Coaster lasted only one season, due to a small fire and its unpopularity. The park's other signature attractions were the elaborate double-decker Columbia [[Carousel]]; the [[Sky Whirl]], a 110-foot-tall "triple [[ferris wheel]]" custom designed for Marriott and visible from the adjacent [[Tri-State Tollway]] as well as from miles away; and the two one-way [[gondola]] sky car rides, Delta Flyer and Eagle's Flight. Eagle's Flight was a very commercially successful ride and was considered a top 10 ride by ''Roller Coaster Weekly'' magazine.{{Verify source|date=July 2007}}

An original 1976 Marriott's Great America ride, the [[Orleans Orbit]], still spins today in Gurnee. While resembling a Ferris wheel, it delivers a far different ride experience. The entire wheel rests flat, just above ground level, to allow simultaneous loading and unloading of all passenger cabins. Once riders are locked in, the wheel begins to rotate. The spinning wheel picks up speed and is lifted on an arm to a nearly vertical position, sending riders upside-down as they go over the highest point. "Enterprise" is the common industry name for such a ride.

Originally installed in Orleans Place, the ride has since been relocated to Hometown Square, occupying the former home of the Bottoms Up ride. It made way for White Water Rampage, now known as Roaring Rapids. The Orleans Orbit is now known simply as The Orbit.

1977 saw the installation of several new rides. The 315-foot-tall Sky Trek Tower opened in Carousel Plaza, while a few new spinning rides were added such as Big Top, Davy Jones' Dinghies, and Hay Baler. The Southern Cross, a third gondola skyride--much taller and round-trip--also made its debut in 1977, with its station located where the Gulf Coaster stood. The park's first kids section, dubbed Fort Fun, opened in Yukon Territory, which caused the Saskatchewan Scrambler to be relocated to Hometown Square and renamed Hometown Fun Machine.

The Tidal Wave, Great America's first new roller coaster, was added in 1978.

The [[Pictorium]], an [[IMAX]] theatre, opened in 1979 and claimed to have the world's largest screen, at 64.5 x 88.25 feet (19.6 x 26.9 meters).

The Turn of the Century roller coaster closed and took on a new look in 1980. Two loops were added, along with three tunnels, and the "new" ride was re-themed and renamed [[The Demon (Six Flags Great America)|the Demon]].

[[Image:Americaneagle1205.JPG|right|frame|[[The American Eagle]]'s lift hill and helix.]]

In the summer of 1980, the park broke ground for a massive new wooden roller coaster that would come to be known as [[The American Eagle]]. This racing roller coaster stands at 127 feet (38 m) tall and reaches speeds of 66 mph (105 km/h). The bottom of the first drop is built 20 feet below ground level bringing the height of the first drop to just over 147 feet. The Eagle debuted in 1981 as the world's tallest and fastest racing wooden roller coaster. Today it remains the sixth fastest and has the sixth largest drop[http://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/coasters/records/wood_records.shtml]. The Southern Cross skyride was removed in 1980.

No new rides were added in 1982. In fact, several were removed. In 1983, The Edge, an [[Intamin AG]] first-generation freefall ride, was added to much fanfare. However, after an accident in 1984 which resulted in the hospitalization of four teenage riders, the ride was shut down while safety mechanisms were installed. The Edge never regained popularity however, and it was removed in 1986. Bottoms Up and Traffique Jam were removed at the end of the season in 1983.

Marriott's final ride added to the park was White Water Rampage, an Intamin rapids ride. This ride took over the spot occupied by several rides, including the [[Davy Jones' Locker|Davy Jones']] Dinghies, Le Bump (a children's [[bumper car]] ride), Traffique Jam, and the original Orleans Orbit (although it would re-open the next season in the Hometown Square area simply as The Orbit). Later renamed Roaring Rapids, it remains one of the park's premiere attractions.

==Bally's Six Flags era==

Marriott sold the park to [[Six Flags]], then owned by [[Bally|Bally Manufacturing]], in 1984. Thus the "Bally's Six Flags Great America" era began. It started darkly when a software failure caused the car for the Edge to be stalled at the top of the lift shaft before moving forward into its drop position. The car was stuck in this position for a short period of time before the car dropped back down the lift shaft, causing serious injuries to all three occupants. Despite many attempts to reopen the Edge with installation of anti-rollback devices by Intamin, the ride was never able to escape the stigma of its 1984 accident. The ride was removed in 1986 and sold to Rocky Point Amusement Park before reaching its current location at [[Six Flags Worlds of Adventure]] (now under new ownership and known as [[Geauga Lake]]) as Mr. Hyde's Nasty Fall. The ride was dismantled and scrapped over the offseason in 2005.
[[Image:57971107.zforce.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Z Force was added in 1985.]]
In 1985, Six Flags added [[Flashback (roller coaster)|Z Force]], a one-of-a-kind [[Intamin]] space diver roller coaster followed by Splash Water Falls in 1986 in the County Fair area.

The [[Power Dive]] was added in 1987 to take over the spot where the Edge stood. Power Dive was an Intamin [[Looping Starship]] ride; it swung back and forth before eventually rotating a complete 360 degrees a few times. Z Force was relocated to [[Six Flags Over Georgia]] as part of Six Flags' (now discontinued) Ride Rotation Program. At the end of 1991, the ride went to [[Six Flags Magic Mountain]] where it stands (and rusts) to this day.

==Wesray Six Flags era==

Many programs and quick acquisitions attempted in the mid-80s were a failure and Bally looked to sell the company. In 1987 the company was purchased by Wesray Capital and a group of Six Flags managers. Several acquisitions were re-sold or closed while a focus was returned to attractions. This ushered in an era of new major attractions at the park and a transformation of focus from the park's themes to its roller coasters.

Most of the original themed staff costumes began to be retired at this point in favor of more modern unisex garments more akin to uniforms -- basic short sleeve shirts with slacks or walking shorts during the warmer months. Some of the costumes survived longer than others with the ''Yankee Harbor'' striped crew shirts and clamdiggers pants being retired last. Also the restaurants became more aligned and offered basic [[fast food]] cuisine and lost the dishes that were unique to individual themed areas. While a few specialty restaurants survived, almost all were abandoned in favor of cheaper mass-produced food items. Similarly, merchandise throughout the park became homogenized at this point as well.

1988 saw the first of the new coasters with the addition of the massive roller coaster [[Shockwave (Six Flags Great America)|Shockwave]], an [[Arrow Dynamics]] mega-looper, added to the Orleans Place section of the park on June 3, 1988. Shockwave was the park's tallest roller coaster and featured seven inversions. White Water Rampage was renamed Roaring Rapids.

Rolling Thunder, an Intamin bobsled coaster, was added for 1989 after having been relocated from [[Six Flags Great Adventure]] (where it operated as Sarajevo Bobsled from 1984 to 1988). It was built between the Demon and the [[Willard's Whizzer|Whizzer]]. Rolling Thunder was taken down prior to building Southwest Territory. The ride was stored in the back parking lot (between [[The American Eagle]] and Washington Street) from 1996 to 1997 before being relocated to [[The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom|The Great Escape]] in New York now operating at the [[Alpine Bobsled]].

[[Iron Wolf]] opened April 28, 1990, and was [[Bolliger & Mabillard]]'s first-ever roller coaster. Iron Wolf was a very compact steel [[stand-up roller coaster]] that took over Z-Force's spot in County Fair.

[[The Condor]] took to the skies in 1991 in Orleans Place next to Shockwave. The IMAX screen in the Pictorium was upgraded to allow 650 people to view 3D movies. People said goodbye to their beloved Tidal Wave at the end of the season. Tidal Wave currently operates as Greezed Lightnin' at [[Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom]] in Louisville, Kentucky.

==Time-Warner Six Flags era==

The major attractions did not come without their cost, and by 1991 Six Flags was close to bankruptcy. [[Time-Warner]], a major influence at Great America since the beginning with the featuring of [[Looney Tunes]] characters, and a minority owner in the company, purchased an additional share of the company for a controlling interest of 50 percent. With the purchase came additional prominence of Time-Warner properties.

The first of these was the historic ride built in 1992 -- [[Batman the Ride]], a first-of-its-kind B&M inverted roller coaster to replace Tidal Wave. Batman was unlike any other roller coaster. It was a very tightly squeezed ride but was so popular that lines stretched past East River Crawler (formerly The Lobster, the new name in accordance with a re-theming of the area around Batman), through the bridge to Yankee Harbor and all the way to the bridge near Power Dive (across from Shockwave).

On [[June 20]], [[2005]], Batman was awarded landmark status by the American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) at their annual convention, Coaster Con XXVIII.

The Batman Stunt Show opened in 1993.

[[Image:HPIM0896.JPG|right|thumb|200px|[[Space Shuttle America]] opened in 1994 and continues to be a popular family attraction.]]
[[Space Shuttle America]], a [[motion simulator]] ride was built in 1994 near the Sky Trek Tower. "Shuttle" re-created the inter-planetary escapade provided via "Space Shuttle America". Since its introduction, Space Shuttle America has been home to four different films: "Space Shuttle America", "Escape from Dino Island 2- 3:D", "Stargate- SG:3000", and "Superstition", during the yearly Fright Fest Event. The original Space Shuttle America film returned for the 2006 season.

In 1995, Viper, a wooden roller coaster based on the [[Coney Island Cyclone]], was built next to Rolling Thunder, which was removed later that year.

In September 1995, Rolling Thunder was removed to make way for the new theme area "Southwest Territory" which opened in 1996. The new western-themed area was originally proposed in 1976 but took nearly twenty years to resurface. Three new rides were added (River Rocker, Chubasco, and TrailBlazer) while Big Top was moved in from County Fair and renamed Ricochet. It opened for 1996. The Rolling Thunder Roller Coaster currently operates at Six Flags [[The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom|Great Escape]] in New York as [[Alpine Bobsled]]. Viper's entrance was moved from Hometown Square to Southwest Territory. Also in this year, the Batman Stunt Show was replaced with a stunt show following the Southwest theme.

The Giant Drop, an Intamin second-generation drop tower, and Dare Devil Dive, a skycoaster, were added in 1997. The Giant Drop was located on the west side of Southwest Territory and Dare Devil was added in the Big Top's former location in County Fair. In August 1997, a hitch bar connecting the third and fourth cars on the blue side of the American Eagle rollercoaster separated as the ride was braking, causing the rear two cars to slam into the front three cars. Several people were injured and sent to local area hospitals. The ride re-opened in time for Fright Fest.

==Premier Parks Six Flags era==

Time-Warner sold its stake in Six Flags in 1995, and in 1998 [[Premier Parks]] had its [[Initial public offering|IPO]] and became the parent company of Six Flags. Premier Parks opts to follow the trend set by Bally's and begins acquiring more properties.

1998 was a big year for the little thrill-seekers in training. Yukon Territory welcomed the brand new Camp Cartoon Network. This area welcomed the addition of 5 new rides including Spacely's Sproket Rocket(Vekoma Roller Skater, along with Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine, Yogi's Yahoo River, Rocky Road's Rescue Service, and Bedrock Boulder Roller. Bug's Bunny Land was re-named Looney Tunes National Park and included various rides and attractions for the little ones. This included the Looney Tooter Choo Choo Train, the Waddaview Charter, Porky's Buzzy Beez, Petunia's Lady Bugz, Looney Toons Lodge Foam Ball Factory, Pepe Lapew's Peak, and the Nature Trail. An [[Demon Accident|accident occurred on the Demon]], stranding 23 passengers upside-down on the black train for nearly three hours.

[[Image:Ragingbullrollercoaster.JPG|right|thumb|230px|Raging Bull was added in [[1999]].]]

1999 saw the rise of the [[Raging Bull (roller coaster)|Raging Bull]], a B&M hyper-twister roller coaster. This 202-foot high, 73 mph, and 5,057 foot long monster immediately changed the Great America skyline forever.

Great America celebrated its Silver Season (25th Anniversary) in 2000. This was the last year for the much-loved [[Sky Whirl]], as well as the Hay Baler ride. An accident involving a guest occurred on the [[Cajun Cliffhanger]] ride, which caused its removal.

In 2001, Great America added two new roller coasters. First was an Intamin [[Launched roller coaster|impulse coaster]] named [[Vertical Velocity (roller coaster)|Vertical Velocity]]. Riders are launched at speeds over 55 mph (88 km/h) up a twisted vertical tower, then fall backwards and climb up another straight tower. The ride repeats, but on the second time up the back tower, riders are held facing straight down for a moment before being released. The park's second ride for 2001 was [[Déjà Vu (roller coaster)|Déjà Vu]], a [[Vekoma]] Giant Inverted Boomerang ride to replace [[Sky Whirl]] and ''Hay Baler''. On Déjà Vu, the riders are pulled backwards up a vertical tower and are dropped into a cobra roll inversion, followed by a loop over the station and up another vertical tower. The ride then repeats the course, only backwards. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the ride debuted on October 7, 2001.

2002 was a quiet year for the park. The highlight was the announcement that the American Eagle would once again run the blue side backwards. (The configuration of Forwards Red and Backwards Blue would stay put until the end of the 2005 season.) The park's original Imax film "To Fly" was once again shown in the Pictorium. In June and July, rumors that the park was planning to remove Whizzer surfaced. This proved to be true as the park put a banner on the ride's entrance sign informing guests that the final ride would be on Sunday, August 11th. However, on August 3rd, the park announced that due to public outcry, they would keep the Whizzer. August 3rd was also the last day Shock Wave was open. Also, among major additions to the entertainment department included brand new parade floats. [[Power Dive]] was removed due to maintenance problems, and the roller coaster [[Shockwave (Six Flags Great America)|ShockWave]] was removed in October for a new attraction.

Superman: Ultimate Flight took to the skies in 2003 in ShockWave's place and was the Midwest's first flying roller coaster. However, it was a clone of a similar Superman ride at [[Six Flags Over Georgia]], which did not satisfy some roller coaster enthusiasts. Thankfully, the parking lot that Shockwave stood on was out and actual landscaping graced Superman's grounds. The historic [[Ameri-Go-Round]] was removed at the end of the season.

The area where the [[Power Dive]] and [[Cajun Cliffhanger]] stood was transformed into Mardi Gras for 2004. A [[wild-mouse roller coaster]] Ragin' Cajun was added along with a [[HUSS Maschinenfabrik|HUSS]] Top-Spin named King Chaos; [[Zamperla]] Rockin' Tug named Jester's Wild Ride; and a Zamperla Balloon Race named Big Easy Balloons. Also, a HUSS ''Frisbee'' named ''Revolution'' was taken from [[Six Flags Great Adventure]] and opened in County Fair, replacing [[Ameri-Go-Round]].

After sitting (and rusting) on a hill unused since 2002, ShockWave was scrapped at the end of the 2004 season.

In 2005, Six Flags Great America got its own [[Hurricane Harbor]] waterpark. The massive waterpark features several water slides, a large wave pool, a lazy river and an interactive play area. The new waterpark was a huge success and boosted attendance by 24% in 2005.

Six Flags Great America announced the addition of a ProSlide Tornado water slide in Hurricane Harbor for the 2006 season. Great America celebrated its 30th season on [[May 29, 2006]].

== Shapiro era ==
In 2005, stockholders approved a plan offered by Daniel Snyder to take over management of the Six Flags chain, who appointed former [[ESPN]] employee Mark Shapiro as [[CEO]] of Six Flags. Shapiro began to change the parks to make them a more family friendly environment. These changes were very visible in the 2006 season.

[[Image:DSCN0630 (Medium).JPG|left|thumb|160px|The Triple Play ride was partially dismantled before the 2006 season.]]
The classic Triple Play ride was dismantled prior to the start of the season because [[Six Flags over Texas]] needed a part from Triple Play for their ride; both rides are HUSS Troika rides. In [[October 2006]], at a Season Pass Focus Group meeting, it was confirmed that Triple Play will return for 2007.
[[Image:DSCN3783.JPG|right|thumb|170px|SFGAm's new I-94 sign was built in December 2006.]][[Image:DSCN2116.JPG|right|thumb|170px|SFGAm's original sign stood alongside [[I-94]] for 30 years until it was finally replaced in [[2006]].]]

The film [[Space Shuttle America]] returned in 2006. The previous film, [[Stargate SG-3000]] had its last showings in September 2005, when the contract with MGM expired. Superstition returned for Fright Fest 2005, followed by [[Space Shuttle America]] in Spring 2006.

In June 2006, the [[Tony Hawk BoomBoom Huckjam]] [[skateboard]] tour came to Great America for two days. It was a very popular event and returned in June, 2007.

On [[September 14]], [[2006]], Six Flags announced it would replace its sign that sits along I-94. The sign, which had been standing since the park opened in 1976, was replaced with a smaller one featuring a [[liquid crystal display]]. The new sign went up within a week after the old one was taken down in [[December 2006]]. The new sign uses the old sign's post.

Revolution sat dormant for most of the season. It reopened on [[October 20]] after being down the whole season.

In November 2006, Six Flags announced a new stunt show for 2007, "Operation SpyGirl," a new original live action adventure show.

In January 2007, it was announced that [[the American Eagle]] tent area would be converted into ''Wiggles World'', a third children's area themed after the [[Wiggles]]. Also in 2007, the FlashPass system will switch from the card format to the electronic Lo-Q format, [[The American Eagle]]'s entrance will be relocated to the right of the tent and utilize part of the entrance building for the adjacent Dare Devil Dive skycoaster, a new show will debut in the Grand Music Hall called "Show Stoppin'", and TrailBlazer will be removed in 2007. The park is also adding a Johnny Rockets Express replacing Wascals, a Cold Stone Limited in Farmer's Market (replacing Jose's Tacos), and Ben & Jerry's in Firehouse and replacing the New England Cafe.

==The Flash Pass==
The Flash Pass, named appropriately after the Justice League character, is a virtual queueing system. Using the Q-Bot, you wait in a virtual line. The Q-Bot will beep when it is nearing your Ride Time. While you are in the virtual line, you can do anything you want, even get in the actual line for another ride. You get a Q-Bot which you can use at the following rides: Superman: Ultimate Flight, Roaring Rapids, Batman: The Ride, Vertical Velocity, Loggers Run, Iron Wolf, Whizzer, Raging Bull, Deja Vu, and Giant Drop. The Flash Pass sales center is in Hometown Square, across from the Whizzer and next to the Grand Music Hall.

Line management was introduced at Great America in 2001 called "FastLane," where it was a punch card, then switched off from punch card to rip-tickets. In 2005, electronic scanners were installed, but they ended up never being used. The name was changed from "FastLane" to "The Flash Pass" for 2006 when CEO Mark Shapiro introduced the Justice League to Six Flags entertainment.

After 7 years of using the punch card/rip-tickets, the Flashpass switched to [[Lo-Q]] system in [[2007]].

==Fright Fest==
Halloween arrives early at Six Flags Great America, where some of the scariest ghosts and ghouls come to spook guests at the park's annual Fright Fest. This seasonal extravaganza, the largest and most diverse of its kind in the Midwest, creeps into town on weekends during the month of October.

To celebrate the event, many sections are transformed into "scare zones". For several years now The Picnic Grove section has been transformed into "Necropolis: the Haunted City of the Dead" An exciting zombie filled city, known for being Rated R for Really frightful Necropolis usually features the haunted house "Mausoleum of Terror." Another of the frequent scare zones is "Dead Man's Gulch" a town in the middle of Southwest SCAREitory. A Thick plotline weaved through "Horror Markers" to be found throughout the town, involving things like the Mission de Fantasmas, Wang's Laundry, and so much more. In 2005, Six Flags introduced two new Scare Zones for guests "Seven Sins Cemetery" a vampire and werewolf infested cemetery taking over the Orleans Place section, as well as "Area 51" taking the Hometown Square Area. In 2007 two new full fledged scare zones are expected to emerge. "Sin City" taking over Yankee Harbor, and "Tinsletown" taking over for Dead Man's Gulch in Southwest Territory. Tinsletown is expected to be the highlight of Fright Fest 2007, featuring a new haunted house "Studio 13" a Haunted hayride in Hurricane Harbor, and a new show "Your Horror Screen Test."

Many rides also operate under frightful conditions. In 2006, these included the Demon with old-school theming, Rue Le Morque (formerly Rue Le Dodge), the Monster Mash (formerly East River Crawler), Fiddler's Flung (formerly Fiddler's Fling), Dead End Drive (formerly Great America Raceway), Terror Twister (formerly Chubasco), Snakes on a Train (formerly Viper), and Superstition (formerly Space Shuttle America). Also the train came about as "Hold-Up Express" an exciting new train show in which a new owner takes over the railway and it's attacked by dead robbers. Reportedly Hold-Up express was created very last minute, and in fact was half-created by the performers themselves. In 2007 expect either a new train show, or a variation of "Hold-up." In Previous years train shows have included "The Scooby Doo Mystery Train" The Boo Line Railway" and "Attack of the Pig Man."

For the Event the park usually offers two haunted houses. "Mausoleum of Terror" has returned for several years now in the Necropolis Section as well as some sort of less-thrilling house in Southwest Territory. Variations have included "Sadie's No-Chance Hotel" "Dead and Breakfast" "Sleepy Hollow: 3-D" and "The Curse" To conincide with the new "Tinsletown" Scare zone a new house "Studio 13"- Featuring horror movie villains, is set to debut in 2007.

Other Characters around the park include Pirates, on the Bridge between Yankee Harbor and Yukon Territory. Clowns and Jesters, including an hourly "Dead" parade in Mardi Gras, and Demon Characters out front of the demon roller coaster.

October of 2006 marked the introduction of several new shows to the fright fest line up of entertainment. Dr. Fright's Dead Man's Party at the reflection pond, a musical revue featuring songs such as Dead Man's Party and Ballroom Blitz. Welcome to my Nightmare, a show taking place in the midways surrounding one of the old Trolleys. And FREAK!, a new afternoon parade in which the SCAREacters come out for the first time in the day. With the announcement of so much new entertainment at Six Flags Great America, we can expect even more new additions in 2007.

==Designated smoking areas==
In 2006, guests heard "After 45 years, Six Flags has stopped smoking!" To make the family environment of the park more comfortable, Six Flags Great America does not allow smoking in the park except for designated areas.

Designated smoking areas are located in Hometown Square next to Triple Play, in Southwest Territory next to the Crazy Buffalo Saloon, in County Fair next to Pizza Luigi, Sticky Fingers and near Splashwater Falls, in Yukon Territory behind Claimjumpers Beef House and near the Mooseburger Lodge patio, in Yankee Harbor near the Batman restrooms, in Mardi Gras outside of the Bayou Grill, and in Orleans Place next to Bourbon Street Cafe. Hurricane Harbor's designated smoking areas are near Saltwater Sal's and the Treasure Chest.

==Rides and Attractions==
===Roller Coasters===

{| class=wikitable
|-
!Ride
!Year Opened
!Removed In
!Description
|-
|[[Whizzer (roller coaster)|Willard's Whizzer]]
|1976
|
|Shortened to just "Whizzer" before Marriott sold the park.
|-
|[[The Demon (Six Flags Great America)|Turn of the Century (Demon)]]
|1976
|
|Renovated in 1980, replacing two hills with two loops and three tunnels, renamed to Demon.
|-
|[[Gulf Coaster]]
|1976
|End of 1976
|Lasted only one season due to a small fire and unpopularity.
|-
|[[Greezed Lightnin'|Tidal Wave]]
|1978
|1991
|Schwartzkopf Shuttle Loop. Tidal Wave currently operates as Greezed Lightnin' at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky.
|-
|[[American Eagle (roller coaster)|The American Eagle]]
|1981
|
|Debuted as world's tallest and fastest racing wooden roller coaster with both trains going forward
|-
|[[Flashback (roller coaster)|Z-Force]]
|1985
|1987
|One-of-a-kind Intamin space diver roller coaster. Relocated to Six Flags Over Georgia until 1991. Today at Six Flags Magic Mountain, though has been closed and is awaiting removal.
|-
|[[Shockwave (Six Flags Great America)|Shockwave]]
|1988
|2002
|Aerodynamic steel super-coaster featuring seven inversions. Dismantled in 2002 and scrapped in 2004.
|-
|[[Alpine Bobsled|Rolling Thunder]]
|1989
|1996
|Intamin bobsled coaster. Relocated from Great Adventure and eventually to The Great Escape as the Alpine Bobsled.
|-
|[[Iron Wolf]]
|1990
|
|Steel Stand-up, Bolliger & Mabillard's first-ever roller coaster. Took the Place of Z-Force in County Fair.
|-
|[[Batman: The Ride]]
|1992
|
|B&M Steel Inverted coaster. Located on land formerly occupied by Tidal Wave. Awarded landmark status by the American Coaster Enthusiasts 2005.
|-
|[[Viper (Six Flags Great America)|Viper]]
|1995
|
|Wooden roller coaster based on the [[Coney Island Cyclone]].
|-
|[[Spacely's Sprocket Rockets]]
|1998
|
|Children's coaster built as part of the then new Camp Cartoon Network.
|-
|[[Raging Bull (roller coaster)|Raging Bull]]
|1999
|
|B&M hyper-twister roller coaster that reaches speeds over 70MPH.
|-
|[[Vertical Velocity (roller coaster)|Vertical Velocity]]
|2001
|
|Intamin forward-reverse impulse coaster.
|-
|[[Déjà Vu (roller coaster)|Déjà Vu]]
|2001
|
|Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang forward and reverse. Closed often due to harness failues.
|-
|[[Superman: Ultimate Flight]]
|2003
|
|Midwest's first flying roller coaster. Clone of Superman ride at Six Flags Over Georgia.
|-
|[[Ragin' Cajun (roller coaster)|Ragin' Cajun]]
|2004
|
|Wild mouse spinning roller coaster in the Mardi Gras area.
|-
|}

===Current Flat Rides===
*'''[[Columbia Carousel]]''' ([[Chance Rides]] Double Decker Carousel, Horses by Bradley & Kaye) - opened in 1976; located in Carousel Plaza
*'''Sky Trek Tower''' (285 ft. [[Intamin]] Sky Tower) - opened in 1977; located in Carousel Plaza
*'''[[Space Shuttle America]]''' (I-Werks Motion Simulator Ride) - opened in 1994; located in Carousel Plaza (has shown several other movies)
*'''Triple Play''' ([[Huss Rides]] [[Troika (ride)|Troika]]) - opened in 1976; located in Hometown Square (ride was temporarly removed for the 2006 season)
*'''Scenic Railway Hometown Station''' (Custom Fabricators, Inc. Train)- opened in 1976; located in Hometown Square
*'''Hometown Fun Machine''' (Eli Bridge [[Twist (ride)|Scrambler]]) - opened in 1976; located in Hometown Square
*'''The Orbit''' (Schwarzkopf [[Enterprise (ride)|Enterprise]]) - opened in 1976 as Orleans Orbit in Orleans Place; Now located in Hometown Square.
*'''Chubasco''' ([[Zamperla]] Tea Cups) - opened in 1996; located in Southwest Territory
*'''Ricochet''' ([[Huss Rides]] Swing Around) - opened in 1977; located in Southwest Territory; originally named Big Top and located in County Fair until moved in 1996
*'''Giant Drop''' (Intamin 230ft. tall giant drop) - opened in 1997; located in Southwest Territory
*'''River Rocker''' ([[Zamperla]] swinging ship) - opened in 1996; located in Southwest Territory
*'''Splashwater Falls''' ([[Hopkins Rides Inc|Hopkins]] [[Shoot-the-Chutes]] water ride) - opened in 1986; located in County Fair
*'''Great America Raceway''' (Arrow Dynamics antique cars) - opened in 1976; located in County Fair
*'''Revolution''' ([[Huss Rides]] Frisbee) - opened in 2004; located in County Fair; moved from Six Flags Great Adventure
*'''Scenic Railway Fairgrounds Junction''' (Custom Fabricators, Inc. Train)- opened in 1976; located in County Fair
*'''Fiddler's Fling''' (Schwarzkopf Calypso 3) - opened in 1976; located in County Fair
*'''Logger's Run''' (Arrow Dynamics [[Log Flume]] with 2 different sides) - opened in 1976; located in Yukon Territory
*'''Yankee Clipper''' (Arrow Dynamics Hydroflume with 2 different sides) - opened in 1976; located in Yankee Harbor
*'''Whirligig''' (Zierer Wave Swinger) - opened in 1976; located in Yankee Harbor. Orginal location in County Fair where covered portion of Iron Wolf queue line stands today.
*'''[[East River Crawler]]''' (Schwarzkopf Lobster) - opened in 1976; located in Yankee Harbor
*'''Roaring Rapids''' ([[Intamin]] [[River Rafting Ride|Rapids water ride]]) - opened in 1984 as White Water Rapids; located in Mardi Gras
*'''The Jester's Wild Ride''' ([[Zamperla]] themed Rockin’ Tug) - opened in 2004; located in Mardi Gras
*'''Big Easy Balloons''' ([[Zamperla]] Balloon Race) - opened in 2004; located in Mardi Gras
*'''King Chaos''' ([[Huss Rides]] Top Spin) - opened in 2004; located in Mardi Gras
*'''Condor''' ([[Huss Rides]] [[Condor (ride)|Condor]]) - opened in 1991; located in Orleans Place
*'''Rue Le Dodge''' (Soli [[bumper cars]]) - opened in 1976; located in Orleans Place

===Current kiddie rides===
Located in '''Camp Cartoon Network''' (section new in 1998):

*'''Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine''' ([[Zamperla]] Crazy Bus) - opened in 1998
*'''Bedrock Boulder Roller''' ([[Zamperla]] kiddie Ferris Wheel) - opened in 1998 -Formerly located at the now defunct Six Flags Astroworld.
*'''Flinstones - Rocky Road Rescue Service''' (Hampton Rides kiddie ride) - opened in 1998
*'''Yogi's Yahoo River''' (Herschell kiddie ride) - opened in 1998

Located in '''Bugs Bunny National Park''':

*'''Yosemite Sam's National Park Tour''' ([[Zamperla]] Rio Grande – kiddie train ride)
*'''Looney Tunes Lodge''' (SCS Interactive kiddie foam ball play area)
*'''Pepe Le Pew's Peak''' (kiddie playground/slides area)
*'''Waddaview National Park Charter Service''' (Herschell kiddie ride)
*'''Porky's Buzzy Beez''' (kiddie ride)
*'''Petunia's Lady Bugz''' (kiddie ride)

Located in '''Wiggle's World''' (section added new in the 2007 season):
*'''Big Red Plane Ride''' (Zamperla Telecombat)
*'''Big Red Car Ride''' (Zamperla Convoy)
*'''Bouncin' With Wags''' (Zamperla Jumpin' Star)
*'''Dorothy's Rosy Tea Cups''' (Zamperla Mini Tea Cup)
*'''Yummy Yummy Fruit Salad Tower Ride''' (Zamperla Samba Tower)
*'''Henry's Splash Fountain'''
*'''S.S. Feathersword Pirate Ship'''

===Current extra charge attractions===

*'''Winner's Circle Go-Karting''' (go-karts) - opened in 2000; located in Carousel Plaza
*'''The Wall''' (rock climbing wall) - opened in 2001; located in County Fair
*'''Dare Devil Dive''' ([[Skycoaster]]) - opened in 1997; located in County Fair

===Hurricane Harbor (water park)===

*'''Skull Island''' (SCS Interactive Discovery Treehouse/WaterColors with slides from Proslide Technology Inc.) - opened in 2005
*'''Hurricane Mountain''' (Proslide Technology Inc. “Pipeline” - 4 tube slides) - opened in 2005
*'''Wahoo Racer''' (Proslide Technology Inc. 6 lane "OctopusRacer") - opened in 2005
*'''Buccaneer Bay''' (kiddie area) - opened in 2005
*'''Castaway Creek''' (lazy river) - opened in 2005
*'''Bahama Mama''' and '''Bubba Tubba''' (2 separate Proslide Technology Inc. “Mammoths” - family raft rides) - opened in 2005
*'''Hurricane Bay''' (Aquatic Development Group Inc. WaveTek wave pool) - opened in 2005
*'''Vortex''' and '''Typhoon''' (2 separate Proslide Technology Inc. "CannonBowls") - opened in 2005
*'''Paradise Plunge''' and '''Riptide''' (2 separate Proslide Technology Inc. "Tubro Tunnels" - speed slides) - opened in 2005
*'''Hammerhead''' and '''Barracuda''' (2 separate Proslide Technology Inc. "Atomic Coasters" - tube slides) - opened in 2005
*'''Tornado''' (Proslide Technology Inc. Tornado “Rattler” - funnel shaped tube slide that uses four person “cloverleaf” or two person “whirly wheel” tubes) - opened in 2006

==Crowds==
Six Flags Great America is the only major theme park in the Chicago area, which results in large crowds during the summer and during Fright Fest. In 2005, Great America had over 3 million guests. Even though Great America is one of the best parks in the industry with operations, these days can still result in long lines.

The park opened the last weekend in April for 2006. The park usually opens either in the last weekend of April or the first weekend of May. The first few weekends in which the park is open are usually far less crowded than the weekends during the summer.

Hurricane Harbor usually has a very long entry line on summer days. As the park becomes populated, guests are allowed in until the park reaches 7,200 guests, at which point entry is denied. After waiting to get into the park, guests still have to wait in very long lines for attractions. In 2006, a season pass guaranteed pass-holders access to the largest water park in the state.

In the summer months, weekdays are usually less crowded than weekends, which get very crowded. The most crowded days are Saturdays and Sundays during Fright Fest. The park can get up to 49,000 guests on these days.

Great America almost never closes, unless attendance is extremely low or extreme weather conditions force the park to close.

==Related parks==

Marriott also opened a sister park in 1976 in [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]],[[California]] with nearly identical attractions and layout. The Santa Clara park was purchased by the Paramount Park Group and was known as [[Paramount's Great America]] until in 2007, when Paramount Entertainment decided to sell its amusement parks, wherein the Santa Clara park became the property of Cedar Fair Amusements. The park is now called just [[Great America (California)|Great America]].

This same park was featured in the movie [[Beverly Hills Cop III]], with its recognizable Carousel.

A third park was intended to be opened in Virginia, but numerous problems were encountered with building the park and getting the correct permits, so it never advanced past deep planning stages.

== Logos ==
The park has used several logos over the years. During the Marriott Years, both Gurnee and Santa Clara used the same logo style, similar logos were used by Six Flags and Kings Entertainment Company (operator of the Santa Clara park), however by the 1990s the original style logo disappeared from all advertising at both parks.
<gallery>
Image:MGA-LOGO250.gif|The Original Marriott's GREAT AMERICA logo. Used from the park's opening in 1976 until 1985 when Six Flags bought the park. The words "GREAT AMERICA" can still be seen on the ''Logger's Run'' boats.
Image:MGAm Logo.JPG|The Circle-Star logo was used alongside the Marriott logo. It can still be seen on the center hub of the ''Orbit'' ride.
Image:85gamlogo.JPG|The rainbow logo was used only during the 1985 season.
Image:Sfballygreatamerica.JPG|This logo was adopted in 1985 alongside the rainbow logo. The logo is basically unchanged from the original Marriott logo except for replacing Marriott's with Six Flags. It was used from 1985 until 1991 when Time Warner purchased the Six Flags chain.
Image:DSCN3259.JPG|This logo was adopted in 1991 and used until the park received its current logo. This logo can still be seen in several locations within the park.
Image:20-LgLogo200x200.gif|The current logo was adopted before the 2000 season.
Image:Great america logo.jpg|Used in 2006 to celebrate the company's 45th Anniversary. The next logo will be this same one with [[Bugs Bunny]] running but the 45th Anniversary banner will be gone.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Incidents at Six Flags parks]]

==External links==
; Official sites
*[http://www.sixflags.com SixFlags.com] Official Six Flags website

; Unofficial sites
*[http://www.sfgamworld.com/ SFGAm World] Fan Site
*[http://www.sixflagsforum.com/ Six Flags Forum]
*[http://www.greatamericaparks.com Great America Parks] Unofficial History Site
*[http://www.freewebs.com/jlrev/sfgamzone.htm SFGAm Zone] Fan Site
*[http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Gurnee,+Illinois&ll=42.368281,-87.933819&spn=0.010254,0.014473&t=k&hl=en Satellite view of the park]
*[http://www.coasterimage.com/pictures/sixflagsgreatamerica/index.htm Six Flags Great America Pictures]
*[http://rcdb.com/pd2.htm Entry] at [[rcdb.com]] showing all coasters past and present
*[http://sfgamplace.19.forumer.com/index.php Fan Forum]

[[Category:Amusement parks in Illinois]]
[[Category:Six Flags parks and attractions|Great America]]
[[Category:1976 establishments]]
[[Category:Gurnee, Illinois]]

[[ja:シックスフラッグス・グレート・アメリカ]]
[[pl:Six Flags Great America]]

Six Flags (1961–2024)

2007-07-19T17:55:53Z

Capi crimm: Although nothing in there is false, it is not encyclopedia worthy.

[[Image:SixFlags Logo.jpg|right|150px|Six Flags logo]]
'''Six Flags''' ({{nyse|SIX}}) is the world's largest chain of [[amusement parks]] and [[theme parks]] and is headquartered in [[New York City]]. There are 20 such parks run by Six Flags. The first Six Flags amusement park, [[Six Flags Over Texas]], was built midway between the cities of [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]] and [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] in [[Arlington, Texas|Arlington]] ([[Tarrant County]]), [[Texas]], [[United States]].

The park took its name from the six flags that have flown over the State of Texas during its history, namely those of [[Spain]], [[France]], [[Mexico]], the [[Republic of Texas]], the [[United States]] of America and the [[Confederate States of America]]. In [[2006]], the company celebrated the 45th anniversary since the opening of Six Flags over Texas.

==History==

===Beginnings===
The Six Flags chain began in 1961 with the creation of Six Flags Over Texas by [[Angus G. Wynne]] at [[Arlington, Texas|Arlington]] in [[Tarrant County, Texas|Tarrant County]], which initially featured a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] village, a [[Gondola lift|gondola]] ride, a [[railroad]], some [[Wild West]] shows, a [[stagecoach]] ride, and "Skull Island", a pirate-themed adventure attraction. There was also an excursion aboard "French" boats through a wilderness full of animated puppets. Over time, all of those attractions, except for the railroad, would be replaced by others, such as [[roller coaster]]s, swing rides, [[log flume]]s, and shoot-the-chute rides, as well as an [[observation tower (ride)|observation tower]].

===Growth (Acquisitions)===
The chain grew with the acquisition of other parks, such as the [[Six Flags Great Adventure|Great Adventure Park and Safari]] in [[Jackson Township, New Jersey|Jackson, New Jersey]], and [[Six Flags Great America|Great America]] in [[Gurnee, Illinois]], which had been founded by the Marriott hotel chain. The chain of parks changed hands several times, being sold to the [[Penn Central]] railroad, then to [[Bally]] Construction Corporation, and later on to the [[Time Warner]] company, among other owners. During Time Warner's tenure as owner, the parks began use the company's vast intellectual property holdings, including Warner Bros. cartoon characters and studio properties such as the ''Batman'' and ''Superman'' film series. The chain is well-known in recent times for large and fast roller coasters, although the [[queue area]]s are often in the open air without much [[shading]] and without as many props typical for some queue areas in [[Walt Disney World]].

[[Image:Sixflags45.jpg|right|thumb|Six Flags 45th Anniversary logo- used for 2006 season]]

===Premier Parks' purchase of Six Flags===
Six Flags Theme Parks Inc. was purchased in whole on [[April 1]], [[1998]] from Time Warner by [[Oklahoma City]]-based Premier Parks. Premier then began to apply the Six Flags name to a number of smaller parks that had been expanded, including Darien Lake, [[Six Flags Elitch Gardens|Elitch Gardens]], and Adventure World. In 2000, Premier Parks changed its name to Six Flags, Inc. Headquartered in [[New York City]], Six Flags is now the largest amusement park operator in the United States. Six Flags owes about $2.1 Billion in debt, and they have lost money every year since 1998. [[Bill Gates]] owns about 11% of Six Flags and rumors were flying around that [[Bill Gates]]' Cascade Investments and [[Daniel Snyder]]'s Red Zone LLC (which owns 12% of Six Flags) may take it over. Indeed, on [[August 17]], [[2005]], Red Zone began a proxy battle to gain control of Six Flags' board of directors. On November 22, 2005, Red Zone announced success in the attempt. After gaining control of the board, CEO Kieran Burke was ousted on December 14, 2005 and replaced by Mark Shapiro, former EVP of Programming at [[ESPN]]. Moreover, Six Flags named former [[United States House of Representatives|Representative]] [[Jack Kemp]], entertainment mogul [[Harvey Weinstein]], and the former president, Michael Kassan, of the [[Interpublic Group of Companies Incorporated]], a global marketing and advertising agency, to their newly revamped board of directors.

===Premier's Growth of Company===
When they were the owners, Premier Parks attempted to branch out internationally, purchasing the "Walibi" branded parks in Europe. Only two in the chain ever became Six Flags parks: Six Flags Holland and Six Flags Belgium. These parks lasted a mere three years under the Six Flags name. Six Flags sold the chain to a company called Star Parks in 2004. The parks have since been renamed "Walibi World" and "Walibi Belgium".

===Marketing===
Until 2004, Six Flags parks would do separate commercials for each park, sometimes with special themes (like Great America's 25th anniversary in 2001). In 2004, Six Flags began a series of commercials linking all of the parks. The commercials were notable for a new mascot, "[[Mr. Six]]", and would each begin with an old man in a tuxedo and red bow tie slowly exiting a bus, only to start frenetically dancing to the [[Vengaboys]]' ''[[We Like to Party]]''. The commercials were an immediate hit and Mr. Six almost instantly became the official mascot, although he was retired after the 2005 season.

Subsequently, [[Bugs Bunny]] became a mascot, whose image is on the 45th anniversary banner, since [[Looney Tunes]], along with [[DC comics]] characters, dominates the park's themes.

====The Papa John's Pizza Deal====
On March 30, 2006, Six Flags announced that it will sell no other pizza besides [[Papa John's Pizza|Papa John's]] at its parks. In turn, Six Flags will receive an annual sponsorship and promotional opportunities from Papa John's, though financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

===Astroworld's Closing===
On September 12, 2005, Six Flags announced that it was closing its legendary [[Six Flags Astroworld]] theme park in [[Houston]], Texas, at the end of the 2005 season, citing issues such as the park's performance, and parking issues involving the [[Houston Texans]] football team, [[Reliant Stadium]], and the [[Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo]] leveraged with the value of the property upon which the park is located.

===Sale of Properties===
====Frontier City====
On January 27, 2006, Six Flags announced the sale of [[Frontier City]] theme park and [[White Water Bay]] water park, both located in [[Oklahoma City, Oklahoma|Oklahoma City]], at the conclusion of the 2006 operating season. At the same time, Six Flags also announced its plan to close corporate offices in Oklahoma City. Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro said he expects the parks to continue operation after the sale, unlike [[Six Flags Astroworld]]. Six Flags also announced that it would be moving all of its corporate operations to [[New York City]].

====2006 Sale of Properties====
In June of 2006, Six Flags announced it was considering closing or selling up to six of its parks, including [[Six Flags Elitch Gardens|Elitch Gardens]] ([[Denver, CO]]), [[Six Flags Darien Lake|Darien Lake]] ([[Darien, New York|Darien, NY]]), [[Six Flags WaterWorld (Concord)|WaterWorld]] ([[Concord, CA]]), [[Wild Waves and Enchanted Village]] ([[Federal Way, WA]]), [[Six Flags Splashtown|Splashtown]] ([[Spring, TX]]), and [[Six Flags Magic Mountain|Magic Mountain]] ([[Los Angeles]])/[[Hurricane Harbor]] (Various). <ref>[http://www.thedenverchannel.com/money/9415831/detail.html?rss=den&psp=money]</ref> In addition, Six Flags also announced the sale of [[Wyandot Lake]] in [[Powell, Ohio]] to the [[Columbus Zoo and Aquarium]], which is located next to the park. <ref>[http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/06/13/20060613-A1-01.html Zoo to keep Wyandot Lake afloat]'', Marla Matzer Rose. ''[[Columbus Dispatch]]'', June 13, 2006.</ref>

====2007 Sale of Properties====
On January 11, 2007, the company announced it sold seven parks to [[PARC 7F-Operations Corporation]] for $312 million to help the company's debt burden. Six Flags will receive $275 million cash and a note for $37 million for four theme parks and three water parks. PARC 7F, of Jacksonville, Florida, is expected to sell the parks to CNL Income Properties Inc., a real-estate trust based in Florida, and then lease them back. Six Flags sold [[Darien Lake]], [[Elitch Gardens]], [[Frontier City]], White Water Bay, [[SplashTown]], [[Waterworld USA]], [[Wild Waves]], and [[Enchanted Village]]. The company decided not to sell Magic Mountain and its adjacent water park. Spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg said that upon further evaluation, the company decided that the Los Angeles parks remained too valuable to let go as season passes and general sales were up.

===Purchase of Dick Clark Productions===
June 19, 2007, Six Flags announced it has purchased 40% of Dick Clark Productions, which owns rights to ''[[American Bandstand]]'' and other shows and productions.<ref>http://investors.sixflags.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=61629&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1016920&highlight=</ref>

==Current Properties==
=== United States ===

==== [[California]] ====
*'''[[Six Flags Magic Mountain]]''', [[Valencia, California|Valencia]]
*'''[[Six Flags Hurricane Harbor]]''', [[Valencia, California|Valencia]]
*'''[[Six Flags Discovery Kingdom]]''', [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]]

==== [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] ====
*'''[[Six Flags Over Georgia]]''', [[Austell, Georgia|Austell]]
*'''[[Six Flags White Water]]''', [[Marietta, Georgia|Marietta]]
*'''[[American Adventures]]''', [[Marietta, Georgia|Marietta]]

==== [[Illinois]] ====
*'''[[Six Flags Great America]] & [[Six Flags Great America|Six Flags Hurricane Harbor]]''', [[Gurnee, Illinois|Gurnee]] (near [[Chicago]])

==== [[Kentucky]] ====
*'''[[Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom]] & [[Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom|Splashwater Kingdom]]''', [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]]

==== [[Louisiana]] ====
*'''[[Six Flags New Orleans]]''' ([[New Orleans, Louisiana]]) Closed due to Hurricane Katrina.

==== [[Maryland]] ====
*'''[[Six Flags America]] & [[Six Flags America|Six Flags Hurricane Harbor]]''', [[Largo, Maryland|Largo]] in unincorporated [[Prince George's County, Maryland|Prince George's County]]

==== [[Massachusetts]] ====
*'''[[Six Flags New England]] & [[Six Flags New England|Six Flags Hurricane Harbor]]''', [[Springfield, Massachusetts|Springfield]]

==== [[Missouri]] ====
*'''[[Six Flags St. Louis]] & [[Six Flags St. Louis|Six Flags Hurricane Harbor]]''', [[Eureka, Missouri|Eureka]]

==== [[New Jersey]] ====
*'''[[Six Flags Great Adventure]]''', [[Jackson, New Jersey|Jackson]]
*'''[[Six Flags Hurricane Harbor]]''', [[Jackson, New Jersey|Jackson]]
*'''[[Six Flags Wild Safari]]''', [[Jackson, New Jersey|Jackson]]

==== [[New York]] ====
*'''[[The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom]]''', [[Lake George, New York|Lake George]]
*'''[[Six Flags Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Waterpark]]''' [[Lake George, New York|Lake George]]

==== [[Texas]] ====
*'''[[Six Flags Over Texas]]''', [[Arlington, Texas|Arlington]]
*'''[[Six Flags Hurricane Harbor]]''', [[Arlington, Texas|Arlington]]
*'''[[Six Flags Fiesta Texas]] & [[Six Flags Fiesta Texas|White Water Bay]]''', [[San Antonio, Texas|San Antonio]]

=== Canada ===
==== [[Quebec]] ====
*'''[[La Ronde (amusement park)|La Ronde]]''', [[Montreal]]

=== Mexico ===
==== [[Mexican Federal District|Federal District]] ====
*'''[[Six Flags Mexico]]''', [[Mexico City]]

== Former Properties ==
[[Image:SFAWlogo.gif|thumb|right|Former Six Flags AutoWorld logo]]
*'''[[AutoWorld|Six Flags AutoWorld]]''' (Flint, [[Michigan]]) Closed: 1985
*'''[[Six Flags Atlantis]]''' (Hollywood, [[Florida]]) Sold: 1989
*'''[[Power Plant Live!|Six Flags Power Plant]]''' (Baltimore, [[Maryland]]) Closed: 1989
*'''[[Geauga Lake & Wildwater Kingdom|Six Flags Worlds of Adventure]]''' formerly '''Six Flags Ohio''' and '''[[SeaWorld]] Ohio''' (Aurora, [[Ohio]]) Sold: 2004
*'''[[Walibi Belgium|Six Flags Belgium]]''' ([[Brussels]], [[Belgium]]) Sold: 2004
*'''[[Walibi World|Six Flags Holland]]''' ([[Dronten]], [[Netherlands]]) Sold: 2004
*'''[[Bellewaerde]]''' ([[Ieper]], [[Belgium]]) Sold: 2004
*'''[[Movie Park Germany]]''' ([[Bottrop]], [[Germany]]) Sold: 2004
*'''[[Walibi Aquitaine]]''' ([[Bordeaux]], [[France]]) Sold: 2004
*'''[[Walibi Lorraine]]''' ([[Metz]], [[France]]) Sold: 2004
*'''[[Walibi Rhône-Alpes]]''' ([[Lyon]], [[France]]) Sold: 2004
*'''[[Parque Warner Madrid]]''' ([[Madrid]], [[Spain]]) Sold: 2004
*'''[[Six Flags Astroworld]]''' ([[Houston, Texas]]) Closed: 2005
*'''[[Wyandot Lake]]''' ([[Columbus, Ohio]]) Sold: 2006
*'''[[Six Flags Waterworld (Sacramento)|Six Flags Waterworld]]''' ([[Sacramento]], [[California]]) Sold: 2006

=== Former Six Flags Properties Sold to PARC 7F ===

*'''[[Six Flags Darien Lake|Darien Lake Theme Park Resort]]''' ([[Buffalo, New York]]) Sold: 2007
*'''[[Six Flags Elitch Gardens|Elitch Gardens]]''' ([[Denver, Colorado]]) Sold: 2007
*'''[[Frontier City]]''' ([[Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]) Sold: 2007
*'''[[White Water Bay]]''' ([[Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]) Sold: 2007
*'''[[Six Flags SplashTown|SplashTown]]''' ([[Houston, Texas]]) Sold: 2007
*'''[[Six Flags Waterworld Concord|Waterworld Concord]]''' ([[Concord, California]]) Sold: 2007
*'''[[Wild Waves and Enchanted Village]]''' ([[Seattle, Washington]]) Sold: 2007

== Discounts ==
There are only two known ways to get a regular discounted admission to Six Flags. You can get $10 off by purchasing tickets online at SixFlags.com. There are also regularly (typically in the summer and spring seasons when the weather is warmer) available discounts by means of a partnership with [[Coca-Cola]], in which if an individual brings in a Coca-Cola can to the admissions gate, they receive a discount (usually in the amount of $20). Additionally, during this year's 45th anniversary season, convenience store chain WaWa is selling general admission tickets for the discounted rate of 39.99.

== Trivia ==
{{Trivia|date=June 2007}}
*Six Flags' current CEO is Mark Shapiro (former head of programming for [[ESPN]]).
*Six Flags' entire European division, excluding Movie Park, was sold on [[March 10]], [[2004]].
*The first Six Flags property was [[Six Flags Over Texas]], which was also the first park to offer entrance fees of still only $2.95.<ref>http://sixflags.com/media_info.asp</ref>
*Very few Six Flags properties were built from the ground up; [[Six Flags Over Texas]], [[Six Flags Over Georgia]] and [[Six Flags St. Louis]] are the three that were.
*Six Flags has more coasters than all other theme park companies in the world combined. Six Flags operates 160 coasters at its 30 parks, and those coasters travel almost 2.5 million miles each year,{{Fact|date=May 2007}} equivalent to 100 orbits around the Earth.<ref>http://sixflags.com/media_info.asp</ref>
*The 2004 sale of the entire European division, as well as Six Flags Worlds of Adventure, raised $345 million dollars in an effort to relieve Six Flags' massive debt.<ref>http://www.coastergallery.com/SFSale.html</ref>
*Six Flags debt (as of June 2005): $2.3 billion<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9073074</ref>
*In fall 2006, most Six Flags parks offered passes for front-of-line passes or other privileges during Fright Fest if an individual ate a live cockroach, drawing criticism from [[People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals|PETA]].
*Six Flags dubbed [[Nintendo]]'s [[Wii]] console the "Official Console of Six Flags".<ref>http://www.n-sider.com/newsview.php?type=story&storyid=2600</ref>
*The ''[[Roller Coaster Tycoon]]'' series has Six Flags roller coasters as default designs and features recreations of five Six Flags parks.
*The Six Flags commercials have been parodied in an episode of ''[[Robot Chicken]]'' in which The elderly dancing man dances in the middle of a car accident.
*Six Flags has a tendency to construct coasters on parking lots {{fact}}.

== Accidents ==

{{main|Incidents at Six Flags parks}}

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.sixflags.com/index.asp Six Flags]

=== Six Flags Park Sites ===
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/america/index.asp Six Flags America]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/aadventures/index.asp American Adventures]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/discoverykingdom/index.asp Six Flags Discovery Kingdom]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatadventure/index.asp Six Flags Great Adventure]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatamerica/index.asp Six Flags Great America]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatescape/index.asp The Great Escape]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/hurricaneharborla/index.asp Six Flags Hurricane Harbor (California)]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/hurricaneharbornj/index.asp Six Flags Hurricane Harbor (New Jersey)]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/hurricaneharbordallas/index.asp Six Flags Hurricane Harbor (Texas)]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/fiestatexas/index.asp Six Flags Fiesta Texas]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/overgeorgia/index.asp Six Flags Over Georgia]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/kentuckykingdom/index.asp Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom]
*[http://www.laronde.com/larondeen/ La Ronde]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/magicmountain/index.asp Six Flags Magic Mountain]
*[http://www.sixflags.com.mx/ Six Flags Mexico]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/newengland/index.asp Six Flags New England (Springfield)]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/stlouis/index.asp Six Flags St. Louis]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/overtexas/index.asp Six Flags over Texas]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/whitewater/index.asp Six Flags White Water]
*[http://www.sixflags.com/parks/wildsafari/ Six Flags Wild Safari]

[[Category:Six Flags| ]]
[[Category:Entertainment companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Amusement park companies]]
[[Category:companies based in New York]]
[[Category:Companies established in 1961]]

[[bg:Six Flags]]
[[cs:Six Flags]]
[[da:Six Flags]]
[[de:Six Flags]]
[[es:Six Flags]]
[[fr:Six Flags]]
[[it:Six Flags]]
[[nl:Six Flags]]
[[ja:シックスフラッグス]]
[[pl:Six Flags]]
[[fi:Six Flags]]
[[sv:Six Flags]]
[[zh:六面旗]]

*[http://www.sixflags.invisionplus.net Six Flags Fan Site]

Talk:Isotretinoin

2007-07-13T17:27:47Z

Capi crimm: /* Marijuana use */

==Marijuana use==
The page claims that it can heighten depression, yet doesn't source it. Depression is an extremely serious mental condition. It doesn't make sense to suggest that something really bad is more likely to happen, but then not cite it. The whole comment should be removed. It causes needless fear.
[[User:24.86.144.101|24.86.144.101]] 06:48, 15 June 2007 (UTC)jvp
:http://depression.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/5d8e2.htm
:cite it if you want. It's not some little tidbit of knowledge, it's on every manufacturers website and on the prescription box. I also think it's 'may' and not 'can'. Companies don't like side-effects.

== Statistics on effectiveness ==

Are there any statistics on how often it helps its patients etc? I once heard 80% of people who use accutane are cured of most acne or whatever.

== Listing in google ==

I have a feeling the drug box is negatively affecting this pages rank in google. I think google is denying it a description because of it. I'm going to move it below the opening paragraph in order to try and remedy this.--[[User:Jaguar2k|Jaguar2k]] 10:43, 4 Mar 2005 (UTC)

== Fact Check ==
I think the history needs some more referencing and fact checking as some of it doesn't seem to add up and is very general.

A well sourced article:
http://leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/472/Green.html

It may be worth appropriating some of the information there to this article or looking up those sources.

Also, some of the content seems to repeat itself too (I think the same info about birth defects is mentioned twice).

"Death" as a possible side effect..? that is totally ridiculous. Absolutely false.

REPLY: I completely agree. Just stating "death" as a side effect simply won't do. You need to at least say what causes the "death". If this is in regards to the possible links to depression and suicide, then it's completely unnecessary. In fact, this should only remain in the article if the person who entered it can cite evidence of a case where somebody has died from taking Isotretinoin and it has been PROVEN that the drug is the cause. As it is, I think it's only going to serve as a needless scare for those who may be about to begin a dose of the drug.

== Personal Experience ==
I am currently on the Drug and of all the symptoms listed I have experiance dry lips (constantly). Also my skin is becoming more brown, I have not noticed any of the other side effects.

My specialist has told me that birth defects are only apparent for preganant women. In Australia women are not prescribed the drug without being on the pill.

I was also curious about the psycological effects. I have been informed that there has been no proven link with depression and suicide allthough there have been some studies to suggest that it is so.

Dry lips is a very common side-effect (almost universal, from what I know). Most of the side-effects, however, are ''potential'' ones, afaik.

I've been on it for like a week, and I've been getting hit with these very short bursts of depression, where I'll just feel totally dejected and lackadaisacal for 10 minutes or so, so I just distract myself by reading, then it goes away. Really very bizarre, can't see it driving me to suicide though, fortunately ;)

:"My specialist has told me that birth defects are only apparent for preganant women." Huh? [[User:Adodge|Alex Dodge]] 06:23, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

I have 2 days left of a 6 month treatment and for all but the last week all I expirienced was dry lips and the joy of being able to face myself in the mirror. I wish I would have committed to the drug sooner. As of the last week I've noticed a lack of energy and more general dry skin, but that could be due to the colder weather. The only thing I worry about after taking the drug is my acne will return, but asfar as I can see the drug was a blessing

^I was on acutane myself a few years ago. It works great I really wish I would have gone on it sooner. I myself never experienced depression, but like you said, dry lips are a constant. My friend recently started taking it a few weeks ago and he always bitches about his dry lips, but he says it's totally worth it because it's already doing wonders for his skin.

Accutane brought me OUT of my depression. Before I started the drug, my skin looked horrible. Within days, I was cleared up. The dry lips were a small, small price to pay. Bless the discoverer of this fantastic drug.

== Another case ==
It was revealed that [[Martin Bryant]] (Port Arthur Massacre) was also on Roaccutane at the time of his massacre/suicide, leading to depression/suicide, and in his case, stockpiling of weapons. Another interesting link is the reported but apparently not confirmed tendency for people using Roaccutane to hoard sugary sweets, due to the body trying to regulate the natural substance...

:Are there reliable sources for this information and do you have concrete evidence that Bryant's killing spree had something to do with the psychological effects of isotretinoin? I think the evidence for the suicide/depression thesis sofar is very flimsy. [[User:Karl Stas|Karl Stas]] 21:11, 11 February 2006 (UTC)

After trying all other available solutions to cure my wife's stubborn acne, she resorted to Accutane. It was extremely effective with no lingering side effects. She experienced some dry skin while on the treatment and had some slight hair thinning and hair texture change. But those problems disappeared shortly after the treatment concluded. After more than twenty (yes, 20) years, no problems have surfaced. We are the parents of two healthy, beautiful girls. Our older girl was conceived I think around seven years after the treatment, and we had no trouble conceiving. My wife is now 46 and people often remark that she looks much younger than her age. In her case, the drug produced no premature aging, which one might think could happen. The reason I am resarching Accutane now is that it appears that our older daughter is going to need it, and I am trying to research case studies just for safety's sake. I'm amazed, though, that the lawyers appear to have seized hold of the information flow about this useful drug. Yes, it is a powerful drug and, yes, birth defects are a known side effect, but the psychological "problems" I think may be blown way out of proportion. Consider this: When someone is considering Accutane, they usually have severe, disfiguring (i.e., scarring) acne. When they go through a course of treatment the acne is cured, but the scars remain. When that fact sinks in, I think it is then that the patient can possibly become suicidal. Those with over-active glands--who are acne treatment candidates--would seem likely to be predisposed to psychological issues as well, I would think. And also consider this: We are having to jump through hoops at the moment and are faced with extremely large costs (I suspect largely due to excessive litigation) to be able to get Accutante treatment for my daughter. Meanwhile, she runs the risk of scarring if we can't get treatment started in time. When my wife took it, it was a) reasonably priced and b) there was no waiting period. One last comment...it would be great if there was a place that shared really useful information on patients' experiences rather than focusing on these so-called psychological problems.

:I didn't have any sort of mental problems prior to taking Accutane 6 years ago. During the course of the treatment I had pretty much every single symptom that Roche likes to claim doesn't happen very often. I spent 6 months on the couch sleeping, getting up only to take my pills and eat a small ammount of food before going back to bed. I'm glad that your wife didn't have any problem with it, but some people do, and not just people who are 'predisposed' to mental problems. I didn't have 'disfiguring' acne, I had pretty managable normal acne for a 18 year old, but for some reason the doctor that I went to decided that Accutane would be the best course of action, without trying anything else. The way he made it sound, it was the best stuff ever. I should have taken the hint when my lips started to crack uncontrollably without a thick layer of carmex daily. I should have taken in the hint when I started to not be able to drink liquid on an empty stomach without feeling like I was being stabbed. And I should have also taken the hint when I felt like everything I was doing was completely meaningless, because the drug made me feel that way.

:Just because you know someone who didn't have a problem with it, doesn't give you the right to downplay all the expirences of people who HAVE had problems with it. I wish I had never taken it, since I still have some residual physical problems from it -greg.schoen@gmail{nospam}.com - 21:54 - 2 September 2006

I can only speak authoritatively on what I have seen firsthand. As I mentioned, my wife had excellent success with no lingering side effects. And now my daughter has finally been authorized to receive the drug. She has been on it 20 days as of this writing (9/6/06). The oiliness of her skin has reduced noticeably. The inflamation has gone way down. Those who haven't seen her in the last month can notice the improvement right away. As a result, she actually likes looking at the mirror now, rather than shunning it. The only side effect she has noticed is her lips are dry. She carries a $1 stick of lip balm around with her. I asked her, and she has stated firmly, that she can sense no change in her mood, other than the mood lift she is getting from her much improved complexion.

Re your own situation, it is well known that Accutane is a treatment of last resort. It's a powerful drug that should not be used for a "pretty managable (sic) normal acne". To do so is foolishly naive. And certainly there may very well be a relatively small percentage of cases that have had severe, adverse reactions. But what I am seeing is that the lawyers are attempting to crucify the drug. FYI, the bill for my gaughter's first month's supply of pills was $372. Add to that the costs of the monthly pregnancy checks, the blood work, the doctors visits, and it's now unnecessarily expensive--largely due I think to frivolous lawsuits. We should hit our deductible soon, but until we do, this is money out of my pocket. When my wife went through the treatment, the costs were very minor. I only hope that when and if my younger daughter needs to get on it, the drug hasn't been discontinued because of this litigation insanity that's going on. Imagine having to go through life with a severely scarred face, which could be prevented. It's very easy to claim that the drug makes you "feel" bad, but nothing that a little cash can't cure, right? -A Tampa Dad.

==Depression==
My best friend was perscribed Roaccutane 7 years ago. He was perfectly normal until he started taking this stuff, I'm not talking about just being sad because his Acne was giving him self-esteem issues, he had all out paranoia. We would be walking the the park, and he would be like "That guy is starting at me!" "That little girl is staring at me!" and when driving around he put the headrests back on the passenger seat because "Everyone is staring at me". He was only on it for a couple of months, but still to this day he is mildly paranoid (He is on medication) and gets the munchies/very moody if he stays up late.

The cases claiming depression arn't frivolous, this is very real. I wish there was some articles that I could source, because as rare as depression from Roaccutane is, it is still a very serious side-effect that should be considered before taking it. Don't complain that it costs $372 because suffering depression is nothing to do with money. --[[User:220.239.221.186|220.239.221.186]] 05:32, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

OH! CUT THE CRAP! Accutane has been a life saver for me. Every person that has felt first hand (as in directly not "a friend, relative etc") knows that THIS DRUG IS A MIRACLE. Just think about it: Wouldn't a person with digusting, hideous wounds on his/her face be more freaking likely to enter depression than a normal one? It is logical that all Isotretinoin users should have severe acne; so please take your crap somewhere else. If anything, this drug has stopped thousands of people from commiting suicide and from ending their sad, pathetic lives.
PS:And let's say for a minute that it does cause severe depressions... Why would you want to live with a disfigured face anyway? and with a disgusting skin disease that has no other cure and will harm you till you are 40?22:21, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

So true. Accutane is a miracle. I only wish I had taken it sooner. I never had depression from it, I was always cheerful as I watched the effects on my face and body.

---My ex-boyfirend had very serve acne for about 4-5 years. It bothered him, and he did suffer bouts of depression regarding the acne. He began taking Accutane and his acne cleared up quite a bit. He was on the drug for about 1.5 years.However, he experienced a complete personality change. He became VERY irritable and depressed. After he stopped taking the Accutane the depression cleared, but the irritability remains to this day, 6 years later. With much counseling he is able to control the irritability most of the time, but still has issues. Though his acne is gone, he has said that he would take the acne back if it would give him back "his mind" as he puts it. So yes, while it does work and work well for most, the side effects can be devestating. [[User:Sjc80|Sjc80]] 03:07, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

== Pointless secondary effects list ==
No matter how long or short the secondary effects list on the right or the article is, there is two large problems with it:
1.- Nowhere in the article are they mentioned, save Teratogenia and Possible Depression, and they are pointed out in the box as the serious secondary effects. Else than that...
2.- ...Nowhere in the article or the box is mentioned the frequency of these secondary effects (not even a hint like "rare" or "common").

The number of different secondary effects put into the box can be strongly misleading, it can make the reader think that those secondary effects may be common (I thought that, before reading the article, and several others elsewhere, and drawing my own conclusions). I recommend to at least put a tag in the box pointing out those secondary effects are rare, and to number the common ones in a particular section of the box.

:At the bottom, it says that the congressman's kid was on accutane and shot himself to death. Is it really necessary to say "with his father's loaded and unlocked handgun?"

:hope his dad doesn't read that.

So, in response to the person that posted before the last one: Yes, the drug works, but to call something a miracle and then ignore side affects is a big step. Having acne or any acne related issues is a far cry from having any of the side-affects that doctors warn their patients about when beginning Isotretinoin. It is awfully ignorant to just say that people with acne are hideous, and would probably just commit suicide anyway. Next time, if you're going to discuss something here, at least make it constructive, and take your angry, ignorant focus somewhere else.

==Update==
I have made the site current with information about the iPLEDGE website. [[User:Philiphughesmd|Philiphughesmd]] 04:01, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

== Infobox ==
I have updated this article to use the new infobox. I have similar questions about the secondary effects list -- are they truly needed? None are wikilinked, and I haven't seen any other drug articles with a similar list. I am going to post on [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Drugs]] and see if anyone there has an opinion. -- [[User:Irixman|Irixman]] [[User_talk:Irixman|(t)]] [[Special:Emailuser/Irixman|(m)]] 14:51, 9 June 2006 (UTC)

== Cleanup ==

This article needs a cleanup. Things that need to be focused on:

*General conciseness and readability.
*Available forms (instead of a unnecessary list of brand names maybe?)
*Using the reference system instead of external links would ne nice
*Layout - is there any need for picture of a bag of pure isotretinoin and the accutane logo?
*Prescribing information - In the UK (and other countries?) the course must be started by a dermatologist.
*Side effects - maybe a list of the most common ones would be more helpful

Maybe a reworking of the sections would help. Your input would be appreciated! (feel free to edit my list). Who wants to do what?

[[User:Dakoman|Dakoman]] 18:08, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
:I've done a cleanup and I think I've addressed most (if not all) of your points. The page could probably be improved further, but I think it's enough to remove the cleanup tag -[[User:Techelf|Techelf]] 11:40, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

:You've done a great job, thanks - [[User:Dakoman|Dakoman]] 21:11, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

== Statistics ? ==

Are any statistics available on the use of Accutane ?
We know 431 cases of depression have been signaled since 1982, but on how many treatments ?
It can be interesting to know how widespread the use of accutane is, I can't find this information on the net.

== Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension ==

Does anyone else see how questionable it is to state that taking Roaccutane increases the risk of an idiopathic disease?[[User:I elliot|I elliot]] 08:29, 21 September 2006 (UTC)

== anti-cancer ==

I have read somewhere that Isotretinoin being researched as an anti-cancer drug.
if possible, someone do a research and add it to article.

== 30 DAY THEORY IS INCORRECT!!! ==

Remove it, it's false. I was a patient on Roaccutane for 1 year and my medication was prescribed to me in doses of 90 and more. Get your damn facts right if you are going to put them on here.

Keep it, it's true!!! I don't really know why I wasn't able to get more than 30 days and you got 90, but as of start of the iPledge system I couldn't get more than 30 days worth of accutane... I missed a few days because I was on vacation when my 30 days allotment ended and getting more was a big pain.

:What... What's going on here? [[User:Adodge|Alex Dodge]] 09:22, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

::The first person is an idiot. iPledge allows only 30 days worth of medication per perscription, be that 30, 60 or some other amount of pills. You must wait 30 days between prescriptions. [[User:Jutm543|Jutm543]] 21:30, 29 November 2006 (UTC)

== Chemical Structure: all trans retinoic acid vs. 13-cis retinoic acid ==

The picture in the "box" is all trans retinoic acid. The 13,14 double bond in isotretinoin (the one closest to the acid on the far right) should be "cis" ("Z"). {{unsignedIP|129.64.72.23}}
:Fixed. [[User:Fvasconcellos|Fvasconcellos]] 16:38, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

== ANOTHER PERSONAL EXPERIENCE ==

Whilst using isotretinoin i did have the usual side effects, blood nose, flaking skin, peeling lips.
The drug first made my acne worse for the first few weeks then cleared up amazingly.
After using isotretinoin, about 3 months later, my acne started to come back gradually.
I was under the impression that this drug was only used for a course or two, then not needed again.
If so, does anyone know of a reason that the acne came back.

Reply:
Your dermatologist may have you on a second course of the treatment. You should make an appointment with your derma soon.. She/He can answer all your questions

:I have been given a prescription to accutane, and my doctor says that over the first few weeks, it will get worse, and then will clear up. He said it takes an average of '''six months''' for the drug to work, and after this the acne should not return. [[User:Thomasiscool|Thomasiscool]] 14:26, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, that's not quite right; There is a period of 10-12 days during which the acne gets somewhat worse. After that period, it begins to clear up and you can start to see improvement. It apparently takes up to 2 months for a major improvement to occur, and it is only after an average time of 6 months that you can stop using isotrentinoin and be reasonably certain that the acne will not return (it is successful in 90% of patients). Fuck, I should have been on this stuff years ago. [[User:Thomasiscool|Thomasiscool]] 00:10, 22 May 2007 (UTC)

== AVAILABILITY ==

Thomas, why do you keep taking out the Availability section? This is not useful information?

:The reason I keep removing it is because the information that was there is not true. "Accutane is available in the following countries without a prescription: Canada (Except for Canadians)." What's that even supposed to mean? For one thing, you can't legally get it here without a prescription. Does this statement refer to Americans who can't get it easily in the States buying it illegally in Canada? Please explain. [[User:Thomasiscool|Thomasiscool]] 15:35, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Yes, I have purchased Isotretinoin from Canada, without a prescription, via the internet from inhousepharmacy.com. Could you put back this section, and perhaps improve upon it? This would help others in obtaining the drug, for use at low dosages. In Mexico you can get it without a prescription, but you would have to go there since they observe the US laws on imports. Some independent person put Romania, but I don't know about that.

:Yeah, I don't see why we can't put it back in if its improved. We may need a source for some of the information though. [[User:Thomasiscool|Thomasiscool]] 16:10, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

Legal status of Salvia divinorum

2007-07-02T23:47:39Z

Capi crimm: /* State summary */

''[[Salvia divinorum]]'' is legal in most countries and, within the United States, legal in the majority of States. However, some politicians have called for its prohibition. Most of these proposals have not made it into law, with motions having failed, stalled or otherwise died, for example in the United Kingdom, at national level in the United States, and at more local level within States such as Alaska, California, Illinois, Oregon and Wyoming, though the situation is subject to further change depending on the outcome of more recent bills as yet still at the proposal stage.

A reason for Salvia's favorable legal status so far is that there's been little real evidence to suggest that its use is problematic. ''Salvia divinorum'' is not a newly discovered or synthesized drug. It has been revered for perhaps centuries by the Mazatec people of Oaxaca, Mexico as a sacred plant, capable of facilitating spiritual experiences. It is a plant that has been available in the States and other countries since the 1990's, following the experiment and report of [[Daniel Siebert]] and others.<ref name="Montgomery1994">{{Harvnb|Montgomery|Ott|McKenna|1994}}.</ref> The rise of the Internet since the mid-1990s saw the growth of many businesses selling dried Salvia leaves, extracts and other preparations. During the 10-15 years in which it has become more available in modern Western culture police have not been reporting it as a significant issue with regard to public order offenses. Medical experts, accident and emergency rooms have not been reporting cases that suggest particular health concerns. ''Salvia divinorum'' is not generally understood to be toxic or addictive.

Despite this, some have succeeded in pushing though their anti-Salvia laws, such as in Australia (the first country to ban it), and in a few American States. To justify prohibition some politicians have argued that Salvia effects are "LSD-Like" and that this alone is sufficient to raise alarms about its safety. [http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=145495&zoneid=500] Many Salvia media stories also headline with comparisons to [[LSD]]. However, while LSD and Salvia's active constituent [[salvinorin A]] may have comparative potencies, in the sense that both can produce their effects with low dosage amounts, they are otherwise quite different. LSD is a synthesized drug not found in nature whereas Salvinorin only occurs in nature and has yet to be manufactured in a laboratory. The two substances are not chemically similar or related. They are ingested in different ways. They produce different effects, which manifest themselves over different timescales. The effects of Salvia when smoked typically last for only a few minutes as compared to LSD, whose effects can persist for 8-10 hours. News stories typically do not mention this significant difference in timescale and in particular fail to report Salvia's much shorter duration of effect.

{{details|Salvia divinorum}}

Another argument made against Salvia, while conceding that not much is known about it and that it may not be a particular problem at the moment, is that legislation may be needed to stop it from becoming a problem in the future. For example, Senator Randy Christmann (R) stated that "we need to stop this before it gets to be a huge problem not after it gets to be a huge problem" [http://www.kxma.com/getARticle.asp?ArticleId=91151] and Assemblyman Jack Conners argued that "Salvia divinorum use may not be a runway epidemic, but it certainly is a phenomenon that warrants attention. We should take preventive steps now to prevent wholesale problems later on...". [http://politics.nexcess.net/pressrelease/2006/04/assemblymen_jack_conners_and_h_1.html]

There also seems to be the implication that because a few other States or countries have banned ''Salvia divinorum'' then it follows that there must obviously be a problem with it. For example, in October 2005 MP [[John Mann]] raised an ultimately unsuccessful [[Early Day Motion]] calling for Salvia to be banned in the UK, saying — "The Australians have clearly found a problem with it. There's obviously a risk in people taking it." [http://www.worksoptoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=741&ArticleID=1222314]

While not objecting to some form of legal control, in particular with regard to the sale to minors or sale of enhanced high-strength extracts, most Salvia proponents otherwise argue against more prohibitive measures.<ref name="SiebertLegalStatus">{{Harvnb|Siebert (Legal status)|Ref=CITEREFSiebert}}.</ref> Some countries and States such as Missouri have imposed the strictest Schedule I or equivalent classification against ''Salvia divinorum'' even in its natural and untreated form.

Salvia's supporters argue that such extreme measures are mainly due to a particular cultural taboo about certain altered states of consciousness—an inherent prejudice rather than the actual balance of evidence. They point to inconsistencies in attitudes toward other more toxic and/or addictive drugs such as [[alcohol]] and [[nicotine]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Nutt|King|Saulsbury|Blakemore|2007}}.</ref>

Those advocating consideration of ''Salvia divinorum''’s potential for beneficial use in a modern context argue that more could be learned from Mazatec culture, where Salvia is not really associated with notions of drug taking at all and it is rather considered as a spiritual sacrament. In light of this it is argued that ''Salvia divinorum'' could be better understood more positively as an [[entheogen]] rather than pejoratively as a [[hallucinogen]].

Other [[entheogen|entheogenic]] plants with traditions of spiritual use include [[peyote]] (and other psychoactive cacti), [[iboga]], [[virola]], [[ayahuasca]] (an admixture of plants containing [[Dimethyltryptamine|DMT]] + [[MAOI]]), and various types of psychoactive fungi.

In fact, US legislation specifically allows two of these to be used in a spiritual context. The [[Native American Church]] is allowed to use peyote and [[Uniao do Vegetal]] is permitted ayahuasca. Although not consistently granted (again varying from State to State), the principal grounds for such concessions are Constitutional,<ref>[[#Reference-Madison1789|Madison 1789]].</ref> with further grounds following from the [[Religious Freedom Restoration Act]].

There haven't been any publicized prosecutions recorded under any Salvia laws. Legislation may prove difficult to police. The plant has a nondescript appearance; the leaves are not distinctive and it does not have a distinctive odour like cannabis. ''Salvia divinorum'' looks like and can be grown as an ordinary houseplant without the need of special equipment such as hydroponics or high-power lights.

==Australia==
As of 1st June 2002, Australia became the first country to ban Salvia and salvinorin. [http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/news/salvia_australia.htm] According to the Australian Drugs and Poisons Committee, salvia had not yet shown evidence of damage or threat to public health/safety but had potential to be abused. In a statement which has been criticized as self-negating the committee said, "there was no evidence of traditional therapeutic use other than in shamanistic healing rituals". [http://thomas.munro.com/minutes.htm][http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/news/salvia_australia.htm]

==Denmark==
With effect from 23rd August 2003, ''Salvia divinorum'' and salvinorin A were classed as 'category B' drugs in Danish law. Category B includes psilocybin mushrooms, cocaine, amphetamine, and several others substances that are only legal for medicinal and scientific purposes. Possession carries a penalty of up to 2 years in prison. <ref name="SiebertLegalStatus" />

==Finland==
Finland passed legislation in August 2002 making it illegal to import ''Salvia divinorum'' without a prescription from a doctor. <ref name="SiebertLegalStatus" />

==Sweden==
''Salvia divinorum'' and salvinorin A were added to Sweden's list of controlled substances with effect from 1st April 2006.<ref name="SiebertLegalStatus" />

==Spain==
The sale of ''Salvia divinorum'' has been illegal since February 6 2004. The law only prohibits commerce. It does not make possession or use a crime.<ref>{{Harvnb|Spanish Government|2004}}.</ref>

==Italy==
In August 2004, the Italian government decreed ''[[salvinorin A]]'' "a substance with hallucinogenic properties that may cause conditions of abuse and can manifest latent psychiatric pathologies like acute psychosis and depressive psychosis even in an irreversible way" and put it and the plant ''Salvia divinorum'' on their ‘table I’ of outlawed [[psychotropic substance]]s in March 2005. The Italian government referred to an evaluation of Salvia made by the Italian National Health Institute, assessing it as "a powerful natural hallucinogen" to justify their decision. [http://gazzette.comune.jesi.an.it/2005/54/2.htm The Italian Ministry of Heath Decree (in Italian)] [http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fgazzette.comune.jesi.an.it%2F2005%2F54%2F2.htm&langpair=it%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&prev=%2Flanguage_tools (Google translated into English)]. Cultivation of the plant or the possession of more than 0,5 mg of Salvinorin A carries a penalty from 6 to 20 years in prison.

==Canada==
There has been media interest drawing attention to ''Salvia divinorum's'' availability in Canada [http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2006/07/28/diviner-sage.html], but there are currently no plans to regulate the herb.

==United Kingdom==
In September 2001, in answer to a [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|parliamentary]] question from [[Ann Widdecombe]] [[Member of Parliament|MP]], asking the [[Secretary of State for the Home Office]] "what plans he has to review the legal status of the hallucinogen Salvia divinorum", [[Bob Ainsworth]], a parliamentary Under-Secretary for the UK Home Office, stated that there were "no current plans to review its legal status". [http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2001-09-14.5783.h]

Following a local newspaper story [http://www.salvia-divinorum-scotland.co.uk/mediastories/20051014_worksopguardian.htm] in October 2005, [[Bassetlaw (UK Parliament constituency)|Bassetlaw]] MP [[John Mann (politician)|John Mann]] raised an [[Early Day Motion]] calling for ''Salvia divinorum'' to be banned in the UK ([http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=29114&SESSION=875 EDM796]). [http://www.salvia-divinorum-scotland.co.uk/mediastories/government/edm796.htm] The motion only received 11 signatures. It has not been debated or further escalated.

==United States==
The [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] has indicated on its website that it is aware of ''Salvia divinorum'' and is evaluating the plant for possible scheduling.

In late 2002 [[Rep. Joe Baca]] ([[United States Democratic Party|D]]- California) introduced a bill (Congress bill HR 5607) to schedule Salvia as a controlled substance at the national level. Those opposed to Joe Baca’s bill include Daniel Siebert, who sent [http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/drug_policy/Daniel_Siebert_salvia_letter.html a letter to Congress arguing against the proposed legislation], and the [http://www.cognitiveliberty.org Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics] (CCLE), who sent key members of the US Congress a report on ''Salvia divinorum'' and its active principle,<ref name="cclesalviareport">{{Harvnb|Boire|Russo|Fish|Bowman|2002}}.</ref> along with letters from an array of scientists who expressed concern that scheduling ''Salvia divinorum'' would negatively impact important research on the plant. Baca’s bill did not pass.

Despite this a number of States have proposed their own legislation. Only Louisiana, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Delaware have so far passed laws prohibiting of ''Salvia divinorum''. Louisiana has provisions that allows possession of the plant when it is not intended for human consumption and in Oklahoma natural strength ''Salvia divinorum'' is legal—only extract-enhanced leaves are prohibited. ''Salvia divinorum'' remains legal in all other States. However, though some bills have died during session, the situation is subject to further change depending on the outcome of more recent bills as yet still at the proposal stage.

===State summary===
This table summarizes the status of various State proposals for Salvia legislation, with links to following detail State by State.
<table border="1" style="text-align: center">
<tr style="font-weight: bold">
<td width="9%">State</td>
<td width="7%">Bill ref.</td>
<td width="10%">Proposed date</td>
<td width="12%">Classification </td>
<td width="14%">Status</td>
<td width="15%">Proposer</td>
<td width="9%">Salvinorin A included?</td>
<td width="59%">Notes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%" rowspan="2">[[#Alaska|Alaska]]</td>
<td width="7%">SB313</td>
<td width="10%">05-Apr-2006</td>
<td width="12%" rowspan="2">Schedule IIA </td>
<td width="14%">not passed / died</td>
<td width="15%" rowspan="2">Sen. Gene Therriault</td>
<td width="9%">No</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="7%">SB38</td>
<td width="10%">16-Jan-2007</td>
<td width="14%">proposed</td>
<td width="9%">Yes</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#California|California]]</td>
<td width="7%">AB259</td>
<td width="10%">05-Feb-2007</td>
<td width="12%">Schedule I</td>
<td width="14%">failed passage in committee (reconsideration granted - no date set)</td>
<td width="15%">Assembly Member Anthony Adams</td>
<td width="9%">No, then Yes</td>
<td width="59%">proposed bill wording amended 12-Mar-2007 to include salvinorin A</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#Delaware|Delaware]]</td>
<td width="7%">SB259</td>
<td width="10%">16-Mar-2006</td>
<td width="12%">Schedule I </td>
<td width="14%">Passed - 02-May-2006</td>
<td width="15%">Sen. Karen Peterson</td>
<td width="9%">No</td>
<td width="59%">aka [[Brett Chidester|Brett's Law]]</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#Georgia|Georgia]]</td>
<td width="7%">SB295</td>
<td width="10%">8-Mar-2007 </td>
<td width="12%">'misdemeanor'</td>
<td width="14%">proposed House - passed Senate (moved to House Judiciary Non-Civil committee; may be discussed again in 2008 session)</td>
<td width="15%">Sen. John Bulloch</td>
<td width="9%">Yes</td>
<td width="59%">n/a possession, cultivation, harvesting ... for aesthetic, landscaping, or decorative purposes. Also exempts research at Georgia universities and use of Salvinorin A as a legal homeopathic.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%" rowspan="2">[[#Illinois|Illinois]]</td>
<td width="7%">SB2589</td>
<td width="10%">19-Jan-2006</td>
<td width="12%" rowspan="2">Schedule I </td>
<td width="14%">not passed / sine die</td>
<td width="15%">Sen. John J. Millner</td>
<td width="9%">No</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="7%">[http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=457&GAID=9&GA=95&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=27398&SessionID=51 HB457]</td>
<td width="10%">26-Jan-2007</td>
<td width="14%">Sent to Govenor</td>
<td width="15%">Rep. Dennis M. Reboletti</td>
<td width="9%">No</td>
<td width="59%">Salvinorin A not mentioned, but bill wording incl. "any extract" from plant</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#Iowa|Iowa]]</td>
<td width="7%">HSB133 SSB1051</td>
<td width="10%">18-Jan-2007</td>
<td width="12%">Schedule I </td>
<td width="14%">proposed</td>
<td width="15%">Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy</td>
<td width="9%">Yes</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#Louisiana|Louisiana]]</td>
<td width="7%">HB20</td>
<td width="10%">25-Feb-2005</td>
<td width="12%">Schedule I</td>
<td width="14%">Passed - 15-Aug-2005</td>
<td width="15%">Rep. Michael G. Strain</td>
<td width="9%">No</td>
<td width="59%">First State to ban Sd.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#Maine|Maine]]</td>
<td width="7%">LD66</td>
<td width="10%">Dec-2006</td><nowiki></nowiki>
<td width="12%">prohibit sale to minors</td>
<td width="14%">proposed</td>
<td width="15%">Rep. Chris Barstow</td>
<td width="9%">No, then Yes</td>
<td width="59%">Amended - originally proposed 'Schedule Z' classification</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%" rowspan="2">[[#Missouri|Missouri]]</td>
<td width="7%">HB165 </td>
<td width="10%">05-Jan-2005</td>
<td width="12%" rowspan="2">Schedule I</td>
<td width="14%">not passed / died</td>
<td width="15%">Rep. Rachel L. Bringer </td>
<td width="9%">No</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="7%">HB633</td>
<td width="10%">23-Feb-2005</td>
<td width="14%">Passed - 28-Aug-2005</td>
<td width="15%">Rep Scott A. Lipke and Rep. Rachel L. Bringer</td>
<td width="9%">Yes</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%" rowspan="2">[[#New_Jersey|New Jersey]]</td>
<td width="7%">AB3139</td>
<td width="10%">06-Apr-2006</td>
<td width="12%">Schedule I</td>
<td width="14%">proposed</td>
<td width="15%">Assemblywoman Linda Stender</td>
<td width="9%">Yes</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="7%">SB1867</td>
<td width="10%">15-May-2006</td>
<td width="12%">Schedule I</td>
<td width="14%">proposed</td>
<td width="15%">Sen. Stephen Sweeney</td>
<td width="9%">Yes</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#New_York|New York]]</td>
<td width="7%">S4987</td>
<td width="10%">18-Apr-2005</td>
<td width="12%">prohibit sale</td>
<td width="14%">being considered by the State Assembly</td>
<td width="15%">Sen. John J. Flanagan</td>
<td width="9%">No</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#North_Dakota|North Dakota]]</td>
<td width="7%">SB2317</td>
<td width="10%">15-Jan-2007</td>
<td width="12%">Schedule I</td>
<td width="14%">proposed</td>
<td width="15%">Sen. Dave Oehlke,  Sen. Randell Christmann et al.</td>
<td width="9%">No</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#Ohio|Ohio]]</td>
<td width="7%">HB215</td>
<td width="10%">May-2007</td>
<td width="12%">Schedule I</td>
<td width="14%">proposed</td>
<td width="15%">Rep. Thom Collier</td>
<td width="9%">No</td>
<td width="59%"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#Oklahoma|Oklahoma]]</td>
<td width="7%">HB2485</td>
<td width="10%">06-Mar-2006</td>
<td width="12%">prohibit extracts</td>
<td width="14%">Passed - 26-May-2006</td>
<td width="15%">Rep. John Nance</td>
<td width="9%">Yes</td>
<td width="59%">enhanced, concentrated, and chemically or physically altered </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%" rowspan="3">[[#Oregon|Oregon]]</td>
<td width="7%">SB592</td>
<td width="10%">22-Feb-2003</td>
<td width="12%" rowspan="3">Schedule I</td>
<td width="14%">not passed / died</td>
<td width="15%"> </td>
<td width="9%"> </td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="7%">HB3485</td>
<td width="10%">15-Mar-2003</td>
<td width="14%">not passed / died</td>
<td width="15%"> </td>
<td width="9%"> </td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="7%">HB2494</td>
<td width="10%">25-Jan-2007</td>
<td width="14%">proposed</td>
<td width="15%">Rep. John Lim</td>
<td width="9%">Yes</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%" rowspan="2">[[#Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]</td>
<td width="7%">HB2657</td>
<td width="10%">02-May-2006</td>
<td width="12%" rowspan="2">Schedule I</td>
<td width="14%">not passed / died</td>
<td width="15%">Rep. James Casorio et al.</td>
<td width="9%">Yes</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="7%">SB1217</td>
<td width="10%">16-Jun-2006</td>
<td width="14%">not passed / died</td>
<td width="15%">Sen. Lisa Boscola et al.</td>
<td width="9%">No</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#Tennessee|Tennessee]]</td>
<td width="7%">HB2909 /SB3247 /TCA 39-17-452</td>
<td width="10%">15-Feb-2006</td>
<td width="12%">Class A misdemeanor</td>
<td width="14%">Passed - 01-Jul-2006</td>
<td width="15%">Rep. Park M. Strader, Sen. Tim Burchett</td>
<td width="9%">Yes</td>
<td width="59%">not an offense to possess, plant, cultivate, grow, or
harvest Sd for aesthetic, landscaping, or decorative purposes</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%" rowspan="2">[[#Texas|Texas]]</td>
<td width="7%">HB2347</td>
<td width="10%">02-Mar-2007</td>
<td width="12%">Penalty Group 2</td>
<td width="14%">proposed</td>
<td width="15%">Rep. Charles "Doc" Anderson</td>
<td width="9%">Yes</td>
<td width="59%">Penalty Group 2 of the Texas Controlled Substances Act</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="7%">SB1796</td>
<td width="10%">09-Mar-2007</td>
<td width="12%">prohibit sale to minors</td>
<td width="14%">proposed</td>
<td width="15%">Sen. Craig Estes</td>
<td width="9%">No</td>
<td width="59%">proposed concurrently to HB2347 above</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#Utah|Utah]]</td>
<td width="7%">HB190</td>
<td width="10%">18-Jan-2007</td>
<td width="12%">Schedule I</td>
<td width="14%">not passed / died</td>
<td width="15%">Rep. Paul Ray</td>
<td width="9%">No, then Yes</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#Virginia|Virginia]]</td>
<td width="7%">HB2844</td>
<td width="10%">10-Jan-2007</td>
<td width="12%">Schedule I</td>
<td width="14%">not passed / died</td>
<td width="15%">Delegate John M. O'Bannon, III</td>
<td width="9%">''only''</td>
<td width="59%">Any material, compound, mixture, or preparation, which contains any quantity of Salvinorin A (another name: Divinorin A). - The plant ''Salvia divinorum'' is not mentioned</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="9%">[[#Wyoming|Wyoming]]</td>
<td width="7%">HB49</td>
<td width="10%">13-Feb-2006</td>
<td width="12%">Schedule I</td>
<td width="14%">not passed / died</td>
<td width="15%">Rep. Stephen Watt</td>
<td width="9%">No</td>
<td width="59%"> </td>
</tr>
</table>

===Alaska===
On [[April 5]], [[2006]] Senator Gene P. Therriault (R) proposed adding ''Salvia divinorum'' to Alaska's list of Schedule IIA controlled substances. The bill died in committee. On [[January 16]], [[2007]], he proposed another bill ([http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?session=25&bill=SB38&submit=Display+Bill+Root Senate Bill 38]). The bill has not yet come up for vote.

===California===
On [[February 5]], [[2007]] Assembly Member [http://republican.assembly.ca.gov/members/index.asp?Dist=59&Lang=1 Anthony Adams] (R) proposed [http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/usweb/postquery?bill_number=ab_259&sess=0708&house=B&template=California Assembly Bill 259]. The bill wording was amended on [[March 12]], [[2007]] to include salvinorin A. The bill proposed adding ''Salvia divinorum'' and salvinorin A to Califorina's list of Schedule I controlled substances.

The bill was referred to the [http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/newcomframeset.asp?committee=57 Committee on Public Safety] with a due date for public hearing on [[March 27]], [[2007]] [http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_0251-0300/ab_259_bill_20070313_status.html] [http://www.assembly.ca.gov/committee_hearings/stand_comm_hearing.asp]. The bill analysis [http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/asm/ab_0251-0300/ab_259_cfa_20070326_094143_asm_comm.html] indicated that opposition to the bill was registered by, among others, [[Daniel Siebert]] and the [[Drug Policy Alliance]]. The bill was defeated in Committee by a 3-2 vote. A reconsideration was granted but no date has yet been set.

===Delaware===
On [[January 23]], [[2006]] Delaware teenager [[Brett's Law#Brett Chidester case|Brett Chidester]] took his own life by climbing into a tent with a charcoal grill where he died of carbon monoxide poisoning [http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060226/NEWS/602260356/-1/NEWS01]. In an essay found after his death, he wrote "''Salvia allows us to give up our senses and wander in the interdimensional time and space…Also, and this is probably hard for most to accept, our existence in general is pointless. Final point: Us earthly humans are nothing.''"<ref>[[#Reference-Chalmers2006|Chalmers 2006]].</ref> Although being written earlier, Brett’s notes have subsequently been presented in media reports as if they were part of his suicide note. Brett's suicide note did not mention Salvia. There are arguably more relevant factors, with the extent and significance of Brett’s use of alcohol being a matter of contention [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Brett_Chidester], and with it being [http://www.nbc10.com/news/8628557/detail.html reported] that Brett had been suffering from depression. Given the details of Brett's suicide, in particular its premeditated nature and slow method, it is unlikely that he was immediately under ''Salvia divinorum’s'' influence at the time of his death. There have been no other reported cases of Salvia related suicides anywhere else in the world. Also, Brett had told his parents that he had actually ceased his experimentation with the plant.

Despite the doubts that have been expressed about the lack of evidence against Salvia in this case [http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2006/04/herb-induces-hallucinations-proposed.html], [http://www.legis.state.de.us/Legislature.nsf/7f4f680c99e8e0d1852569c10055e9d4/5346256aaf6cd669852569d8005369f3?OpenDocument# Senator Karen Peterson] sponsored [http://www.legis.state.de.us/LIS/LIS143.NSF/93487d394bc01014882569a4007a4cb7/0ba011176a7dcf3e852571310079379e?OpenDocument Senate Bill 259], "Brett’s Law", which passed as state legislation classifying ''Salvia divinorum'' as a Schedule I controlled substance.

Senator Karen Peterson and Brett’s parents Kathy and Dennis Chidester have subsequently continued to campaign for and support [[Controlled Substances Act#Drug Schedules|Schedule I]] legislation beyond their home state of Delaware. [http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=4188369]

===Georgia===

On [[March 8]], [[2007]] Senator [http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/senate/bullochbio.htm John Bulloch], (R-Ochlocknee), filed Senate Bill [http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2007_08/sum/sb295.htm SB295] which proposes that "It shall be unlawful to knowingly produce, manufacture, distribute, possess, or possess with intent to produce, manufacture, or distribute the active chemical ingredient in the hallucinogenic plant Salvia divinorum A" (sic). [http://www.legis.ga.gov/legis/2007_08/fulltext/sb295.htm]

Violation of the proposed law would be considered a misdemeanour under Georgia's code. It would not apply to "the possession, planting, cultivation, growing, or harvesting of such hallucinogenic plant strictly for aesthetic, landscaping, or decorative purposes".

Sen. John Bulloch reportedly saw a report on an Atlanta television news station about the increased use of ''Salvia divinorum''. He was quoted as saying - "I thought, 'Why hasn't somebody already jumped on this?'" before filing Senate Bill 295. "I hurriedly got legislative counsel to draft the bill…Everything that I read about it is it's considered to be a hallucinogenic drug…A lot of the reading that I've found on it says that it gives a quicker and more intense high than LSD." [http://savannahnow.com/node/239324]. Senator [http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2005_06/senate/dthomasbio.htm Don Thomas] (R-Dalton), a physician and member of the reviewing Senate [http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2001_02/senate/gashhs.htm Health and Human Services Committee], was reported as saying—"I just know about the publicity of the dangers of it, and the use of it, so my first impression is to ban anything of that nature". [http://savannahnow.com/node/239324]

===Illinois===
On [[January 19]], [[2006]] [http://www.ilga.gov/senate/Senator.asp?MemberID=1125 Senator John J. Millner] (R) introduced [http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=2589&GAID=8&DocTypeID=SB&LegId=23512&SessionID=50&GA=94 Senate Bill 2589] to the Illinois State Legislature. This bill sought to add ''Salvia divinorum'' to that state’s list of Schedule I controlled substances. The Bill failed to pass as the session ended [[sine die]] (adjourned with no date set for resumption).

On [[January 26]], [[2007]] [http://www.ilga.gov/house/Rep.asp?MemberID=1344 Representative Dennis M. Reboletti] (R) filed House Bill [http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=457&GAID=9&SessionID=51&LegID=27398 HB457] which proposed Schedule I classification for ''Salvia divinorum'' (including "the seeds thereof, any extract from any part of that plant, and every compound, [...] derivative, mixture, or preparation of that plant"). The bill does not mention the active chemical constituent salvinorin A.

As of [[May 22]], [[2007]], HB0457 had received support from all 173 members in both bodies of the democratic majority [[Illinois General Assembly]]. It was sent to the [[Governor of Illinois]], [[Rod Blagojevich]] (D), on [[June 20]], [[2007]] to be signed.([http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocTypeID=HB&DocNum=457&GAID=9&SessionID=51&LegID=27398]).

Reboletti's news of the bill on his website alleges that Salvia is a "powerful psychoactive plant which in appearance looks like marijuana but has the psychoactive properties of LSD". Reboletti says, "As a former Will County prosecutor, I have seen first hand the devastation that drug use has on families and the community. It’s important that we in the legislature are proactive in protecting our children from highly addictive substances" and "For a drug to be classified as a Schedule 1 substance signifies that it’s a highly dangerous and potentially lethal drug for its user. Hopefully, the passage of my bill will bring attention to "Magic Mint" and help law enforcement combat the future rise of this drug."<ref name="Reboletti2007">[[#Reference-Reboletti_2007|Reboletti 2007.]]</ref> ''[[Salvia divinorum]]'' article references and other sources indicate however that Salvia does not look like marijuana. Its psychoactive properties are not like those of LSD, and that ''Salvia divinorum'' is not generally understood to be either addictive or toxic.

===Iowa===
On [[January 18]], [[2007]] the [http://www.state.ia.us/government/odcp/index.html Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy] proposed House/Senate Study Bills [http://coolice.legis.state.ia.us/Cool-ICE/default.asp?category=billinfo&service=billbook&GA=82&hbill=HSB133 HSB133] and [http://coolice.legis.state.ia.us/Cool-ICE/default.asp?category=billinfo&service=billbook&GA=82&hbill=SSB1051 SSB1051]. These bills propose classification of ''Salvia divinorum'' and salvinorin A as Schedule I controlled substances.

===Louisiana===
Effective from [[August 8]], [[2005]] (signed into law on [[June 28]], [[2005]]) Louisiana [http://www.legis.state.la.us/billdata/streamdocument.asp?did=318544 Act No 159] made 40 plants, including ''Salvia divinorum'', illegal if sold for human consumption. It is still legal to own the plants. Simple possession of an illegal form of Salvia is a [[felony]] for which the maximum sentence is 5 years; production (even for personal use) or distribution (even for free) has a maximum sentence of 10 years and a minimum sentence of 2 years. In addition, the defendant can even be sentenced to [[hard labor]] for either offense.

===Maine===
In December 2006 [http://janus.state.me.us/house/hsebios/barscr.htm Rep. Chris Barstow] proposed legislation for the State of Maine. According to reports Barstow believes Salvia "is a drug very similar to LSD" and "We need to have it banned as soon as possible" [http://www.keepmecurrent.com/Community/story.cfm?storyID=29230]. Barstow's [http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/billpdfs/LD006601.pdf proposed bill] proposed that ''Salvia divinorum'' be broadly classed the same as marijuana (classified as 'Schedule Z' in Maine). Under the proposed bill possession of ''Salvia divinorum'' is a [http://janus.state.me.us/legis/ros/manual/Webdman-21.htm 'Class E' crime ], and trafficking or furnishing of ''Salvia divinorum'' is a 'Class D' crime.

Barstow's action followed an approach from Kimberly A. Johnson, director of the Maine Office of Substance Abuse [http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/osa/], after she had seen ''Salvia divinorum'' on sale in her home town of Gorham. Johnson indicated that she would not be satisfied with only the enforcement of age restrictions to control Salvia, asserting—"This drug is just as dangerous to someone who’s 30 as someone who’s 17". [http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=144637&zoneid=500]

Lawmakers on the Criminal Justice Committee amended the proposed bill on [[February 6]], [[2007]]. The amendment proposed regulating Salvia only for minors, so that selling or providing ''Salvia divinorum'' to anyone under the age of 18 would be a criminal offense. Possession by a minor would be a civil violation, punishable by a fine and community service. Adults 18 and over could continue to legally purchase and use the herb.

According to news reports [http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=146136&zoneid=500], several committee members at the work session questioned the need to criminalize a drug that hadn't been causing a problem and apparently has little or no addictive potential.

The amended measure has yet to go to the full Legislature for debate.

===Missouri===
On [[January 5]], [[2005]], [http://house.missouri.gov/bills051/member/mem006.htm Representative Rachel L. Bringer] introduced House Bill 165 to the Missouri State legislature. This bill sought to add ''Salvia divinorum'' to that state’s list of Schedule I controlled substances. Despite the CCLE sending [http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/pdf/bringer_salvia.pdf a letter to Representative Bringer] advising of its earlier report to Congress<ref name="cclesalviareport" />, the following month saw the introduction of [http://www.house.state.mo.us/bills051/biltxt/intro/HB0633I.htm House Bill 633], which sought to place ''Salvia divinorum'' and salvinorin A in Schedule I and also proposed to add 12 other substances to Missouri’s list of controlled substances. This second bill was introduced on [[February 23]], [[2005]] by [http://www.house.mo.gov/bills041/member/mem157.htm Representative Scott A. Lipke] (R) and Representative Bringer. On [[August 28]], [[2005]] the bill was incorporated into section 195.017 of the state’s drug regulation statutes. Thus, ''Salvia divinorum'' became a Schedule I substance in the state of Missouri. Possession is a Class C felony under MRS 195.202, which allows a maximum sentence of 7 years.

===New Jersey===
On [[April 6]], [[2006]] Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D) announced that she was proposing legislation to ban ''Salvia divinorum''. On [[May 15]], [[2006]] [http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/sweeney.asp Senator Stephen Sweeney] (D) proposed [http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2006/Bills/S2000/1867_I1.HTM Senate Bill 1867] to the State Senate. Assemblywoman Stender introduced an identical bill to the State Assembly on [[May 22]], [[2006]]. It is designated Assembly Bill 3139 and is cosponsored by Assemblyman Jack Conners (D) and Assemblyman Herb Conaway (D). If passed, these bills would classify ''Salvia divinorum'' and salvinorin A as Schedule I controlled substances in New Jersey. Neither bill has come up for a vote.

===New York===
New York is considering a bill ([http://www.senatorflanagan.com/press_archive_story.asp?id=11131 S04987]) proposed by Senator John J. Flanagan (R) that would place heavy civil penalties on the sale of the plant.

===North Dakota===
On [[January 15]], [[2007]] Senators [http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/60-2007/senate/senators/bios/daveoehlke.html Dave Oehlke] (R) and [http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/59-2005/senate/senators/bios/randelchristmann.html Randel Christmann] (R), together with Representative [http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/60-2007/house/representatives/bios/brendaheller.html Brenda Heller] (R) proposed [http://www.legis.nd.gov/assembly/60-2007/bill-actions/ba2317.html Senate Bill 2317] to classify ''Salvia divinorum'' as Schedule I controlled substance.

===Ohio===
In May 2007 [http://www.house.state.oh.us/jsps/MemberDetails.jsp?DISTRICT=90 Representative Thom Collier] (R) proposed [http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=127_HB_215 House Bill 215] seeking to make ''Salvia divinorum'' a Schedule I drug in the state of Ohio. [http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/17205666.htm]

===Oklahoma===
Representative's John Nance (R) bill HB 2485 was passed into law in the State of Oklahoma on the [[May 26]], [[2006]]. The wording of the bill—"salvia divinorum [that] has been enhanced, concentrated or chemically or physically altered"[http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:ZJdvlhU2mRYJ:webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/2005-06bills/HB/HB2485_CCS.RTF+Salvia+divinorum&hl=en]—means that its particular focus is on high-strength extracts, rather than untreated natural strength ''Salvia divinorum'' leaf or plants.

===Oregon===
During the year 2003 two bills were proposed to criminalize ''Salvia divinorum'' and salvinorin A. Both bills died upon adjournment of the Oregon Judiciary Committee. [http://www.leg.state.or.us/03reg/measures/hb3400.dir/hb3485.intro.html House Bill 3485] (introduced [[March 15]], [[2003]]) sought to impose particularly severe penalties. If it had passed, possession would have been punishable by a maximum of 10 years imprisonment, a $200,000 fine, or both. Delivery would have been punishable by a maximum of 20 years imprisonment, a $300,000 fine, or both. [http://www.leg.state.or.us/03reg/measures/sb0500.dir/sb0592.intro.html Senate Bill 592] only proposed to make delivery a crime. If it had passed, delivery would have been punishable by a maximum of one year's imprisonment, a $5,000 fine, or both.

Efforts to ban ''Salvia divinorum'' were renewed on [[January 27]], [[2007]]. Representative John Lim (R) introduced House Bill 2494 to the Oregon State Legislature. If passed, this legislation would make ''Salvia divinorum'' and salvinorin A Schedule I controlled substances in that state. Possession would be punishable by a maximum of 1 year’s imprisonment, a $6250 fine, or both. Manufacture or delivery would be punishable by a maximum of 20 years imprisonment, a $375,000 fine, or both.

Rep. John Lim has been quoted as saying—"From what I understand this drug is at least as dangerous as marijuana or LSD", and Seth Hatmaker, a spokesman for Lim—"I think it's only a matter of time before we find people addicted to this stuff". [http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2007/03/05/news/news12030507.txt] There is little or no research evidence to support these views. In fact, the scientific consensus is mostly to the contrary. ''Salvia divinorum'' is not generally understood to be addictive.

===Tennessee===
Tennessee has passed a law [http://tennessee.gov/sos/acts/104/pub/pc0700.pdf (HB2909/SB3247/TCA 39-17-452)] that makes knowingly possessing, producing, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing with intent to produce, manufacture, or distribute the active chemical ingredient in the [[hallucinogenic]] plant ''Salvia divinorum'' a Class A [[misdemeanor]]. The law was to originally make it a felony, but it was [[law|amended]]. The Senate Bill was sponsored by [http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/senate/members/s7.htm Senator Tim Burchett] [mailto:sen.tim.burchett@legislature.state.tn.us (email)] (R-Knoxville). It was signed into law on [[May 19]], [[2006]] and went into effect on [[July 1]], [[2006]]. Tim Burchett stated, "We have enough problems with illegal drugs as it is without people promoting getting high from some glorified weed that’s been brought up from Mexico. The only people I’ve heard from who are opposed to making it illegal are those who are getting stoned on it." [http://www.nashvillebureau.com/members/archives/832/notes.html]

===Texas===
On [[March 3]], [[2007]] [http://www.house.state.tx.us/members/dist56/anderson.htm Representative Charles "Doc" Anderson] (R-Waco) filed [http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=80R&Bill=HB2347 House Bill 2347] which proposes the addition of salvinorin A and ''Salvia divinorum'' to Penalty Group 2 of the Texas Controlled Substances Act. On [[March 28]], [[2007]] the Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence held a [http://www.house.state.tx.us/fx/av/committee80/70328p09.ram video recorded public hearing], 56 minutes 30 seconds into which HB2347 was raised.

Concurrently to Representative Anderson's proposed House bill, [http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist30/dist30.htm Senator Craig Estes] (R) filed [http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=80R&Bill=SB1796 Senate Bill 1796] on [[March 9]], [[2007]]. In contrast to the more restrictive House bill, the Senate bill simply proposes an age restriction—prohibiting the sale of ''Salvia divinorum'' to persons younger than 18 years of age.

===Utah===
KSL's Utah news channel broadcast a story on [[November 27]], [[2006]] warning its viewers about what it called "this dangerous herb".<ref name="Dujanovic20061127">[[#Reference-Dujanovic20061127|Dujanovic 2006-11-27 (US Media).]]</ref> The next day, on [[November 28]], [[2006]], the same channel reported House Representative [[Paul Ray]]'s "immediate response" with proposed legislation to ban ''Salvia divinorum'' in the State of Utah, quoting him as saying - "It was upsetting to see we have a drug of that strength that's legal." and "We're basically going to make it illegal to possess or sell. Period."<ref name="Dujanovic20061128">[[#Reference-Dujanovic20061128|Dujanovic 2006-11-28 (US Media).]]</ref> Ray's bill ([http://le.utah.gov/~2007/htmdoc/hbillhtm/HB0190.htm HB190]) proposed Schedule I classification.

On [[December 12]], [[2006]], KSL editorial director Duane Cardall published a stance against ''Salvia divinorum'' on behalf of the news station as a whole. Cardall's piece closes: "In KSL's view, the legislature should take action to control the sale of Salvia Divinorum before the illicit use of the accessible hallucinogen spreads. That wasn't done in a timely way with Meth, and now we have a devastating epidemic. Preemptive action now with 'Sally D' would likely spare countless families the horror of losing a loved one to the relentless tentacles of drug abuse."<ref name="Cardall20061128">[[#Reference-Cardall20061212|Cardall 2006-12-12 (US Media).]]</ref>

KSL news stories and editorials generally support on-line comments from its registered readers. In this case feedback was overwhelmingly in disagreement with the editorial line.

The House Representatives voted unanimously in favour of the bill however. On [[February 22]], [[2007]] the [http://le.utah.gov/~2007/status/hbillsta/hb0190.htm bill status] was 'House/ passed 3rd reading' ([http://le.utah.gov/~2007/status/hbillsta/hb0190.001h.txt Yeas - 68, Nays - 0]). But the bill did not get enacted during its legislative session and was instead sent to the House file for defeated bills on [[February 28]], [[2007]].

===Virginia===
On [[January 10]], [[2007]] Delegate [http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?071+mbr+H134 John M. O'Bannon, III] (R) filed house bill [http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=071&typ=bil&val=hb2844 HB2844] which proposed that any material, compound, mixture, or preparation, which contains any quantity of salvinorin A be classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. The plant ''Salvia divinorum'' was not itself mentioned. The bill failed to pass the initial committee stage. [http://www.richmondsunlight.com/bill/2007/hb2844/]

===Wisconsin===
On [[February 15]], [[2007]], the day after a Fox TV local news story on Salvia had aired in Milwaukee,<ref name="Sanchick20070214">[[#Reference-Sanchick_20070214|Sanchick 2007-02-14 (US Media).]]</ref> Wisconsin state lawmaker [http://www.legis.state.wi.us/leginfo/contact/legislatorpages.aspx?house=Assembly&district=22 Sheldon Wasserman], who had never heard of it before, spoke to Fox news in a follow-up report about then wanting to make it a Schedule I controlled substance.<ref name="Sanchick20070215">[[#Reference-Sanchick_20070215|Sanchick 2007-02-15 (US Media).]]</ref>

On [[June 18]], [[2007]] the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper ran a front page headline cover story about Salvia, reporting that Representative Wasserman had recently begun seeking sponsors for a bill that would ban the manufacture and sale of ''Salvia divinorum'' for consumption in Wisconsin, with a penalty of up to $10,000. Wasserman was reported as saying - "This bill is all about protecting our children" and "I want to stop the Salvia divinorum dealers who are pushing young people to experiment with a potentially dangerous substance."<ref name="Martell20070618">[[#Reference-Martell_20070618|Martell 2007-06-18 (US Media).]]</ref>

===Wyoming===
On [[February 13]], [[2006]] Representative Stephen Watt (R) proposed adding ''Salvia divinorum'' to Wyoming's list of Schedule I controlled substances (House Bill 0049). The bill died without coming up for a vote.

==See also==
*[[Salvia divinorum]]
*[[Salvinorin A]]
*[[Brett's Law]]
*[[War on Drugs]]
*[[Arguments for and against drug prohibition]]

==References==
{{reflist|3}}






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}}
*{{Cite news
| author = [mailto:dhutton@sp.canwest.com Hutton, David]
| title = Legal hallucinogen concerns police
| url = http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/story.html?id=43edcc43-b070-403c-b2a5-20d7d9ef4273
|publisher = The StarPhoenix
| date = [[2006-12-21]]

}}
*{{Cite news
| author =
| title = No plans to regulate hallucinogenic sage in Canada
| url = http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2006/07/28/diviner-sage.html
|publisher = CBC News
| date = [[2006-07-28]]

}}

====US====

*{{Cite news
| author = [mailto:naveendhaliwal@clearchannel.com Dhaliwal, Naveen]
| title = Magic Mint
| url = http://www.wetmtv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=db61a79e-7a61-4cd3-839d-1254f57dc685

|publisher = WETM TV 18
| date = [[2007-06-18]]

}} New York. + related story link:[http://www.star-gazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070618/OPINION/706180323/1004 "Herb poses dangers to users"] 
*{{wikicite | id=Martell_20070618 | reference=
{{Cite news
| author = [mailto:cmartell@madison.com Martell, Chris]
| title = Bill would ban sale of hallucinogenic Salvia divinorum
| url = http://www.madison.com/wsj/mad/top/index.php?ntid=197608&ntpid=1

|publisher = Wisconsin State Journal
| date = [[2007-06-18]]

}}
}} Wisconsin.
:- [http://www.madison.com/tearsheets/pdf/2007/06/18/WSJ/20070618-A-A-001--CN_-WSJ.pdf newspaper's full front page] (pdf)  + related story link:[http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=197609 "Herb is as potent as LSD"] + [http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/spectrum/index.php?ntid=198134&ntpid=1 WSJ reader's opinions] (as published). 
*{{Cite news
| author = [mailto:Sontaya.Rose@abc.com Rose, Sontaya]
| title = New High Sweeping Central Valley Teens
| url = http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=5290482
|publisher = abc30ActionNews
| date = [[2007-05-10]]

}} California.
*{{Cite news
| author = [http://www3.whdh.com/newsteam/?id=BO49295, Williams, Adam]
| title = Herb High
| url = http://www1.whdh.com/features/articles/specialreport/BO51715/
|publisher = WHDH-TV-7News
| date = [[2007-05-09]]

}} Massachusetts (Boston).
*{{Cite news
| author = Tweed, Katherine
| title = Teens Use Salvia to Get High Legally
| url = http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,269719,00.html
|publisher = FoxNews
| date = [[2007-05-02]]

}}
*{{Cite news
| author = [mailto:mmiller@wcpo.com Miller, Matt]
| title = 9News Warning: Dangerous Legal Drug Sold in Tri-state Stores
| url = http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=0c4d344d-6ac7-4e18-8c97-d81ca27deccd
|publisher = abc9(wcpo.com)
| date = [[2007-05-02]]

}} Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana.
*{{Cite news
| author = [http://www.wxii12.com/newsteam/1874827/detail.html Marsh, Melissa]
| title = Salvia: Herb Stirs Debate
| url = http://www.wxii12.com/health/13234513/detail.html
|publisher = WXII-12News
| date = [[2007-05-01]]

}} North Carolina.
*{{Cite news
| author = Setrakian, Lara
| title = Little-Known Drug Offers Legal High
| url = http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3100038&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
|publisher = abcNEWS
| date = [[2007-04-30]]

}}
*{{Cite news
| author = [mailto:lisa.conell@rutlandherald.com Connell, Lisa D]
| title = Middlebury seeks ban on sale of herb
| url = http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070411/NEWS04/704110407/1002/NEWS01
|publisher = Rutland Herald
| date = [[2007-04-11]]

}} Vermont.
*{{Cite news
| author = [mailto:dguevara@plaind.com Guevara, Damian G]
| title = Local cops seek ban on psychoactive herb
| url = http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1175848802321660.xml&coll=2
|publisher = The Plain Dealer
| date = [[2007-04-06]]

}} Ohio.
*{{Cite news
| author = [mailto:ddoerr@wacotrib.com Doerr, David]
| title = Waco legislator trying to outlaw hallucinogen sold over the counter locally
| url = http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/03/12/03122007wacsalvia.html
|publisher = Waco Tribune-Herald
| date = [[2007-03-12]]

}} Texas.
*{{Cite news
| author = Eckenrode, Vicky
| title = Ban on mind-altering herb weighed in legislature
| url = http://savannahnow.com/node/239324
|publisher = Savannah Morning News
| date = [[2007-03-08]]

}} Georgia.
*{{Cite news
| author = Clark, Aaron
| title = Oregon lawmakers consider banning legal hallucinogenic
| url = http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2007/03/05/news/news12030507.txt
|publisher = The Worldlink/Associated Press
| date = [[2007-03-05]]

}} Oregon.
*{{Cite news
| author = [mailto:dana.heupel@sj-r.com Heupel, Dana]
| title = Legislation to go after salvia plant
| url = http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/108979.asp
|publisher = The State Journal Register
| date = [[2007-03-01]]

}} Illinois.
*{{Cite news
| author = Masis, Julie
| title = Mexican drug gains U.S. following
| url = http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N24424552.htm
|publisher = Reuters
| date = [[2007-02-28]]

}} Boston.
*{{Cite news
| author = Thomson, Marc
| title = Take a trip with Sally D
| url = http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6144416&nav=0Rce
|publisher = WoodTV8
| date = [[2007-02-27]]

}} Michigan.
*{{Cite news
| author = [mailto:DStarks@WCNC.com Starks, Dan]
| title = Teens finding legal way to get high
| url = http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/stories/wcnc-022607-krg-dbav.16cadd59.html
|publisher = WNCN
| date = [[2007-02-27]]

}} Carolina.
*{{Cite news
| author = [http://wcbstv.com/bios/local_bio_201163445.html Calvi, Mary]
| title = Teens Turning To Salvia, The 'Legal' Hallucinogen
| url = http://wcbstv.com/seenat11/local_story_052222130.html
|publisher = WCBS-TV
| date = [[2007-02-22]]

}} New York.
*{{Cite news
| author = [http://www.kirotv.com/station/1868097/detail.html Grande, Alison]
| title = Growing Alarm Over Hallucinogenic Herb
| url = http://www.kirotv.com/news/11086897/detail.html
|publisher = KIRO 7
| date = [[2007-02-22]]

}} Washington.
*{{Cite news
| author = [http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=bios&id=3337514 DeVine, Josh]
| title = Locals sound off on Salvia issue
| url = http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=local&id=5055418
|publisher = abc12(WJRT)
| date = [[2007-02-21]]

}} Michigan.
*{{Cite news
| author = [http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=bios&id=3337514 DeVine, Josh]
| title = New legal herb may do more damage than LSD
| url = http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/story?section=local&id=5048914
|publisher = abc12(WJRT)
| date = [[2007-02-19]]

}} Michigan.
* O’Connor, Seamus. [http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/02/AFsalvia070215/ "Air Force bases ban salvia hallucinogen"], AirForceTimes (+ArmyTimes+NavyTimes), [[2007-02-16]].
* [http://www.turnto23.com/news/11038375/detail.html "New Drug Grows In Popularity With Youth"], TurnTo23.com, [[2007-02-16]].
*{{wikicite | id=Sanchick_20070215 | reference=
{{Cite news
| author = [http://community.myfoxmilwaukee.com/blogs/Myra_Sanchick Sanchick, Myra]
| title = Salvia: Underground Drug Getting Attention
| url = http://www.myfoxmilwaukee.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=2395758&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1
|publisher = Fox6News WITI-TV
| date = [[2007-02-15]]

}} Milwaukee.
}}
*{{wikicite | id=Sanchick_20070214 | reference=
{{Cite news
| author = [http://community.myfoxmilwaukee.com/blogs/Myra_Sanchick Sanchick, Myra]
| title = Salvia: The New Pot
| url = http://www.myfoxmilwaukee.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=2385437&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1
|publisher = Fox6News WITI-TV
| date = [[2007-02-14]]

}} Milwaukee.
}}
* editorial. [http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2004/02/af.salviaeditorial.020204/ "Military must ban Salvia"], AirForceTimes (+ArmyTimes+NavyTimes), [[2007-02-12]].
* Gaudiano, Nicole. [http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2004/02/af.salvia.020204/ "Nightmare herb?"], AirForceTimes (+ArmyTimes+NavyTimes), [[2007-02-12]].
* Gaudiano, Nicole. [http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2004/02/af.salviaside.020204/ "Tales from the Salvia dark side"], AirForceTimes (+ArmyTimes+NavyTimes), [[2007-02-12]].
* [http://cbs4.com/bios/local_bio_053140426 Santiago, Jennifer]. [http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_043010128.html "Salvia: It's Legal, But Some Say Dangerous"], CBS4.com, [[2007-02-12]].
* [mailto:mhaskell@bangordailynews.net Haskell, Meg]. [http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=146136&zoneid=500 "Amended salvia bill limits sales"], Bangor Daily News, [[2007-02-08]].
* Medenbach, Deborah. [http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070205/NEWS/702050357 "Police warn parents about hallucinogenic mint"], recordonline.com, [[2007-02-05]].
* [http://www.kxma.com/getARticle.asp?ArticleId=91151 "Lawmakers hear about a new drug"], KXMBTV, [[2007-01-31]].
* [mailto:mhaskell@bangordailynews.net Haskell, Meg]. [http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=145495&zoneid=500 "Lawmakers hear arguments on salvia ban"], Bangor Daily News, [[2007-01-23]] (story includes online poll).
* [mailto:mhaskell@bangordailynews.net Haskell, Meg]. [http://bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=144637&zoneid=500 "Maine bill seeks regulation of legal hallucinogenic drug"], Bangor Daily News, [[2006-12-29]].
:- see also [http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2006/12/29/state_lawmaker_wants_to_regulate_new_hallucinogenic_drug/ "State lawmaker wants to regulate new hallucinogenic drug"], The Boston Globe, [[2006-12-29]].
:- and [http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/061230newdrug.html "State officials hoping to ban sale of salvia herb to minors"], Portland Press Herald, [[2006-12-30]].
* [mailto:rlowell@keepmecurrent.com Lowell, Robert]. [http://www.keepmecurrent.com/Community/story.cfm?storyID=29230 "Gorham legislator seeks Salvia ban"], keepMEcurrent.com, [[2006-12-17]].
* [http://cbs3.com/bios/local_bio_051194647 Quinones, Todd]. [http://cbs3.com/specialreports/local_story_333213310.html "Deadly Dangers Of A Street Legal High"], CBS 3 Philadelphia, [[2006-11-30]].
* {{wikicite | id=Dujanovic20061127 | reference=Dujanovic, Debbie. [http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=679822 "Dangerous Herb is Legal in Utah"], KSL, [[2006-11-27]].}}
: {{wikicite | id=Dujanovic20061128 | reference=- Follow-up story: [http://www.ksl.com/?sid=682728&nid=148 "Lawmaker Responds to Investigative Report on Dangerous Herb"], [[2006-11-28]].}}
: {{wikicite | id=Cardall20061212 | reference=- Cardall, Duane. [http://www.ksl.com/?nid=238&sid=687501 KSL Editorial], [[2006-12-01]].}}
* Jensen, Anna. [http://www.krdotv.com/story.cfm?nav=news&storyID=1476 "D-E-A Issues Warning About Herb"], ABC News Channel 13, [[2006-11-17]].
* [http://cbs4denver.com/bios/local_bio_183125238.html Blake, Katherine]. [http://cbs4denver.com/investigates/local_story_317232334.html "DEA Warns Over-The-Counter Drug Is Like Acid"], CBS 4 Denver, [[2006-11-13]].
* [http://www.abc4.com/story-by/?reporter_id=erikaedberg Edberg, Erika] [mailto:erika@abc4.com (email)]. [http://www.abc4.com/content/features/story.aspx?content_id=3815a268-56de-4356-85d5-c4a9f07a3fa5 "Salvia Divinorum: A legal herb, powerful like LSD, and available in Utah"], ABC 4, [[2006-11-05]].
* [http://cbs4boston.com/bios/local_bio_052115306 Shortsleeve, Joe]. [http://cbs4boston.com/specialreports/local_story_306204743.html "Powerful Hallucinogenic Drug Legal Across Mass."], CBS 4 Boston, [[2006-11-02]].
* [http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=local&id=4188369 "NJ to Crackdown on Salvia Use"], WPVI-TV/DT(6abc.com), [[2006-05-19]].
* Barnes, Audrey. [http://www.wusa9.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=47389 "New High Can Be Deadly"], WUSA9, [[2006-06-30]].
* Elizabeth A., Davis. [http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1925992 "Tennessee Mulls Ban of Hallucinogenic Herb"], abcNews, Tennessee, [[2006-05-05]].
* Pederson, Jason. [http://www.katv.com/onyourside.hrb?s=1317 Salvia divinorum], KATV7, Arkansas, [[2006-04-27]].
* [http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/cooper.anderson.html Cooper, Anderson]. [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/13/lol.03.html "Salvia: Legal but Lethal"], CNN, [[2006-04-13]].
: - [http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/2006/04/herb-induces-hallucinations-proposed.html viewer feedback] - [http://www.salvia-divinorum-scotland.co.uk/mediastories/government/brettslaw/cnn_video.ws.asx asx video] (save & use media player).
* [http://www.nbc10.com/news/8628557/detail.html "Cheap, Legal And Dangerous -- Salvia Hits Area"], NBC10, Delaware, [[2006-04-11]].

==External links==
* [http://www.erowid.org/plants/salvia/salvia_law.shtml Erowid's Salvia Law vault]
* [http://www.geocities.com/salviacrusaders/ The Australian Salvia Crusaders] - issues regarding Australian law and Salvia divinorum

[[Category:Salvia divinorum]]
[[Category:Drug control law]]

Circumcision

2007-06-16T19:55:56Z

Capi crimm: /* Sexual Effects */

{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}
{{Otheruses4|male circumcision|the practice sometimes referred to as "female circumcision"|Female genital cutting}}
[[Image:Circumcision set.jpg|right|thumb|Seixas Family circumcision set and trunk, ca. eighteenth century
Wooden box covered in cow hide with silver implements: silver trays, clip, pointer, silver flask, spice vessel.]]
'''Circumcision''' is the procedure that cuts some or all of the [[foreskin]] ([[prepuce]]) from the [[penis]]. The [[frenulum of prepuce of penis|frenulum]] may also be cut away at the same time, in a procedure called a [[Frenectomy#Frenectomy of the penis|frenectomy]]. The word "circumcision" comes from [[Latin]] ''circum'' (meaning "around") and ''caedere'' (meaning "to cut").

Circumcision predates recorded [[human history]], with depictions found in [[stone-age]] [[cave drawing]]s and [[Ancient Egypt]]ian [[tomb]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Wrana | first = P. | year = 1939 | title = Historical review: Circumcision | journal = Archives of Pediatrics | volume = 56 | issue = | pages = 385–392}} as quoted in: {{cite journal | last = Zoske | first = Joseph | month = Winter | year = 1998 | title = Male Circumcision: A Gender Perspective | journal = Journal of Men’s Studies | volume = 6 | issue = 2 | pages = 189–208 | url = http://www.noharmm.org/zoske.htm|accessdate = 2006-06-14}} </ref> The origins of the practice are lost in antiquity. Theories include that circumcision is a form of ritual [[sacrifice]] or offering, a health precaution, a sign of submission to a [[deity]], a rite of passage to adulthood, a mark of defeat or [[slavery]], or an attempt to alter [[esthetics]] or [[Human sexuality|sexuality]].<ref name = "Gollaher">{{cite book
| last = Gollaher
| first = David L.
| title = Circumcision: a history of the world’s most controversial surgery
| year = 2000
| month = February
| publisher = [[Basic Books]]
| location = [[New York, NY]]
| language =
| id = ISBN 978-0-465-04397-2 {{LCCN|99|0|40015}}
| doi =
| pages = 53–72
| chapter =
| chapterurl =
| quote =
}}
</ref> Circumcision of males is a religious commandment in [[Judaism]] and [[Islam]],<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/circumcision.html
| title = Circumcision
| accessdate = 2006-10-03
| publisher = [[Jewish Virtual Library|American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise]]
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia
| last = Beidelman
| first = T.
| editor = Mircea Eliade
| encyclopedia = The Encyclopedia of religion
| title = CIRCUMCISION
| url = http://www.male-initiation.net/anthropology/eliade.html
| accessdate = 2006-10-03
| year = 1987
| publisher = [[Macmillan Publishers]]
| volume = Volume 3
| location = [[New York, NY]]
| id = {{LCCN|86|00|5432}} ISBN 978-0-02-909480-8
| pages = 511–514
}}</ref> and is customary in some [[Oriental Orthodox]] and other Christian churches in Africa.<ref name=Christian>Customary in some Coptic and other churches:
*"The Coptic Christians in Egypt and the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians— two of the oldest surviving forms of Christianity— retain many of the features of early Christianity, including male circumcision. Circumcision is not prescribed in other forms of Christianity... Some Christian churches in South Africa oppose the practice, viewing it as a pagan ritual, while others, including the Nomiya church in Kenya, require circumcision for membership and participants in focus group discussions in Zambia and Malawi mentioned similar beliefs that Christians should practice circumcision since Jesus was circumcised and the Bible teaches the practice." [http://www.unaids.org/en/MediaCentre/PressMaterials/FeatureStory/20070226_MC_pt1.asp Male Circumcision: context, criteria and culture (Part 1)], [[Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS]], [[February 26]], 2007.
*"The decision that Christians need not practice circumcision is recorded in Acts 15; there was never, however, a prohibition of circumcision, and it is practiced by Coptic Christians." [http://www.bartleby.com/65/ci/circumci.html "circumcision"], The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-05.</ref> It is also practiced by the majority of South Koreans,<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Ku
| first = J.H.
| coauthors = M.E. Kim, N.K. Lee, and Y.H. Park
| year = 2003
| title = Circumcision practice patterns in South Korea: community based survey
| journal = Sexually Transmitted Infections
| volume = 79
| issue = 1
| pages = 65–67
| doi = 10.1136/sti.79.1.65
| id = PMID 12576619
| url = http://sti.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/79/1/65.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-10-03
}}
</ref> Americans,<ref>{{cite paper
| author = Xu, F, L Markowitz, M Sternberg, and S Aral
| title = Prevalence of circumcision in men in the United States: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2002
| publisher = XVI International AIDS Conference
| date = 2006
| url = http://www.iasociety.org/abstract/show.asp?abstract_id=2193307
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref> and Filipinos.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Lee
| first = R.B.
| year = 2005
| title = Circumcision practice in the Philippines: community based study
| journal = Sexually Transmitted Infections
| volume = 81
| issue = 1
| pages = 91
| doi = 10.1136/sti.2004.009993
| id = PMID 15681733
| url = http://sti.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/81/1/91.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-10-03
}}
</ref>
[[Infant]] circumcision is controversial in several English-speaking countries. The [[American Medical Association]] defines “non-therapeutic” circumcision as the non-religious, non-ritualistic, not medically necessary, elective circumcision of male newborns. It states that medical associations in the US, Australia, and Canada do not recommend the routine non-therapeutic circumcision of newborns.<ref name = "CSA:I-99">{{cite web
| year = 1999
| month = December
| url = http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13585.html
| title = Report 10 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (I-99):Neonatal Circumcision
| format =
| work = 1999 AMA Interim Meeting: Summaries and Recommendations of Council on Scientific Affairs Reports
| pages = 17
| publisher = [[American Medical Association]]
| accessdate = 2006-06-13
}}
</ref> [[Genital integrity]] supporters condemn all infant circumcision as male [[genital modification and mutilation|genital mutilation]] comparable to [[female genital cutting]],<ref name = "Milos">{{cite journal
| last = Milos
| first = Marilyn Fayre
| coauthors = Donna Macris
| year = 1992
| month = March-April
| title = Circumcision: A medical or a human rights issue?
| journal = Journal of Nurse-Midwifery
| volume = 37
| issue = 2 S1
| pages = S87–S96
| pmid = 1573462
| doi = 10.1016/0091-2182(92)90012-R
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/milos-macris/
| accessdate = 2007-04-06
}}
</ref> while [[circumcision advocacy|proponents of circumcision]] consider that infant circumcision is a worthwhile public health measure.<ref name="Schoen">{{cite journal
| last = Schoen
| first = Edgar J
| year = 1997
| title = Benefits of newborn circumcision: is Europe ignoring medical evidence?
| journal = Archives of Disease in Childhood
| volume = 77
| issue = 3
| pages = 258-260
| pmid = 9370910
| format = (free registration required)
| url = http://adc.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/77/3/258
| accessdate = 2007-04-06
}}
</ref>

Three randomised trials carried out in African areas of high HIV infection have provided evidence that a man's risk of acquiring HIV through heterosexual intercourse is halved if he is circumcised.<ref name = "Newell">{{cite journal
| last = Newell
| first = Marie-Lousie
| coauthors = Till Bärnighausen
| date = [[February 24]], [[2007]]
| title = Male circumcision to cut HIV risk in the general population
| journal = [[The Lancet]]
| volume = 369
| issue = 9562
| pages = 617–619
| pmid = 17321292
| doi = DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60288-8
| url = http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/0140-6736/PIIS0140673607602888.pdf
|format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-04-01
}}
</ref><ref name="baileyrct">{{cite journal
| last = Bailey
| first = Robert C
| coauthors = Stephen Moses, Corette B Parker, Kawango Agot, Ian Maclean, John N Krieger, Carolyn F M Williams, Richard T Campbell, Jeckoniah O Ndinya-Achola
| date = [[February 24]], [[2007]]
| title = Male circumcision for HIV prevention in young men in Kisumu, Kenya: a randomised controlled trial
| journal = [[The Lancet]]
| volume = 369
| issue = 9562
| pages = 643–656
| pmid = 17321310
| doi = DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60312-2
| url = http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/0140-6736/PIIS0140673607603122.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-04-01
}}
</ref><ref name="grayrct">{{cite journal
| last = Gray
| first = Ronald H
| coauthors = Godfrey Kigozi, David Serwadda, Frederick Makumbi, Stephen Watya, Fred Nalugoda, Noah Kiwanuka, Lawrence H Moulton, Mohammad A Chaudhary, Michael Z Chen, Nelson K Sewankambo, Fred Wabwire-Mangen, Melanie C Bacon, Carolyn F M Williams, Pius Opendi, Steven J Reynolds, Oliver Laeyendecker, Thomas C Quinn, Maria J Wawer
| date = [[February 24]], [[2007]]
| title = Male circumcision for HIV prevention in men in Rakai, Uganda: a randomised trial
| journal = [[The Lancet]]
| volume = 369
| issue = 9562
| pages = 657–666
| pmid = 17321311
| doi = DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60313-4
| url = http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/0140-6736/PIIS0140673607603134.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-04-01
}}
</ref> although some voice doubt regarding the value of male circumcision in reducing an epidemic.<ref name = "Garenne">{{cite journal
| last = Garenne
| first = Michel
| year = 2006
| month = January
| title = Male Circumcision and HIV Control in Africa
| journal = [[PLoS Medicine]]
| volume = 3
| issue = 1
| pages = e78
| pmid = 16435906
| doi = doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030078
| url = http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0030078
| accessdate = 2007-04-01
}}
</ref> The World Health Organisation recommended in 2007 that "promoting male circumcision should be recognized as an additional, important strategy for the prevention of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men."<ref name = "WHO HIV 1">{{cite web
| url = http://www.who.int/hiv/mediacentre/MCrecommendations_en.pdf
| title = New Data on Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention: Policy and Programme Implications
| accessdate = 2007-04-01
| date = [[March 28]], [[2007]]
| format = PDF
| publisher = [[World Health Organization]]
}}
</ref>

Circumcision may be used to treat [[balanitis|inflammation of the glans penis]]<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Holman
| first = John R.
| coauthors = Keith A. Stuessi
| year = 1999
| month = [[March 15]],
| title = Adult Circumcision
| journal = American Family Physician
| volume = 59
| issue = 6
| pages = 1514–1518
| doi =
| id = {{ISSN|0002-838X}} PMID 10193593
| url = http://www.aafp.org/afp/990315ap/1514.html
| accessdate = 2006-06-30
}}
</ref> and [[penile cancer]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Carcinoma of the penis: experience from 360 cases |author=Rempelakos A |coauthors=''et al'' |journal=J BUON |year=2004 |month=Jan-Mar |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=51-5 |quote="The surgical treatment which was performed included: circumcision 32 patients"}}</ref> The use of circumcision to treat [[phimosis]] is debated in medical literature.<ref name="dewan">{{cite journal | last = Dewan | first = P.A. | coauthors = Tieu H.C., and Chieng B.S. | year = 1996 | month = August | title = Phimosis: Is circumcision necessary? | journal = Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health | volume = 32 | issue = 4 | pages = 285–289 | id = PMID 8844530}}</ref><ref name="beauge">{{cite journal | last = Beaugé | first = Michel | year = 1997 | month = September/October | title = The causes of adolescent phimosis | journal = British Journal of Sexual Medicine | volume = 26 | url = http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge2/ | accessdate = 2006-06-14}}</ref>

==The procedures of circumcision==
[[Image:Uncircumcised Penis.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Non-circumcised penis, flaccid (left) and erect (right)]]
[[Image:Circumsised penis - Flacid and Erect - High Res.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Circumcised penis, flaccid (left) and erect (right)]]
Circumcision removes the [[foreskin]] from the [[penis]]. For infant circumcision, clamps, such as the [[Gomco clamp]], [[Plastibell]], and Mogen are often used.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Holman
| first = John R.
| coauthors = Evelyn L. Lewis, Robert L. Ringler
| year = 1995
| month = August
| title = Neonatal circumcision techniques - includes patient information sheet
| journal = American Family Physician
| volume = 52
| issue = 2
| pages = 511–520
| id = {{ISSN|0002-838X}} PMID 7625325
| url = http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3225/is_n2_v52/ai_17281985
| accessdate = 2006-06-29
}}
</ref> These clamps are meant to protect the glans while they cut the blood supply to the foreskin and prevent any [[hemostasis|bleeding]]. With the Plastibell clamp, the foreskin and the clamp come away in three to seven days. Before a Gomco clamp is used, a section of skin is crushed with a [[hemostat]] then slit with scissors. The foreskin is drawn over the bell shaped portion of the clamp and inserted through a hole in the base of the clamp. The clamp is then tightened, "crushing the foreskin between the bell and the base plate." The crushing limits the bleeding (provides the hemostasis). With the flared bottom of the bell fit tightly against the hole of the base plate, the foreskin is cut away with a scalpel from above the base plate, while the bell covers the glans to prevent it being reached by the scalpel.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Peleg
| first = David
| coauthors = Ann Steiner
| year = 1998
| month = [[September 15]],
| title = The Gomco Circumcision: Common Problems and Solutions
| journal = American Family Physician
| volume = 58
| issue = 4
| pages = 891–898
| id = {{ISSN|0002-838X}} PMID 9767725
| url = http://www.aafp.org/afp/980915ap/peleg.html
| accessdate = 2006-06-29
}}
</ref>

With a Mogen clamp, the foreskin and the glans are separated with a blunt probe and/or curved hemostat (as with the first part of the Gomco and Plastibell procedure). The foreskin is then grabbed dorsally with a straight hemostat, and lifted up. The Mogen clamp is then slid between the glans and hemostat, following the angle of the corona to "avoid removing excess skin ventrally and to obtain a superior cosmetic result," compared with Gomco or Plastibell circumcisions. The clamp is locked shut, and a scalpel is used to cut the foreskin from the flat (upper) side of the clamp.<ref name="Pfenninger">{{cite book
| last = Pfenninger
| first = John L.
| coauthors = Grant C. Fowler
| title = Procedures for primary care
| origyear = 1994
| origmonth =
| url =
| format =
| accessdate =
| accessyear =
| accessmonth =
| edition = 2nd
| date = [[July 21]], [[2003]]
| year =
| month =
| publisher = Mosby
| location =
| language =
| id = ISBN 978-0-323-00506-7 {{LCCN|2003|0|56227}}
| doi =
| pages =
| chapter =
| chapterurl =
| quote =
}}
</ref><ref name="Reynolds">{{cite journal
| last = Reynolds
| first = RD
| year = 1996
| month = July
| title = Use of the Mogen clamp for neonatal circumcision
| journal = American Family Physician
| volume = 54
| issue = 1
| pages = 177–182
| doi =
| id = PMID 8677833
| url =
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-18
}}
</ref>

The frenulum is cut if frenular chordee is evident.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Griffin A, Kroovand R |title=Frenular chordee: implications and treatment |journal=Urology |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=133-4 |year=1990 |id=PMID 2305537}}</ref><ref name = "Shechet" />

==Cultures and religions==
Some cultures circumcise their males either shortly after birth, in childhood or around puberty, when it may be part of a rite of passage. Geographically, circumcision is prevalent in Muslim countries, the United States, the Philippines and South Korea. It is less prevalent in Europe, Latin America, China and India. Among religious groups, circumcision is most prevalent among [[Jew]]s and [[Muslim]]s.

===Judaism===
{{main|Brit milah}}
{{see also|Circumcision in the Bible}}

Circumcision is a fundamental rite of [[Judaism]]. An essential component of Jewish practice, it is a positive [[613 mitzvot|commandment]] obligatory under [[halakha|Jewish law]] for Jewish males, and is only postponed or abrogated in the case of threat to the life or health of the child.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Glass
| first = J.M.
| year = 1999
| month = January
| title = Religious circumcision: a Jewish view
| journal = BJU International
| volume = 83
| issue = Supplement 1
| pages = 17–21
| doi = doi:10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1017.x
| id = PMID 10766529
| url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1017.x
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
}}
</ref> It is usually performed in a ceremony called a ''[[Brit milah]]'' (or ''Bris milah'', colloquially simply ''bris'') ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] for "Covenant of circumcision"). A ''[[mohel]]'' performs the ceremony on the eighth day after birth unless health reasons force a delay. According to the [[Torah]] ([[Genesis]], chapter 17 verses 9-14), [[God]] commanded [[Abraham]] to circumcise himself, his offspring and his slaves as a sign of an everlasting covenant. According to Jewish law, failure to follow the commandment carries the penalty of ''karet'', or being cut off from the community by God. ''Brit milah'' is considered to be so important that should the eighth day fall on [[Shabbat|the Sabbath]], actions that would normally be forbidden because of the sanctity of the day are permitted in order to fulfill the requirement to circumcise. The expressly ritual element of circumcision in Judaism, as distinguished from its non-ritual requirement in Islam, is shown by the requirement that a child who either is born [[Aposthia|aposthetic]] (without a foreskin) or who has been circumcised without the ritual must nevertheless undergo a ''Brit milah'' in which a drop of blood (''hatafat-dam'', הטפת דם) is drawn from the penis at the point where the foreskin would have been or was attached.<ref>[[Shulchan Aruch]], [[Yoreh De'ah]], 263:4</ref>

Less commonly practised, and more controversial, is ''[[metzitzah b'peh]]'', or oral suction,<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=11539
| title = City Risking Babies' Lives With Brit Policy: Health Experts
| accessdate = 2007-04-19
| last = Nussbaum Cohen
| first = Debra
| date = [[October 14]], [[2005]]
| publisher = [[The Jewish Week]]
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=11833&print=yes
| title = City Challenged On Ritual Practice
| accessdate = 2007-04-19
| last = Nussbaum Cohen
| first = Debra
| coauthors = Larry Cohler-Esses
| date = [[December 23]], [[2005]]
| publisher = [[The Jewish Week]]
}}
</ref> where the ''[[mohel]]'' sucks blood from the circumcision wound. The traditional reason for this procedure is to promote healing,<ref>[[Talmud Bavli]] Tractate Shabbos 133b: Rav Pappa said, “A mohel who does not perform metzitzah endangers the baby and is dismissed.”
</ref><ref>{{cite news
| first = Mordechai
| last = Halperin
| authorlink = Mordechai Halperin
| coauthors = (translated by Yocheved Lavon)
| title = Metzitzah B’peh Controversy: The View from Israel
| url = http://www.ou.org/jewish_action/article/8987
| work = Jewish Action 67(2)
| publisher = [[Orthodox Union]]
| id = {{ISSN|0447-7049}} {{OCLC|5763983}}
| pages = 25, 33–39
| date = Winter 2006
| accessdate = 2007-02-15
| quote = The original technique for the performance of metzitzah employs the human mouth. The mohel brings the baby’s organ into his mouth immediately after the excision of the foreskin and sucks blood from it vigorously. This action lowers the internal pressure in the tissues of the organ, in the blood vessels of the head of the organ and in the exposed ends of the arterioles that have just been cut. Thus, the difference between the pressure in the blood vessels in the base of the organ and the pressure in the blood vessels at its tip is increased. This requirement has deep religious significance as well as medical benefits.…The Gemara states that the requirement of metzitzah stems from medical considerations; it is meant to minimize risk to the infant’s life and health}}
</ref> though the practice has been implicated in the spreading of herpes to the infant.<ref name = "Gesundheit">{{cite journal
| last = Gesundheit
| first = B.
| coauthors = et al.
| year = 2004
| month = August
| title = Neonatal Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection After Jewish Ritual Circumcision: Modern Medicine and Religious Tradition
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 114
| issue = 2
| pages = e259–e263
| id = {{ISSN|1098-4275}}
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/114/2/e259.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-06-28
}}
</ref> Today, if it is performed, the mohel generally uses a sterilized glass tube.<ref name = "RCAMetzitzah">{{cite web
| url = http://www.rabbis.org/news/article.cfm?id=100605
| title = Metzitza Be'Peh - Halachic Clarification
| accessdate = 2007-04-06
| date = [[June 7]], [[2005]]
| publisher = [[Rabbinical Council of America]]
| quote = The poskim consulted by the RCA…agree that the normative halacha undoubtedly permits the third view [using a glass tube], and that it is proper for mohalim to conduct themselves in this way given the health issues involved in the fourth view.…However, although Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik also generally prohibited metzitza be’peh with direct oral contact, he did not ban it by those who insisted upon it, and neither does the RCA advocate any such ban. Those who wish to follow their customs in accordance with the above-noted authorities are certainly entitled to do so, but the RCA is firmly of the opinion that in light of current realities and medical knowledge it is proper, and preferable, to use a tube.
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite news
|first = Kelly
|last = Hartog
|url = http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=13676
|title = Death Spotlights Old Circumcision Rite
|publisher = [[The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles]]
|date = [[February 18]] [[2005]]
|accessdate = 2006-11-22
|quote = Metzizah b’peh — loosely translated as oral suction — is the part of the circumcision ceremony where the mohel removes the blood from the baby’s member; these days the removal of the blood is usually done using a sterilized glass tube, instead of with the mouth, as the Talmud suggests.
}}</ref>

===Christianity===
[[Christianity]] does not prescribe [[Circumcision in the Bible|circumcision]]. The [[Council of Jerusalem|first Church Council in Jerusalem]] decided that circumcision was not a requirement ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2015 Acts 15]). [[Paul of Tarsus|St. Paul]] had Timothy circumcised ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2016:1-3 Acts 16:1-3]) but in his letters he warned gentile Christians against adopting the practice ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%206:12-16 Galatians 6:12-16], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%203:2-3 Philippians 3:2-3]). Individual Christians and Christian traditions may have different customs. For example, circumcision is customary among members of three of the [[Oriental Orthodox]] Churches, the [[Coptic Christian|Coptic Orthodox]], [[Ethiopian Orthodox]], and [[Eritrean Orthodox]] churches in their home countries, as well as some other African churches.<ref name=Christian/> On [[1 January]], the Catholic Church used to celebrate the [[Circumcision of Christ]]. This has been superseded by the [[Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God]]. The [[Catholic Church]] condemned the observance of circumcision as a [[mortal sin]] and ordered against its practice in the [[Council of Florence|Council of Basel-Florence]] in 1442.<ref name = "CoF">{{cite book
| last = Eugenius IV
| first = Pope
| authorlink = Pope Eugene IV
| editor = Norman P. Tanner ed.
| title = Decrees of the ecumenical councils
| origyear = 1442
| url =
| format =
| accessdate = 2007-04-25
| series = 2 volumes
| year = 1990
| publisher = [[Georgetown University Press]]
| location = [[Washington, DC]]
| isbn = 0878404902
| oclc =
| language = English, Greek, and Latin
| id = {{LCCN|90|00|3209}}
| pages =
| chapter = ECCUMENICAL COUNCIL OF FLORENCE (1438-1445): Session 11—4 February 1442; Bull of union with the Copts
| chapterurl = http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/FLORENCE.HTM#5
| quote = It firmly believes, professes and teaches that the legal prescriptions of the old Testament or the Mosaic law, which are divided into ceremonies, holy sacrifices and sacraments, because they were instituted to signify something in the future, although they were adequate for the divine cult of that age, once our lord Jesus Christ who was signified by them had come, came to an end and the sacraments of the new Testament had their beginning.…But it asserts that after the promulgation of the gospel they cannot be observed without loss of eternal salvation. Therefore it denounces all who after that time observe circumcision, the sabbath and other legal prescriptions as strangers to the faith of Christ and unable to share in eternal salvation, unless they recoil at some time from these errors. Therefore it strictly orders all who glory in the name of Christian, not to practise circumcision either before or after baptism, since whether or not they place their hope in it, it cannot possibly be observed without loss of eternal salvation.
}}
</ref> Anglican and Lutheran churches have also renamed the Feast of the Circumcision in their liturgical calendars as, for example, the Holy Name of Jesus.<ref> For example, "The Calendar of the Church Year" in The (Online) Book of Common Prayer (Episcopal Church in the United States of America), http://www.bcponline.org/ retrieved [[11 October]] [[2006]].</ref>

===Islam===
The origin of circumcision in [[Islam]] is a matter of religious and scholarly debate. It is mentioned in some parts of the [[Hadith]], but not in the [[Qur'an]]. [[Fiqh]] scholars have different opinions about circumcision in [[Shariah]], depending on which Hadith are accepted and how they are interpreted. According to some it is ''recommended'' ([[Sunnah]]); according to others, it is ''obligatory''.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=9412&dgn=4
| title = Question #9412: Circumcision: how it is done and the rulings on it
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| last = Al-Munajjid
| first = Muhammed Salih
| publisher = Islam Q&A
}}
</ref> Some have quoted the [[Hadith]] to argue that the requirement of circumcision is based on the covenant with [[Abraham]].<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=7073&dgn=3
| title = Question #7073: The health and religious benefits of circumcision
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| last = Al-Munajjid
| first = Muhammed Salih
| publisher = Islam Q&A
}}
</ref>

The timing of Muslim circumcision varies. Turkish, [[Balkan]], rural Egyptians and Central and South Asian Muslims typically circumcise boys between the ages of six and eleven and traditionally the event may be a joyous occasion and celebrated with sweets and feasting. However, in the middle class it is more usually done in infancy and is largely unremarked upon. In Turkey the celebratory feast is called "Sünnet Düğünü", or "Circumcision Feast/Celebration" and is considered a very important celebration in man's life as a passage to a manhood.<ref>Hamdullah Aydın, M.D. and Zeynep Gülçat, Ph.D., "Turkey," in ''The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality'', http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/turkey.html retrieved [[11 October]] [[2006]].</ref> In [[Pakistan]], Muslims may be circumcised at all ages from the newborn period to adulthood, though the medical profession has encouraged medical circumcisions in the first week after birth to reduce complications: "Circumcision is performed by barbers, medical technicians, quacks and doctors including paediatric surgeon[s] [and as] yet there is no consensus for the best age and method."<ref>Iftikhar Ahmad Jan, "Circumcision in babies and children with Plastibell technique: An easy procedure with minimal complications - Experience of 316 cases," Pak J Med Sci 2004, 20(3) 175-180.</ref> In Iran, Dr. Paula Drew states that “circumcision, which formerly celebrated the onset of manhood, has for many years now been more customarily performed at the age of 5 or 6 for children born at home, and at two days old for those born in a medical setting.…By puberty, all Muslim Iranian boys must be circumcised if they are to participate fully in religious activities.”<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
| last = Drew
| first = Paula E.
| coauthors = F. A. Sadeghpour and anonymous
| editor = [[Robert T. Francoeur]]
| encyclopedia = The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality
| title = Iran
| url = http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/iran.html
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
| publisher = Continuum Publishing Company
| location = [[New York, NY]]
}}
</ref> Kamyar ''et al'' describe circumcision as an "obligatory custom" and note that it is not necessary for the circumciser to be a Muslim.<ref>Kamyar M. Hedayat, MD and Roya Pirzadeh, MD, "Issues in Islamic Biomedical Ethics: A Primer for the Pediatrician," ''Pediatrics'' Vol. 108 No. [[4 October]] [[2001]], pp. 965-971, http://imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?print=3107 retrieved [[11 October]] [[2006]].</ref>

===Other faiths and traditions===
[[Bahai Faith|Bahá'ís]] do not have any particular tradition or rituals regarding male circumcision, but view female circumcision as mutilation.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.bahai.org.nz/public/patientisbahai.htm
| title = WHEN YOUR PATIENT IS A BAHA'I
| accessdate = 2007-01-30
| publisher = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New Zealand
| quote = Bahá'ís are not advised on a particular course of action in respect to circumcision of males; circumcision of females is considered mutilation.
}}</ref>

The [[Druze]] have no male circumcision in their religion,<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.semp.us/biots/biot_176.html
| title = Who Are the Druze?
| accessdate = 2007-01-30
| date = [[February 17]], [[2005]]
| work = SEMP Biot #176
| publisher = Suburban Emergency Management Project
}}</ref> although, according to one source, it is a practiced among those living in urban areas or outside the Middle East, mainly for hygienic reasons.[http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Druze.html]

There is no specific reference to male circumcision in the Hindu holy books [http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1989/02/1989-02-09.shtml], and Hindus in India generally do not practice circumcision. [http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/326/7403/1389]

[[Sikh]] male infants are not circumcised.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.kyha.com/documents/CG-Sikh.pdf
| title = Guidelines for health Care Providers Interacting with Patients of the Sikh Religion and their Families
| accessdate = 2007-05-01
| publisher =Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council
| date = November 2000
}}</ref>

Circumcision in South Korea is largely the result of American cultural and military influence following the [[Korean War]]. The origin of circumcision in the Philippines is uncertain. One newspaper article speculates that it is due to the influence of western colonizers.<ref>{{cite news
|first = Rommel G.
|last = Rebollido
|url = http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2005/03/21/feat/passage.to.manhood.html
|title = Passage to manhood
|work = General Santos
|publisher = Sun Star Publishing, Inc.
|date = [[March 21]], [[2005]]
|accessdate = 2006-07-01
|language =
}}
</ref> However, [[Antonio de Morga]]'s [[17th century|seventeenth century]] ''History of the Philippine Islands'', speculates that it is due to Islamic influence.<ref>{{cite book
| last = de Morga
| first = Antonio
| others = Translated by Alfonso de Salvio, Norman F. Hall, and James Alexander Robertson
| title = History of the Philippine Islands
| origyear = 1609
| url = http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/resources/english/etext-project/history/philippine/index.htm
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| date = 1907
| id = {{LCCN|unk82|0|42869}}
| chapter = 11
| chapterurl = http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/resources/english/etext-project/history/philippine/chapter11.html
| quote = These Borneans are Mahometans, and were already introducing their religion among the natives of Luzon, and were giving them instructions, ceremonies, and the form of observing their religion.…and those the chiefest men, were commencing, although by piecemeal, to become Moros, and were being circumcised and taking the names of Moros.}}</ref> In West Africa infant circumcision may have had tribal significance as a rite of passage or otherwise in the past; today in some non-Muslim Nigerian societies it is medicalised and is simply a cultural norm.<ref>Ajuwon et al., "Indigenous surgical practices in rural southwestern Nigeria: Implications for disease," Health Educ. Res..1995; 10: 379-384 Health Educ. Res..1995; 10: 379-384 Retrieved [[3 October]] [[2006]]</ref> In early 2007 it was announced that rural aidpost orderlies in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea are to undergo training in the circumcision of men and boys of all ages with a view to introducing the procedure as a means of prophylaxis against HIV/AIDS, which is becoming a significant problem in the country.<ref>{{cite web
| title = "PNG circumcision campaign hopes to halt HIV,"
| publisher = ABC Radio Australia citing the ''Papua New Guinea Post-Courier''
| url = http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1842948.htm
| format = htm
| date = 2007-02-08, 14:21:13,
}}</ref>

Circumcision is part of [[initiation rite]]s in some African, Pacific Islander, and Australian aboriginal [[traditions]] in remote areas, such as Arnhem Land,<ref>{{cite paper
| author = Aaron David Samuel Corn
| title = Ngukurr Crying: Male Youth in a Remote Indigenous Community
| version = Working Paper Series No. 2
| publisher = [[University of Wollongong]]
| date = 2001
| url = http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sealcp/wkgpapers/wp2.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
}}
</ref> where the practice was introduced by Makassan traders from Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.mfgsc.vic.edu.au/greenturtledreaming/EKmigrate.htm
| title = Migration and Trade
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
| publisher = Green Turtle Dreaming
| quote = In exchange for turtles and trepang the Makassans introduced tobacco, the practice of circumcision and knowledge to build sea-going canoes.
}}
</ref> Circumcision ceremonies among certain Australian aboriginal societies are noted for their painful nature, including [[subincision]] for some aboriginal peoples in the Western Desert.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Jones
| first = IH
| year = 1969
| month = June
| title = Subincision among Australian western desert Aborigines
| journal = British Journal of Medical Psychology
| volume = 42
| issue = 2
| pages = 183–190
| doi =
| id = {{ISSN|0007-1129}} PMID 5783777
}}
</ref>
In the Pacific, ritual circumcision is nearly universal in the Melanesian islands of [[Fiji]] and [[Vanuatu]];<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.aids.net.au/aids-png-project-20060403.htm
| title = RECENT GUEST SPEAKER
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| year = 2006
| publisher = Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated
}}
</ref> participation in the traditional land diving on [[Pentecost Island]] is reserved for those who have been circumcised.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.getaway.co.nz/destination.asp?id=34
| title = Weird & Wonderful
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| publisher = United Travel
}}
</ref> Circumcision is also commonly practised in the Polynesian islands of [[Samoa]], [[Tonga]], [[Niue]], and [[Tikopia]]. In Samoa, it is accompanied by a celebration. Among some West African animist groups, such as the [[Dogon]] and [[Dowayo]], it is taken to represent a removal of "feminine" aspects of the male, turning boys into fully masculine males.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.necep.net/articles.php?id_soc=12&id_article=84
| title = Circumcision amongst the Dogon
| accessdate = 2006-09-03
| year = 2006
| publisher = The Non-European Components of European Patrimony (NECEP) Database
}}
</ref> Although in many West African traditional societies circumcision has become medicalised and is simply performed in infancy without ado or any particular conscious cultural significance, among the Urhobo people of southern Nigeria it is symbolic of a boy entering into manhood. The ritual expression, ''Omo te Oshare'' ("the boy is now man"), constitutes a rite of passage from one age set to another.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Agberia
| first = John Tokpabere
| year = 2006
| title = Aesthetics and Rituals of the Opha Ceremony among the Urhobo People
| journal = Journal of Asian and African Studies
| volume = 41
| issue = 3
| pages = 249-260
| doi = 10.1177/0021909606063880
| url = http://jas.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/3/249.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
}}
</ref> For [[Nilotic]] peoples, such as the [[Kalenjin]] and [[Maasai]], circumcision is a rite of passage observed collectively by a number of boys every few years, and boys circumcised at the same time are taken to be members of a single [[age set]].<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.masaikenya.org/
| title = Masai of Kenya
| accessdate = 2007-04-06
| quote = Authority derives from the age-group and the age-set. Prior to circumcision a natural leader or olaiguenani is selected; he leads his age-group through a series of rituals until old age, sharing responsibility with a select few, of whom the ritual expert (oloiboni) is the ultimate authority. Masai youths are not circumcised until they are mature, and a new age-set is initiated together at regular intervals of twelve to fifteen years. The young warriors (ilmurran) remain initiates for some time, using blunt arrows to hunt small birds which are stuffed and tied to a frame to form a head-dress.
}}
</ref>

==Ethical issues==
{{main|Bioethics of neonatal circumcision}}

Circumcising infants is controversial. [[Circumcision advocacy|Those advocating circumcision]] assert that circumcision is a significant public health measure, preventing infections, and slowing down the spread of [[AIDS]].<ref name = "ANRS">{{cite journal
| last = Auvert
| first = Bertran
| coauthors = Dirk Taljaard, Emmanuel Lagarde, Joëlle Sobngwi-Tambekou, Rémi Sitta, Adrian Puren
| year = 2005
| month = November
| title = Randomized, Controlled Intervention Trial of Male Circumcision for Reduction of HIV Infection Risk: The ANRS 1265 Trial
| journal = PLoS Medicine
| volume = 2
| issue = 11
| pages = 1112–1122
| doi = 10.1371/journal.pmed.0020298
| id = PMID 16231970
| url = http://medicine.plosjournals.org/archive/1549-1676/2/11/pdf/10.1371_journal.pmed.0020298-S.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> [[genital integrity|Those opposing circumcision]], however, question the legality of infant circumcision by asserting that infant circumcision is a [[human rights violation]] or a [[sexual assault]].<ref>{{cite book
| last = Sommerville
| first = Margaret
| title = The ethical canary: science, society, and the human spirit
| url =
| accessdate = 2007-02-12
| year = 2000
| month = November
| publisher = [[Viking Press|Viking Penguin Canada]]
| location = [[New York, NY]]
| isbn = 0670893021
| id = {{LCCN|2001||369341}}
| pages = 202–219
| chapter = Altering Baby Boys’ Bodies: The Ethics of Infant Male Circumcision

| chapterurl = http://www.intact.ca/canary.htm
| quote =
}}
</ref><ref name = "VanHoweLegal">{{cite journal
| last = Van Howe
| first = R.S.
| coauthors = J.S. Svoboda, J.G. Dwyer, and C.P. Price
| year = 1999
| month = January
| title = Involuntary circumcision: the legal issues
| journal = BJU International
| volume = 83
| issue = Supp1
| pages = 63–73
| issn =
| pmid = 10349416
| doi = 10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1063.x
| id =
| url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1063.x
| language =
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-02-12
}}
</ref>

===Consent===
Views differ on whether limits should be placed on caregivers having a child circumcised. One argument is that male circumcision is ethically identical to [[female genital cutting]]. It questions why the genital cutting of males is allowed while the genital cutting of females is prohibited.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/mgmfgm.html
| title = Similarities in Attitudes and Misconceptions toward Infant Male Circumcision in North America and Ritual Female Genital Mutilation in Africa.
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| last = Lightfoot-Klein
| first = Hanny
| year = 2003
| publisher = The FGC Education and Networking Project
}}
</ref> Another argument is that as it is his body, any decision to circumcise should only be made by the owner of the foreskin when he reaches adulthood.

Others argue that there is no convincing evidence of sexual or emotional harm, and that there are greater monetary and psychological costs in circumcising later rather than in infancy.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://bioethics.net/journal/pdf/3_2_LT_w01_Benetar.pdf |first=David |last=Benatar |coauthors=Benatar, Michael |title=How not to argue about circumcision |journal=American Journal of
Bioethics |volume=3 |issue=2 |year=2003 |pages=W1-W9}}</ref> New research however, shows that the five most sensitive parts of the penis are on the removed foreskin. <ref name = "SSACU2007">{{cite journal
| last = Binik, Carrier, Kukkonen, et. al
| coauthors =
| year = 2007
| month = [[April 1]],
| title = Sensation and Sexual Arousal in Circumcised and Uncircumcised Men
| journal = The Journal of Sexual Medicine
| volume = 4
| issue = 3
| pages = 667–674
| doi = doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2007.00471.x
| id =
| url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2007.00471.x
| format = HTML
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref> But still, many are concerned that restrictions on circumcision would cut across the religious or cultural rites and practices of Jews, Muslims, and others or limit the traditional right of parents to have their child circumcised.

A number of medical associations accept that the parents should determine what is in the best interest of the infant or child,<ref name = "AAP1999">{{cite journal
| last = Task Force on Circumcision
| coauthors =
| year = 1999
| month = [[March 1]],
| title = Circumcision Policy Statement
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 103
| issue = 3
| pages = 686–693
| doi = 10.1542/peds.103.3.686
| id = {{ISSN|0031-4005}} PMID 10049981
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/pediatrics;103/3/686.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref><ref name = "CSA:I-99" /> though the [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] (RACP) and the [[British Medical Association]] (BMA) observe that controversy exists on this issue.<ref name = "RACPSumm">{{cite web
| url = http://www.racp.edu.au/download.cfm?DownloadFile=A453CFA1-2A57-5487-DF36DF59A1BAF527
| title = Policy Statement On Circumcision
| accessdate = 2007-02-28
| year = 2004
| month = September
| format = PDF
| publisher = [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]]
| pages =
| language =
| archiveurl =
| archivedate =
| quote = The Paediatrics and Child Health Division, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) has prepared this statement on routine circumcision of infants and boys to assist parents who are considering having this procedure undertaken on their male children and for doctors who are asked to advise on or undertake it. After extensive review of the literature the RACP reaffirms that '''there is no medical indication for routine neonatal circumcision.''' Circumcision of males has been undertaken for religious and cultural reasons for many thousands of years. It remains an important ritual in some religious and cultural groups.…In recent years there has been evidence of possible health benefits from routine male circumcision. The most important conditions where some benefit may result from circumcision are urinary tract infections, HIV and later cancer of the penis.…The complication rate of neonatal circumcision is reported to be around 1% to 5% and includes local infection, bleeding and damage to the penis. Serious complications such as bleeding, septicaemia and meningitis may occasionally cause death. The possibility that routine circumcision may contravene human rights has been raised because circumcision is performed on a minor and is without proven medical benefit. Whether these legal concerns are valid will be known only if the matter is determined in a court of law. If the operation is to be performed, the medical attendant should ensure this is done by a competent operator, using appropriate anaesthesia and in a safe child-friendly environment. In all cases where parents request a circumcision for their child the medical attendant is obliged to provide accurate information on the risks and benefits of the procedure. Up-to-date, unbiased written material summarising the evidence should be widely available to parents. Review of the literature in relation to risks and benefits shows there is no evidence of benefit outweighing harm for circumcision as a routine procedure in the neonate.
}}
</ref><ref name = "BMAGuide">{{cite web
| url = http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/malecircumcision2006?OpenDocument&Highlight=2,circumcision
| title = The law and ethics of male circumcision - guidance for doctors
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| author = Medical Ethics Committee
| year = 2006
| month = June
| publisher = [[British Medical Association]]
}}
</ref> The BMA insists that a circumcision must not go ahead without the consent of both parents and the competent child.<ref name = "BMAGuide" />

===Emotional consequences===
Goldman discussed the extent to which circumcision may cause emotional harm to males.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Goldman
| first = R.
| year = 1999
| month = January
| title = The psychological impact of circumcision
| journal = BJU International
| volume = 83
| issue = S1
| pages = 93–102
| doi = 10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1093.x
| id =
| url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1093.x
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-02
}}
</ref> Some organizations have been formed as support groups for men who are upset with being circumcised.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.norm.org/
| title = National Organization of Restoring Men
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| year = 2006
}}
</ref>

===Legality===
{{main|Circumcision and law}}

Traditionally, Circumcision has been presumed to be legal when performed by a trained operator.

In 2001, [[Sweden]] passed a law restricting the performance of neo-natal circumcisions to persons certified by the National Board of Health. This law requires that a medical doctor or an anesthesia nurse accompany the circumcisor, and that anaesthetic be applied prior to the procedure. Most Jewish [[mohel]]s have been so certified.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51583.htm
| title = Sweden
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| author = Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
| date = [[November 8]], [[2005]]
| work = International Religious Freedom Report 2005
| publisher = US Department of State
}}
</ref> Jews and Muslims in Sweden objected to the law,<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1572483.stm
| title = Sweden restricts circumcisions
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
| date = [[October 1]], [[2001]]
| publisher = [[BBC|BBC Europe]]
| quote = Swedish Jews and Muslims object to the new law, saying it violates their religious rights.
}}
</ref> and the [[World Jewish Congress]] stated that it was “the first legal restriction on Jewish religious practice in Europe since the Nazi era.”<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.canadiancrc.com/articles/Jews_Protest_Swedish_Circumcision_Restriction_07JUN01.htm
| title = Jews protest Swedish circumcision restriction
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
| author = [[Reuters]]
| date = [[June 7]], [[2001]]
| publisher = Canadian Children's Rights Council
| quote = A WJC spokesman said, ‘This is the first legal restriction placed on a Jewish rite in Europe since the Nazi era. This new legislation is totally unacceptable to the Swedish Jewish community.’
}}
</ref>

==Pain and pain relief during circumcision==

According to a 1998 study, 45% of physicians used anaesthesia for infant circumcisions. Dorsal penile nerve block was the most commonly used form. Obstetricians had a significantly lower rate of anaesthesia use (25%) than pediatricians (71%) or family practitioners (56%).<ref name = "Stang">{{cite journal
| last = Stang
| first = Howard J.
| coauthors = Leonard W. Snellman
| year = 1998
| month = June
| title = Circumcision Practice Patterns in the United States
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 101
| issue = 6
| pages = e5–
| doi = 10.1542/peds.101.6.e5
| id = {{ISSN|1098-4275}}
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/101/6/e5.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-06-29
}}
</ref>

A study by Taddio showed that infants are affected by the pain of circumcision. It found a correlation between circumcision and intensity of pain response during [[vaccination]] months later. While the researchers stated that their results were "speculative" and suggested that "analgesia should be routine for circumcision" to avoid long-term effects in pain responses,<ref name = "Taddio">{{cite journal
| last = Taddio
| first = Anna
| coauthors = Joel Katz, A Lane Ilersich, [[Gideon Koren]]
| year = 1997
| month = March
| title = Effect of neonatal circumcision on pain response during subsequent routine vaccination
| journal = [[The Lancet]]
| volume = 349
| issue = 9052
| pages = 599–603
| doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(96)10316-0
| id =
| url = http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/0140-6736/PIIS0140673696103160.pdf
| format = PDF — free registration required
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref> Taddio's paper was referred to in the American Academy of Pediatrics' 1999 Circumcision Policy Statement, which, for the first time recommended the use of pain relief for circumcision.[http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics%3b103/3/686]

In 1999, J.M. Glass in referring to Jewish circumcisions stated, "As the procedure is so quick, most ''mohelim'' do not routinely use any anaesthesia as they feel there is probably no need in the neonate. However, there is no Talmudic objection and should the parents wish for local anaesthetic cream to be applied there is no reason why this cannot be done." <ref>{{cite journal
| last = Glass
| first = J.M.
| year = 1999
| month = January
| title = Religious circumcision: a Jewish view
| journal = BJU International
| volume = 83
| issue = Supplement 1
| pages = 17–21
| doi = doi:10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1017.x
| id = PMID 10766529
| url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1017.x
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-04-25
}}
</ref> According to Tannenbaum and Shechet an “authentic, traditional [[Brit milah|bris]] performed by a [[mohel]] does not use clamps, so there is no pain associated with crushing tissue.”<ref name = "Shechet">{{cite journal
| last = Shechet
| first = Jacob
| coauthors = Barton Tanenbaum
| year = 2000
| title = Circumcision---The Debates Goes On
| journal = [[Pediatrics]]
| volume = 105
| issue = 3
| pages = 682–683
| pmid = 10733391
| doi = doi:10.1542/peds.105.3.681
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/105/3/681.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-04-06
}}
</ref> They also asserted that due to the speed of the procedure and rarity of complication, it is “more humane not to subject the infant to a local anesthetic.”<ref name = "Shechet" />.

==Sexual Effects==
{{main|Sexual effects of circumcision}}

The American Academy of Pediatrics (1999) stated "a survey of adult males using self-report suggests more varied sexual practice and less sexual dysfunction in circumcised adult men. There are anecdotal reports that penile sensation and sexual satisfaction are decreased for circumcised males. [[Masters and Johnson]] noted no difference in exteroceptive and light tactile discrimination on the ventral or dorsal surfaces of the glans penis between circumcised and uncircumcised men."<ref name = "AAP1999" /> In January 2007, The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) stated "The effect of circumcision on penile sensation or sexual satisfaction is unknown. Because the epithelium of a circumcised glans becomes cornified, and because some feel nerve over-stimulation leads to desensitization, many believe that the glans of a circumcised penis is less sensitive. Opinions differ about how this decreased sensitivity, which may result in prolonged time to orgasm, affects sexual satisfaction. An investigation of the exteroceptive and light tactile discrimination of the glans of circumcised and uncircumcised men found no difference on comparison. No valid evidence to date, however, supports the notion that being circumcised affects sexual sensation or satisfaction."<ref name = "AAFP" />

Boyle ''et al.'' (2002) argued that circumcision and frenectomy remove tissues with "heightened erogenous sensitivity," stating "the genitally intact male has thousands of fine touch receptors and other highly erogenous nerve endings—many of which are lost to circumcision."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=hss_pubs |title=Male circumcision: pain, trauma, and psychosexual sequelae |first=Gregory J |last=Boyle |coauthors=Svoboda, J Steven; Goldman, Ronald; Fernandez, Ephrem |publisher=Bond University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |year=2002}}</ref>. They concluded, "Evidence has also started to accumulate that male circumcision may result in lifelong physical, sexual, and sometimes psychological harm as well."

New research in April 2007 has shown that the five most sensitive points on a penis are located on foreskin, and are removed during circumcision. <ref name = "SSACU2007" />

==Medical aspects==
{{main|Medical analysis of circumcision}}

The medical risks and potential benefits of neonatal circumcision have been studied. The [[British Medical Association]], states that “there is significant disagreement about whether circumcision is overall a beneficial, neutral or harmful procedure. At present, the medical literature on the health, including sexual health, implications of circumcision is contradictory, and often subject to claims of bias in research.”<ref name = "BMAGuide" /> Studies making [[Medical analysis of circumcision#Costs and Benefits|cost-benefit analyses]] comparing circumcision complications with the potential gain in expected longevity, and the medical costs of circumcision compared with the expected reduction in lifetime health costs have varied. Some found a small net benefit,<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Schoen
| first = Edgar J.
| coauthors = Christopher J. Colby, Trinh T. To
| year = 2006
| month = March
| title = Cost Analysis of Neonatal Circumcision in a Large Health Maintenance Organization
| journal = The Journal of Urology
| volume = 175
| issue = 3
| pages = 1111–1115
| doi = 10.1016/S0022-5347(05)00399-X
| id = PMID 16469634
| url = http://www.jurology.com/article/PIIS002253470500399X/abstract
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Alanis
| first = Mark C.
| coauthors = Richard S. Lucidi
| year = 2004
| month = May
| title = Neonatal Circumcision: A Review of the World’s Oldest and Most Controversial Operation
| journal = Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey
| volume = 59
| issue = 5
| pages = 379-395
| doi =
| id = PMID 15097799
| url = http://www.obgynsurvey.com/pt/re/obgynsurv/abstract.00006254-200405000-00026.htm;jsessionid=FbJT6LYnQxr66KhvWNsBW0msy7SHpJgL39wbFTGLnQpzJ82BGLVQ!1096339265!-949856144!8091!-1
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-09-27
}}
</ref> some found a small net decrement,<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Van Howe
| first = Robert S.
| year = 2004
| month = November
| title = A Cost-Utility Analysis of Neonatal Circumcision
| journal = Medical Decision Making
| volume = 24
| issue = 6
| pages = 584–601
| doi = 10.1177/0272989X04271039
| id = PMID 15534340
| url = http://mdm.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/24/6/584
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Ganiats
| first = TG
| coauthors = Humphrey JB, Taras HL, Kaplan RM.
| year = 1991
| month = Oct–Dec
| title = Routine neonatal circumcision: a cost-utility analysis
| journal = Medical Decision Making
| volume = 11
| issue = 4
| pages = 282–293
| doi =
| id = PMID 1766331
| url =
| format =
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref> and others found that the benefits and risks of circumcision balanced each other out and suggest the circumcision decision "most reasonably be made on nonmedical factors."<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Lawler
| first = FH
| coauthors = Bisonni RS, Holtgrave DR.
| year = 1991
| month = Nov–Dec
| title = Circumcision: a decision analysis of its medical value.
| journal = Family Medicine
| volume = 23
| issue = 8
| pages = 587–593
| doi =
| id = PMID 1794670
| url =
| format =
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref>

===Risks of circumcision===
Circumcision is a [[Surgery|surgical]] procedure. While the risk of complications in a competently performed medical circumcision is very low,<ref name="UWstudy">{{cite journal
| last = Christakis
| first = Dmitry A.
| coauthors = Eric Harvey, Danielle M. Zerr, Chris Feudtner, Jeffrey A. Wright, and Frederick A. Connell
| year = 2000
| month = January
| title = A Trade-off Analysis of Routine Newborn Circumcision
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 105
| issue = 1
| pages = 246–249
| doi = 10.1542/peds.105.1.S2.246
| id = PMID 10617731
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/105/1/S2/246
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref> complications resulting from poorly carried out circumcisions, post-operative bleeding, and infection can be catastrophic.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Ahmed A,
| first = A
| coauthors = Mbibi NH, Dawam D, Kalayi GD
| year = 1999
| month = March
| title = Complications of traditional male circumcision
| journal = Annals of Tropical Paediatrics
| volume = 19
| issue = 1
| pages = 113–117
| doi =
| id = PMID 10605531 {{ISSN|0272-4936}}
| url =
| format =
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref> According to the AMA, [[Bleeding|blood loss]] and [[infection]] are the most common complications, although bleeding is mostly minor and hemostasis can be achieved by pressure application.<ref name = "CSA:I-99" /> Kaplan identified other circumcision complications, including urinary [[fistulas]], [[chordee]], [[cyst]]s, [[lymphedema]], [[ulceration]] of the glans, [[necrosis]] of all or part of the penis, [[hypospadias]], [[epispadias]], [[impotence]] and removal of too much tissue, sometimes causing secondary [[phimosis]]. He stated “Virtually all of these complications are preventable with only a modicum of care. Unfortunately, most such complications occur at the hands of inexperienced operators who are neither urologists nor surgeons.”<ref name="kaplan">{{cite journal
| last = Kaplan
| first = George W., M.D.
| coauthors =
| year = 1983
| month = August
| title = Complications of Circumcision
| journal = UROLOGIC CLINICS OF NORTH AMERICA
| volume = 10
| issue = 3
| pages = 543–549
| id =
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/kaplan/
| format = HTML
| accessdate = 2006-09-29
}}
</ref> Infant circumcision may result in skin bridges, when the cut skin does not heal neatly but attaches to the [[glans penis]] instead. This does not commonly require surgical correction; rather, a brief, simple office procedure may be performed.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Naimer
| first = Sody A.
| coauthors = Roni Peleg, Yevgeni Meidvidovski, Alex Zvulunov, Arnon Dov Cohen, and Daniel Vardy
| year = 2002
| month = November
| title = Office Management of Penile Skin Bridges with Electrocautery
| journal = Journal of the American Board of Family Practice
| volume = 15
| issue = 6
| pages = 485–488
| id = PMID 10605531
| url = http://www.jabfm.org/cgi/reprint/15/6/485
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref>

The [[American Medical Association]] quotes a complication rate of 0.2%–0.6%,<ref name = "CSA:I-99" /> based on the studies of Gee<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Gee
| first = W.F.
| coauthors = J.S. Ansell
| year = 1976
| month = December
| title = Neonatal circumcision: a ten-year overview: with comparison of the Gomco clamp and the Plastibell device
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 58
| issue = 6
| pages = 824–827
| doi =
| id = PMID 995507
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/58/6/824
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-11
}}
</ref> and Harkavy.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Harkavy
| first = K.L.
| year = 1987
| month = April
| title = The circumcision debate
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 79
| issue = 4
| pages = 649–650
| doi =
| id = PMID 3822689
| url =
| format = Pubmed Entry
| accessdate = 2006-07-11
}}
</ref> These same studies are quoted by the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]].<ref name = "AAP1999" /> The [[American Academy of Family Physicians]] quotes a range of anywhere between 0.1% and 35%.<ref name = "AAFP">{{cite web
| url = http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/clinical/clinicalrecs/circumcision.html
| title = Circumcision: Position Paper on Neonatal Circumcision
| accessdate = 2007-01-30
| year = 2007
| publisher = [[American Academy of Family Physicians]]
}}
</ref> The [[Canadian Paediatric Society]] cite these results in addition to other figures ranging anywhere between 0.06% to 55%, and remark that Williams & Kapila<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Williams
| first = N
| coauthors = L. Kapila
| year = 1993
| month = October
| title = Complications of circumcision
| journal = British Journal of Surgery
| volume = 80
| issue = 10
| pages = 1231–1236
| doi = 10.1002/bjs.1800801005
| id = PMID 8242285
| url = http://www.bjs.co.uk/bjsCda/cda/microJournalArticleDetail.do;jsessionid=96BD3288E9BFA69C74CC1737D0AA6B90?DOI=10.1002%2Fbjs.1800801005&issueDOI=10.1002%2Fbjs.v80%3A10&vid=2
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-11
}}
</ref> suggested that 2-10% is a realistic estimate.<ref name = "CMAJ" /> [[Meatal stenosis]] may be a common longer-term complication from circumcision. Recent publications give a frequency of occurrence between 0.9%<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Yegane
| first = Rooh-Allah
| coauthors = Abdol-Reza Kheirollahi, Nour-Allah Salehi, Mohammad Bashashati, Jamal-Aldin Khoshdel, and Mina Ahmadi
| year = 2006
| month = May
| title = Late complications of circumcision in Iran
| journal = Pediatric Surgery International
| volume = 22
| issue = 5
| pages = 442–445
| doi = 10.1007/s00383-006-1672-1
| id = PMID 16649052
| url = http://www.springerlink.com/(qzpwjv55lf23wj454qsmor45)/app/home/contribution.asp?referrer=parent&backto=issue,9,19;journal,4,147;linkingpublicationresults,1:101176,1
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-02
}}
</ref> and 9% to 10%.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.emedicine.com/PED/topic2356.htm
| title = http://www.emedicine.com/PED/topic2356.htm
| accessdate = 2006-07-02
| last = Angel
| first = Carlos A.
| date = [[June 12]], [[2006]]
| work = eMedicine
| publisher = WebMD
}}
</ref> The RACP states that the penis is lost in 1 in 1,000,000 circumcisions.<ref name = "RACPComp">{{cite web
| url = http://www.racp.edu.au/hpu/paed/circumcision/complications.htm
| title = Complications Of Circumcision
| accessdate = 2006-07-11
| year = 2004
| month = October
| work = Paediatric Policy - Circumcision
| publisher = The Royal Australasian College of Physicians
}}
</ref>

Deaths have been reported.<ref name="kaplan"/> The American Academy of Family Physicians states that death is rare, and cites an estimated death rate with circumcisions of infants of 1 in 500,000.<ref name = "AAFP" /> Gairdner's 1949 study reported that during the 1940s an average of 16 children per year, out of an estimated 90,000, died following circumcision in the [[United Kingdom|UK]]. He found that most deaths had occurred suddenly under anaesthesia and could not be explained further, but hemorrhage and infection had also proven fatal. Deaths attributed to phimosis and circumcision were grouped together, but Gairdner argued that such deaths were probably due to the circumcision operation.<ref name = "Gairdner">{{cite journal
| last = Gairdner
| first = Douglas
| year = 1949
| month = December
| title = The Fate of the Foreskin
| journal = British Medical Journal
| volume = 2
| issue = 4642
| pages = 1433–1437
| doi =
| id =
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/general/gairdner/
| format =
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref>

A 2004 Cochrane review, which compared the dorsal penile nerve block and EMLA (topical anaesthesia) found both anaesthetics appear safe, but neither of them completely eliminated pain.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Brady-Fryer | first = B | coauthors = Wiebe N, Lander JA | year = 2004 | month = July | title = Pain relief for neonatal circumcision | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | issue = 3 | pages = Art. No.: CD004217 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD004217.pub2 | id = PMID 15495086 | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15495086&query_hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum | format = | accessdate = 2006-06-29 }} </ref> Razmus et al reported that newborns circumcised with the dorsal block and the ring block in combination with the concentrated oral sucrose had the lowest pain scores.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Razmus I, Dalton M, Wilson D |title=Pain management for newborn circumcision |journal=Pediatr Nurs |volume=30 |issue=5 |pages=414-7, 427 |year= |id=PMID 15587537}}</ref> Ng ''et al'' found that EMLA cream, in addition to local anaesthetic, effectively reduces the sharp pain induced by needle puncture.<ref>{{cite journal |first=WT |last=Ng |coauthors=''et al''|title=The use of topical lidocaine/prilocaine cream prior to childhood circumcision under local anesthesia |journal=Ambul Surg |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=9-12 |year=2001 |id=PMID 11179706}}</ref> Adult circumcisions are often performed without clamps, and require 4 to 6 weeks of abstinence from masturbation or intercourse after the operation to allow the wound to heal.<ref name="aafpadult" />
Lander ''et al.'', studying neonatal circumcision without anesthesia, found that patients "exhibited homogeneous responses that consisted of sustained elevation of heart rate and high pitched cry throughout the circumcision and following. Two newborns ... became ill following circumcision (choking and apnea)."[http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/lander/]

===HIV===
Initial population based studies suggested that circumcision might protect against HIV infection. However, in these studies, factors such as religion may skew the results. In March 2005, the Cochrane review of the medical evidence found the current quality of evidence at that point "insufficient" to consider implementing circumcision "as a public-health intervention" but the positive results of observational studies suggested that circumcision was "worth evaluating in randomised controlled trials.”<ref name="Sig">{{cite journal
| last = Siegfried
| first = N
| coauthors = M Muller, J Deeks, J Volmink, M Egger, N Low, S Walker, and P Williamson
| year = 2005
| month = March
| title = HIV and male circumcision—a systematic review with assessment of the quality of studies
| journal = The Lancet Infectious Diseases
| volume = 5
| issue = 3
| pages = 165–173
| doi = 10.1016/S1473-3099(05)01309-5
| id = PMID 15766651
| url = http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/1473-3099/PIIS1473309905013095.pdf
| format = PDF — free registration required
| accessdate = 2007-07-09
}}
</ref>

The most recent data indicate that circumcision is correlated with a 50-60% reduction in risk of HIV transmission (from female to male) during heterosexual intercourse.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2007/s04/en/index.html | title = WHO and UNAIDS Secretariat welcome corroborating findings of trials assessing impact of male circumcision on HIV risk | accessdate = 2007-02-23 | date = [[February 23]], [[2007]] | publisher = World Health Organization}}</ref> The results of the first randomised controlled trial was published in November 2005. It found a 60% reduction in the rate of new HIV infection (from 2.1 per 100 to 0.85 per 100 in the intervention group. The authors said, “Male circumcision provides a degree of protection against acquiring HIV infection, equivalent to what a vaccine of high efficacy would have achieved. Male circumcision may provide an important way of reducing the spread of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa.”<ref name = "ANRS" /> Two further randomised trials conducted in Uganda and Kenya were stopped early on December 13, 2006 on grounds that circumcision was so effective that it would be unethical to continue the experiment and not offer circumcision in the uncircumcised men who were acting as controls. The results showed that circumcised males in Uganda were, depending upon the analysis, 51%-60% less likely to be infected.<ref name="grayrct" /> In Kenya, circumcised males were 53%-60% less likely to be infected.<ref name="baileyrct" /> A paper published in the journal [[PLoS Medicine]] in July, 2006, calculated that if all men in sub-Saharan Africa were circumcised over the next 10 years, two million new infections could potentially be avoided.<ref name = "PLoS-7-06">{{cite journal
| last = Williams
| first = Brian G.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = James O. Lloyd-Smith, Eleanor Gouws, Catherine Hankins, Wayne M. Getz, John Hargrove, Isabelle de Zoysa, Christopher Dye, Bertran Auvert
| year = 2006
| month = July
| title = The Potential Impact of Male Circumcision on HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa
| journal = [[PLoS Medicine]]
| volume = 3
| issue = 7
| pages = e262
| doi = 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030262
| id = PMID 16822094
| url = http://medicine.plosjournals.org/archive/1549-1676/3/7/pdf/10.1371_journal.pmed.0030262-p-L.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-13
}}
</ref>

The World Health Organization (WHO) said: “Although these results demonstrate that male circumcision reduces the risk of men becoming infected with HIV, the UN agencies emphasize that it does not provide complete protection against HIV infection. Circumcised men can still become infected with the virus and, if HIV-positive, can infect their sexual partners. Male circumcision should never replace other known effective prevention methods and should always be considered as part of a comprehensive prevention package, which includes correct and consistent use of male or female condoms, reduction in the number of sexual partners, delaying the onset of sexual relations, and HIV testing and counselling.”.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2007/s04/en/index.html
| title = WHO and UNAIDS Secretariat welcome corroborating findings of trials assessing impact of male circumcision on HIV risk
| accessdate = 2007-02-23
| date = [[February 23]], [[2007]]
| publisher = World Health Organization
}}
</ref> Others have also expressed concern that some may mistakenly believe they will be fully protected against HIV through circumcision and see circumcision as a safe alternative to other forms of protection, such as condoms.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2006/s18/en/index.html
| title = Male circumcision reduces the risk of becoming infected with HIV, but does not provide complete protection
| accessdate = 2006-07-20
| date = [[December 13]], [[2006]]
| publisher = World Health Organization
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4371384.stm
| title = Circumcision 'reduces HIV risk'
| date = [[October 25]], [[2005]]
| publisher = BBC News
}}
</ref> An interim analysis from the Rakai Health Sciences Program in Uganda suggested that newly circumcised HIV positive men may be more likely to spread HIV to their female partners if they have sexual intercourse before the wound is fully healed. “Because the total number of men who resumed sex before certified wound healing is so small, the finding of increased transmission after surgery may have occurred by chance alone. However, we need to err on the side of caution to protect women in the context of any future male circumcision programme,” said Dr Maria Wawer, the study's principal investigator. <ref>{{cite web
| url =http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/3CBF12A3-A1AC-4A0E-A79C-54FC6EF93E28.asp
| author = Virginia Differding
| title = Women may be at heightened risk of HIV infection immediately after male partner is circumcised
| accessdate = 2007-03-14
| date = [[March 12]], [[2007]]
| publisher = Aidsmap News}}
</ref>

There is also a danger of HIV being spread from unhygienic circumcision procedures. Brewer ''et al.'' studied HIV infection rates in Kenya, Lethotho and Tanzania and found that "[circumcised] male and female virgins were substantially more likely to be HIV infected than uncircumcised virgins. Among adolescents, regardless of sexual experience, circumcision was just as strongly associated with prevalent HIV infection. However, uncircumcised adults were more likely to be HIV positive than circumcised adults." The authors concluded, "HIV transmission may occur through circumcision-related blood exposures in eastern and southern Africa."<ref>{{cite journal | last = Brewer | first= Devon | year = 2007| month= February | title = Male and Female Circumcision Associated with Prevalent HIV Infection in Virgins and Adolescents in Kenya, Lesotho, and Tanzania | journal = Annals of Epidemiology | volume = 17 | issue = 3| pages = pp.217-226 | url = http://www.annalsofepidemiology.org/article/PIIS1047279706002651/abstract| accessdate = 2007-03-04| quote = (Kenyan females: 3.2% vs. 1.4%, odds ratio [OR] = 2.38; Kenyan males: 1.8% vs. 0%, OR undefined; Lesothoan males: 6.1% vs. 1.9%, OR 3.36; Tanzanian males: 2.9% vs. 1.0%, OR 2.99; weighted mean phi correlation = 0.07, 95% confidence interval, 0.03 to 0.11).}}</ref>

On March 28, 2007, the [[World Health Organisation]] and [[UNAIDS]] issued joint recommendations concerning male circumcision and HIV/AIDS.<ref name="WHOpr0307">{{cite web |title=WHO and UNAIDS announce recommendations from expert consultation on male circumcision for HIV prevention |publisher=World Health Organisation |month=March |year=2007 |url=http://www.who.int/hiv/mediacentre/news68/en/index.html}}</ref> These recommendations are:

* Male circumcision should now be recognized as an efficacious intervention for HIV prevention.
* Promoting male circumcision should be recognized as an additional, important strategy for the prevention of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men.<ref name="WHOrec0307">{{cite web |title=New Data on Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention: Policy and Programme Implications |publisher=World Health Organisation |year=2007 |month=March |url=http://www.who.int/entity/hiv/mediacentre/MCrecommendations_en.pdf}}</ref>

====Langerhans cells and HIV transmission====
[[Langerhans cells]] are part of the human immune system. Three studies identified high concentrations of Langerhans and other "HIV target" cells in the foreskin<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Hussain LA
| first = LA
| authorlink =
| coauthors = T. Lehner
| year = 1995
| month = July
| title = Comparative investigation of Langerhans' cells and potential receptors for HIV in oral, genitourinary and rectal epithelia
| journal = Immunology
| volume = 85
| issue = 3
| pages = 475–484
| doi =
| id = PMID 7558138
| url =
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Patterson
| first = Bruce K.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Alan Landay, Joan N. Siegel, Zareefa Flener, Dennis Pessis, Antonio Chaviano, and Robert C. Bailey
| year = 2002
| month =
| title = Susceptibility to Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Infection of Human Foreskin and Cervical Tissue Grown in Explant Culture
| journal = American Journal of Pathology
| volume = 161
| issue = 3
| pages = 867–873
| doi =
| id = PMID 12213715
| url = http://ajp.amjpathol.org/cgi/reprint/161/3/867.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Donoval
| first = BA
| authorlink =
| coauthors = AL Landay, S Moses, K Agot, JO Ndinya-Achola, EA Nyagaya, I MacLean, and RC Bailey
| year = 2006
| month = March
| title = HIV-1 target cells in foreskins of African men with varying histories of sexually transmitted infections
| journal = American Journal of Clinical Pathology
| volume = 125
| issue = 3
| pages = 386–391
| doi = 10.1309/JVHQ-VDJD-YKM5-8EPH
| id = PMID 16613341
| url = http://ajcp.metapress.com/link.asp?id=jvhqvdjdykm58eph
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> and Szabo and Short suggested that the Langerhans cells in the foreskin may provide an entry point for viral infection.<ref name = "Szabo">{{cite journal
| last = Szabo
| first = Robert
| coauthors = Roger V. Short
| year = 2000
| month = June
| title = How does male circumcision protect against HIV infection?
| journal = BMJ
| volume = 320
| issue = 7249
| pages = 1592–1594
| doi = 10.1136/bmj.320.7249.1592
| id = PMID 10845974
| url = http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/320/7249/1592
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> McCoombe, Cameron, and Short also found that the keratin is thinnest on the foreskin and frenulum.<ref>{{cite paper
|author= McCoombe SG, Cameron PU, Short RV
|date= [[July 7]], [[2002]]
|url= http://www.aegis.com/conferences/iac/2002/WePeA5739.html
|format= Abstract
|title= The distribution of HIV-1 target cells and keratin in the human penis.
|publisher= International AIDS Society
|version=
|accessdate= 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> Fleiss, Hodges and Van Howe had previously stated a belief that the prepuce has an immunological function.<ref name=Fleiss>{{cite journal
| last = Fleiss
| first = PM
| authorlink =
| coauthors = FM Hodges, RS Van Howe
| year = 1998
| month = October
| title = Immunological functions of the human prepuce
| journal = Sexually Transmitted Infections
| volume = 74
| issue = 5
| pages = 364–367
| doi =
| id = PMID 10195034
| url = http://sti.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/74/5/364.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> While their specific hypothesis was criticised on technical grounds.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://sti.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/74/5/364#112
| title = Apocrine glands in inner prepuce doubtful
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
| last = Waskett
| first = Jake H.
| date = [[June 20]], [[2005]]
| work = Electronic letters
| publisher = BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
}}
</ref> a study published in 2007 by de Witte and others said that Langerlin, excreted by Langerhans cells, is a natural barrier to HIV-1 transmission by Langerhans cells.<ref>{{cite web
| url =http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17334373&query_hl=4&itool=pubmed_docsum
| title = Langerin is a natural barrier to HIV-1 transmission by Langerhans cells
| accessdate = 2007-03-19
| last = de Witte
| first = L.
| date = [[March 4]], [[2007]]
| work = Abstract
| publisher = www.Pubmed.gov
}}
</ref>

===HPV===
Several studies have shown that uncircumcised men are at greater risk of [[human papilloma virus]] (HPV) infection.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Castellsagué
| first = Xavier
| coauthors = et al.
| year = 2002
| month = [[April 11]],
| title = Male circumcision, penile human papillomavirus infection, and cervical cancer
| journal = The New England Journal of Medicine
| volume = 346
| issue = 15
| pages = 1105–1112
| doi = 10.1056/NEJMoa011688
| id = PMID 11948269
| url = http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/346/15/1105.pdf
| format = PDF — free registration required
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Lajous
| first = Martín
| coauthors = Nancy Mueller, Aurelio Cruz-Valdéz, Luis Victor Aguilar, Silvia Franceschi, Mauricio Hernández-Ávila, and Eduardo Lazcano-Ponce
| year = July
| month = 2005
| title = Determinants of Prevalence, Acquisition, and Persistence of Human Papillomavirus in Healthy Mexican Military Men
| journal = Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention
| volume = 14
| issue = 7
| pages = 1710–1716
| doi = 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-04-0926
| id = PMID 16030106
| url = http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/cgi/reprint/14/7/1710.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> While most genital [[HPV]] strains are considered harmless, some can cause genital warts or [[cancer]] although there is a vaccine against most cancer causing strains of HPV. One study found no statistically significant difference between men with foreskins for HPV infection than those who are circumcised, but did note a significantly higher incidence of HPV lesions and urethritis in uncircumcised men.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Aynaud
| first = O.
| coauthors = D. Piron, G. Bijaoui, and JM Casanova
| year = July
| month = 1999
| title = Developmental factors of urethral human papillomavirus lesions: correlation with circumcision
| journal = BJU International
| volume = 84
| issue = 1
| pages = 57–60
| doi = 10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.00104.x
| id = PMID 10444125
| url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.00104.x
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref>

===Hygiene===
The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] observes “Circumcision has been suggested as an effective method of maintaining penile hygiene since the time of the Egyptian dynasties, but there is little evidence to affirm the association between circumcision status and optimal penile hygiene.”<ref name="AAP1999" /><ref>Although the Academy's 1975 statement asserted that "A program of education leading to continuing good personal hygiene would offer all the advantages of circumcision without the attendant surgical risk," the 1999 statement cites a study which found that "appropriate hygiene decreased significantly the incidence of phimosis, adhesions, and inflammation, but did not eliminate all problems."</ref> It states that the "relationship among hygiene, phimosis, and penile cancer is uncertain" and further remarks that "genital hygiene needs to be emphasized as a preventive health topic throughout a patient's lifetime."

The [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] emphasizes that a non-circumcised infant's penis requires no special care and should be left alone, stating that attempts to [[forcible retraction of the foreskin|forcibly retract the foreskin]], e.g. to clean it, are painful, often injure the foreskin, and can lead to scarring, infections and pathologic phimosis.<ref name = "RACPAnat">{{cite web
| url = http://www.racp.edu.au/hpu/paed/circumcision/anatomy.htm
| title = Care Of The Foreskin
| accessdate = 2006-07-13
| year = 2004
| month = October
| work = Paediatric Policy - Circumcision
| publisher = The Royal Australasian College of Physicians
}}
</ref> It is recommended that, while there is no special age where the foreskin should be retractable, once the foreskin becomes retractable, the child should gently wash it with soap and water. It has been suggested, however, that excessive washing of the foreskin and the glans will make infections such as [[balanitis]] more likely.{{Fact|date=December 2006}}

Circumcision reduces the amount of [[smegma]] produced by the male.{{Fact|date=December 2006}} Smegma is a combination of exfoliated [[epithelial cells]], transudated skin oils, and moisture that can accumulate under the [[foreskin]] of males and within the female [[vulva]] area. It has a characteristic strong odor and taste {{Fact|date=March 2007}}, and is common to all [[mammals]]—male and female. While smegma is generally not believed to be harmful to health, the strong odour may be considered to be a nuisance or give the impression of a lack of [[hygiene]]. In rare cases, accumulating smegma may help cause balanitis.<ref>{{cite journal |first=C |last=Sonnex |coauthors=Croucher, PE; Dockerty WG |title=Balanoposthitis associated with the presence of subpreputial "smegma stones" |journal=Genitourin Med |year=1997 |month=Dec |volume=73 |issue=6 |pages=567}}</ref>

It has been suggested that circumcision arose in peoples living in arid and sandy regions as a public health measure intended to prevent recurring irritation and infection caused by sand accumulating under the foreskin.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Hutson
| first = J.M.
| year = 2004
| month = June
| title = Circumcision: a surgeon’s perspective
| journal = Journal of Medical Ethics
| volume = 30
| issue = 3
| pages = 238–240
| doi = 10.1136/jme.2002.001313
| id = PMID 15173354
| url = http://jme.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/30/3/238.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> Darby, after checking the official war histories of Britain, Australia and New Zealand and other records, and finding no mention of ‘balanitis’ or ‘foreskin’ or ‘circumcision’, dismissed this idea as a “medical urban myth,” concluding that “‘sand under the foreskin,’ balanitis, and circumcision were not
significant problems during either of the World Wars.”<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Darby
| first = Robert
| year = 2005
| month = July
| title = The riddle of the sands: circumcision, history, and myth
| journal = The New Zealand Medical Journal
| volume = 118
| issue = 1218
| pages = 76–82
| doi =
| id = {{ISSN|11758716}} PMID 16027753
| url = http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/118-1218/1564/content.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref>

===Infectious and chronic conditions===
Studies have found that boys with foreskins tend to have higher rates of various infections and inflammations of the penis than those who are circumcised.<ref name = "Ferg">{{cite journal
| last = Fergusson
| first = DM
| coauthors = JM Lawton and FT Shannon
| year = 1988
| month = April
| title = Neonatal circumcision and penile problems: an 8-year longitudinal study
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 81
| issue = 4
| pages = 537–541
| doi =
| id = PMID 3353186
| url = http://www.circs.org/library/fergusson/index.html
| format =
| accessdate = 2007-07-18
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Fakjian |first=N |coauthors=S Hunter, GW Cole and J Miller |year=1990 |month=August |title=An argument for circumcision. Prevention of balanitis in the adult |journal=Arch Dermatol |volume=126 |issue=8 |pages=1046–7 |id=PMID 2383029 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Herzog |first=LW |coauthors=SR Alvarez |year=1986 |month=March |title=The frequency of foreskin problems in uncircumcised children |journal=Am J Dis Child |volume=140 |issue=3 |pages=254–6 |id=PMID 3946358}}</ref> The reasons are unclear, but several hypotheses have been suggested:

*The foreskin may harbor bacteria and become infected if it is not cleaned properly.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = O’Farrel
| first = Nigel
| coauthors = Maria Quigley and Paul Fox
| year = 2005
| month = August
| title = Association between the intact foreskin and inferior standards of male genital hygiene behaviour: a cross-sectional study
| journal = International Journal of STD & AIDS
| volume = 16
| issue = 8
| pages = 556–588(4)
| doi = 10.1258/0956462054679151
| id = PMID 16105191
| url = http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/rsm/std/2005/00000016/00000008/art00008
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-08-20
}}
'''Editor’s note: I cannot confirm that the article substantiates the claim as I cannot access the full article.</ref>
*The foreskin may become inflamed if it is cleaned too often with soap.<ref name="birley">{{cite journal
| last = Birley
| first = HD
| coauthors = MM Walker, GA Luzzi, R Bell, D Taylor-Robinson, M Byrne, and AM Renton
| year = 1993
| month = October
| title = Clinical Features and management of recurrent balanitis; association with atopy and genital washing
| journal = Genitourinary Medicine
| volume = 69
| issue = 5
| pages = 400–403
| doi =
| id = PMID 8244363
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/balanitis/birley/
| format =
| accessdate = 2006-08-20
| quotes = A history of fluctuating episodes, with a rapid onset, as well as that of atopy and of zealous washing were predictive of a histological diagnosis of NSD [Non-Specific Dermititis]. The proportion of NSD patients with a history of atopy (67%) was much larger than that in the general population. It is possible that the balanitis was due to hypersensitivity to a specific allergen, but we could ascribe it to nothing other than frequent soap washing.
}}
</ref>
*The [[forcible retraction of the foreskin]] in boys can lead to infections.<ref name ="CMAJ" />

The usual treatment for balanoposthitis is to use topical antibiotics (metronidazole cream) and antifungals (clotrimazole cream) or low-potency steroid creams.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic615.htm
| title = Balanoposthitis
| accessdate = 2006-11-20
| last = Osipov
| first = Vladimir O.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Scott M. Acker
| date = [[November 14]], [[2006]]
| work = Reactive and Inflammatory Dermatoses
| publisher = [[EMedicine]]
}}
</ref> There are less invasive treatments than circumcision for [[posthitis]].{{Fact|date=December 2006}}

====Balanitis====
{{main|Balanitis}}
[[Balanitis]], an inflammation of the [[glans penis]], has a variety of causes.<ref name = "HKhandbook">{{cite book
| last = Au
| first = T.S.
| coauthors = K.H. Yeung
| editor = Pedro Sá Cabral, Luís Leite, and José Pinto (eds.)
| title = HANDBOOK OF DERMATOLOGY & VENEREOLOGY
| origdate =
| origyear =
| origmonth =
| url = http://www.hkmj.org.hk/skin/cover.htm
| accessdate = 2006-09-04
| edition = 2nd ed.
| year = 2003
| publisher = Department of Dermatology—Hospital Pulido Valente
| location = [[Lisbon, Portugal]]
| id = ISBN 978-962-334-030-4
| chapter = Balanitis, Bacterial Vaginosis and Other Genital Conditions
| chapterurl = http://www.hkmj.org.hk/skin/balaniti.htm
}}
</ref> Some of these, such as anaerobic infection, occur more frequently in uncircumcised men, while others, such as fungal infection, have no statistically significant differences in frequency of occurrence between circumcised and uncircumcised men.<ref name = "EdwardsGU">{{cite journal
| last = Edwards
| first = Sarah
| year = 1996
| month = June
| title = Balanitis and balanoposthitis: a review
| journal = Genitourinary Medicine
| volume = 72
| issue = 3
| pages = 155–159
| doi =
| id = PMID 8707315
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/balanitis/edwards1/
| accessdate = 2006-09-04
}}
</ref> There are less invasive treatments than circumcision that have been shown to be effective in treating most mild cases of balanitis.<ref name = "HKhandbook" /> Birley, et al, found that in 90% of their cases of chronic or recurring balanitis "use of emollient creams and restriction of soap washing alone controlled symptoms satisfactorily". They also state that circumcision “might be of benefit in a patient whose balanitis relapses despite these measures, and remains the principal treatment for specific conditions such as [[Lichen sclerosus et atrophicus|lichen sclerosus]] and plasma cell balanitis.”<ref name = "birley" /> The, less invasive procedures are not as successful in treating [[balanitis xerotica obliterans]], or '''BXO''',<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Vincent
| first = Michelle Valerie
| coauthors = Ewan MacKinnon
| year = 2005
| month = April
| title = The response of clinical balanitis xerotica obliterans to the application of topical steroid-based creams
| journal = Journal of Pediatric Surgery
| volume = 40
| issue = 4
| pages = 709–712
| doi = 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2004.12.001
| id = PMID 15852285
| url = http://www.jpedsurg.org/article/PIIS002234680400867X/abstract
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Wright
| first = J.E.
| year = 1994
| month = May
| title = The treatment of childhood phimosis with topical steroid
| journal = The Australian and New Zealand journal of surgery
| volume = 64
| issue = 5
| pages = 327–328
| id = PMID 8179528
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/wright/
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Webster
| first = T.M.
| coauthors = M.P. Leonard
| year = 2002
| month = April
| title = Topical steroid therapy for phimosis
| journal = The Canadian journal of urology
| volume = 9
| issue = 2
| pages = 1492–1495
| id = PMID 12010594
| url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12010594&query_hl=5
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref> which is much less common but harder to treat.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic46.htm
| title = http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic46.htm
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
| last = Scheinfeld
| first = Noah S.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = George C. Keough, Daniel Lehman
| date = [[January 11]], [[2006]]
| work = Diseases Of The Dermis
| publisher = [[EMedicine]]
}}
</ref>

[[Lichen sclerosus et atrophicus]] ('''LSA''') produces a whitish-yellowish patch on the skin, and is not believed to be always harmful or painful, and may sometimes disappear without intervention. Some consider [[balanitis xerotica obliterans]] to be a form of LSA that happens to be on the foreskin, where it may cause pathological [[phimosis]]. Circumcision is believed to reliably reduce the threat of BXO.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Mattioli
| first = G.
| coauthors = P. Repetto, C. Carlini, C. Granata, C. Gambini, and V. Jasonni
| year = 2002
| month = May
| title = Lichen sclerosus et atrophicus in children with phimosis and hypospadias
| journal = Pediatric Surgery International
| volume = 18
| issue = 4
| pages = 273–275
| doi = 10.1007/s003830100699
| id = PMID 12021978
| url = http://www.springerlink.com/content/dy5cgm3h11prdy76/
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref>

===Penile cancer===
{{main|Penile cancer}}
[[Penile cancer]] is cancer of the penis, i.e. on the glans or the foreskin. Most cases have been found to occur in men over the age of 70.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=6833
| title = Cancer of the penis (penile cancer)
| accessdate = 2006-09-26
| date = [[January 14]], [[2004]]
| work = Questions and Answers: Penis cancer questions
| publisher = [[Cancer Research UK]]
| quote = Penile cancer is more common in older men. Most cases are in men over 70. It is rare in men under 40.
}}
</ref> In 1979, Boczko and Freed remarked that since Wolbarst's 1932 review, "there have been only eight documented cases of penile carcinoma in an individual circumcised in infancy." They described the ninth reported case, concluding that "performing it in infancy continues to be the most effective prophylactic measure against penile carcinoma."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Boczko |first=S |coauthors=Freed, S |title=Penile carcinoma in circumcised males |journal=N Y State J Med |year=1979 |volume=79 |issue=12 |pages=1903-4}} [http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/boczko/]</ref> The AMA remarked that in six case series published from 1932 and 1986, "all penile cancers occurred in uncircumcised individuals."<ref name = "CSA:I-99" /> Maden ''et al'' reported in 1993 that the risk of penile cancer was 3.2 times greater in men who were never circumcised and 3 times greater among those who were circumcised after the neonatal period;<ref>{{cite journal |title=History of circumcision, medical conditions, and sexual activity and risk of penile cancer |first=C |last=Maden |coauthors=''et al'' |journal=J Natl Cancer Inst |year=1993 |month=Jan |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=19-24 |id=PMID 8380060}}</ref> this study was referenced in an editorial by Holly and Palefsky. They compliment the study for noting other risk factors for penile cancer, as well as for providing corroborating evidence as to the association between a lack of neonatal circumcision and the development of penile cancer. However, their criticisms include the study's combining data from invasive and ''in situ'' cancers. They concluded that as the new study reported circumcision at birth in 20% of the men with penile cancer, the recommendation of circumcision for medical indications remains somewhat controversial and the risks and benefits must be weighed.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/85/1/2 |last=Holly |first=EA |coauthors=Palefsky, JM |title=Factors related to risk of penile cancer: new evidence from a study in the Pacific Northwest |journal=J Natl Cancer Inst |year=1993 |month=Jan |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=2-4}}</ref> The American Academy of Pediatrics made similar criticism, also noting the possibly inaccurate use of self-report to determine circumcision status.<ref name = "AAP1999" /> Schoen ''et al'' studied the association between neonatal circumcision and invasive penile cancer in 2000, and found that the relative risk for uncircumcised men was 22 times that of circumcised men.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/105/3/e36 |title=The highly protective effect of newborn circumcision against invasive penile cancer |first=EJ |last=Schoen |coauthors=Oehrli, M; Colby, C; Machin, G | journal=Pediatrics |year=2000 |month=Mar |volume=105 |issue=3 |pages=e36}}</ref>

In 2005, the [[American Cancer Society]] said that while studies suggest that circumcision may reduce the risk of more invasive forms of penile cancer, it is important to concentrate on the main risk factors: poor hygiene, having unprotected sex with multiple partners, and cigarette smoking.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_What_are_the_risk_factors_for_penile_cancer_35.asp?sitearea=
| title = What Are the Risk Factors for Penile Cancer?
| accessdate = 2006-10-01
| date = [[May 31]], [[2006]]
| work = Cancer Reference Information
| publisher = [[American Cancer Society]]
}}
</ref> They further state that the current consensus of most experts is that circumcision should not be recommended as a prevention strategy for penile cancer.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_Can_penile_cancer_be_prevented_35.asp
| title = Can Penile Cancer Be Prevented?
| accessdate = 2006-10-01
| date = [[May 31]], [[2006]]
| work = Cancer Reference Information
| publisher = [[American Cancer Society]]
}}
</ref>

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] states that studies suggest that neonatal circumcision confers some protection from penile cancer, but circumcision at a later age does not seem to confer the same level of protection. Further, penile cancer is a rare disease and the risk of penile cancer developing in an uncircumcised man, although increased compared with a circumcised man, remains low.<ref name = "AAP1999" /> Similarly, the [[American Medical Association]] states that although neonatal circumcision seems to lower the risk of contracting penile cancer, because it is rare and occurs later in life, the use of circumcision as a preventive practice is not justified.<ref name = "CSA:I-99" />

Kochen and McCurdy performed a [[life table]] analysis on penile cancer rates. They assumed that these cancers occur exclusively in uncircumcised males and that age-specific rates calculated from older groups were applicable to the 1971 birth cohort.<ref name="Kochen">{{cite journal
| last = Kochen
| first = Mosze
| coauthors = Stephen McCurdy
| year = 1980
| month = May
| title = Circumcision and the risk of cancer of the penis. A life-table analysis
| journal = American Journal of Diseases of Children
| volume = 134
| issue = 5
| pages = 484–486
| doi = 10.1001/archpedi.134.5.484
| id = PMID 7377156
| url = http://www.circs.org/library/kochen/index.html
| accessdate = 2006-09-26
}}
</ref> Their overall analysis finds an estimated occurrence rate in uncircumcised males of 1 in 600, or 0.167%, with a median age of occurrence of 67 years old. However, they close their predictions section with the following “Since the uncircumcised male is uniquely susceptible, virtually all of these cancers are preventable by neo-natal circumcision. The number of lifetime incident cancers that could be prevented annually by circumcision can be estimated with birth statistics available for 1971. In that year, there were 1,822,910 recorded live male births. If none had been neonatally circumcised, our analysis predicts that one in 600, or more than 3,000 would have penile cancer in their lifetimes.”<ref name = "Kochen" />

===Phimosis and paraphimosis===
It is normal for an infant's foreskin to be attached to the glans. Pathological [[phimosis]] is a condition when the foreskin remains so tight that retraction over the glans is painful or impossible. Dawson and Whitfield, say "True phimosis is rare but may cause appreciable problems in either childhood or adolescence."[http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/312/7041/1291] Rickwood suggested that the term 'phimosis' should be restricted to cases in which the prepuce loses suppleness and becomes scarred.<ref name = "Rickwood1">{{cite journal
| last = Rickwood
| first = AM.
| coauthors = V. Hemalatha, G. Batcup, and L. Spitz
| year = 1980
| month = April
| title = Phimosis in boys
| journal = British Journal of Urology
| volume = 52
| issue = 2
| pages = 147–150
| id = PMID 7191744
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/rickwood/
| accessdate = 2006-10-10
}}
</ref>
The AAP state that the true frequency of problems such as phimosis is unknown.<ref name = "AAP1999" /> Fergusson et al found phimosis in 16% of non-circumcised boys,<ref name = "Ferg" /> while Herzog and Alvarez found it in 2.6%.[http://www.circs.org/library/herzog/index.html] Rickwood and Walker raised concern that phimosis is frequently misdiagnosed by physicians confusing it with the developmentally non-retractable foreskin.<ref name = "Rickwood2">{{cite journal
| last = Rickwood
| first = AM.
| coauthors = Jenny Walker
| year = 1989
| month = September
| title = Is phimosis overdiagnosed in boys and are too many circumcisions performed in consequence?
| journal = Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
| volume = 71
| issue = 5
| pages = 275–277
| id = PMID 2802472
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/rickwood2/
| accessdate = 2006-10-10
}}
</ref>
Several researchers have described less invasive treatments for phimosis than circumcision, and recommend that they be tried first.<ref name="dewan" /><ref name="beauge" />

Several studies have identified phimosis as a risk factor for penile cancer. The British Medical Journal published one letter that stated it would be irresponsible to expose a patient to risk for longer than necessary.<ref>Robin J Willcourt, "Re: Circumcision is a last resort - to be avoided, whenever possible" - letters to the editor, ''British Medical Journal'' [http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/321/7264/792#110919 http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/321/7264/792#110919]</ref>

[[Paraphimosis]] is an acute condition when a tight foreskin is stuck behind the glans and cannot be returned to its original position, curbing the blood flow to the glans. In children, it is sometimes caused by a caregiver trying to [[forcible retraction of the foreskin|forcibly retract the infant foreskin]].<ref name = "Gairdner" />

===Urinary tract infections===
Twelve studies have indicated that neonatal circumcision reduces the occurrence rate of [[Urinary tract infections]] in male infants by a factor of about 10.<ref name="singhgrewal2005">{{cite journal
| last = Singh-Grewal
| first = D.
| coauthors = J. Macdessi, and J. Craig
| date = [[August 1]], [[2005]]
| title = Circumcision for the prevention of urinary tract infection in boys: a systematic review of randomised trials and observational studies
| journal = Archives of Disease in Childhood
| volume = 90
| issue = 8
| pages = 853-858
| doi = 10.1136/adc.2004.049353
| id = PMID 15890696
| url = http://adc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/90/8/853.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref> The March 1999 AAP statement notes that premature infants are usually not circumcised because of their fragile health status.<ref name = "AAP1999" /> Studies have found that 1 in 10 premature infants will have a urinary tract infection during the first month of life. [http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,5362,00.html] Some of the UTI studies have been criticised for not taking these and other factors into account. A Swedish study found that the cumulative incidence of UTIs in boys under 2 years of age was 2.2%.<ref name="jakobsson1999">Jakobsson 1999, ''et al''. Minimum incidence and diagnostic rate of first urinary tract infection. ''Pediatrics.'' 1999 August;104 (2 Pt 1):222–6. ([http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/104/2/222 full text])</ref> The AMA cites evidence that the incidence of UTI’s is “small (0.4%–1%)” in uncircumcised infants, and “depending on the model employed, approximately 100 to 200 circumcisions would need to be performed to prevent 1 UTI…One model of decision analysis concluded that the incidence of UTI would have to be substantially higher in uncircumcised males to justify circumcision as a preventive measure against this condition.”<ref name = "CSA:I-99" />

The [[Canadian Paediatric Society]] poses the question of whether increased [[Urinary tract infection|UTI]] and [[balanitis]] rates in non-circumcised male infants may be caused by [[forcible retraction of the foreskin|forced premature retraction]].<ref name = "CMAJ" /> According to the Lerman and Liao, aside from its effects on UTI infection rates, "Most of the other medical benefits of circumcision probably can be realized without circumcision as long as access to clean water and proper penile hygiene are achieved."<ref name="lerman2001">Lerman SE, Liao JC. Neonatal circumcision. ''Pediatr Clin North Am.'' 2001 December;48(6):1539-57. PMID 11732129</ref>

===Policies of various national medical associations===
====United States====
The [[American Academy of Family Physicians]] recommends that physicians discuss the potential harms and benefits of circumcision with all parents or legal guardians considering circumcision for newborn boys.<ref name = "AAFP2">{{cite web
| url = http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/clinical/clinicalrecs/circumcision.html
| title = Circumcision: Position Paper on Neonatal Circumcision
| accessdate = 2007-01-30
| year = 2007
| publisher = [[American Academy of Family Physicians]]
| quote = Considerable controversy surrounds neonatal circumcision. Putative indications for neonatal circumcision have included preventing UTIs and their sequelae, preventing the contraction of STDs including HIV, and preventing penile cancer as well as other reasons for adult circumcision. Circumcision is not without risks. Bleeding, infection, and failure to remove enough foreskin occur in less than 1% of circumcisions. Evidence-based complications from circumcision include pain, bruising, and meatitis. More serious complications have also occurred. Although numerous studies have been conducted to evaluate these postulates, only a few used the quality of methodology necessary to consider the results as high level evidence. 
 
The evidence indicates that neonatal circumcision prevents UTIs in the first year of life with an absolute risk reduction of about 1% and prevents the development of penile cancer with an absolute risk reduction of less than 0.2%. The evidence suggests that circumcision reduces the rate of acquiring an STD, but careful sexual practices and hygiene may be as effective. Circumcision appears to decrease the transmission of HIV in underdeveloped areas where the virus is highly prevalent. No study has systematically evaluated the utility of routine neonatal circumcision for preventing all medically-indicated circumcisions in later life. Evidence regarding the association between cervical cancer and a woman’s partner being circumcised or uncircumcised, and evidence regarding the effect of circumcision on sexual functioning is inconclusive. If the decision is made to circumcise, anesthesia should be used. 
 
The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends physicians discuss the potential harms and benefits of circumcision with all parents or legal guardians considering this procedure for their newborn son.
}}
</ref>

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] finds both potential benefits and risks in infant circumcision. At current it feels that there is insufficient data to recommend routine neonatal circumcision, and recommends that parental decisions on elective circumcision should be made with as much accurate and unbiased information as possible, taking medical, cultural, ethnic, traditional, and religious factors into account. The AAP also recommends using analgesia as a safe and effective method for reducing procedural pain associated with circumcision, and that circumcision on newborns only be performed on infants who are stable and healthy.<ref name = "AAP19992">{{cite journal
| last = Task Force on Circumcision
| coauthors =
| year = 1999
| month = [[March 1]],
| title = Circumcision Policy Statement
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 103
| issue = 3
| pages = 686–693
| doi = 10.1542/peds.103.3.686
| id = {{ISSN|0031-4005}} PMID 10049981
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/pediatrics;103/3/686.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
“Existing scientific evidence demonstrates potential medical benefits of newborn male circumcision; however, these data are not sufficient to recommend routine neonatal circumcision. In the case of circumcision, in which there are potential benefits and risks, yet the procedure is not essential to the child’s current well-being, parents should determine what is in the best interest of the child. To make an informed choice, parents of all male infants should be given accurate and unbiased information and be provided the opportunity to discuss this decision. It is legitimate for parents to take into account cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions, in addition to the medical factors, when making this decision. Analgesia is safe and effective in reducing the procedural pain associated with circumcision; therefore, if a decision for circumcision is made, procedural analgesia should be provided. If circumcision is performed in the newborn period, it should only be done on infants who are stable and healthy.”
</ref>

The American Medical Association supports the general principles of the 1999 Circumcision Policy Statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics.<ref name = "CSA:I-99" />

====Canada====
The Fetus and Newborn Committee of the [[Canadian Paediatric Society]] posted Circumcision: Information for Parents in November of 2004,<ref name = "CPSIFP2">{{cite web
| url = http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/babies/Circumcision.htm
| title = Circumcision: Information for parents
| accessdate = 2006-10-24
| year = 2004
| month = November
| work = Caring for kids
| publisher = [[Canadian Paediatric Society]]
| quote = Circumcision is a “non-therapeutic” procedure, which means it is not medically necessary. Parents who decide to circumcise their newborns often do so for religious, social or cultural reasons. To help make the decision about circumcision, parents should have information about risks and benefits. It is helpful to speak with your baby’s doctor. After reviewing the scientific evidence for and against circumcision, the CPS does not recommend routine circumcision for newborn boys. Many paediatricians no longer perform circumcisions.
}}
</ref> and Neonatal circumcision revisited statements in 1996, undergoing revision as of 2004 in which, due to the evenly balanced reasons pro and con, they do not recommend routine circumcision.<ref name = "CMAJ2">
{{cite journal
| last = Fetus and Newborn Committee
| year = 1996
| month = March
| title = Neonatal circumcision revisited
| journal = Canadian Medical Association Journal
| volume = 154
| issue = 6
| pages = 769–780
| doi =
| id =
| url = http://www.cps.ca/english/statements/FN/fn96-01.htm
| format =
| accessdate = 2006-07-02
}}
“We undertook this literature review to consider whether the CPS should change its position on routine neonatal circumcision from that stated in 1982. The review led us to conclude the following. There is evidence that circumcision results in an approximately 12-fold reduction in the incidence of UTI during infancy. The overall incidence of UTI in male infants appears to be 1% to 2%. The incidence rate of the complications of circumcision reported in published articles varies, but it is generally in the order of 0.2% to 2%. Most complications are minor, but occasionally serious complications occur. There is a need for good epidemiological data on the incidence of the surgical complications of circumcision, of the later complications of circumcision and of problems associated with lack of circumcision. Evaluation of alternative methods of preventing UTI in infancy is required. More information on the effect of simple hygienic interventions is needed. Information is required on the incidence of circumcision that is truly needed in later childhood. There is evidence that circumcision results in a reduction in the incidence of penile cancer and of HIV transmission. However, there is inadequate information to recommend circumcision as a public health measure to prevent these diseases. When circumcision is performed, appropriate attention needs to be paid to pain relief. The overall evidence of the benefits and harms of circumcision is so evenly balanced that it does not support recommending circumcision as a routine procedure for newborns. There is therefore no indication that the position taken by the CPS in 1982 should be changed. When parents are making a decision about circumcision, they should be advised of the present state of medical knowledge about its benefits and harms. Their decision may ultimately be based on personal, religious or cultural factors.
</ref>

====United Kingdom====
As of June of 2006, the British Medical Association's position was that male circumcision for medical purposes should only be used where less invasive procedures are either unavailable or not as effective. The BMA specifically refrained from issuing a policy regarding “non-therapeutic circumcision,” stating that as a general rule, it “believes that parents should be entitled to make choices about how best to promote their children’s interests, and it is for society to decide what limits should be imposed on parental choices.”<ref name = "BMAGuide2">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/malecircumcision2006?OpenDocument&Highlight=2,circumcision
| title = The law and ethics of male circumcision - guidance for doctors
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| author = Medical Ethics Committee
| year = 2006
| month = June
| publisher = [[British Medical Association]]
| quote = '''Circumcision for medical purposes''' 
Unnecessarily invasive procedures should not be used where alternative, less invasive techniques, are equally efficient and available. It is important that doctors keep up to date and ensure that any decisions to undertake an invasive procedure are based on the best available evidence. Therefore, to circumcise for therapeutic reasons where medical research has shown other techniques to be at least as effective and less invasive would be unethical and inappropriate.

Male circumcision in cases where there is a clear clinical need is not normally controversial. Nevertheless, normal anatomical and physiological characteristics of the infant foreskin have in the past been misinterpreted as being abnormal. The British Association of Paediatric Surgeons advises that there is rarely a clinical indication for circumcision. Doctors should be aware of this and reassure parents accordingly. 
 
'''Non-therapeutic circumcision''' 
Male circumcision that is performed for any reason other than physical clinical need is termed non-therapeutic (or sometimes “ritual”) circumcision. Some people ask for non-therapeutic circumcision for religious reasons, some to incorporate a child into a community, and some want their sons to be like their fathers. Circumcision is a defining feature of some faiths. 
 
There is a spectrum of views within the BMA’s membership about whether non-therapeutic male circumcision is a beneficial, neutral or harmful procedure or whether it is superfluous, and whether it should ever be done on a child who is not capable of deciding for himself. The medical harms or benefits have not been unequivocally proven except to the extent that there are clear risks of harm if the procedure is done inexpertly. The Association has no policy on these issues. Indeed, it would be difficult to formulate a policy in the absence of unambiguously clear and consistent medical data on the implications of the intervention. As a general rule, however, the BMA believes that parents should be entitled to make choices about how best to promote their children’s interests, and it is for society to decide what limits should be imposed on parental choices.
}}
</ref>

====Australasia====
The [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] takes the position that there is no medical indication for routine neonatal circumcision, and if the procedure is to be performed for non-medical reasons, it should be performed by competent operator, using appropriate anaesthesia and in a safe child-friendly environment.<ref name = "RACPSumm" />

==History of circumcision==
{{main|History of male circumcision}}

It has been variously proposed that circumcision began as a religious [[sacrifice]], as a [[rite of passage]] marking a boy's entrance into adulthood, as a form of [[magical thinking|sympathetic magic]] to ensure virility, as a means of suppressing (or enhancing) sexual pleasure, as an aid to [[hygiene]] where regular [[bathing]] was impractical, as a means of marking those of lower (or higher) social status, as a means of differentiating a circumcising group from their non-circumcising neighbors, as a means of discouraging [[masturbation]] or other socially proscribed sexual behaviors, to remove "excess" pleasure, to increase a man's attractiveness to women, as a symbolic [[castration]], as a demonstration of one's ability to endure pain, or as a male counterpart to [[menstruation]] or the breaking of the [[hymen]]. It has been suggested that the custom of circumcision gave advantages to tribes that practiced it and thus led to its spread regardless of whether the people understood this.<ref>{{cite journal
| author = [[Ronald Immerman]] and [[Wade Mackey]]
| year = 1997
| title = A Biocultural Analysis of Circumcision
| journal = [[Social Biology]]
| volume = 44
| pages = 265-275
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/immerman2/
}}</ref>
It is possible that circumcision arose independently in different cultures for different reasons.

[[Image:Circumcision Precinct of Mut.png|thumb|right|250px|Ancient Egyptian carved scene of circumcision, from the inner northern wall of the Temple of [[Khonspekhrod]] at the [[Precinct of Mut]], [[Luxor]], Egypt. [[Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth dynasty]], [[Amenhotep III]], c. 1360 BC.]]

[[Image:Koceks - Surname-i Vehbi.jpg|thumb|right|250px|'''[[Kocek|Köçeks]] at a fair''' Köçek troupe dancing at Sultan [[Ahmed III]]'s 14-day celebration of his sons' circumcision in 1720. Miniature from the ''Surname-i Vehbi'', [[Topkapı Palace]], [[Istanbul]].]]

===Circumcision in the ancient world===
The oldest documentary evidence for circumcision comes from [[ancient Egypt]]. Tomb artwork from the [[Sixth Dynasty]] (2345-2181 BCE) shows men with circumcised penises, and one [[relief]] from this period shows the rite being performed on a standing adult male. The [[Egyptian hieroglyph]] for "penis" depicts either a circumcised or an erect organ. The examination of Egyptian mummies has found some with foreskins and others who were circumcised.

Circumcision was common, although not universal, among ancient [[Semitic]] peoples. The [[Book of Jeremiah]], written in the sixth century BCE, lists the Egyptians, Jews, [[Edomites]], [[Ammonites]], and [[Moabites]] as circumcising cultures. [[Herodotus]], writing in the fifth century BCE, would add the [[Colchis|Colchians]], [[Ethiopia]]ns, [[Phoenicians]], and [[Syria]]ns to that list.

In the aftermath of the conquests of [[Alexander the Great]], Greek dislike of circumcision led to a decline in its incidence among many peoples that had previously practised it. The writer of the [[1 Maccabees]] wrote that under the [[Seleucid]]s, many Jewish men attempted to hide or reverse their circumcision so they could exercise in Greek [[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasia]], where nudity was the norm. First Maccabees also relates that the Seleucids forbade the practice of [[brit milah]] (Jewish circumcision), and punished those who performed it–as well as the infants who underwent it–with death.

===Medical circumcision in the 19th century and early 20th century===
Several hypotheses have been raised in explaining the American public's acceptance of infant circumcision as preventive medicine. The success of the [[germ theory of disease]] had not only enabled physicians to combat many of the postoperative complications of surgery, but had made the wider public deeply suspicious of dirt and bodily secretions. Accordingly, the [[smegma]] that collects under the foreskin was viewed as unhealthy, and circumcision readily accepted as good penile hygiene.[http://www.cirp.org/library/history/gollaher/] Second, moral sentiment of the day regarded [[masturbation]] as not only [[sin]]ful, but also physically and mentally unhealthy, stimulating the foreskin to produce the host of maladies of which it was suspected. In this climate, circumcision could be employed as a means of discouraging masturbation.[http://www.noharmm.org/paige.htm] ''All About the Baby'', a popular parenting book of the 1890s, recommended infant circumcision for precisely this purpose. However, a survey of 1410 men in the United States in 1992, [http://www.circs.org/library/laumann/index.html Laumann] found that circumcised men were ''more'' likely to report masturbating at least once a month.

In 1855, the [[Quaker]] surgeon, Jonathan Hutchinson, observed that circumcision appeared to protect against [[syphilis]].<ref>{{cite journal | Hutchinson J | title=On the influence of circumcision in preventing syphilis | journal=Medical Times and Gazette | volume=NS Vol II | year=1855 | pages=542–3 }}</ref> Although this observation was challenged (the protection that Jews appear to have are more likely due to cultural factors<ref>{{cite journal | author=Epstein E | title=Have the Jews any Immunity from Certain Diseases? | journal=Medical and Surgical Reporter (Philadelphia) | volume=XXX | year=1874 | pages=40–41 }}</ref>), a 2006 systematic review concluded that the evidence "strongly indicates that circumcised men are at lower risk ... syphilis."<ref>{{cite journal |title=Male circumcision and risk of syphilis, chancroid, and genital herpes: a systematic review and meta-analysis |first=HA |last=Weiss |coauthors=Thomas, SL; Munabi SK; Hayes RJ |journal=Sex Transm Infect |year=2006 |month=Apr |volume=82 |issue=2 |pages=101-9 |id=PMID 16581731 |url=http://sti.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/82/2/101}}</ref>

With the proliferation of [[hospital]]s in urban areas, [[childbirth]], at least among the upper and middle classes, was increasingly undertaken in the care of a physician in a hospital rather than that of a [[midwife]] in the home. It has been suggested that once a critical mass of infants were being circumcised in the hospital, circumcision became a class marker of those wealthy enough to afford a hospital birth.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.law.uc.edu/lawreview/uclaw72pdf/0455waldeck.pdf |title=Using Male Circumcision to Understand Social Norms as Multipliers |journal=UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI LAW REVIEW |first=S.E. |last=Waldeck |year=2003 |volume=72 |issue=2 |pages=455-526}}</ref>

By the 1920s, advances in the understanding of disease had undermined much of the original medical basis for preventive circumcision. Doctors continued to promote it, however, as good penile hygiene and as a preventive for a handful of conditions local to the penis: balanitis, phimosis, and penile cancer. {{Fact|date=March 2007}}

Routine infant circumcision was taken up in the English-speaking parts of [[Canada]], the [[United States]] and [[Australia]], and to a lesser extent in [[New Zealand]] and the [[United Kingdom]] In England, the Royal House had a long tradition requiring that all male children be circumcised” (Alfred J. Kolatach’s The Jewish Book of Why, Middle Village, New York; Jonathan David, 1981).
. Although it is difficult to determine historical circumcision rates, one estimate[http://www.boystoo.com/history/statistics.htm] of infant circumcision rates in the United States holds that 30% of newborn American boys were being circumcised in 1900, 55% in 1925, and 72% in 1950.

===Circumcision since 1950===
In 1949, a lack of consensus in the medical community as to whether circumcision carried with it any notable health benefit motivated the United Kingdom's newly-formed [[National Health Service]] to remove routine infant circumcision from its list of covered services. One factor in this rejection of circumcision may have been Douglas Gairdner’s famous study, ''The fate of the foreskin'', which revealed that for the years 1942–1947, about 16 children per year had died because of circumcision in England and Wales, a rate of about 1 per 6000 performed circumcisions.<ref name = "Gairdner" /> Since then, circumcision has been an [[Out-of-pocket expenses|out-of-pocket cost]] to parents, and the proportion of newborns circumcised in England and Wales has fallen to less than one percent.

In Canada (where public medical insurance is universal, and where private insurance does not replicate services already paid from the public purse), individual provincial health services began delisting circumcision in the 1980s. 

In [[South Korea]], circumcision has steadily grown in popularity following the establishment of the United States trusteeship in 1945 and the spread of American influence. More than 90% of South Korean high school boys are now circumcised, but the average age of circumcision is 12 years.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410X.2002.02545.x |first=MG |last=Pang |coauthors=Kim DS |title=Extraordinarily high rates of male circumcision in South Korea: history and underlying causes |journal=BJU Int |year=2002 |volume=89 |issue=1 |pages=48-54}}</ref>

In some [[South Africa]]n ethnic groups, circumcision has roots in several belief systems, and is performed most of the time on teenage boys:
:''"...The young men in the eastern Cape belong to the Xhosa ethnic group for whom circumcision is considered part of the passage into manhood... A law was recently introduced requiring initiation schools to be licensed and only allowing circumcisions to be performed on youths aged 18 and older. But Eastern Cape provincial Health Department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo told Reuters news agency that boys as young as 11 had died. Each year thousands of young men go into the bush alone, without water, to attend initiation schools. Many do not survive the ordeal..."'' [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3069491.stm].

Prior to 1989, the American Academy of Pediatrics had a long-standing opinion that medical indications for routine circumcision were lacking. This stance, according to the AMA, was reversed in 1989, following new evidence of reduction in risk of urinary tract infection.<ref name = "CSA:I-99" /> A study in 1987 found that the prominent reasons for parents choosing circumcision were "concerns about the attitudes of peers and their sons' self concept in the future," rather than medical concerns.[http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/80/2/215] A 1999 study reported that reasons for circumcision included "ease of hygiene (67 percent), ease of infant circumcision compared with adult circumcision (63 percent), medical benefit (41 percent), and father circumcised (37 percent)." The authors commented that "Medical benefits were cited more frequently in this study than in past studies, although medical issues remain secondary to hygience and convenience."[http://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/tiemstra/] A 2001 study reported that "The most important reason to circumcise or not circumcise the child was health reasons."<ref name="adler">{{cite journal |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/107/2/e20 |title=Circumcision: we have heard from the experts; now let's hear from the parents |first=R |last=Adler |coauthors=''et al'' |journal=Pediatrics |year=2001 |volume=107 |issue=2 |pages=E20}}</ref> A 2005 study speculated that increased recognition of the potential benefits may be responsible for an observed increase in the rate of neonatal circumcision in the USA between 1988 and 2000.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15711354&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum]
In a 2001 survey, 86.6% of parents felt respected by their medical provider, and parents who did not circumcise "felt less respected by their medical provider".<ref name="adler" />

The major medical societies in Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand do not support routine non-therapeutic infant circumcision. Major medical organizations in the United States do not recommend routine circumcision, but instead state that parents should decide what is in their child's best interests.

The AMA remarked that, in one study, physicians in "nearly half" of neonatal circumcisions "did not discuss the potential medical risks and benefits of elective circumcision prior to delivery of the infant son. Deferral of discussion until after birth, combined with the fact that many parents' decisions about circumcision are preconceived, contribute to the high rate of elective circumcision."<ref name="CSA:I-99" />

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; border-collapse: collapse; border:1px solid #999"
|+'''Table 1: International circumcision rates'''
|- bgcolor="#f2f2f2"
! Country
! Year
! Neonatal circumcisions (%)
|-
| United States
| 2003
| 55.9%* [http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_13/sr13_160.pdf]
|-
| Canada
| 2005
| < 14% [http://www.cirp.org/news/2006-03-23montrealgazette/]
|-
| Australia
| 2004
| 10%-20% [http://www.racp.edu.au/index.cfm?objectid=A4268489-2A57-5487-DEF14F15791C4F22]
|-
| New Zealand
| 1995
| 10%-20% [http://www.racp.edu.au/hpu/paed/circumcision/summary.htm]
|-
|- style="border-top:1px solid #999; border-bottom: hidden; border-left: hidden; border-right: hidden;"
| colspan="3" | *The percentage refers to infants born in non-Federal hospitals; see p 52, Table 44 of the reference.
|- style="border-top: hidden; border-bottom: hidden; border-left: hidden; border-right: hidden;"
| colspan="3" | **Samoans, Tongans and Niueans in New Zealand continue to practice circumcision, but not in public hospitals, to which these data refer.
|}

==Prevalence of circumcision==
{{main|Circumcision worldwide}}
Estimates of the proportion of males that are circumcised worldwide vary from one sixth (12.5%)<ref name="williams1993">Williams N, Kapila L. Complications of circumcision. ''Brit J Surg.'' 1993;80:1231-6. ([http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/williams-kapila/ full text])</ref> to one third (33.3%).<ref name="crawford2002">Crawford DA. Circumcision: a consideration of some of the controversy. ''J Child Health Care.'' 2002 December;6(4):259-70. PMID 12503896</ref> According to one author, the practice is "a falling trend internationally",<ref>{{cite journal
| last = StanWisniewski
| first = Z.
| year = 2004
| title = Circumcision in Western Australia
| journal = ANZ Journal of Surgery
| volume = 74
| issue = 5
| pages = 387-388
| doi = 10.1111
| url = http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/aunz/fulltext.00130494-200405000-00028.htm
| accessdate = 2007-03-31
</ref>{{Verify source|date=April 2007}} although another notes indications of increasing demand in Southern Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Demand for male circumcision rises in a bid to prevent HIV |journal=Bulletin of the World Health Organization |volume=84 |issue=7 |year=2006 |pages=505-588 |url=http://www.scielosp.org/pdf/bwho/v84n7/v84n7a05.pdf |quote=As a result, there are already indications of increasing demand for male circumcision in traditionally non-circumcising societies in southern Africa.}}</ref>

===Australia===
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the infant circumcision rate in Australia was 12.9% as of 2003. However, rates in the states varied, with highest rates in Queensland (19.3%), New South Wales (16.3%) and South Australia (14.3%), and the lowest in Tasmania (1.6%).<ref>{{cite web |first=Judy |last=Skatssoon |month=July |year=2004 |title=Circumcision rates rise for some |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald (reprint: CIRP.org) |location=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |url=http://www.cirp.org/news/smh07-01-04/}}</ref>

===Denmark===
In 1986, only 511 out of approximately 478,000 Danish boys aged 0-14 years were circumcised. This corresponds to a cumulative national circumcision rate of around 1.6% by the age of 15 years.
[http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/311/7018/1471]

===South Korea===
It has been estimated on the basis of an academic medical survey that some 78% of South Korean men may be circumcised and it has been stated that "South Korea has possibly the largest absolute number of teenage or adult circumcisions anywhere in the world. Because circumcision started through contact with the American military during the Korean War, South Korea has an unusual history of circumcision."<ref>J.H. Ku1, M.E. Kim, N.K. Lee and Y.H. Park, "Circumcision practice patterns in South Korea: community based survey" (Sex Transm Inf 2003;79:65-67 http://sti.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/79/1/65 retrieved [[1 October]] [[2006]]</ref>

===United Kingdom===
A national survey on sexual attitudes in 2000 found that 11.7% of 16-19 year olds, and 19.6% of 40-44 year olds said they had been circumcised. It also found that, apart from black Caribbeans, overseas born men were more likely to be circumcised.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Male circumcision in Britain:
findings from a national probability sample survey |url=http://sti.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/79/6/499 |first=SS |last=Dave |coauthors=''et al'' |journal=Sex Transm Infect |year=2003 |volume=79 |issue=6 |pages=499-500}}</ref> Rickwood ''et al'' reported that the proportion of English boys circumcised for medical reasons had fallen from 35% in the early 1930s to 6.5% by the mid-1980s. An estimated 3.8% of male children in the UK in 2000 were being circumcised by the age of 15 [http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/321/7264/792]. The researchers stated that too many boys, especially under the age of 5, were still being circumcised because of a misdiagnosis of phimosis. They called for a target to reduce the percentage to 2%.

===United States===
Statistics from different sources give different pictures of infant circumcision rates in the United States.

A recent study, which used data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (a sample of 5-7 million of the nation's total inpatient stays, and representing a 20% sample taken from 8 states in 1988 and 28 in 2000), stated that circumcisions rose from 48.3% in 1988 to 61.1% in 1997.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Nelson
| first = CP.
| coauthors = R. Dunn, J. Wan, JT. Wei
| year = 2005
| month = March
| title = The increasing incidence of newborn circumcision: data from the nationwide inpatient sample
| journal = Journal of Urology
| volume = 173
| issue = 3
| pages = 978–981
| id = {{ISSN|0022-5347}} PMID 15711354
| url = http://www.jurology.com/article/PIIS0022534705604193/abstract
| format = Abstract
| doi = 10.1097/01.ju.0000145758.80937.7d
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref>

Figures from the 2003 Nationwide Hospital Discharge Survey state that circumcision rates declined from 64.7% in 1980 to 59.0% in 1990, rose to 64.1% in 1995, and fell again to 55.9% in 2003.<ref name = "NHDS">{{cite journal
| last = Kozak
| first = LJ
| coauthors = KA Lees, and CJ DeFrances
| year = 2006
| title = National Hospital Discharge Survey: 2003 annual summary with detailed diagnosis and procedure data.
| journal = Vital Health Statistics
| volume = 13
| issue = 160
| pages =
| doi =
| id =
| url = http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_13/sr13_160.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-01-30
}}</ref> On page 52, it is shown that the western region of the United States has seen the most significant change, declining from 61.8% in 1980 to 31.4% in 2003.<ref name = "NHDS" /> The decline in the western region has been partly attributed to increasing births among [[Latin American]]s, who usually do not circumcise.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/circumcisions/circumcisions.htm
| title = Trends in circumcisions among newborns
| accessdate = 2007-01-30
| date = [[January 11]], [[2007]]
| work = Health E-Stats
| publisher = [[National Center for Health Statistics]]
| quote = However, the most notable change occurred in the West where newborn circumcisions dropped from 62 percent in 1980 to 37 percent in 1999. This latest available figure for the West represents over a two-fold difference when compared with circumcision estimates for the Midwest. This dramatic decline, in part, reflects the increased birth rate among Hispanics who have been shown in several other studies to be less likely to receive circumcisions than other white and black infants.
}}
</ref>

A national survey of adult men found that 91% of men born in the 1970s, and 83% of men born in the 1980s were circumcised.<ref>{{cite paper
| author = Xu, F, L Markowitz, M Sternberg, and S Aral
| title = Prevalence of circumcision in men in the United States: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2002
| publisher = XVI International AIDS Conference
| date = 2006
| url = http://www.iasociety.org/abstract/show.asp?abstract_id=2183186
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref>

Statistics from these national samples differs from higher rates that have been documented in individual centers. One explanation is that "the published results of national statistical surveys represent only coded diagnoses obtained from birth centers; the reported figures do not include males who are circumcised at a later date for religious, medical, or personal reasons or who received newborn circumcision that was not coded."<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Schoen
| first = Edgar J.
| year = 2006
| month = July
| title = Ignoring evidence of circumcision benefits
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 118
| issue = 1
| pages = 385–387
| id = {{ISSN|0031-4005}} PMID 16818586
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/extract/118/1/385
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref>

There are various explanations why the infant circumcision rate in the United States are different from comparable countries. Some obstetricians have been accused of using circumcision as a quick and easy way of making money.<ref>{{cite news
| first = Lehman
| last = Betsy A.
| title = The Age-old Question of Circumcision
| url = http://www.cirp.org/news/bostonglobe06-22-87
| format = CIRP (CIRP has modified text display)
| publisher = [[The Boston Globe]]
| pages = 41 & 43
| date = [[June 22]], [[1987]]
| accessdate = 2007-04-06
}}
</ref> Many parents’ decisions about circumcision are preconceived, and this may contribute to the high rate of elective circumcision.<ref name = "CSA:I-99" />

[[Medicaid]] funding for infant circumcision used to be universal in the United States; however, sixteen states no longer pay for the procedure under [[Medicaid]] [http://www.circumstitions.com/Images/map-usa-notfund.gif]. One study in the Midwest of the U.S. found that this had no effect on the newborn circumcision rate but it did affect the demand for circumcision at a later time.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Quayle
| first = SS.
| coauthors = DE. Coplen, PF. Austin
| year = 2003
| month = October
| title = The effect of health care coverage on circumcision rates among newborns
| journal = Journal of Urology
| volume = 170
| issue = 4 Pt 2
| pages = 1533–1536
| id = {{ISSN|0022-5347}} PMID 14501653
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref>

==See also==
*[[Brit shalom]]
*[[Circumcision advocacy]]
*[[Circumcision scar]]
*[[Foreskin restoration]]
*[[Genital integrity]]
*[[Holy Prepuce]]
*[[Preputioplasty]]
*[[Zeved habat]]

==References==
{| class="messagebox" style="background: {{{#666666}}};"
|-
||Some referenced articles are available on-line only in the Circumcision Information and Resource Page’s (CIRP) library or in The Circumcision Reference Library (CIRCS). CIRP articles are chosen from an anti-circumcision point of view, and text in support of this position is often highlighted on-screen using [[HTML]]. CIRCS articles are chosen from a pro-circumcision point of view. If documents are not freely available on-line elsewhere, links to articles in one or other of these two websites may be provided.
|}
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
<references />
</div>

==External links==
===Circumcision opposition===
* [http://www.cirp.org The Circumcision Information and Resource Pages] by Geoffrey T. Falk
* [http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org Doctors Opposing Circumcision] presided by George C. Denniston, MD, MPH
* [http://www.nocirc.org National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers] by Marilyn Milos, RN

===Circumcision promotion===
* [http://www.circinfo.net/ Benefits of circumcision: medical, health and sexual] by Professor Brian Morris
* [http://medicirc.org/ Circumcision: a lifetime of medical benefits] by Edgar Schoen, BSc., M.D.
* [http://www.drweiss.org/ Circumcision Information] by Gerald N. Weiss, M.D.

===Circumcision techniques===
* [http://www.aafp.org/afp/990315ap/1514.html Description of an adult circumcision] from the [[AAFP|American Academy of Family Physicians]].
* [http://www.mcg.edu/pediatrics/CCNotebook/chapter2/circumsion.htm Description of a Plastibell circumcision] from the Medical College of Georgia.

==Further reading==

* Billy Ray Boyd. ''Circumcision Exposed: Rethinking a Medical and Cultural Tradition.'' Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press, 1998. (ISBN 978-0-89594-939-4)
* Anne Briggs. ''Circumcision: What Every Parent Should Know.'' Charlottesville, VA: Birth & Parenting Publications, 1985. (ISBN 978-0-9615484-0-7)
* Robert Darby. ''A surgical temptation: The demonization of the foreskin and the rise of circumcision in Britain.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. (ISBN 978-0-226-13645-5)
* Aaron J. Fink, M.D. ''Circumcision: A Parent's Decision for Life''. Kavanah Publishing Company, Inc., 1988. (ISBN 978-0-9621347-0-8)
* Paul M. Fleiss, M.D. and Frederick Hodges, D. Phil. ''What Your Doctor May'' Not ''Tell You About Circumcision.'' New York: Warner Books, 2002. (ISBN 978-0-446-67880-3)
* Leonard B. Glick. ''Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. (ISBN 978-0-19-517674-2)
* David L. Gollaher. ''Circumcision: A History of the World's Most Controversial Surgery.'' New York: Basic Books, 2000. (ISBN 0465026532
* Ronald Goldman, Ph.D. ''Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma.'' Boston: Vanguard, 1996. (ISBN 978-0-9644895-3-0)
* Brian J. Morris, Ph.D., D.Sc. ''In Favour of Circumcision.'' Sydney: UNSW Press, 1999. (ISBN 978-0-86840-537-7)
* Rosemary Romberg. ''Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma.'' South Hadley, MA Bergan & Garvey, 1985. (ISBN 978-0-89789-073-1)
* Edgar J Schoen, M.D. ''Ed Schoen, MD on Circumcision.'' Berkeley, CA: RDR Books, 2005. (ISBN 978-1-57143-123-3)
* Edward Wallerstein. ''Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy.'' New York: Springer, 1980 (ISBN 978-0-8261-3240-6)
* Gerald N. Weiss M.D. and Andrea W Harter. ''Circumcision: Frankly Speaking.'' Wiser Publications, 1998. (ISBN 978-0-9667219-0-4)


[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Circumcision debate]]
[[Category:Body modification]]
[[Category:Penis]]
[[Category:Sexuality]]
[[Category:Surgical removal procedures]]

[[ar:ختان]]
[[bm:Bolokoli]]
[[br:Trodroc'hañ]]
[[bg:Обрязване]]
[[ca:Circumcisió]]
[[cs:Obřízka]]
[[da:Omskæring]]
[[de:Zirkumzision]]
[[et:Ümberlõikamine]]
[[el:Περιτομή]]
[[es:Circuncisión]]
[[eo:Cirkumcido]]
[[fr:Circoncision]]
[[ko:포경수술]]
[[hi:ख़तना]]
[[hr:Obrezivanje]]
[[id:Sunat]]
[[it:Circoncisione]]
[[he:מילה]]
[[kk:Сүндеттеу]]
[[la:Circumcisio]]
[[lt:Apipjaustymas]]
[[mk:Машко обрежување]]
[[ms:Khatan]]
[[nl:Besnijdenis]]
[[ja:割礼]]
[[no:Omskjæring]]
[[pl:Obrzezanie]]
[[pt:Circuncisão]]
[[ru:Обрезание]]
[[simple:Circumcision]]
[[sk:Obriezka]]
[[sl:Obrezovanje moških]]
[[fi:Ympärileikkaus]]
[[sv:Manlig omskärelse]]
[[tr:Sünnet (tıp)]]
[[uk:Обрізання]]
[[zh:包皮環切術]]

Circumcision

2007-06-16T19:54:26Z

Capi crimm: /* Consent */

{{pp-semi-protected|small=yes}}
{{Otheruses4|male circumcision|the practice sometimes referred to as "female circumcision"|Female genital cutting}}
[[Image:Circumcision set.jpg|right|thumb|Seixas Family circumcision set and trunk, ca. eighteenth century
Wooden box covered in cow hide with silver implements: silver trays, clip, pointer, silver flask, spice vessel.]]
'''Circumcision''' is the procedure that cuts some or all of the [[foreskin]] ([[prepuce]]) from the [[penis]]. The [[frenulum of prepuce of penis|frenulum]] may also be cut away at the same time, in a procedure called a [[Frenectomy#Frenectomy of the penis|frenectomy]]. The word "circumcision" comes from [[Latin]] ''circum'' (meaning "around") and ''caedere'' (meaning "to cut").

Circumcision predates recorded [[human history]], with depictions found in [[stone-age]] [[cave drawing]]s and [[Ancient Egypt]]ian [[tomb]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Wrana | first = P. | year = 1939 | title = Historical review: Circumcision | journal = Archives of Pediatrics | volume = 56 | issue = | pages = 385–392}} as quoted in: {{cite journal | last = Zoske | first = Joseph | month = Winter | year = 1998 | title = Male Circumcision: A Gender Perspective | journal = Journal of Men’s Studies | volume = 6 | issue = 2 | pages = 189–208 | url = http://www.noharmm.org/zoske.htm|accessdate = 2006-06-14}} </ref> The origins of the practice are lost in antiquity. Theories include that circumcision is a form of ritual [[sacrifice]] or offering, a health precaution, a sign of submission to a [[deity]], a rite of passage to adulthood, a mark of defeat or [[slavery]], or an attempt to alter [[esthetics]] or [[Human sexuality|sexuality]].<ref name = "Gollaher">{{cite book
| last = Gollaher
| first = David L.
| title = Circumcision: a history of the world’s most controversial surgery
| year = 2000
| month = February
| publisher = [[Basic Books]]
| location = [[New York, NY]]
| language =
| id = ISBN 978-0-465-04397-2 {{LCCN|99|0|40015}}
| doi =
| pages = 53–72
| chapter =
| chapterurl =
| quote =
}}
</ref> Circumcision of males is a religious commandment in [[Judaism]] and [[Islam]],<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/circumcision.html
| title = Circumcision
| accessdate = 2006-10-03
| publisher = [[Jewish Virtual Library|American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise]]
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia
| last = Beidelman
| first = T.
| editor = Mircea Eliade
| encyclopedia = The Encyclopedia of religion
| title = CIRCUMCISION
| url = http://www.male-initiation.net/anthropology/eliade.html
| accessdate = 2006-10-03
| year = 1987
| publisher = [[Macmillan Publishers]]
| volume = Volume 3
| location = [[New York, NY]]
| id = {{LCCN|86|00|5432}} ISBN 978-0-02-909480-8
| pages = 511–514
}}</ref> and is customary in some [[Oriental Orthodox]] and other Christian churches in Africa.<ref name=Christian>Customary in some Coptic and other churches:
*"The Coptic Christians in Egypt and the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians— two of the oldest surviving forms of Christianity— retain many of the features of early Christianity, including male circumcision. Circumcision is not prescribed in other forms of Christianity... Some Christian churches in South Africa oppose the practice, viewing it as a pagan ritual, while others, including the Nomiya church in Kenya, require circumcision for membership and participants in focus group discussions in Zambia and Malawi mentioned similar beliefs that Christians should practice circumcision since Jesus was circumcised and the Bible teaches the practice." [http://www.unaids.org/en/MediaCentre/PressMaterials/FeatureStory/20070226_MC_pt1.asp Male Circumcision: context, criteria and culture (Part 1)], [[Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS]], [[February 26]], 2007.
*"The decision that Christians need not practice circumcision is recorded in Acts 15; there was never, however, a prohibition of circumcision, and it is practiced by Coptic Christians." [http://www.bartleby.com/65/ci/circumci.html "circumcision"], The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, 2001-05.</ref> It is also practiced by the majority of South Koreans,<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Ku
| first = J.H.
| coauthors = M.E. Kim, N.K. Lee, and Y.H. Park
| year = 2003
| title = Circumcision practice patterns in South Korea: community based survey
| journal = Sexually Transmitted Infections
| volume = 79
| issue = 1
| pages = 65–67
| doi = 10.1136/sti.79.1.65
| id = PMID 12576619
| url = http://sti.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/79/1/65.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-10-03
}}
</ref> Americans,<ref>{{cite paper
| author = Xu, F, L Markowitz, M Sternberg, and S Aral
| title = Prevalence of circumcision in men in the United States: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2002
| publisher = XVI International AIDS Conference
| date = 2006
| url = http://www.iasociety.org/abstract/show.asp?abstract_id=2193307
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref> and Filipinos.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Lee
| first = R.B.
| year = 2005
| title = Circumcision practice in the Philippines: community based study
| journal = Sexually Transmitted Infections
| volume = 81
| issue = 1
| pages = 91
| doi = 10.1136/sti.2004.009993
| id = PMID 15681733
| url = http://sti.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/81/1/91.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-10-03
}}
</ref>
[[Infant]] circumcision is controversial in several English-speaking countries. The [[American Medical Association]] defines “non-therapeutic” circumcision as the non-religious, non-ritualistic, not medically necessary, elective circumcision of male newborns. It states that medical associations in the US, Australia, and Canada do not recommend the routine non-therapeutic circumcision of newborns.<ref name = "CSA:I-99">{{cite web
| year = 1999
| month = December
| url = http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/13585.html
| title = Report 10 of the Council on Scientific Affairs (I-99):Neonatal Circumcision
| format =
| work = 1999 AMA Interim Meeting: Summaries and Recommendations of Council on Scientific Affairs Reports
| pages = 17
| publisher = [[American Medical Association]]
| accessdate = 2006-06-13
}}
</ref> [[Genital integrity]] supporters condemn all infant circumcision as male [[genital modification and mutilation|genital mutilation]] comparable to [[female genital cutting]],<ref name = "Milos">{{cite journal
| last = Milos
| first = Marilyn Fayre
| coauthors = Donna Macris
| year = 1992
| month = March-April
| title = Circumcision: A medical or a human rights issue?
| journal = Journal of Nurse-Midwifery
| volume = 37
| issue = 2 S1
| pages = S87–S96
| pmid = 1573462
| doi = 10.1016/0091-2182(92)90012-R
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/ethics/milos-macris/
| accessdate = 2007-04-06
}}
</ref> while [[circumcision advocacy|proponents of circumcision]] consider that infant circumcision is a worthwhile public health measure.<ref name="Schoen">{{cite journal
| last = Schoen
| first = Edgar J
| year = 1997
| title = Benefits of newborn circumcision: is Europe ignoring medical evidence?
| journal = Archives of Disease in Childhood
| volume = 77
| issue = 3
| pages = 258-260
| pmid = 9370910
| format = (free registration required)
| url = http://adc.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/77/3/258
| accessdate = 2007-04-06
}}
</ref>

Three randomised trials carried out in African areas of high HIV infection have provided evidence that a man's risk of acquiring HIV through heterosexual intercourse is halved if he is circumcised.<ref name = "Newell">{{cite journal
| last = Newell
| first = Marie-Lousie
| coauthors = Till Bärnighausen
| date = [[February 24]], [[2007]]
| title = Male circumcision to cut HIV risk in the general population
| journal = [[The Lancet]]
| volume = 369
| issue = 9562
| pages = 617–619
| pmid = 17321292
| doi = DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60288-8
| url = http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/0140-6736/PIIS0140673607602888.pdf
|format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-04-01
}}
</ref><ref name="baileyrct">{{cite journal
| last = Bailey
| first = Robert C
| coauthors = Stephen Moses, Corette B Parker, Kawango Agot, Ian Maclean, John N Krieger, Carolyn F M Williams, Richard T Campbell, Jeckoniah O Ndinya-Achola
| date = [[February 24]], [[2007]]
| title = Male circumcision for HIV prevention in young men in Kisumu, Kenya: a randomised controlled trial
| journal = [[The Lancet]]
| volume = 369
| issue = 9562
| pages = 643–656
| pmid = 17321310
| doi = DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60312-2
| url = http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/0140-6736/PIIS0140673607603122.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-04-01
}}
</ref><ref name="grayrct">{{cite journal
| last = Gray
| first = Ronald H
| coauthors = Godfrey Kigozi, David Serwadda, Frederick Makumbi, Stephen Watya, Fred Nalugoda, Noah Kiwanuka, Lawrence H Moulton, Mohammad A Chaudhary, Michael Z Chen, Nelson K Sewankambo, Fred Wabwire-Mangen, Melanie C Bacon, Carolyn F M Williams, Pius Opendi, Steven J Reynolds, Oliver Laeyendecker, Thomas C Quinn, Maria J Wawer
| date = [[February 24]], [[2007]]
| title = Male circumcision for HIV prevention in men in Rakai, Uganda: a randomised trial
| journal = [[The Lancet]]
| volume = 369
| issue = 9562
| pages = 657–666
| pmid = 17321311
| doi = DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60313-4
| url = http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/0140-6736/PIIS0140673607603134.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-04-01
}}
</ref> although some voice doubt regarding the value of male circumcision in reducing an epidemic.<ref name = "Garenne">{{cite journal
| last = Garenne
| first = Michel
| year = 2006
| month = January
| title = Male Circumcision and HIV Control in Africa
| journal = [[PLoS Medicine]]
| volume = 3
| issue = 1
| pages = e78
| pmid = 16435906
| doi = doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0030078
| url = http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0030078
| accessdate = 2007-04-01
}}
</ref> The World Health Organisation recommended in 2007 that "promoting male circumcision should be recognized as an additional, important strategy for the prevention of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men."<ref name = "WHO HIV 1">{{cite web
| url = http://www.who.int/hiv/mediacentre/MCrecommendations_en.pdf
| title = New Data on Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention: Policy and Programme Implications
| accessdate = 2007-04-01
| date = [[March 28]], [[2007]]
| format = PDF
| publisher = [[World Health Organization]]
}}
</ref>

Circumcision may be used to treat [[balanitis|inflammation of the glans penis]]<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Holman
| first = John R.
| coauthors = Keith A. Stuessi
| year = 1999
| month = [[March 15]],
| title = Adult Circumcision
| journal = American Family Physician
| volume = 59
| issue = 6
| pages = 1514–1518
| doi =
| id = {{ISSN|0002-838X}} PMID 10193593
| url = http://www.aafp.org/afp/990315ap/1514.html
| accessdate = 2006-06-30
}}
</ref> and [[penile cancer]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Carcinoma of the penis: experience from 360 cases |author=Rempelakos A |coauthors=''et al'' |journal=J BUON |year=2004 |month=Jan-Mar |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=51-5 |quote="The surgical treatment which was performed included: circumcision 32 patients"}}</ref> The use of circumcision to treat [[phimosis]] is debated in medical literature.<ref name="dewan">{{cite journal | last = Dewan | first = P.A. | coauthors = Tieu H.C., and Chieng B.S. | year = 1996 | month = August | title = Phimosis: Is circumcision necessary? | journal = Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health | volume = 32 | issue = 4 | pages = 285–289 | id = PMID 8844530}}</ref><ref name="beauge">{{cite journal | last = Beaugé | first = Michel | year = 1997 | month = September/October | title = The causes of adolescent phimosis | journal = British Journal of Sexual Medicine | volume = 26 | url = http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/beauge2/ | accessdate = 2006-06-14}}</ref>

==The procedures of circumcision==
[[Image:Uncircumcised Penis.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Non-circumcised penis, flaccid (left) and erect (right)]]
[[Image:Circumsised penis - Flacid and Erect - High Res.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Circumcised penis, flaccid (left) and erect (right)]]
Circumcision removes the [[foreskin]] from the [[penis]]. For infant circumcision, clamps, such as the [[Gomco clamp]], [[Plastibell]], and Mogen are often used.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Holman
| first = John R.
| coauthors = Evelyn L. Lewis, Robert L. Ringler
| year = 1995
| month = August
| title = Neonatal circumcision techniques - includes patient information sheet
| journal = American Family Physician
| volume = 52
| issue = 2
| pages = 511–520
| id = {{ISSN|0002-838X}} PMID 7625325
| url = http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3225/is_n2_v52/ai_17281985
| accessdate = 2006-06-29
}}
</ref> These clamps are meant to protect the glans while they cut the blood supply to the foreskin and prevent any [[hemostasis|bleeding]]. With the Plastibell clamp, the foreskin and the clamp come away in three to seven days. Before a Gomco clamp is used, a section of skin is crushed with a [[hemostat]] then slit with scissors. The foreskin is drawn over the bell shaped portion of the clamp and inserted through a hole in the base of the clamp. The clamp is then tightened, "crushing the foreskin between the bell and the base plate." The crushing limits the bleeding (provides the hemostasis). With the flared bottom of the bell fit tightly against the hole of the base plate, the foreskin is cut away with a scalpel from above the base plate, while the bell covers the glans to prevent it being reached by the scalpel.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Peleg
| first = David
| coauthors = Ann Steiner
| year = 1998
| month = [[September 15]],
| title = The Gomco Circumcision: Common Problems and Solutions
| journal = American Family Physician
| volume = 58
| issue = 4
| pages = 891–898
| id = {{ISSN|0002-838X}} PMID 9767725
| url = http://www.aafp.org/afp/980915ap/peleg.html
| accessdate = 2006-06-29
}}
</ref>

With a Mogen clamp, the foreskin and the glans are separated with a blunt probe and/or curved hemostat (as with the first part of the Gomco and Plastibell procedure). The foreskin is then grabbed dorsally with a straight hemostat, and lifted up. The Mogen clamp is then slid between the glans and hemostat, following the angle of the corona to "avoid removing excess skin ventrally and to obtain a superior cosmetic result," compared with Gomco or Plastibell circumcisions. The clamp is locked shut, and a scalpel is used to cut the foreskin from the flat (upper) side of the clamp.<ref name="Pfenninger">{{cite book
| last = Pfenninger
| first = John L.
| coauthors = Grant C. Fowler
| title = Procedures for primary care
| origyear = 1994
| origmonth =
| url =
| format =
| accessdate =
| accessyear =
| accessmonth =
| edition = 2nd
| date = [[July 21]], [[2003]]
| year =
| month =
| publisher = Mosby
| location =
| language =
| id = ISBN 978-0-323-00506-7 {{LCCN|2003|0|56227}}
| doi =
| pages =
| chapter =
| chapterurl =
| quote =
}}
</ref><ref name="Reynolds">{{cite journal
| last = Reynolds
| first = RD
| year = 1996
| month = July
| title = Use of the Mogen clamp for neonatal circumcision
| journal = American Family Physician
| volume = 54
| issue = 1
| pages = 177–182
| doi =
| id = PMID 8677833
| url =
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-18
}}
</ref>

The frenulum is cut if frenular chordee is evident.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Griffin A, Kroovand R |title=Frenular chordee: implications and treatment |journal=Urology |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=133-4 |year=1990 |id=PMID 2305537}}</ref><ref name = "Shechet" />

==Cultures and religions==
Some cultures circumcise their males either shortly after birth, in childhood or around puberty, when it may be part of a rite of passage. Geographically, circumcision is prevalent in Muslim countries, the United States, the Philippines and South Korea. It is less prevalent in Europe, Latin America, China and India. Among religious groups, circumcision is most prevalent among [[Jew]]s and [[Muslim]]s.

===Judaism===
{{main|Brit milah}}
{{see also|Circumcision in the Bible}}

Circumcision is a fundamental rite of [[Judaism]]. An essential component of Jewish practice, it is a positive [[613 mitzvot|commandment]] obligatory under [[halakha|Jewish law]] for Jewish males, and is only postponed or abrogated in the case of threat to the life or health of the child.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Glass
| first = J.M.
| year = 1999
| month = January
| title = Religious circumcision: a Jewish view
| journal = BJU International
| volume = 83
| issue = Supplement 1
| pages = 17–21
| doi = doi:10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1017.x
| id = PMID 10766529
| url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1017.x
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
}}
</ref> It is usually performed in a ceremony called a ''[[Brit milah]]'' (or ''Bris milah'', colloquially simply ''bris'') ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] for "Covenant of circumcision"). A ''[[mohel]]'' performs the ceremony on the eighth day after birth unless health reasons force a delay. According to the [[Torah]] ([[Genesis]], chapter 17 verses 9-14), [[God]] commanded [[Abraham]] to circumcise himself, his offspring and his slaves as a sign of an everlasting covenant. According to Jewish law, failure to follow the commandment carries the penalty of ''karet'', or being cut off from the community by God. ''Brit milah'' is considered to be so important that should the eighth day fall on [[Shabbat|the Sabbath]], actions that would normally be forbidden because of the sanctity of the day are permitted in order to fulfill the requirement to circumcise. The expressly ritual element of circumcision in Judaism, as distinguished from its non-ritual requirement in Islam, is shown by the requirement that a child who either is born [[Aposthia|aposthetic]] (without a foreskin) or who has been circumcised without the ritual must nevertheless undergo a ''Brit milah'' in which a drop of blood (''hatafat-dam'', הטפת דם) is drawn from the penis at the point where the foreskin would have been or was attached.<ref>[[Shulchan Aruch]], [[Yoreh De'ah]], 263:4</ref>

Less commonly practised, and more controversial, is ''[[metzitzah b'peh]]'', or oral suction,<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=11539
| title = City Risking Babies' Lives With Brit Policy: Health Experts
| accessdate = 2007-04-19
| last = Nussbaum Cohen
| first = Debra
| date = [[October 14]], [[2005]]
| publisher = [[The Jewish Week]]
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=11833&print=yes
| title = City Challenged On Ritual Practice
| accessdate = 2007-04-19
| last = Nussbaum Cohen
| first = Debra
| coauthors = Larry Cohler-Esses
| date = [[December 23]], [[2005]]
| publisher = [[The Jewish Week]]
}}
</ref> where the ''[[mohel]]'' sucks blood from the circumcision wound. The traditional reason for this procedure is to promote healing,<ref>[[Talmud Bavli]] Tractate Shabbos 133b: Rav Pappa said, “A mohel who does not perform metzitzah endangers the baby and is dismissed.”
</ref><ref>{{cite news
| first = Mordechai
| last = Halperin
| authorlink = Mordechai Halperin
| coauthors = (translated by Yocheved Lavon)
| title = Metzitzah B’peh Controversy: The View from Israel
| url = http://www.ou.org/jewish_action/article/8987
| work = Jewish Action 67(2)
| publisher = [[Orthodox Union]]
| id = {{ISSN|0447-7049}} {{OCLC|5763983}}
| pages = 25, 33–39
| date = Winter 2006
| accessdate = 2007-02-15
| quote = The original technique for the performance of metzitzah employs the human mouth. The mohel brings the baby’s organ into his mouth immediately after the excision of the foreskin and sucks blood from it vigorously. This action lowers the internal pressure in the tissues of the organ, in the blood vessels of the head of the organ and in the exposed ends of the arterioles that have just been cut. Thus, the difference between the pressure in the blood vessels in the base of the organ and the pressure in the blood vessels at its tip is increased. This requirement has deep religious significance as well as medical benefits.…The Gemara states that the requirement of metzitzah stems from medical considerations; it is meant to minimize risk to the infant’s life and health}}
</ref> though the practice has been implicated in the spreading of herpes to the infant.<ref name = "Gesundheit">{{cite journal
| last = Gesundheit
| first = B.
| coauthors = et al.
| year = 2004
| month = August
| title = Neonatal Genital Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection After Jewish Ritual Circumcision: Modern Medicine and Religious Tradition
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 114
| issue = 2
| pages = e259–e263
| id = {{ISSN|1098-4275}}
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/114/2/e259.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-06-28
}}
</ref> Today, if it is performed, the mohel generally uses a sterilized glass tube.<ref name = "RCAMetzitzah">{{cite web
| url = http://www.rabbis.org/news/article.cfm?id=100605
| title = Metzitza Be'Peh - Halachic Clarification
| accessdate = 2007-04-06
| date = [[June 7]], [[2005]]
| publisher = [[Rabbinical Council of America]]
| quote = The poskim consulted by the RCA…agree that the normative halacha undoubtedly permits the third view [using a glass tube], and that it is proper for mohalim to conduct themselves in this way given the health issues involved in the fourth view.…However, although Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik also generally prohibited metzitza be’peh with direct oral contact, he did not ban it by those who insisted upon it, and neither does the RCA advocate any such ban. Those who wish to follow their customs in accordance with the above-noted authorities are certainly entitled to do so, but the RCA is firmly of the opinion that in light of current realities and medical knowledge it is proper, and preferable, to use a tube.
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite news
|first = Kelly
|last = Hartog
|url = http://www.jewishjournal.com/home/preview.php?id=13676
|title = Death Spotlights Old Circumcision Rite
|publisher = [[The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles]]
|date = [[February 18]] [[2005]]
|accessdate = 2006-11-22
|quote = Metzizah b’peh — loosely translated as oral suction — is the part of the circumcision ceremony where the mohel removes the blood from the baby’s member; these days the removal of the blood is usually done using a sterilized glass tube, instead of with the mouth, as the Talmud suggests.
}}</ref>

===Christianity===
[[Christianity]] does not prescribe [[Circumcision in the Bible|circumcision]]. The [[Council of Jerusalem|first Church Council in Jerusalem]] decided that circumcision was not a requirement ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2015 Acts 15]). [[Paul of Tarsus|St. Paul]] had Timothy circumcised ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2016:1-3 Acts 16:1-3]) but in his letters he warned gentile Christians against adopting the practice ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%206:12-16 Galatians 6:12-16], [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%203:2-3 Philippians 3:2-3]). Individual Christians and Christian traditions may have different customs. For example, circumcision is customary among members of three of the [[Oriental Orthodox]] Churches, the [[Coptic Christian|Coptic Orthodox]], [[Ethiopian Orthodox]], and [[Eritrean Orthodox]] churches in their home countries, as well as some other African churches.<ref name=Christian/> On [[1 January]], the Catholic Church used to celebrate the [[Circumcision of Christ]]. This has been superseded by the [[Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God]]. The [[Catholic Church]] condemned the observance of circumcision as a [[mortal sin]] and ordered against its practice in the [[Council of Florence|Council of Basel-Florence]] in 1442.<ref name = "CoF">{{cite book
| last = Eugenius IV
| first = Pope
| authorlink = Pope Eugene IV
| editor = Norman P. Tanner ed.
| title = Decrees of the ecumenical councils
| origyear = 1442
| url =
| format =
| accessdate = 2007-04-25
| series = 2 volumes
| year = 1990
| publisher = [[Georgetown University Press]]
| location = [[Washington, DC]]
| isbn = 0878404902
| oclc =
| language = English, Greek, and Latin
| id = {{LCCN|90|00|3209}}
| pages =
| chapter = ECCUMENICAL COUNCIL OF FLORENCE (1438-1445): Session 11—4 February 1442; Bull of union with the Copts
| chapterurl = http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/FLORENCE.HTM#5
| quote = It firmly believes, professes and teaches that the legal prescriptions of the old Testament or the Mosaic law, which are divided into ceremonies, holy sacrifices and sacraments, because they were instituted to signify something in the future, although they were adequate for the divine cult of that age, once our lord Jesus Christ who was signified by them had come, came to an end and the sacraments of the new Testament had their beginning.…But it asserts that after the promulgation of the gospel they cannot be observed without loss of eternal salvation. Therefore it denounces all who after that time observe circumcision, the sabbath and other legal prescriptions as strangers to the faith of Christ and unable to share in eternal salvation, unless they recoil at some time from these errors. Therefore it strictly orders all who glory in the name of Christian, not to practise circumcision either before or after baptism, since whether or not they place their hope in it, it cannot possibly be observed without loss of eternal salvation.
}}
</ref> Anglican and Lutheran churches have also renamed the Feast of the Circumcision in their liturgical calendars as, for example, the Holy Name of Jesus.<ref> For example, "The Calendar of the Church Year" in The (Online) Book of Common Prayer (Episcopal Church in the United States of America), http://www.bcponline.org/ retrieved [[11 October]] [[2006]].</ref>

===Islam===
The origin of circumcision in [[Islam]] is a matter of religious and scholarly debate. It is mentioned in some parts of the [[Hadith]], but not in the [[Qur'an]]. [[Fiqh]] scholars have different opinions about circumcision in [[Shariah]], depending on which Hadith are accepted and how they are interpreted. According to some it is ''recommended'' ([[Sunnah]]); according to others, it is ''obligatory''.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=9412&dgn=4
| title = Question #9412: Circumcision: how it is done and the rulings on it
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| last = Al-Munajjid
| first = Muhammed Salih
| publisher = Islam Q&A
}}
</ref> Some have quoted the [[Hadith]] to argue that the requirement of circumcision is based on the covenant with [[Abraham]].<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.islam-qa.com/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=7073&dgn=3
| title = Question #7073: The health and religious benefits of circumcision
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| last = Al-Munajjid
| first = Muhammed Salih
| publisher = Islam Q&A
}}
</ref>

The timing of Muslim circumcision varies. Turkish, [[Balkan]], rural Egyptians and Central and South Asian Muslims typically circumcise boys between the ages of six and eleven and traditionally the event may be a joyous occasion and celebrated with sweets and feasting. However, in the middle class it is more usually done in infancy and is largely unremarked upon. In Turkey the celebratory feast is called "Sünnet Düğünü", or "Circumcision Feast/Celebration" and is considered a very important celebration in man's life as a passage to a manhood.<ref>Hamdullah Aydın, M.D. and Zeynep Gülçat, Ph.D., "Turkey," in ''The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality'', http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/turkey.html retrieved [[11 October]] [[2006]].</ref> In [[Pakistan]], Muslims may be circumcised at all ages from the newborn period to adulthood, though the medical profession has encouraged medical circumcisions in the first week after birth to reduce complications: "Circumcision is performed by barbers, medical technicians, quacks and doctors including paediatric surgeon[s] [and as] yet there is no consensus for the best age and method."<ref>Iftikhar Ahmad Jan, "Circumcision in babies and children with Plastibell technique: An easy procedure with minimal complications - Experience of 316 cases," Pak J Med Sci 2004, 20(3) 175-180.</ref> In Iran, Dr. Paula Drew states that “circumcision, which formerly celebrated the onset of manhood, has for many years now been more customarily performed at the age of 5 or 6 for children born at home, and at two days old for those born in a medical setting.…By puberty, all Muslim Iranian boys must be circumcised if they are to participate fully in religious activities.”<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
| last = Drew
| first = Paula E.
| coauthors = F. A. Sadeghpour and anonymous
| editor = [[Robert T. Francoeur]]
| encyclopedia = The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality
| title = Iran
| url = http://www2.hu-berlin.de/sexology/IES/iran.html
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
| publisher = Continuum Publishing Company
| location = [[New York, NY]]
}}
</ref> Kamyar ''et al'' describe circumcision as an "obligatory custom" and note that it is not necessary for the circumciser to be a Muslim.<ref>Kamyar M. Hedayat, MD and Roya Pirzadeh, MD, "Issues in Islamic Biomedical Ethics: A Primer for the Pediatrician," ''Pediatrics'' Vol. 108 No. [[4 October]] [[2001]], pp. 965-971, http://imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?print=3107 retrieved [[11 October]] [[2006]].</ref>

===Other faiths and traditions===
[[Bahai Faith|Bahá'ís]] do not have any particular tradition or rituals regarding male circumcision, but view female circumcision as mutilation.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.bahai.org.nz/public/patientisbahai.htm
| title = WHEN YOUR PATIENT IS A BAHA'I
| accessdate = 2007-01-30
| publisher = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New Zealand
| quote = Bahá'ís are not advised on a particular course of action in respect to circumcision of males; circumcision of females is considered mutilation.
}}</ref>

The [[Druze]] have no male circumcision in their religion,<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.semp.us/biots/biot_176.html
| title = Who Are the Druze?
| accessdate = 2007-01-30
| date = [[February 17]], [[2005]]
| work = SEMP Biot #176
| publisher = Suburban Emergency Management Project
}}</ref> although, according to one source, it is a practiced among those living in urban areas or outside the Middle East, mainly for hygienic reasons.[http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Druze.html]

There is no specific reference to male circumcision in the Hindu holy books [http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1989/02/1989-02-09.shtml], and Hindus in India generally do not practice circumcision. [http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/326/7403/1389]

[[Sikh]] male infants are not circumcised.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.kyha.com/documents/CG-Sikh.pdf
| title = Guidelines for health Care Providers Interacting with Patients of the Sikh Religion and their Families
| accessdate = 2007-05-01
| publisher =Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council
| date = November 2000
}}</ref>

Circumcision in South Korea is largely the result of American cultural and military influence following the [[Korean War]]. The origin of circumcision in the Philippines is uncertain. One newspaper article speculates that it is due to the influence of western colonizers.<ref>{{cite news
|first = Rommel G.
|last = Rebollido
|url = http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2005/03/21/feat/passage.to.manhood.html
|title = Passage to manhood
|work = General Santos
|publisher = Sun Star Publishing, Inc.
|date = [[March 21]], [[2005]]
|accessdate = 2006-07-01
|language =
}}
</ref> However, [[Antonio de Morga]]'s [[17th century|seventeenth century]] ''History of the Philippine Islands'', speculates that it is due to Islamic influence.<ref>{{cite book
| last = de Morga
| first = Antonio
| others = Translated by Alfonso de Salvio, Norman F. Hall, and James Alexander Robertson
| title = History of the Philippine Islands
| origyear = 1609
| url = http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/resources/english/etext-project/history/philippine/index.htm
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| date = 1907
| id = {{LCCN|unk82|0|42869}}
| chapter = 11
| chapterurl = http://www.nalanda.nitc.ac.in/resources/english/etext-project/history/philippine/chapter11.html
| quote = These Borneans are Mahometans, and were already introducing their religion among the natives of Luzon, and were giving them instructions, ceremonies, and the form of observing their religion.…and those the chiefest men, were commencing, although by piecemeal, to become Moros, and were being circumcised and taking the names of Moros.}}</ref> In West Africa infant circumcision may have had tribal significance as a rite of passage or otherwise in the past; today in some non-Muslim Nigerian societies it is medicalised and is simply a cultural norm.<ref>Ajuwon et al., "Indigenous surgical practices in rural southwestern Nigeria: Implications for disease," Health Educ. Res..1995; 10: 379-384 Health Educ. Res..1995; 10: 379-384 Retrieved [[3 October]] [[2006]]</ref> In early 2007 it was announced that rural aidpost orderlies in the East Sepik Province of Papua New Guinea are to undergo training in the circumcision of men and boys of all ages with a view to introducing the procedure as a means of prophylaxis against HIV/AIDS, which is becoming a significant problem in the country.<ref>{{cite web
| title = "PNG circumcision campaign hopes to halt HIV,"
| publisher = ABC Radio Australia citing the ''Papua New Guinea Post-Courier''
| url = http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/s1842948.htm
| format = htm
| date = 2007-02-08, 14:21:13,
}}</ref>

Circumcision is part of [[initiation rite]]s in some African, Pacific Islander, and Australian aboriginal [[traditions]] in remote areas, such as Arnhem Land,<ref>{{cite paper
| author = Aaron David Samuel Corn
| title = Ngukurr Crying: Male Youth in a Remote Indigenous Community
| version = Working Paper Series No. 2
| publisher = [[University of Wollongong]]
| date = 2001
| url = http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sealcp/wkgpapers/wp2.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
}}
</ref> where the practice was introduced by Makassan traders from Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.mfgsc.vic.edu.au/greenturtledreaming/EKmigrate.htm
| title = Migration and Trade
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
| publisher = Green Turtle Dreaming
| quote = In exchange for turtles and trepang the Makassans introduced tobacco, the practice of circumcision and knowledge to build sea-going canoes.
}}
</ref> Circumcision ceremonies among certain Australian aboriginal societies are noted for their painful nature, including [[subincision]] for some aboriginal peoples in the Western Desert.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Jones
| first = IH
| year = 1969
| month = June
| title = Subincision among Australian western desert Aborigines
| journal = British Journal of Medical Psychology
| volume = 42
| issue = 2
| pages = 183–190
| doi =
| id = {{ISSN|0007-1129}} PMID 5783777
}}
</ref>
In the Pacific, ritual circumcision is nearly universal in the Melanesian islands of [[Fiji]] and [[Vanuatu]];<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.aids.net.au/aids-png-project-20060403.htm
| title = RECENT GUEST SPEAKER
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| year = 2006
| publisher = Australian AIDS Fund Incorporated
}}
</ref> participation in the traditional land diving on [[Pentecost Island]] is reserved for those who have been circumcised.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.getaway.co.nz/destination.asp?id=34
| title = Weird & Wonderful
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| publisher = United Travel
}}
</ref> Circumcision is also commonly practised in the Polynesian islands of [[Samoa]], [[Tonga]], [[Niue]], and [[Tikopia]]. In Samoa, it is accompanied by a celebration. Among some West African animist groups, such as the [[Dogon]] and [[Dowayo]], it is taken to represent a removal of "feminine" aspects of the male, turning boys into fully masculine males.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.necep.net/articles.php?id_soc=12&id_article=84
| title = Circumcision amongst the Dogon
| accessdate = 2006-09-03
| year = 2006
| publisher = The Non-European Components of European Patrimony (NECEP) Database
}}
</ref> Although in many West African traditional societies circumcision has become medicalised and is simply performed in infancy without ado or any particular conscious cultural significance, among the Urhobo people of southern Nigeria it is symbolic of a boy entering into manhood. The ritual expression, ''Omo te Oshare'' ("the boy is now man"), constitutes a rite of passage from one age set to another.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Agberia
| first = John Tokpabere
| year = 2006
| title = Aesthetics and Rituals of the Opha Ceremony among the Urhobo People
| journal = Journal of Asian and African Studies
| volume = 41
| issue = 3
| pages = 249-260
| doi = 10.1177/0021909606063880
| url = http://jas.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/41/3/249.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
}}
</ref> For [[Nilotic]] peoples, such as the [[Kalenjin]] and [[Maasai]], circumcision is a rite of passage observed collectively by a number of boys every few years, and boys circumcised at the same time are taken to be members of a single [[age set]].<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.masaikenya.org/
| title = Masai of Kenya
| accessdate = 2007-04-06
| quote = Authority derives from the age-group and the age-set. Prior to circumcision a natural leader or olaiguenani is selected; he leads his age-group through a series of rituals until old age, sharing responsibility with a select few, of whom the ritual expert (oloiboni) is the ultimate authority. Masai youths are not circumcised until they are mature, and a new age-set is initiated together at regular intervals of twelve to fifteen years. The young warriors (ilmurran) remain initiates for some time, using blunt arrows to hunt small birds which are stuffed and tied to a frame to form a head-dress.
}}
</ref>

==Ethical issues==
{{main|Bioethics of neonatal circumcision}}

Circumcising infants is controversial. [[Circumcision advocacy|Those advocating circumcision]] assert that circumcision is a significant public health measure, preventing infections, and slowing down the spread of [[AIDS]].<ref name = "ANRS">{{cite journal
| last = Auvert
| first = Bertran
| coauthors = Dirk Taljaard, Emmanuel Lagarde, Joëlle Sobngwi-Tambekou, Rémi Sitta, Adrian Puren
| year = 2005
| month = November
| title = Randomized, Controlled Intervention Trial of Male Circumcision for Reduction of HIV Infection Risk: The ANRS 1265 Trial
| journal = PLoS Medicine
| volume = 2
| issue = 11
| pages = 1112–1122
| doi = 10.1371/journal.pmed.0020298
| id = PMID 16231970
| url = http://medicine.plosjournals.org/archive/1549-1676/2/11/pdf/10.1371_journal.pmed.0020298-S.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> [[genital integrity|Those opposing circumcision]], however, question the legality of infant circumcision by asserting that infant circumcision is a [[human rights violation]] or a [[sexual assault]].<ref>{{cite book
| last = Sommerville
| first = Margaret
| title = The ethical canary: science, society, and the human spirit
| url =
| accessdate = 2007-02-12
| year = 2000
| month = November
| publisher = [[Viking Press|Viking Penguin Canada]]
| location = [[New York, NY]]
| isbn = 0670893021
| id = {{LCCN|2001||369341}}
| pages = 202–219
| chapter = Altering Baby Boys’ Bodies: The Ethics of Infant Male Circumcision

| chapterurl = http://www.intact.ca/canary.htm
| quote =
}}
</ref><ref name = "VanHoweLegal">{{cite journal
| last = Van Howe
| first = R.S.
| coauthors = J.S. Svoboda, J.G. Dwyer, and C.P. Price
| year = 1999
| month = January
| title = Involuntary circumcision: the legal issues
| journal = BJU International
| volume = 83
| issue = Supp1
| pages = 63–73
| issn =
| pmid = 10349416
| doi = 10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1063.x
| id =
| url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1063.x
| language =
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-02-12
}}
</ref>

===Consent===
Views differ on whether limits should be placed on caregivers having a child circumcised. One argument is that male circumcision is ethically identical to [[female genital cutting]]. It questions why the genital cutting of males is allowed while the genital cutting of females is prohibited.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.fgmnetwork.org/intro/mgmfgm.html
| title = Similarities in Attitudes and Misconceptions toward Infant Male Circumcision in North America and Ritual Female Genital Mutilation in Africa.
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| last = Lightfoot-Klein
| first = Hanny
| year = 2003
| publisher = The FGC Education and Networking Project
}}
</ref> Another argument is that as it is his body, any decision to circumcise should only be made by the owner of the foreskin when he reaches adulthood.

Others argue that there is no convincing evidence of sexual or emotional harm, and that there are greater monetary and psychological costs in circumcising later rather than in infancy.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://bioethics.net/journal/pdf/3_2_LT_w01_Benetar.pdf |first=David |last=Benatar |coauthors=Benatar, Michael |title=How not to argue about circumcision |journal=American Journal of
Bioethics |volume=3 |issue=2 |year=2003 |pages=W1-W9}}</ref> New research however, shows that the five most sensitive parts of the penis are on the removed foreskin. <ref name = "SSACU2007">{{cite journal
| last = Binik, Carrier, Kukkonen, et. al
| coauthors =
| year = 2007
| month = [[April 1]],
| title = Sensation and Sexual Arousal in Circumcised and Uncircumcised Men
| journal = The Journal of Sexual Medicine
| volume = 4
| issue = 3
| pages = 667–674
| doi = doi:10.1111/j.1743-6109.2007.00471.x
| id =
| url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2007.00471.x
| format = HTML
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref> But still, many are concerned that restrictions on circumcision would cut across the religious or cultural rites and practices of Jews, Muslims, and others or limit the traditional right of parents to have their child circumcised.

A number of medical associations accept that the parents should determine what is in the best interest of the infant or child,<ref name = "AAP1999">{{cite journal
| last = Task Force on Circumcision
| coauthors =
| year = 1999
| month = [[March 1]],
| title = Circumcision Policy Statement
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 103
| issue = 3
| pages = 686–693
| doi = 10.1542/peds.103.3.686
| id = {{ISSN|0031-4005}} PMID 10049981
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/pediatrics;103/3/686.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref><ref name = "CSA:I-99" /> though the [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] (RACP) and the [[British Medical Association]] (BMA) observe that controversy exists on this issue.<ref name = "RACPSumm">{{cite web
| url = http://www.racp.edu.au/download.cfm?DownloadFile=A453CFA1-2A57-5487-DF36DF59A1BAF527
| title = Policy Statement On Circumcision
| accessdate = 2007-02-28
| year = 2004
| month = September
| format = PDF
| publisher = [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]]
| pages =
| language =
| archiveurl =
| archivedate =
| quote = The Paediatrics and Child Health Division, The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) has prepared this statement on routine circumcision of infants and boys to assist parents who are considering having this procedure undertaken on their male children and for doctors who are asked to advise on or undertake it. After extensive review of the literature the RACP reaffirms that '''there is no medical indication for routine neonatal circumcision.''' Circumcision of males has been undertaken for religious and cultural reasons for many thousands of years. It remains an important ritual in some religious and cultural groups.…In recent years there has been evidence of possible health benefits from routine male circumcision. The most important conditions where some benefit may result from circumcision are urinary tract infections, HIV and later cancer of the penis.…The complication rate of neonatal circumcision is reported to be around 1% to 5% and includes local infection, bleeding and damage to the penis. Serious complications such as bleeding, septicaemia and meningitis may occasionally cause death. The possibility that routine circumcision may contravene human rights has been raised because circumcision is performed on a minor and is without proven medical benefit. Whether these legal concerns are valid will be known only if the matter is determined in a court of law. If the operation is to be performed, the medical attendant should ensure this is done by a competent operator, using appropriate anaesthesia and in a safe child-friendly environment. In all cases where parents request a circumcision for their child the medical attendant is obliged to provide accurate information on the risks and benefits of the procedure. Up-to-date, unbiased written material summarising the evidence should be widely available to parents. Review of the literature in relation to risks and benefits shows there is no evidence of benefit outweighing harm for circumcision as a routine procedure in the neonate.
}}
</ref><ref name = "BMAGuide">{{cite web
| url = http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/malecircumcision2006?OpenDocument&Highlight=2,circumcision
| title = The law and ethics of male circumcision - guidance for doctors
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| author = Medical Ethics Committee
| year = 2006
| month = June
| publisher = [[British Medical Association]]
}}
</ref> The BMA insists that a circumcision must not go ahead without the consent of both parents and the competent child.<ref name = "BMAGuide" />

===Emotional consequences===
Goldman discussed the extent to which circumcision may cause emotional harm to males.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Goldman
| first = R.
| year = 1999
| month = January
| title = The psychological impact of circumcision
| journal = BJU International
| volume = 83
| issue = S1
| pages = 93–102
| doi = 10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1093.x
| id =
| url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1093.x
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-02
}}
</ref> Some organizations have been formed as support groups for men who are upset with being circumcised.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.norm.org/
| title = National Organization of Restoring Men
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| year = 2006
}}
</ref>

===Legality===
{{main|Circumcision and law}}

Traditionally, Circumcision has been presumed to be legal when performed by a trained operator.

In 2001, [[Sweden]] passed a law restricting the performance of neo-natal circumcisions to persons certified by the National Board of Health. This law requires that a medical doctor or an anesthesia nurse accompany the circumcisor, and that anaesthetic be applied prior to the procedure. Most Jewish [[mohel]]s have been so certified.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51583.htm
| title = Sweden
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| author = Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
| date = [[November 8]], [[2005]]
| work = International Religious Freedom Report 2005
| publisher = US Department of State
}}
</ref> Jews and Muslims in Sweden objected to the law,<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1572483.stm
| title = Sweden restricts circumcisions
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
| date = [[October 1]], [[2001]]
| publisher = [[BBC|BBC Europe]]
| quote = Swedish Jews and Muslims object to the new law, saying it violates their religious rights.
}}
</ref> and the [[World Jewish Congress]] stated that it was “the first legal restriction on Jewish religious practice in Europe since the Nazi era.”<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.canadiancrc.com/articles/Jews_Protest_Swedish_Circumcision_Restriction_07JUN01.htm
| title = Jews protest Swedish circumcision restriction
| accessdate = 2006-10-18
| author = [[Reuters]]
| date = [[June 7]], [[2001]]
| publisher = Canadian Children's Rights Council
| quote = A WJC spokesman said, ‘This is the first legal restriction placed on a Jewish rite in Europe since the Nazi era. This new legislation is totally unacceptable to the Swedish Jewish community.’
}}
</ref>

==Pain and pain relief during circumcision==

According to a 1998 study, 45% of physicians used anaesthesia for infant circumcisions. Dorsal penile nerve block was the most commonly used form. Obstetricians had a significantly lower rate of anaesthesia use (25%) than pediatricians (71%) or family practitioners (56%).<ref name = "Stang">{{cite journal
| last = Stang
| first = Howard J.
| coauthors = Leonard W. Snellman
| year = 1998
| month = June
| title = Circumcision Practice Patterns in the United States
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 101
| issue = 6
| pages = e5–
| doi = 10.1542/peds.101.6.e5
| id = {{ISSN|1098-4275}}
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/101/6/e5.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-06-29
}}
</ref>

A study by Taddio showed that infants are affected by the pain of circumcision. It found a correlation between circumcision and intensity of pain response during [[vaccination]] months later. While the researchers stated that their results were "speculative" and suggested that "analgesia should be routine for circumcision" to avoid long-term effects in pain responses,<ref name = "Taddio">{{cite journal
| last = Taddio
| first = Anna
| coauthors = Joel Katz, A Lane Ilersich, [[Gideon Koren]]
| year = 1997
| month = March
| title = Effect of neonatal circumcision on pain response during subsequent routine vaccination
| journal = [[The Lancet]]
| volume = 349
| issue = 9052
| pages = 599–603
| doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(96)10316-0
| id =
| url = http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/0140-6736/PIIS0140673696103160.pdf
| format = PDF — free registration required
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref> Taddio's paper was referred to in the American Academy of Pediatrics' 1999 Circumcision Policy Statement, which, for the first time recommended the use of pain relief for circumcision.[http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics%3b103/3/686]

In 1999, J.M. Glass in referring to Jewish circumcisions stated, "As the procedure is so quick, most ''mohelim'' do not routinely use any anaesthesia as they feel there is probably no need in the neonate. However, there is no Talmudic objection and should the parents wish for local anaesthetic cream to be applied there is no reason why this cannot be done." <ref>{{cite journal
| last = Glass
| first = J.M.
| year = 1999
| month = January
| title = Religious circumcision: a Jewish view
| journal = BJU International
| volume = 83
| issue = Supplement 1
| pages = 17–21
| doi = doi:10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1017.x
| id = PMID 10766529
| url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.0830s1017.x
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-04-25
}}
</ref> According to Tannenbaum and Shechet an “authentic, traditional [[Brit milah|bris]] performed by a [[mohel]] does not use clamps, so there is no pain associated with crushing tissue.”<ref name = "Shechet">{{cite journal
| last = Shechet
| first = Jacob
| coauthors = Barton Tanenbaum
| year = 2000
| title = Circumcision---The Debates Goes On
| journal = [[Pediatrics]]
| volume = 105
| issue = 3
| pages = 682–683
| pmid = 10733391
| doi = doi:10.1542/peds.105.3.681
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/105/3/681.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-04-06
}}
</ref> They also asserted that due to the speed of the procedure and rarity of complication, it is “more humane not to subject the infant to a local anesthetic.”<ref name = "Shechet" />.

==Sexual Effects==
{{main|Sexual effects of circumcision}}

The American Academy of Pediatrics (1999) stated "a survey of adult males using self-report suggests more varied sexual practice and less sexual dysfunction in circumcised adult men. There are anecdotal reports that penile sensation and sexual satisfaction are decreased for circumcised males. [[Masters and Johnson]] noted no difference in exteroceptive and light tactile discrimination on the ventral or dorsal surfaces of the glans penis between circumcised and uncircumcised men."<ref name = "AAP1999" /> In January 2007, The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) stated "The effect of circumcision on penile sensation or sexual satisfaction is unknown. Because the epithelium of a circumcised glans becomes cornified, and because some feel nerve over-stimulation leads to desensitization, many believe that the glans of a circumcised penis is less sensitive. Opinions differ about how this decreased sensitivity, which may result in prolonged time to orgasm, affects sexual satisfaction. An investigation of the exteroceptive and light tactile discrimination of the glans of circumcised and uncircumcised men found no difference on comparison. No valid evidence to date, however, supports the notion that being circumcised affects sexual sensation or satisfaction."<ref name = "AAFP" />

Boyle ''et al.'' (2002) argued that circumcision and frenectomy remove tissues with "heightened erogenous sensitivity," stating "the genitally intact male has thousands of fine touch receptors and other highly erogenous nerve endings—many of which are lost to circumcision."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=hss_pubs |title=Male circumcision: pain, trauma, and psychosexual sequelae |first=Gregory J |last=Boyle |coauthors=Svoboda, J Steven; Goldman, Ronald; Fernandez, Ephrem |publisher=Bond University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences |year=2002}}</ref>. They concluded, "Evidence has also started to accumulate that male circumcision may result in lifelong physical, sexual, and sometimes psychological harm as well."

==Medical aspects==
{{main|Medical analysis of circumcision}}

The medical risks and potential benefits of neonatal circumcision have been studied. The [[British Medical Association]], states that “there is significant disagreement about whether circumcision is overall a beneficial, neutral or harmful procedure. At present, the medical literature on the health, including sexual health, implications of circumcision is contradictory, and often subject to claims of bias in research.”<ref name = "BMAGuide" /> Studies making [[Medical analysis of circumcision#Costs and Benefits|cost-benefit analyses]] comparing circumcision complications with the potential gain in expected longevity, and the medical costs of circumcision compared with the expected reduction in lifetime health costs have varied. Some found a small net benefit,<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Schoen
| first = Edgar J.
| coauthors = Christopher J. Colby, Trinh T. To
| year = 2006
| month = March
| title = Cost Analysis of Neonatal Circumcision in a Large Health Maintenance Organization
| journal = The Journal of Urology
| volume = 175
| issue = 3
| pages = 1111–1115
| doi = 10.1016/S0022-5347(05)00399-X
| id = PMID 16469634
| url = http://www.jurology.com/article/PIIS002253470500399X/abstract
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Alanis
| first = Mark C.
| coauthors = Richard S. Lucidi
| year = 2004
| month = May
| title = Neonatal Circumcision: A Review of the World’s Oldest and Most Controversial Operation
| journal = Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey
| volume = 59
| issue = 5
| pages = 379-395
| doi =
| id = PMID 15097799
| url = http://www.obgynsurvey.com/pt/re/obgynsurv/abstract.00006254-200405000-00026.htm;jsessionid=FbJT6LYnQxr66KhvWNsBW0msy7SHpJgL39wbFTGLnQpzJ82BGLVQ!1096339265!-949856144!8091!-1
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-09-27
}}
</ref> some found a small net decrement,<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Van Howe
| first = Robert S.
| year = 2004
| month = November
| title = A Cost-Utility Analysis of Neonatal Circumcision
| journal = Medical Decision Making
| volume = 24
| issue = 6
| pages = 584–601
| doi = 10.1177/0272989X04271039
| id = PMID 15534340
| url = http://mdm.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/24/6/584
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Ganiats
| first = TG
| coauthors = Humphrey JB, Taras HL, Kaplan RM.
| year = 1991
| month = Oct–Dec
| title = Routine neonatal circumcision: a cost-utility analysis
| journal = Medical Decision Making
| volume = 11
| issue = 4
| pages = 282–293
| doi =
| id = PMID 1766331
| url =
| format =
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref> and others found that the benefits and risks of circumcision balanced each other out and suggest the circumcision decision "most reasonably be made on nonmedical factors."<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Lawler
| first = FH
| coauthors = Bisonni RS, Holtgrave DR.
| year = 1991
| month = Nov–Dec
| title = Circumcision: a decision analysis of its medical value.
| journal = Family Medicine
| volume = 23
| issue = 8
| pages = 587–593
| doi =
| id = PMID 1794670
| url =
| format =
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref>

===Risks of circumcision===
Circumcision is a [[Surgery|surgical]] procedure. While the risk of complications in a competently performed medical circumcision is very low,<ref name="UWstudy">{{cite journal
| last = Christakis
| first = Dmitry A.
| coauthors = Eric Harvey, Danielle M. Zerr, Chris Feudtner, Jeffrey A. Wright, and Frederick A. Connell
| year = 2000
| month = January
| title = A Trade-off Analysis of Routine Newborn Circumcision
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 105
| issue = 1
| pages = 246–249
| doi = 10.1542/peds.105.1.S2.246
| id = PMID 10617731
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/105/1/S2/246
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref> complications resulting from poorly carried out circumcisions, post-operative bleeding, and infection can be catastrophic.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Ahmed A,
| first = A
| coauthors = Mbibi NH, Dawam D, Kalayi GD
| year = 1999
| month = March
| title = Complications of traditional male circumcision
| journal = Annals of Tropical Paediatrics
| volume = 19
| issue = 1
| pages = 113–117
| doi =
| id = PMID 10605531 {{ISSN|0272-4936}}
| url =
| format =
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref> According to the AMA, [[Bleeding|blood loss]] and [[infection]] are the most common complications, although bleeding is mostly minor and hemostasis can be achieved by pressure application.<ref name = "CSA:I-99" /> Kaplan identified other circumcision complications, including urinary [[fistulas]], [[chordee]], [[cyst]]s, [[lymphedema]], [[ulceration]] of the glans, [[necrosis]] of all or part of the penis, [[hypospadias]], [[epispadias]], [[impotence]] and removal of too much tissue, sometimes causing secondary [[phimosis]]. He stated “Virtually all of these complications are preventable with only a modicum of care. Unfortunately, most such complications occur at the hands of inexperienced operators who are neither urologists nor surgeons.”<ref name="kaplan">{{cite journal
| last = Kaplan
| first = George W., M.D.
| coauthors =
| year = 1983
| month = August
| title = Complications of Circumcision
| journal = UROLOGIC CLINICS OF NORTH AMERICA
| volume = 10
| issue = 3
| pages = 543–549
| id =
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/kaplan/
| format = HTML
| accessdate = 2006-09-29
}}
</ref> Infant circumcision may result in skin bridges, when the cut skin does not heal neatly but attaches to the [[glans penis]] instead. This does not commonly require surgical correction; rather, a brief, simple office procedure may be performed.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Naimer
| first = Sody A.
| coauthors = Roni Peleg, Yevgeni Meidvidovski, Alex Zvulunov, Arnon Dov Cohen, and Daniel Vardy
| year = 2002
| month = November
| title = Office Management of Penile Skin Bridges with Electrocautery
| journal = Journal of the American Board of Family Practice
| volume = 15
| issue = 6
| pages = 485–488
| id = PMID 10605531
| url = http://www.jabfm.org/cgi/reprint/15/6/485
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref>

The [[American Medical Association]] quotes a complication rate of 0.2%–0.6%,<ref name = "CSA:I-99" /> based on the studies of Gee<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Gee
| first = W.F.
| coauthors = J.S. Ansell
| year = 1976
| month = December
| title = Neonatal circumcision: a ten-year overview: with comparison of the Gomco clamp and the Plastibell device
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 58
| issue = 6
| pages = 824–827
| doi =
| id = PMID 995507
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/58/6/824
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-11
}}
</ref> and Harkavy.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Harkavy
| first = K.L.
| year = 1987
| month = April
| title = The circumcision debate
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 79
| issue = 4
| pages = 649–650
| doi =
| id = PMID 3822689
| url =
| format = Pubmed Entry
| accessdate = 2006-07-11
}}
</ref> These same studies are quoted by the [[American Academy of Pediatrics]].<ref name = "AAP1999" /> The [[American Academy of Family Physicians]] quotes a range of anywhere between 0.1% and 35%.<ref name = "AAFP">{{cite web
| url = http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/clinical/clinicalrecs/circumcision.html
| title = Circumcision: Position Paper on Neonatal Circumcision
| accessdate = 2007-01-30
| year = 2007
| publisher = [[American Academy of Family Physicians]]
}}
</ref> The [[Canadian Paediatric Society]] cite these results in addition to other figures ranging anywhere between 0.06% to 55%, and remark that Williams & Kapila<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Williams
| first = N
| coauthors = L. Kapila
| year = 1993
| month = October
| title = Complications of circumcision
| journal = British Journal of Surgery
| volume = 80
| issue = 10
| pages = 1231–1236
| doi = 10.1002/bjs.1800801005
| id = PMID 8242285
| url = http://www.bjs.co.uk/bjsCda/cda/microJournalArticleDetail.do;jsessionid=96BD3288E9BFA69C74CC1737D0AA6B90?DOI=10.1002%2Fbjs.1800801005&issueDOI=10.1002%2Fbjs.v80%3A10&vid=2
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-11
}}
</ref> suggested that 2-10% is a realistic estimate.<ref name = "CMAJ" /> [[Meatal stenosis]] may be a common longer-term complication from circumcision. Recent publications give a frequency of occurrence between 0.9%<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Yegane
| first = Rooh-Allah
| coauthors = Abdol-Reza Kheirollahi, Nour-Allah Salehi, Mohammad Bashashati, Jamal-Aldin Khoshdel, and Mina Ahmadi
| year = 2006
| month = May
| title = Late complications of circumcision in Iran
| journal = Pediatric Surgery International
| volume = 22
| issue = 5
| pages = 442–445
| doi = 10.1007/s00383-006-1672-1
| id = PMID 16649052
| url = http://www.springerlink.com/(qzpwjv55lf23wj454qsmor45)/app/home/contribution.asp?referrer=parent&backto=issue,9,19;journal,4,147;linkingpublicationresults,1:101176,1
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-02
}}
</ref> and 9% to 10%.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.emedicine.com/PED/topic2356.htm
| title = http://www.emedicine.com/PED/topic2356.htm
| accessdate = 2006-07-02
| last = Angel
| first = Carlos A.
| date = [[June 12]], [[2006]]
| work = eMedicine
| publisher = WebMD
}}
</ref> The RACP states that the penis is lost in 1 in 1,000,000 circumcisions.<ref name = "RACPComp">{{cite web
| url = http://www.racp.edu.au/hpu/paed/circumcision/complications.htm
| title = Complications Of Circumcision
| accessdate = 2006-07-11
| year = 2004
| month = October
| work = Paediatric Policy - Circumcision
| publisher = The Royal Australasian College of Physicians
}}
</ref>

Deaths have been reported.<ref name="kaplan"/> The American Academy of Family Physicians states that death is rare, and cites an estimated death rate with circumcisions of infants of 1 in 500,000.<ref name = "AAFP" /> Gairdner's 1949 study reported that during the 1940s an average of 16 children per year, out of an estimated 90,000, died following circumcision in the [[United Kingdom|UK]]. He found that most deaths had occurred suddenly under anaesthesia and could not be explained further, but hemorrhage and infection had also proven fatal. Deaths attributed to phimosis and circumcision were grouped together, but Gairdner argued that such deaths were probably due to the circumcision operation.<ref name = "Gairdner">{{cite journal
| last = Gairdner
| first = Douglas
| year = 1949
| month = December
| title = The Fate of the Foreskin
| journal = British Medical Journal
| volume = 2
| issue = 4642
| pages = 1433–1437
| doi =
| id =
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/general/gairdner/
| format =
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
</ref>

A 2004 Cochrane review, which compared the dorsal penile nerve block and EMLA (topical anaesthesia) found both anaesthetics appear safe, but neither of them completely eliminated pain.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Brady-Fryer | first = B | coauthors = Wiebe N, Lander JA | year = 2004 | month = July | title = Pain relief for neonatal circumcision | journal = The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews | issue = 3 | pages = Art. No.: CD004217 | doi = 10.1002/14651858.CD004217.pub2 | id = PMID 15495086 | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15495086&query_hl=2&itool=pubmed_docsum | format = | accessdate = 2006-06-29 }} </ref> Razmus et al reported that newborns circumcised with the dorsal block and the ring block in combination with the concentrated oral sucrose had the lowest pain scores.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Razmus I, Dalton M, Wilson D |title=Pain management for newborn circumcision |journal=Pediatr Nurs |volume=30 |issue=5 |pages=414-7, 427 |year= |id=PMID 15587537}}</ref> Ng ''et al'' found that EMLA cream, in addition to local anaesthetic, effectively reduces the sharp pain induced by needle puncture.<ref>{{cite journal |first=WT |last=Ng |coauthors=''et al''|title=The use of topical lidocaine/prilocaine cream prior to childhood circumcision under local anesthesia |journal=Ambul Surg |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=9-12 |year=2001 |id=PMID 11179706}}</ref> Adult circumcisions are often performed without clamps, and require 4 to 6 weeks of abstinence from masturbation or intercourse after the operation to allow the wound to heal.<ref name="aafpadult" />
Lander ''et al.'', studying neonatal circumcision without anesthesia, found that patients "exhibited homogeneous responses that consisted of sustained elevation of heart rate and high pitched cry throughout the circumcision and following. Two newborns ... became ill following circumcision (choking and apnea)."[http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/lander/]

===HIV===
Initial population based studies suggested that circumcision might protect against HIV infection. However, in these studies, factors such as religion may skew the results. In March 2005, the Cochrane review of the medical evidence found the current quality of evidence at that point "insufficient" to consider implementing circumcision "as a public-health intervention" but the positive results of observational studies suggested that circumcision was "worth evaluating in randomised controlled trials.”<ref name="Sig">{{cite journal
| last = Siegfried
| first = N
| coauthors = M Muller, J Deeks, J Volmink, M Egger, N Low, S Walker, and P Williamson
| year = 2005
| month = March
| title = HIV and male circumcision—a systematic review with assessment of the quality of studies
| journal = The Lancet Infectious Diseases
| volume = 5
| issue = 3
| pages = 165–173
| doi = 10.1016/S1473-3099(05)01309-5
| id = PMID 15766651
| url = http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/1473-3099/PIIS1473309905013095.pdf
| format = PDF — free registration required
| accessdate = 2007-07-09
}}
</ref>

The most recent data indicate that circumcision is correlated with a 50-60% reduction in risk of HIV transmission (from female to male) during heterosexual intercourse.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2007/s04/en/index.html | title = WHO and UNAIDS Secretariat welcome corroborating findings of trials assessing impact of male circumcision on HIV risk | accessdate = 2007-02-23 | date = [[February 23]], [[2007]] | publisher = World Health Organization}}</ref> The results of the first randomised controlled trial was published in November 2005. It found a 60% reduction in the rate of new HIV infection (from 2.1 per 100 to 0.85 per 100 in the intervention group. The authors said, “Male circumcision provides a degree of protection against acquiring HIV infection, equivalent to what a vaccine of high efficacy would have achieved. Male circumcision may provide an important way of reducing the spread of HIV infection in sub-Saharan Africa.”<ref name = "ANRS" /> Two further randomised trials conducted in Uganda and Kenya were stopped early on December 13, 2006 on grounds that circumcision was so effective that it would be unethical to continue the experiment and not offer circumcision in the uncircumcised men who were acting as controls. The results showed that circumcised males in Uganda were, depending upon the analysis, 51%-60% less likely to be infected.<ref name="grayrct" /> In Kenya, circumcised males were 53%-60% less likely to be infected.<ref name="baileyrct" /> A paper published in the journal [[PLoS Medicine]] in July, 2006, calculated that if all men in sub-Saharan Africa were circumcised over the next 10 years, two million new infections could potentially be avoided.<ref name = "PLoS-7-06">{{cite journal
| last = Williams
| first = Brian G.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = James O. Lloyd-Smith, Eleanor Gouws, Catherine Hankins, Wayne M. Getz, John Hargrove, Isabelle de Zoysa, Christopher Dye, Bertran Auvert
| year = 2006
| month = July
| title = The Potential Impact of Male Circumcision on HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa
| journal = [[PLoS Medicine]]
| volume = 3
| issue = 7
| pages = e262
| doi = 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030262
| id = PMID 16822094
| url = http://medicine.plosjournals.org/archive/1549-1676/3/7/pdf/10.1371_journal.pmed.0030262-p-L.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-13
}}
</ref>

The World Health Organization (WHO) said: “Although these results demonstrate that male circumcision reduces the risk of men becoming infected with HIV, the UN agencies emphasize that it does not provide complete protection against HIV infection. Circumcised men can still become infected with the virus and, if HIV-positive, can infect their sexual partners. Male circumcision should never replace other known effective prevention methods and should always be considered as part of a comprehensive prevention package, which includes correct and consistent use of male or female condoms, reduction in the number of sexual partners, delaying the onset of sexual relations, and HIV testing and counselling.”.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2007/s04/en/index.html
| title = WHO and UNAIDS Secretariat welcome corroborating findings of trials assessing impact of male circumcision on HIV risk
| accessdate = 2007-02-23
| date = [[February 23]], [[2007]]
| publisher = World Health Organization
}}
</ref> Others have also expressed concern that some may mistakenly believe they will be fully protected against HIV through circumcision and see circumcision as a safe alternative to other forms of protection, such as condoms.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2006/s18/en/index.html
| title = Male circumcision reduces the risk of becoming infected with HIV, but does not provide complete protection
| accessdate = 2006-07-20
| date = [[December 13]], [[2006]]
| publisher = World Health Organization
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4371384.stm
| title = Circumcision 'reduces HIV risk'
| date = [[October 25]], [[2005]]
| publisher = BBC News
}}
</ref> An interim analysis from the Rakai Health Sciences Program in Uganda suggested that newly circumcised HIV positive men may be more likely to spread HIV to their female partners if they have sexual intercourse before the wound is fully healed. “Because the total number of men who resumed sex before certified wound healing is so small, the finding of increased transmission after surgery may have occurred by chance alone. However, we need to err on the side of caution to protect women in the context of any future male circumcision programme,” said Dr Maria Wawer, the study's principal investigator. <ref>{{cite web
| url =http://www.aidsmap.com/en/news/3CBF12A3-A1AC-4A0E-A79C-54FC6EF93E28.asp
| author = Virginia Differding
| title = Women may be at heightened risk of HIV infection immediately after male partner is circumcised
| accessdate = 2007-03-14
| date = [[March 12]], [[2007]]
| publisher = Aidsmap News}}
</ref>

There is also a danger of HIV being spread from unhygienic circumcision procedures. Brewer ''et al.'' studied HIV infection rates in Kenya, Lethotho and Tanzania and found that "[circumcised] male and female virgins were substantially more likely to be HIV infected than uncircumcised virgins. Among adolescents, regardless of sexual experience, circumcision was just as strongly associated with prevalent HIV infection. However, uncircumcised adults were more likely to be HIV positive than circumcised adults." The authors concluded, "HIV transmission may occur through circumcision-related blood exposures in eastern and southern Africa."<ref>{{cite journal | last = Brewer | first= Devon | year = 2007| month= February | title = Male and Female Circumcision Associated with Prevalent HIV Infection in Virgins and Adolescents in Kenya, Lesotho, and Tanzania | journal = Annals of Epidemiology | volume = 17 | issue = 3| pages = pp.217-226 | url = http://www.annalsofepidemiology.org/article/PIIS1047279706002651/abstract| accessdate = 2007-03-04| quote = (Kenyan females: 3.2% vs. 1.4%, odds ratio [OR] = 2.38; Kenyan males: 1.8% vs. 0%, OR undefined; Lesothoan males: 6.1% vs. 1.9%, OR 3.36; Tanzanian males: 2.9% vs. 1.0%, OR 2.99; weighted mean phi correlation = 0.07, 95% confidence interval, 0.03 to 0.11).}}</ref>

On March 28, 2007, the [[World Health Organisation]] and [[UNAIDS]] issued joint recommendations concerning male circumcision and HIV/AIDS.<ref name="WHOpr0307">{{cite web |title=WHO and UNAIDS announce recommendations from expert consultation on male circumcision for HIV prevention |publisher=World Health Organisation |month=March |year=2007 |url=http://www.who.int/hiv/mediacentre/news68/en/index.html}}</ref> These recommendations are:

* Male circumcision should now be recognized as an efficacious intervention for HIV prevention.
* Promoting male circumcision should be recognized as an additional, important strategy for the prevention of heterosexually acquired HIV infection in men.<ref name="WHOrec0307">{{cite web |title=New Data on Male Circumcision and HIV Prevention: Policy and Programme Implications |publisher=World Health Organisation |year=2007 |month=March |url=http://www.who.int/entity/hiv/mediacentre/MCrecommendations_en.pdf}}</ref>

====Langerhans cells and HIV transmission====
[[Langerhans cells]] are part of the human immune system. Three studies identified high concentrations of Langerhans and other "HIV target" cells in the foreskin<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Hussain LA
| first = LA
| authorlink =
| coauthors = T. Lehner
| year = 1995
| month = July
| title = Comparative investigation of Langerhans' cells and potential receptors for HIV in oral, genitourinary and rectal epithelia
| journal = Immunology
| volume = 85
| issue = 3
| pages = 475–484
| doi =
| id = PMID 7558138
| url =
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Patterson
| first = Bruce K.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Alan Landay, Joan N. Siegel, Zareefa Flener, Dennis Pessis, Antonio Chaviano, and Robert C. Bailey
| year = 2002
| month =
| title = Susceptibility to Human Immunodeficiency Virus-1 Infection of Human Foreskin and Cervical Tissue Grown in Explant Culture
| journal = American Journal of Pathology
| volume = 161
| issue = 3
| pages = 867–873
| doi =
| id = PMID 12213715
| url = http://ajp.amjpathol.org/cgi/reprint/161/3/867.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Donoval
| first = BA
| authorlink =
| coauthors = AL Landay, S Moses, K Agot, JO Ndinya-Achola, EA Nyagaya, I MacLean, and RC Bailey
| year = 2006
| month = March
| title = HIV-1 target cells in foreskins of African men with varying histories of sexually transmitted infections
| journal = American Journal of Clinical Pathology
| volume = 125
| issue = 3
| pages = 386–391
| doi = 10.1309/JVHQ-VDJD-YKM5-8EPH
| id = PMID 16613341
| url = http://ajcp.metapress.com/link.asp?id=jvhqvdjdykm58eph
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> and Szabo and Short suggested that the Langerhans cells in the foreskin may provide an entry point for viral infection.<ref name = "Szabo">{{cite journal
| last = Szabo
| first = Robert
| coauthors = Roger V. Short
| year = 2000
| month = June
| title = How does male circumcision protect against HIV infection?
| journal = BMJ
| volume = 320
| issue = 7249
| pages = 1592–1594
| doi = 10.1136/bmj.320.7249.1592
| id = PMID 10845974
| url = http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/320/7249/1592
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> McCoombe, Cameron, and Short also found that the keratin is thinnest on the foreskin and frenulum.<ref>{{cite paper
|author= McCoombe SG, Cameron PU, Short RV
|date= [[July 7]], [[2002]]
|url= http://www.aegis.com/conferences/iac/2002/WePeA5739.html
|format= Abstract
|title= The distribution of HIV-1 target cells and keratin in the human penis.
|publisher= International AIDS Society
|version=
|accessdate= 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> Fleiss, Hodges and Van Howe had previously stated a belief that the prepuce has an immunological function.<ref name=Fleiss>{{cite journal
| last = Fleiss
| first = PM
| authorlink =
| coauthors = FM Hodges, RS Van Howe
| year = 1998
| month = October
| title = Immunological functions of the human prepuce
| journal = Sexually Transmitted Infections
| volume = 74
| issue = 5
| pages = 364–367
| doi =
| id = PMID 10195034
| url = http://sti.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/74/5/364.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> While their specific hypothesis was criticised on technical grounds.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://sti.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/74/5/364#112
| title = Apocrine glands in inner prepuce doubtful
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
| last = Waskett
| first = Jake H.
| date = [[June 20]], [[2005]]
| work = Electronic letters
| publisher = BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
}}
</ref> a study published in 2007 by de Witte and others said that Langerlin, excreted by Langerhans cells, is a natural barrier to HIV-1 transmission by Langerhans cells.<ref>{{cite web
| url =http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=17334373&query_hl=4&itool=pubmed_docsum
| title = Langerin is a natural barrier to HIV-1 transmission by Langerhans cells
| accessdate = 2007-03-19
| last = de Witte
| first = L.
| date = [[March 4]], [[2007]]
| work = Abstract
| publisher = www.Pubmed.gov
}}
</ref>

===HPV===
Several studies have shown that uncircumcised men are at greater risk of [[human papilloma virus]] (HPV) infection.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Castellsagué
| first = Xavier
| coauthors = et al.
| year = 2002
| month = [[April 11]],
| title = Male circumcision, penile human papillomavirus infection, and cervical cancer
| journal = The New England Journal of Medicine
| volume = 346
| issue = 15
| pages = 1105–1112
| doi = 10.1056/NEJMoa011688
| id = PMID 11948269
| url = http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/346/15/1105.pdf
| format = PDF — free registration required
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Lajous
| first = Martín
| coauthors = Nancy Mueller, Aurelio Cruz-Valdéz, Luis Victor Aguilar, Silvia Franceschi, Mauricio Hernández-Ávila, and Eduardo Lazcano-Ponce
| year = July
| month = 2005
| title = Determinants of Prevalence, Acquisition, and Persistence of Human Papillomavirus in Healthy Mexican Military Men
| journal = Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention
| volume = 14
| issue = 7
| pages = 1710–1716
| doi = 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-04-0926
| id = PMID 16030106
| url = http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/cgi/reprint/14/7/1710.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> While most genital [[HPV]] strains are considered harmless, some can cause genital warts or [[cancer]] although there is a vaccine against most cancer causing strains of HPV. One study found no statistically significant difference between men with foreskins for HPV infection than those who are circumcised, but did note a significantly higher incidence of HPV lesions and urethritis in uncircumcised men.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Aynaud
| first = O.
| coauthors = D. Piron, G. Bijaoui, and JM Casanova
| year = July
| month = 1999
| title = Developmental factors of urethral human papillomavirus lesions: correlation with circumcision
| journal = BJU International
| volume = 84
| issue = 1
| pages = 57–60
| doi = 10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.00104.x
| id = PMID 10444125
| url = http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410x.1999.00104.x
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref>

===Hygiene===
The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] observes “Circumcision has been suggested as an effective method of maintaining penile hygiene since the time of the Egyptian dynasties, but there is little evidence to affirm the association between circumcision status and optimal penile hygiene.”<ref name="AAP1999" /><ref>Although the Academy's 1975 statement asserted that "A program of education leading to continuing good personal hygiene would offer all the advantages of circumcision without the attendant surgical risk," the 1999 statement cites a study which found that "appropriate hygiene decreased significantly the incidence of phimosis, adhesions, and inflammation, but did not eliminate all problems."</ref> It states that the "relationship among hygiene, phimosis, and penile cancer is uncertain" and further remarks that "genital hygiene needs to be emphasized as a preventive health topic throughout a patient's lifetime."

The [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] emphasizes that a non-circumcised infant's penis requires no special care and should be left alone, stating that attempts to [[forcible retraction of the foreskin|forcibly retract the foreskin]], e.g. to clean it, are painful, often injure the foreskin, and can lead to scarring, infections and pathologic phimosis.<ref name = "RACPAnat">{{cite web
| url = http://www.racp.edu.au/hpu/paed/circumcision/anatomy.htm
| title = Care Of The Foreskin
| accessdate = 2006-07-13
| year = 2004
| month = October
| work = Paediatric Policy - Circumcision
| publisher = The Royal Australasian College of Physicians
}}
</ref> It is recommended that, while there is no special age where the foreskin should be retractable, once the foreskin becomes retractable, the child should gently wash it with soap and water. It has been suggested, however, that excessive washing of the foreskin and the glans will make infections such as [[balanitis]] more likely.{{Fact|date=December 2006}}

Circumcision reduces the amount of [[smegma]] produced by the male.{{Fact|date=December 2006}} Smegma is a combination of exfoliated [[epithelial cells]], transudated skin oils, and moisture that can accumulate under the [[foreskin]] of males and within the female [[vulva]] area. It has a characteristic strong odor and taste {{Fact|date=March 2007}}, and is common to all [[mammals]]—male and female. While smegma is generally not believed to be harmful to health, the strong odour may be considered to be a nuisance or give the impression of a lack of [[hygiene]]. In rare cases, accumulating smegma may help cause balanitis.<ref>{{cite journal |first=C |last=Sonnex |coauthors=Croucher, PE; Dockerty WG |title=Balanoposthitis associated with the presence of subpreputial "smegma stones" |journal=Genitourin Med |year=1997 |month=Dec |volume=73 |issue=6 |pages=567}}</ref>

It has been suggested that circumcision arose in peoples living in arid and sandy regions as a public health measure intended to prevent recurring irritation and infection caused by sand accumulating under the foreskin.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Hutson
| first = J.M.
| year = 2004
| month = June
| title = Circumcision: a surgeon’s perspective
| journal = Journal of Medical Ethics
| volume = 30
| issue = 3
| pages = 238–240
| doi = 10.1136/jme.2002.001313
| id = PMID 15173354
| url = http://jme.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/30/3/238.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref> Darby, after checking the official war histories of Britain, Australia and New Zealand and other records, and finding no mention of ‘balanitis’ or ‘foreskin’ or ‘circumcision’, dismissed this idea as a “medical urban myth,” concluding that “‘sand under the foreskin,’ balanitis, and circumcision were not
significant problems during either of the World Wars.”<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Darby
| first = Robert
| year = 2005
| month = July
| title = The riddle of the sands: circumcision, history, and myth
| journal = The New Zealand Medical Journal
| volume = 118
| issue = 1218
| pages = 76–82
| doi =
| id = {{ISSN|11758716}} PMID 16027753
| url = http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/118-1218/1564/content.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-09
}}
</ref>

===Infectious and chronic conditions===
Studies have found that boys with foreskins tend to have higher rates of various infections and inflammations of the penis than those who are circumcised.<ref name = "Ferg">{{cite journal
| last = Fergusson
| first = DM
| coauthors = JM Lawton and FT Shannon
| year = 1988
| month = April
| title = Neonatal circumcision and penile problems: an 8-year longitudinal study
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 81
| issue = 4
| pages = 537–541
| doi =
| id = PMID 3353186
| url = http://www.circs.org/library/fergusson/index.html
| format =
| accessdate = 2007-07-18
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Fakjian |first=N |coauthors=S Hunter, GW Cole and J Miller |year=1990 |month=August |title=An argument for circumcision. Prevention of balanitis in the adult |journal=Arch Dermatol |volume=126 |issue=8 |pages=1046–7 |id=PMID 2383029 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Herzog |first=LW |coauthors=SR Alvarez |year=1986 |month=March |title=The frequency of foreskin problems in uncircumcised children |journal=Am J Dis Child |volume=140 |issue=3 |pages=254–6 |id=PMID 3946358}}</ref> The reasons are unclear, but several hypotheses have been suggested:

*The foreskin may harbor bacteria and become infected if it is not cleaned properly.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = O’Farrel
| first = Nigel
| coauthors = Maria Quigley and Paul Fox
| year = 2005
| month = August
| title = Association between the intact foreskin and inferior standards of male genital hygiene behaviour: a cross-sectional study
| journal = International Journal of STD & AIDS
| volume = 16
| issue = 8
| pages = 556–588(4)
| doi = 10.1258/0956462054679151
| id = PMID 16105191
| url = http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/rsm/std/2005/00000016/00000008/art00008
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-08-20
}}
'''Editor’s note: I cannot confirm that the article substantiates the claim as I cannot access the full article.</ref>
*The foreskin may become inflamed if it is cleaned too often with soap.<ref name="birley">{{cite journal
| last = Birley
| first = HD
| coauthors = MM Walker, GA Luzzi, R Bell, D Taylor-Robinson, M Byrne, and AM Renton
| year = 1993
| month = October
| title = Clinical Features and management of recurrent balanitis; association with atopy and genital washing
| journal = Genitourinary Medicine
| volume = 69
| issue = 5
| pages = 400–403
| doi =
| id = PMID 8244363
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/balanitis/birley/
| format =
| accessdate = 2006-08-20
| quotes = A history of fluctuating episodes, with a rapid onset, as well as that of atopy and of zealous washing were predictive of a histological diagnosis of NSD [Non-Specific Dermititis]. The proportion of NSD patients with a history of atopy (67%) was much larger than that in the general population. It is possible that the balanitis was due to hypersensitivity to a specific allergen, but we could ascribe it to nothing other than frequent soap washing.
}}
</ref>
*The [[forcible retraction of the foreskin]] in boys can lead to infections.<ref name ="CMAJ" />

The usual treatment for balanoposthitis is to use topical antibiotics (metronidazole cream) and antifungals (clotrimazole cream) or low-potency steroid creams.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic615.htm
| title = Balanoposthitis
| accessdate = 2006-11-20
| last = Osipov
| first = Vladimir O.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Scott M. Acker
| date = [[November 14]], [[2006]]
| work = Reactive and Inflammatory Dermatoses
| publisher = [[EMedicine]]
}}
</ref> There are less invasive treatments than circumcision for [[posthitis]].{{Fact|date=December 2006}}

====Balanitis====
{{main|Balanitis}}
[[Balanitis]], an inflammation of the [[glans penis]], has a variety of causes.<ref name = "HKhandbook">{{cite book
| last = Au
| first = T.S.
| coauthors = K.H. Yeung
| editor = Pedro Sá Cabral, Luís Leite, and José Pinto (eds.)
| title = HANDBOOK OF DERMATOLOGY & VENEREOLOGY
| origdate =
| origyear =
| origmonth =
| url = http://www.hkmj.org.hk/skin/cover.htm
| accessdate = 2006-09-04
| edition = 2nd ed.
| year = 2003
| publisher = Department of Dermatology—Hospital Pulido Valente
| location = [[Lisbon, Portugal]]
| id = ISBN 978-962-334-030-4
| chapter = Balanitis, Bacterial Vaginosis and Other Genital Conditions
| chapterurl = http://www.hkmj.org.hk/skin/balaniti.htm
}}
</ref> Some of these, such as anaerobic infection, occur more frequently in uncircumcised men, while others, such as fungal infection, have no statistically significant differences in frequency of occurrence between circumcised and uncircumcised men.<ref name = "EdwardsGU">{{cite journal
| last = Edwards
| first = Sarah
| year = 1996
| month = June
| title = Balanitis and balanoposthitis: a review
| journal = Genitourinary Medicine
| volume = 72
| issue = 3
| pages = 155–159
| doi =
| id = PMID 8707315
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/balanitis/edwards1/
| accessdate = 2006-09-04
}}
</ref> There are less invasive treatments than circumcision that have been shown to be effective in treating most mild cases of balanitis.<ref name = "HKhandbook" /> Birley, et al, found that in 90% of their cases of chronic or recurring balanitis "use of emollient creams and restriction of soap washing alone controlled symptoms satisfactorily". They also state that circumcision “might be of benefit in a patient whose balanitis relapses despite these measures, and remains the principal treatment for specific conditions such as [[Lichen sclerosus et atrophicus|lichen sclerosus]] and plasma cell balanitis.”<ref name = "birley" /> The, less invasive procedures are not as successful in treating [[balanitis xerotica obliterans]], or '''BXO''',<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Vincent
| first = Michelle Valerie
| coauthors = Ewan MacKinnon
| year = 2005
| month = April
| title = The response of clinical balanitis xerotica obliterans to the application of topical steroid-based creams
| journal = Journal of Pediatric Surgery
| volume = 40
| issue = 4
| pages = 709–712
| doi = 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2004.12.001
| id = PMID 15852285
| url = http://www.jpedsurg.org/article/PIIS002234680400867X/abstract
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Wright
| first = J.E.
| year = 1994
| month = May
| title = The treatment of childhood phimosis with topical steroid
| journal = The Australian and New Zealand journal of surgery
| volume = 64
| issue = 5
| pages = 327–328
| id = PMID 8179528
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/wright/
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite journal
| last = Webster
| first = T.M.
| coauthors = M.P. Leonard
| year = 2002
| month = April
| title = Topical steroid therapy for phimosis
| journal = The Canadian journal of urology
| volume = 9
| issue = 2
| pages = 1492–1495
| id = PMID 12010594
| url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=12010594&query_hl=5
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref> which is much less common but harder to treat.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic46.htm
| title = http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic46.htm
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
| last = Scheinfeld
| first = Noah S.
| authorlink =
| coauthors = George C. Keough, Daniel Lehman
| date = [[January 11]], [[2006]]
| work = Diseases Of The Dermis
| publisher = [[EMedicine]]
}}
</ref>

[[Lichen sclerosus et atrophicus]] ('''LSA''') produces a whitish-yellowish patch on the skin, and is not believed to be always harmful or painful, and may sometimes disappear without intervention. Some consider [[balanitis xerotica obliterans]] to be a form of LSA that happens to be on the foreskin, where it may cause pathological [[phimosis]]. Circumcision is believed to reliably reduce the threat of BXO.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Mattioli
| first = G.
| coauthors = P. Repetto, C. Carlini, C. Granata, C. Gambini, and V. Jasonni
| year = 2002
| month = May
| title = Lichen sclerosus et atrophicus in children with phimosis and hypospadias
| journal = Pediatric Surgery International
| volume = 18
| issue = 4
| pages = 273–275
| doi = 10.1007/s003830100699
| id = PMID 12021978
| url = http://www.springerlink.com/content/dy5cgm3h11prdy76/
| format = Abstract
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref>

===Penile cancer===
{{main|Penile cancer}}
[[Penile cancer]] is cancer of the penis, i.e. on the glans or the foreskin. Most cases have been found to occur in men over the age of 70.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/default.asp?page=6833
| title = Cancer of the penis (penile cancer)
| accessdate = 2006-09-26
| date = [[January 14]], [[2004]]
| work = Questions and Answers: Penis cancer questions
| publisher = [[Cancer Research UK]]
| quote = Penile cancer is more common in older men. Most cases are in men over 70. It is rare in men under 40.
}}
</ref> In 1979, Boczko and Freed remarked that since Wolbarst's 1932 review, "there have been only eight documented cases of penile carcinoma in an individual circumcised in infancy." They described the ninth reported case, concluding that "performing it in infancy continues to be the most effective prophylactic measure against penile carcinoma."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Boczko |first=S |coauthors=Freed, S |title=Penile carcinoma in circumcised males |journal=N Y State J Med |year=1979 |volume=79 |issue=12 |pages=1903-4}} [http://www.cirp.org/library/disease/cancer/boczko/]</ref> The AMA remarked that in six case series published from 1932 and 1986, "all penile cancers occurred in uncircumcised individuals."<ref name = "CSA:I-99" /> Maden ''et al'' reported in 1993 that the risk of penile cancer was 3.2 times greater in men who were never circumcised and 3 times greater among those who were circumcised after the neonatal period;<ref>{{cite journal |title=History of circumcision, medical conditions, and sexual activity and risk of penile cancer |first=C |last=Maden |coauthors=''et al'' |journal=J Natl Cancer Inst |year=1993 |month=Jan |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=19-24 |id=PMID 8380060}}</ref> this study was referenced in an editorial by Holly and Palefsky. They compliment the study for noting other risk factors for penile cancer, as well as for providing corroborating evidence as to the association between a lack of neonatal circumcision and the development of penile cancer. However, their criticisms include the study's combining data from invasive and ''in situ'' cancers. They concluded that as the new study reported circumcision at birth in 20% of the men with penile cancer, the recommendation of circumcision for medical indications remains somewhat controversial and the risks and benefits must be weighed.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/85/1/2 |last=Holly |first=EA |coauthors=Palefsky, JM |title=Factors related to risk of penile cancer: new evidence from a study in the Pacific Northwest |journal=J Natl Cancer Inst |year=1993 |month=Jan |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=2-4}}</ref> The American Academy of Pediatrics made similar criticism, also noting the possibly inaccurate use of self-report to determine circumcision status.<ref name = "AAP1999" /> Schoen ''et al'' studied the association between neonatal circumcision and invasive penile cancer in 2000, and found that the relative risk for uncircumcised men was 22 times that of circumcised men.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/105/3/e36 |title=The highly protective effect of newborn circumcision against invasive penile cancer |first=EJ |last=Schoen |coauthors=Oehrli, M; Colby, C; Machin, G | journal=Pediatrics |year=2000 |month=Mar |volume=105 |issue=3 |pages=e36}}</ref>

In 2005, the [[American Cancer Society]] said that while studies suggest that circumcision may reduce the risk of more invasive forms of penile cancer, it is important to concentrate on the main risk factors: poor hygiene, having unprotected sex with multiple partners, and cigarette smoking.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_What_are_the_risk_factors_for_penile_cancer_35.asp?sitearea=
| title = What Are the Risk Factors for Penile Cancer?
| accessdate = 2006-10-01
| date = [[May 31]], [[2006]]
| work = Cancer Reference Information
| publisher = [[American Cancer Society]]
}}
</ref> They further state that the current consensus of most experts is that circumcision should not be recommended as a prevention strategy for penile cancer.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_2X_Can_penile_cancer_be_prevented_35.asp
| title = Can Penile Cancer Be Prevented?
| accessdate = 2006-10-01
| date = [[May 31]], [[2006]]
| work = Cancer Reference Information
| publisher = [[American Cancer Society]]
}}
</ref>

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] states that studies suggest that neonatal circumcision confers some protection from penile cancer, but circumcision at a later age does not seem to confer the same level of protection. Further, penile cancer is a rare disease and the risk of penile cancer developing in an uncircumcised man, although increased compared with a circumcised man, remains low.<ref name = "AAP1999" /> Similarly, the [[American Medical Association]] states that although neonatal circumcision seems to lower the risk of contracting penile cancer, because it is rare and occurs later in life, the use of circumcision as a preventive practice is not justified.<ref name = "CSA:I-99" />

Kochen and McCurdy performed a [[life table]] analysis on penile cancer rates. They assumed that these cancers occur exclusively in uncircumcised males and that age-specific rates calculated from older groups were applicable to the 1971 birth cohort.<ref name="Kochen">{{cite journal
| last = Kochen
| first = Mosze
| coauthors = Stephen McCurdy
| year = 1980
| month = May
| title = Circumcision and the risk of cancer of the penis. A life-table analysis
| journal = American Journal of Diseases of Children
| volume = 134
| issue = 5
| pages = 484–486
| doi = 10.1001/archpedi.134.5.484
| id = PMID 7377156
| url = http://www.circs.org/library/kochen/index.html
| accessdate = 2006-09-26
}}
</ref> Their overall analysis finds an estimated occurrence rate in uncircumcised males of 1 in 600, or 0.167%, with a median age of occurrence of 67 years old. However, they close their predictions section with the following “Since the uncircumcised male is uniquely susceptible, virtually all of these cancers are preventable by neo-natal circumcision. The number of lifetime incident cancers that could be prevented annually by circumcision can be estimated with birth statistics available for 1971. In that year, there were 1,822,910 recorded live male births. If none had been neonatally circumcised, our analysis predicts that one in 600, or more than 3,000 would have penile cancer in their lifetimes.”<ref name = "Kochen" />

===Phimosis and paraphimosis===
It is normal for an infant's foreskin to be attached to the glans. Pathological [[phimosis]] is a condition when the foreskin remains so tight that retraction over the glans is painful or impossible. Dawson and Whitfield, say "True phimosis is rare but may cause appreciable problems in either childhood or adolescence."[http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/312/7041/1291] Rickwood suggested that the term 'phimosis' should be restricted to cases in which the prepuce loses suppleness and becomes scarred.<ref name = "Rickwood1">{{cite journal
| last = Rickwood
| first = AM.
| coauthors = V. Hemalatha, G. Batcup, and L. Spitz
| year = 1980
| month = April
| title = Phimosis in boys
| journal = British Journal of Urology
| volume = 52
| issue = 2
| pages = 147–150
| id = PMID 7191744
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/rickwood/
| accessdate = 2006-10-10
}}
</ref>
The AAP state that the true frequency of problems such as phimosis is unknown.<ref name = "AAP1999" /> Fergusson et al found phimosis in 16% of non-circumcised boys,<ref name = "Ferg" /> while Herzog and Alvarez found it in 2.6%.[http://www.circs.org/library/herzog/index.html] Rickwood and Walker raised concern that phimosis is frequently misdiagnosed by physicians confusing it with the developmentally non-retractable foreskin.<ref name = "Rickwood2">{{cite journal
| last = Rickwood
| first = AM.
| coauthors = Jenny Walker
| year = 1989
| month = September
| title = Is phimosis overdiagnosed in boys and are too many circumcisions performed in consequence?
| journal = Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
| volume = 71
| issue = 5
| pages = 275–277
| id = PMID 2802472
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/treatment/phimosis/rickwood2/
| accessdate = 2006-10-10
}}
</ref>
Several researchers have described less invasive treatments for phimosis than circumcision, and recommend that they be tried first.<ref name="dewan" /><ref name="beauge" />

Several studies have identified phimosis as a risk factor for penile cancer. The British Medical Journal published one letter that stated it would be irresponsible to expose a patient to risk for longer than necessary.<ref>Robin J Willcourt, "Re: Circumcision is a last resort - to be avoided, whenever possible" - letters to the editor, ''British Medical Journal'' [http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/321/7264/792#110919 http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/eletters/321/7264/792#110919]</ref>

[[Paraphimosis]] is an acute condition when a tight foreskin is stuck behind the glans and cannot be returned to its original position, curbing the blood flow to the glans. In children, it is sometimes caused by a caregiver trying to [[forcible retraction of the foreskin|forcibly retract the infant foreskin]].<ref name = "Gairdner" />

===Urinary tract infections===
Twelve studies have indicated that neonatal circumcision reduces the occurrence rate of [[Urinary tract infections]] in male infants by a factor of about 10.<ref name="singhgrewal2005">{{cite journal
| last = Singh-Grewal
| first = D.
| coauthors = J. Macdessi, and J. Craig
| date = [[August 1]], [[2005]]
| title = Circumcision for the prevention of urinary tract infection in boys: a systematic review of randomised trials and observational studies
| journal = Archives of Disease in Childhood
| volume = 90
| issue = 8
| pages = 853-858
| doi = 10.1136/adc.2004.049353
| id = PMID 15890696
| url = http://adc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/90/8/853.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref> The March 1999 AAP statement notes that premature infants are usually not circumcised because of their fragile health status.<ref name = "AAP1999" /> Studies have found that 1 in 10 premature infants will have a urinary tract infection during the first month of life. [http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,5362,00.html] Some of the UTI studies have been criticised for not taking these and other factors into account. A Swedish study found that the cumulative incidence of UTIs in boys under 2 years of age was 2.2%.<ref name="jakobsson1999">Jakobsson 1999, ''et al''. Minimum incidence and diagnostic rate of first urinary tract infection. ''Pediatrics.'' 1999 August;104 (2 Pt 1):222–6. ([http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/104/2/222 full text])</ref> The AMA cites evidence that the incidence of UTI’s is “small (0.4%–1%)” in uncircumcised infants, and “depending on the model employed, approximately 100 to 200 circumcisions would need to be performed to prevent 1 UTI…One model of decision analysis concluded that the incidence of UTI would have to be substantially higher in uncircumcised males to justify circumcision as a preventive measure against this condition.”<ref name = "CSA:I-99" />

The [[Canadian Paediatric Society]] poses the question of whether increased [[Urinary tract infection|UTI]] and [[balanitis]] rates in non-circumcised male infants may be caused by [[forcible retraction of the foreskin|forced premature retraction]].<ref name = "CMAJ" /> According to the Lerman and Liao, aside from its effects on UTI infection rates, "Most of the other medical benefits of circumcision probably can be realized without circumcision as long as access to clean water and proper penile hygiene are achieved."<ref name="lerman2001">Lerman SE, Liao JC. Neonatal circumcision. ''Pediatr Clin North Am.'' 2001 December;48(6):1539-57. PMID 11732129</ref>

===Policies of various national medical associations===
====United States====
The [[American Academy of Family Physicians]] recommends that physicians discuss the potential harms and benefits of circumcision with all parents or legal guardians considering circumcision for newborn boys.<ref name = "AAFP2">{{cite web
| url = http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/clinical/clinicalrecs/circumcision.html
| title = Circumcision: Position Paper on Neonatal Circumcision
| accessdate = 2007-01-30
| year = 2007
| publisher = [[American Academy of Family Physicians]]
| quote = Considerable controversy surrounds neonatal circumcision. Putative indications for neonatal circumcision have included preventing UTIs and their sequelae, preventing the contraction of STDs including HIV, and preventing penile cancer as well as other reasons for adult circumcision. Circumcision is not without risks. Bleeding, infection, and failure to remove enough foreskin occur in less than 1% of circumcisions. Evidence-based complications from circumcision include pain, bruising, and meatitis. More serious complications have also occurred. Although numerous studies have been conducted to evaluate these postulates, only a few used the quality of methodology necessary to consider the results as high level evidence. 
 
The evidence indicates that neonatal circumcision prevents UTIs in the first year of life with an absolute risk reduction of about 1% and prevents the development of penile cancer with an absolute risk reduction of less than 0.2%. The evidence suggests that circumcision reduces the rate of acquiring an STD, but careful sexual practices and hygiene may be as effective. Circumcision appears to decrease the transmission of HIV in underdeveloped areas where the virus is highly prevalent. No study has systematically evaluated the utility of routine neonatal circumcision for preventing all medically-indicated circumcisions in later life. Evidence regarding the association between cervical cancer and a woman’s partner being circumcised or uncircumcised, and evidence regarding the effect of circumcision on sexual functioning is inconclusive. If the decision is made to circumcise, anesthesia should be used. 
 
The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends physicians discuss the potential harms and benefits of circumcision with all parents or legal guardians considering this procedure for their newborn son.
}}
</ref>

The [[American Academy of Pediatrics]] finds both potential benefits and risks in infant circumcision. At current it feels that there is insufficient data to recommend routine neonatal circumcision, and recommends that parental decisions on elective circumcision should be made with as much accurate and unbiased information as possible, taking medical, cultural, ethnic, traditional, and religious factors into account. The AAP also recommends using analgesia as a safe and effective method for reducing procedural pain associated with circumcision, and that circumcision on newborns only be performed on infants who are stable and healthy.<ref name = "AAP19992">{{cite journal
| last = Task Force on Circumcision
| coauthors =
| year = 1999
| month = [[March 1]],
| title = Circumcision Policy Statement
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 103
| issue = 3
| pages = 686–693
| doi = 10.1542/peds.103.3.686
| id = {{ISSN|0031-4005}} PMID 10049981
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/pediatrics;103/3/686.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
}}
“Existing scientific evidence demonstrates potential medical benefits of newborn male circumcision; however, these data are not sufficient to recommend routine neonatal circumcision. In the case of circumcision, in which there are potential benefits and risks, yet the procedure is not essential to the child’s current well-being, parents should determine what is in the best interest of the child. To make an informed choice, parents of all male infants should be given accurate and unbiased information and be provided the opportunity to discuss this decision. It is legitimate for parents to take into account cultural, religious, and ethnic traditions, in addition to the medical factors, when making this decision. Analgesia is safe and effective in reducing the procedural pain associated with circumcision; therefore, if a decision for circumcision is made, procedural analgesia should be provided. If circumcision is performed in the newborn period, it should only be done on infants who are stable and healthy.”
</ref>

The American Medical Association supports the general principles of the 1999 Circumcision Policy Statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics.<ref name = "CSA:I-99" />

====Canada====
The Fetus and Newborn Committee of the [[Canadian Paediatric Society]] posted Circumcision: Information for Parents in November of 2004,<ref name = "CPSIFP2">{{cite web
| url = http://www.caringforkids.cps.ca/babies/Circumcision.htm
| title = Circumcision: Information for parents
| accessdate = 2006-10-24
| year = 2004
| month = November
| work = Caring for kids
| publisher = [[Canadian Paediatric Society]]
| quote = Circumcision is a “non-therapeutic” procedure, which means it is not medically necessary. Parents who decide to circumcise their newborns often do so for religious, social or cultural reasons. To help make the decision about circumcision, parents should have information about risks and benefits. It is helpful to speak with your baby’s doctor. After reviewing the scientific evidence for and against circumcision, the CPS does not recommend routine circumcision for newborn boys. Many paediatricians no longer perform circumcisions.
}}
</ref> and Neonatal circumcision revisited statements in 1996, undergoing revision as of 2004 in which, due to the evenly balanced reasons pro and con, they do not recommend routine circumcision.<ref name = "CMAJ2">
{{cite journal
| last = Fetus and Newborn Committee
| year = 1996
| month = March
| title = Neonatal circumcision revisited
| journal = Canadian Medical Association Journal
| volume = 154
| issue = 6
| pages = 769–780
| doi =
| id =
| url = http://www.cps.ca/english/statements/FN/fn96-01.htm
| format =
| accessdate = 2006-07-02
}}
“We undertook this literature review to consider whether the CPS should change its position on routine neonatal circumcision from that stated in 1982. The review led us to conclude the following. There is evidence that circumcision results in an approximately 12-fold reduction in the incidence of UTI during infancy. The overall incidence of UTI in male infants appears to be 1% to 2%. The incidence rate of the complications of circumcision reported in published articles varies, but it is generally in the order of 0.2% to 2%. Most complications are minor, but occasionally serious complications occur. There is a need for good epidemiological data on the incidence of the surgical complications of circumcision, of the later complications of circumcision and of problems associated with lack of circumcision. Evaluation of alternative methods of preventing UTI in infancy is required. More information on the effect of simple hygienic interventions is needed. Information is required on the incidence of circumcision that is truly needed in later childhood. There is evidence that circumcision results in a reduction in the incidence of penile cancer and of HIV transmission. However, there is inadequate information to recommend circumcision as a public health measure to prevent these diseases. When circumcision is performed, appropriate attention needs to be paid to pain relief. The overall evidence of the benefits and harms of circumcision is so evenly balanced that it does not support recommending circumcision as a routine procedure for newborns. There is therefore no indication that the position taken by the CPS in 1982 should be changed. When parents are making a decision about circumcision, they should be advised of the present state of medical knowledge about its benefits and harms. Their decision may ultimately be based on personal, religious or cultural factors.
</ref>

====United Kingdom====
As of June of 2006, the British Medical Association's position was that male circumcision for medical purposes should only be used where less invasive procedures are either unavailable or not as effective. The BMA specifically refrained from issuing a policy regarding “non-therapeutic circumcision,” stating that as a general rule, it “believes that parents should be entitled to make choices about how best to promote their children’s interests, and it is for society to decide what limits should be imposed on parental choices.”<ref name = "BMAGuide2">
{{cite web
| url = http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/malecircumcision2006?OpenDocument&Highlight=2,circumcision
| title = The law and ethics of male circumcision - guidance for doctors
| accessdate = 2006-07-01
| author = Medical Ethics Committee
| year = 2006
| month = June
| publisher = [[British Medical Association]]
| quote = '''Circumcision for medical purposes''' 
Unnecessarily invasive procedures should not be used where alternative, less invasive techniques, are equally efficient and available. It is important that doctors keep up to date and ensure that any decisions to undertake an invasive procedure are based on the best available evidence. Therefore, to circumcise for therapeutic reasons where medical research has shown other techniques to be at least as effective and less invasive would be unethical and inappropriate.

Male circumcision in cases where there is a clear clinical need is not normally controversial. Nevertheless, normal anatomical and physiological characteristics of the infant foreskin have in the past been misinterpreted as being abnormal. The British Association of Paediatric Surgeons advises that there is rarely a clinical indication for circumcision. Doctors should be aware of this and reassure parents accordingly. 
 
'''Non-therapeutic circumcision''' 
Male circumcision that is performed for any reason other than physical clinical need is termed non-therapeutic (or sometimes “ritual”) circumcision. Some people ask for non-therapeutic circumcision for religious reasons, some to incorporate a child into a community, and some want their sons to be like their fathers. Circumcision is a defining feature of some faiths. 
 
There is a spectrum of views within the BMA’s membership about whether non-therapeutic male circumcision is a beneficial, neutral or harmful procedure or whether it is superfluous, and whether it should ever be done on a child who is not capable of deciding for himself. The medical harms or benefits have not been unequivocally proven except to the extent that there are clear risks of harm if the procedure is done inexpertly. The Association has no policy on these issues. Indeed, it would be difficult to formulate a policy in the absence of unambiguously clear and consistent medical data on the implications of the intervention. As a general rule, however, the BMA believes that parents should be entitled to make choices about how best to promote their children’s interests, and it is for society to decide what limits should be imposed on parental choices.
}}
</ref>

====Australasia====
The [[Royal Australasian College of Physicians]] takes the position that there is no medical indication for routine neonatal circumcision, and if the procedure is to be performed for non-medical reasons, it should be performed by competent operator, using appropriate anaesthesia and in a safe child-friendly environment.<ref name = "RACPSumm" />

==History of circumcision==
{{main|History of male circumcision}}

It has been variously proposed that circumcision began as a religious [[sacrifice]], as a [[rite of passage]] marking a boy's entrance into adulthood, as a form of [[magical thinking|sympathetic magic]] to ensure virility, as a means of suppressing (or enhancing) sexual pleasure, as an aid to [[hygiene]] where regular [[bathing]] was impractical, as a means of marking those of lower (or higher) social status, as a means of differentiating a circumcising group from their non-circumcising neighbors, as a means of discouraging [[masturbation]] or other socially proscribed sexual behaviors, to remove "excess" pleasure, to increase a man's attractiveness to women, as a symbolic [[castration]], as a demonstration of one's ability to endure pain, or as a male counterpart to [[menstruation]] or the breaking of the [[hymen]]. It has been suggested that the custom of circumcision gave advantages to tribes that practiced it and thus led to its spread regardless of whether the people understood this.<ref>{{cite journal
| author = [[Ronald Immerman]] and [[Wade Mackey]]
| year = 1997
| title = A Biocultural Analysis of Circumcision
| journal = [[Social Biology]]
| volume = 44
| pages = 265-275
| url = http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/immerman2/
}}</ref>
It is possible that circumcision arose independently in different cultures for different reasons.

[[Image:Circumcision Precinct of Mut.png|thumb|right|250px|Ancient Egyptian carved scene of circumcision, from the inner northern wall of the Temple of [[Khonspekhrod]] at the [[Precinct of Mut]], [[Luxor]], Egypt. [[Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth dynasty]], [[Amenhotep III]], c. 1360 BC.]]

[[Image:Koceks - Surname-i Vehbi.jpg|thumb|right|250px|'''[[Kocek|Köçeks]] at a fair''' Köçek troupe dancing at Sultan [[Ahmed III]]'s 14-day celebration of his sons' circumcision in 1720. Miniature from the ''Surname-i Vehbi'', [[Topkapı Palace]], [[Istanbul]].]]

===Circumcision in the ancient world===
The oldest documentary evidence for circumcision comes from [[ancient Egypt]]. Tomb artwork from the [[Sixth Dynasty]] (2345-2181 BCE) shows men with circumcised penises, and one [[relief]] from this period shows the rite being performed on a standing adult male. The [[Egyptian hieroglyph]] for "penis" depicts either a circumcised or an erect organ. The examination of Egyptian mummies has found some with foreskins and others who were circumcised.

Circumcision was common, although not universal, among ancient [[Semitic]] peoples. The [[Book of Jeremiah]], written in the sixth century BCE, lists the Egyptians, Jews, [[Edomites]], [[Ammonites]], and [[Moabites]] as circumcising cultures. [[Herodotus]], writing in the fifth century BCE, would add the [[Colchis|Colchians]], [[Ethiopia]]ns, [[Phoenicians]], and [[Syria]]ns to that list.

In the aftermath of the conquests of [[Alexander the Great]], Greek dislike of circumcision led to a decline in its incidence among many peoples that had previously practised it. The writer of the [[1 Maccabees]] wrote that under the [[Seleucid]]s, many Jewish men attempted to hide or reverse their circumcision so they could exercise in Greek [[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasia]], where nudity was the norm. First Maccabees also relates that the Seleucids forbade the practice of [[brit milah]] (Jewish circumcision), and punished those who performed it–as well as the infants who underwent it–with death.

===Medical circumcision in the 19th century and early 20th century===
Several hypotheses have been raised in explaining the American public's acceptance of infant circumcision as preventive medicine. The success of the [[germ theory of disease]] had not only enabled physicians to combat many of the postoperative complications of surgery, but had made the wider public deeply suspicious of dirt and bodily secretions. Accordingly, the [[smegma]] that collects under the foreskin was viewed as unhealthy, and circumcision readily accepted as good penile hygiene.[http://www.cirp.org/library/history/gollaher/] Second, moral sentiment of the day regarded [[masturbation]] as not only [[sin]]ful, but also physically and mentally unhealthy, stimulating the foreskin to produce the host of maladies of which it was suspected. In this climate, circumcision could be employed as a means of discouraging masturbation.[http://www.noharmm.org/paige.htm] ''All About the Baby'', a popular parenting book of the 1890s, recommended infant circumcision for precisely this purpose. However, a survey of 1410 men in the United States in 1992, [http://www.circs.org/library/laumann/index.html Laumann] found that circumcised men were ''more'' likely to report masturbating at least once a month.

In 1855, the [[Quaker]] surgeon, Jonathan Hutchinson, observed that circumcision appeared to protect against [[syphilis]].<ref>{{cite journal | Hutchinson J | title=On the influence of circumcision in preventing syphilis | journal=Medical Times and Gazette | volume=NS Vol II | year=1855 | pages=542–3 }}</ref> Although this observation was challenged (the protection that Jews appear to have are more likely due to cultural factors<ref>{{cite journal | author=Epstein E | title=Have the Jews any Immunity from Certain Diseases? | journal=Medical and Surgical Reporter (Philadelphia) | volume=XXX | year=1874 | pages=40–41 }}</ref>), a 2006 systematic review concluded that the evidence "strongly indicates that circumcised men are at lower risk ... syphilis."<ref>{{cite journal |title=Male circumcision and risk of syphilis, chancroid, and genital herpes: a systematic review and meta-analysis |first=HA |last=Weiss |coauthors=Thomas, SL; Munabi SK; Hayes RJ |journal=Sex Transm Infect |year=2006 |month=Apr |volume=82 |issue=2 |pages=101-9 |id=PMID 16581731 |url=http://sti.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/82/2/101}}</ref>

With the proliferation of [[hospital]]s in urban areas, [[childbirth]], at least among the upper and middle classes, was increasingly undertaken in the care of a physician in a hospital rather than that of a [[midwife]] in the home. It has been suggested that once a critical mass of infants were being circumcised in the hospital, circumcision became a class marker of those wealthy enough to afford a hospital birth.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.law.uc.edu/lawreview/uclaw72pdf/0455waldeck.pdf |title=Using Male Circumcision to Understand Social Norms as Multipliers |journal=UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI LAW REVIEW |first=S.E. |last=Waldeck |year=2003 |volume=72 |issue=2 |pages=455-526}}</ref>

By the 1920s, advances in the understanding of disease had undermined much of the original medical basis for preventive circumcision. Doctors continued to promote it, however, as good penile hygiene and as a preventive for a handful of conditions local to the penis: balanitis, phimosis, and penile cancer. {{Fact|date=March 2007}}

Routine infant circumcision was taken up in the English-speaking parts of [[Canada]], the [[United States]] and [[Australia]], and to a lesser extent in [[New Zealand]] and the [[United Kingdom]] In England, the Royal House had a long tradition requiring that all male children be circumcised” (Alfred J. Kolatach’s The Jewish Book of Why, Middle Village, New York; Jonathan David, 1981).
. Although it is difficult to determine historical circumcision rates, one estimate[http://www.boystoo.com/history/statistics.htm] of infant circumcision rates in the United States holds that 30% of newborn American boys were being circumcised in 1900, 55% in 1925, and 72% in 1950.

===Circumcision since 1950===
In 1949, a lack of consensus in the medical community as to whether circumcision carried with it any notable health benefit motivated the United Kingdom's newly-formed [[National Health Service]] to remove routine infant circumcision from its list of covered services. One factor in this rejection of circumcision may have been Douglas Gairdner’s famous study, ''The fate of the foreskin'', which revealed that for the years 1942–1947, about 16 children per year had died because of circumcision in England and Wales, a rate of about 1 per 6000 performed circumcisions.<ref name = "Gairdner" /> Since then, circumcision has been an [[Out-of-pocket expenses|out-of-pocket cost]] to parents, and the proportion of newborns circumcised in England and Wales has fallen to less than one percent.

In Canada (where public medical insurance is universal, and where private insurance does not replicate services already paid from the public purse), individual provincial health services began delisting circumcision in the 1980s. 

In [[South Korea]], circumcision has steadily grown in popularity following the establishment of the United States trusteeship in 1945 and the spread of American influence. More than 90% of South Korean high school boys are now circumcised, but the average age of circumcision is 12 years.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1046/j.1464-410X.2002.02545.x |first=MG |last=Pang |coauthors=Kim DS |title=Extraordinarily high rates of male circumcision in South Korea: history and underlying causes |journal=BJU Int |year=2002 |volume=89 |issue=1 |pages=48-54}}</ref>

In some [[South Africa]]n ethnic groups, circumcision has roots in several belief systems, and is performed most of the time on teenage boys:
:''"...The young men in the eastern Cape belong to the Xhosa ethnic group for whom circumcision is considered part of the passage into manhood... A law was recently introduced requiring initiation schools to be licensed and only allowing circumcisions to be performed on youths aged 18 and older. But Eastern Cape provincial Health Department spokesman Sizwe Kupelo told Reuters news agency that boys as young as 11 had died. Each year thousands of young men go into the bush alone, without water, to attend initiation schools. Many do not survive the ordeal..."'' [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3069491.stm].

Prior to 1989, the American Academy of Pediatrics had a long-standing opinion that medical indications for routine circumcision were lacking. This stance, according to the AMA, was reversed in 1989, following new evidence of reduction in risk of urinary tract infection.<ref name = "CSA:I-99" /> A study in 1987 found that the prominent reasons for parents choosing circumcision were "concerns about the attitudes of peers and their sons' self concept in the future," rather than medical concerns.[http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/80/2/215] A 1999 study reported that reasons for circumcision included "ease of hygiene (67 percent), ease of infant circumcision compared with adult circumcision (63 percent), medical benefit (41 percent), and father circumcised (37 percent)." The authors commented that "Medical benefits were cited more frequently in this study than in past studies, although medical issues remain secondary to hygience and convenience."[http://www.cirp.org/library/procedure/tiemstra/] A 2001 study reported that "The most important reason to circumcise or not circumcise the child was health reasons."<ref name="adler">{{cite journal |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/107/2/e20 |title=Circumcision: we have heard from the experts; now let's hear from the parents |first=R |last=Adler |coauthors=''et al'' |journal=Pediatrics |year=2001 |volume=107 |issue=2 |pages=E20}}</ref> A 2005 study speculated that increased recognition of the potential benefits may be responsible for an observed increase in the rate of neonatal circumcision in the USA between 1988 and 2000.[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15711354&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum]
In a 2001 survey, 86.6% of parents felt respected by their medical provider, and parents who did not circumcise "felt less respected by their medical provider".<ref name="adler" />

The major medical societies in Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand do not support routine non-therapeutic infant circumcision. Major medical organizations in the United States do not recommend routine circumcision, but instead state that parents should decide what is in their child's best interests.

The AMA remarked that, in one study, physicians in "nearly half" of neonatal circumcisions "did not discuss the potential medical risks and benefits of elective circumcision prior to delivery of the infant son. Deferral of discussion until after birth, combined with the fact that many parents' decisions about circumcision are preconceived, contribute to the high rate of elective circumcision."<ref name="CSA:I-99" />

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; border-collapse: collapse; border:1px solid #999"
|+'''Table 1: International circumcision rates'''
|- bgcolor="#f2f2f2"
! Country
! Year
! Neonatal circumcisions (%)
|-
| United States
| 2003
| 55.9%* [http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_13/sr13_160.pdf]
|-
| Canada
| 2005
| < 14% [http://www.cirp.org/news/2006-03-23montrealgazette/]
|-
| Australia
| 2004
| 10%-20% [http://www.racp.edu.au/index.cfm?objectid=A4268489-2A57-5487-DEF14F15791C4F22]
|-
| New Zealand
| 1995
| 10%-20% [http://www.racp.edu.au/hpu/paed/circumcision/summary.htm]
|-
|- style="border-top:1px solid #999; border-bottom: hidden; border-left: hidden; border-right: hidden;"
| colspan="3" | *The percentage refers to infants born in non-Federal hospitals; see p 52, Table 44 of the reference.
|- style="border-top: hidden; border-bottom: hidden; border-left: hidden; border-right: hidden;"
| colspan="3" | **Samoans, Tongans and Niueans in New Zealand continue to practice circumcision, but not in public hospitals, to which these data refer.
|}

==Prevalence of circumcision==
{{main|Circumcision worldwide}}
Estimates of the proportion of males that are circumcised worldwide vary from one sixth (12.5%)<ref name="williams1993">Williams N, Kapila L. Complications of circumcision. ''Brit J Surg.'' 1993;80:1231-6. ([http://www.cirp.org/library/complications/williams-kapila/ full text])</ref> to one third (33.3%).<ref name="crawford2002">Crawford DA. Circumcision: a consideration of some of the controversy. ''J Child Health Care.'' 2002 December;6(4):259-70. PMID 12503896</ref> According to one author, the practice is "a falling trend internationally",<ref>{{cite journal
| last = StanWisniewski
| first = Z.
| year = 2004
| title = Circumcision in Western Australia
| journal = ANZ Journal of Surgery
| volume = 74
| issue = 5
| pages = 387-388
| doi = 10.1111
| url = http://pt.wkhealth.com/pt/re/aunz/fulltext.00130494-200405000-00028.htm
| accessdate = 2007-03-31
</ref>{{Verify source|date=April 2007}} although another notes indications of increasing demand in Southern Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Demand for male circumcision rises in a bid to prevent HIV |journal=Bulletin of the World Health Organization |volume=84 |issue=7 |year=2006 |pages=505-588 |url=http://www.scielosp.org/pdf/bwho/v84n7/v84n7a05.pdf |quote=As a result, there are already indications of increasing demand for male circumcision in traditionally non-circumcising societies in southern Africa.}}</ref>

===Australia===
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the infant circumcision rate in Australia was 12.9% as of 2003. However, rates in the states varied, with highest rates in Queensland (19.3%), New South Wales (16.3%) and South Australia (14.3%), and the lowest in Tasmania (1.6%).<ref>{{cite web |first=Judy |last=Skatssoon |month=July |year=2004 |title=Circumcision rates rise for some |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald (reprint: CIRP.org) |location=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |url=http://www.cirp.org/news/smh07-01-04/}}</ref>

===Denmark===
In 1986, only 511 out of approximately 478,000 Danish boys aged 0-14 years were circumcised. This corresponds to a cumulative national circumcision rate of around 1.6% by the age of 15 years.
[http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/311/7018/1471]

===South Korea===
It has been estimated on the basis of an academic medical survey that some 78% of South Korean men may be circumcised and it has been stated that "South Korea has possibly the largest absolute number of teenage or adult circumcisions anywhere in the world. Because circumcision started through contact with the American military during the Korean War, South Korea has an unusual history of circumcision."<ref>J.H. Ku1, M.E. Kim, N.K. Lee and Y.H. Park, "Circumcision practice patterns in South Korea: community based survey" (Sex Transm Inf 2003;79:65-67 http://sti.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/79/1/65 retrieved [[1 October]] [[2006]]</ref>

===United Kingdom===
A national survey on sexual attitudes in 2000 found that 11.7% of 16-19 year olds, and 19.6% of 40-44 year olds said they had been circumcised. It also found that, apart from black Caribbeans, overseas born men were more likely to be circumcised.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Male circumcision in Britain:
findings from a national probability sample survey |url=http://sti.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/79/6/499 |first=SS |last=Dave |coauthors=''et al'' |journal=Sex Transm Infect |year=2003 |volume=79 |issue=6 |pages=499-500}}</ref> Rickwood ''et al'' reported that the proportion of English boys circumcised for medical reasons had fallen from 35% in the early 1930s to 6.5% by the mid-1980s. An estimated 3.8% of male children in the UK in 2000 were being circumcised by the age of 15 [http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/321/7264/792]. The researchers stated that too many boys, especially under the age of 5, were still being circumcised because of a misdiagnosis of phimosis. They called for a target to reduce the percentage to 2%.

===United States===
Statistics from different sources give different pictures of infant circumcision rates in the United States.

A recent study, which used data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (a sample of 5-7 million of the nation's total inpatient stays, and representing a 20% sample taken from 8 states in 1988 and 28 in 2000), stated that circumcisions rose from 48.3% in 1988 to 61.1% in 1997.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Nelson
| first = CP.
| coauthors = R. Dunn, J. Wan, JT. Wei
| year = 2005
| month = March
| title = The increasing incidence of newborn circumcision: data from the nationwide inpatient sample
| journal = Journal of Urology
| volume = 173
| issue = 3
| pages = 978–981
| id = {{ISSN|0022-5347}} PMID 15711354
| url = http://www.jurology.com/article/PIIS0022534705604193/abstract
| format = Abstract
| doi = 10.1097/01.ju.0000145758.80937.7d
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref>

Figures from the 2003 Nationwide Hospital Discharge Survey state that circumcision rates declined from 64.7% in 1980 to 59.0% in 1990, rose to 64.1% in 1995, and fell again to 55.9% in 2003.<ref name = "NHDS">{{cite journal
| last = Kozak
| first = LJ
| coauthors = KA Lees, and CJ DeFrances
| year = 2006
| title = National Hospital Discharge Survey: 2003 annual summary with detailed diagnosis and procedure data.
| journal = Vital Health Statistics
| volume = 13
| issue = 160
| pages =
| doi =
| id =
| url = http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_13/sr13_160.pdf
| format = PDF
| accessdate = 2007-01-30
}}</ref> On page 52, it is shown that the western region of the United States has seen the most significant change, declining from 61.8% in 1980 to 31.4% in 2003.<ref name = "NHDS" /> The decline in the western region has been partly attributed to increasing births among [[Latin American]]s, who usually do not circumcise.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/circumcisions/circumcisions.htm
| title = Trends in circumcisions among newborns
| accessdate = 2007-01-30
| date = [[January 11]], [[2007]]
| work = Health E-Stats
| publisher = [[National Center for Health Statistics]]
| quote = However, the most notable change occurred in the West where newborn circumcisions dropped from 62 percent in 1980 to 37 percent in 1999. This latest available figure for the West represents over a two-fold difference when compared with circumcision estimates for the Midwest. This dramatic decline, in part, reflects the increased birth rate among Hispanics who have been shown in several other studies to be less likely to receive circumcisions than other white and black infants.
}}
</ref>

A national survey of adult men found that 91% of men born in the 1970s, and 83% of men born in the 1980s were circumcised.<ref>{{cite paper
| author = Xu, F, L Markowitz, M Sternberg, and S Aral
| title = Prevalence of circumcision in men in the United States: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 1999-2002
| publisher = XVI International AIDS Conference
| date = 2006
| url = http://www.iasociety.org/abstract/show.asp?abstract_id=2183186
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref>

Statistics from these national samples differs from higher rates that have been documented in individual centers. One explanation is that "the published results of national statistical surveys represent only coded diagnoses obtained from birth centers; the reported figures do not include males who are circumcised at a later date for religious, medical, or personal reasons or who received newborn circumcision that was not coded."<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Schoen
| first = Edgar J.
| year = 2006
| month = July
| title = Ignoring evidence of circumcision benefits
| journal = Pediatrics
| volume = 118
| issue = 1
| pages = 385–387
| id = {{ISSN|0031-4005}} PMID 16818586
| url = http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/extract/118/1/385
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref>

There are various explanations why the infant circumcision rate in the United States are different from comparable countries. Some obstetricians have been accused of using circumcision as a quick and easy way of making money.<ref>{{cite news
| first = Lehman
| last = Betsy A.
| title = The Age-old Question of Circumcision
| url = http://www.cirp.org/news/bostonglobe06-22-87
| format = CIRP (CIRP has modified text display)
| publisher = [[The Boston Globe]]
| pages = 41 & 43
| date = [[June 22]], [[1987]]
| accessdate = 2007-04-06
}}
</ref> Many parents’ decisions about circumcision are preconceived, and this may contribute to the high rate of elective circumcision.<ref name = "CSA:I-99" />

[[Medicaid]] funding for infant circumcision used to be universal in the United States; however, sixteen states no longer pay for the procedure under [[Medicaid]] [http://www.circumstitions.com/Images/map-usa-notfund.gif]. One study in the Midwest of the U.S. found that this had no effect on the newborn circumcision rate but it did affect the demand for circumcision at a later time.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Quayle
| first = SS.
| coauthors = DE. Coplen, PF. Austin
| year = 2003
| month = October
| title = The effect of health care coverage on circumcision rates among newborns
| journal = Journal of Urology
| volume = 170
| issue = 4 Pt 2
| pages = 1533–1536
| id = {{ISSN|0022-5347}} PMID 14501653
| accessdate = 2006-09-21
}}
</ref>

==See also==
*[[Brit shalom]]
*[[Circumcision advocacy]]
*[[Circumcision scar]]
*[[Foreskin restoration]]
*[[Genital integrity]]
*[[Holy Prepuce]]
*[[Preputioplasty]]
*[[Zeved habat]]

==References==
{| class="messagebox" style="background: {{{#666666}}};"
|-
||Some referenced articles are available on-line only in the Circumcision Information and Resource Page’s (CIRP) library or in The Circumcision Reference Library (CIRCS). CIRP articles are chosen from an anti-circumcision point of view, and text in support of this position is often highlighted on-screen using [[HTML]]. CIRCS articles are chosen from a pro-circumcision point of view. If documents are not freely available on-line elsewhere, links to articles in one or other of these two websites may be provided.
|}
<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
<references />
</div>

==External links==
===Circumcision opposition===
* [http://www.cirp.org The Circumcision Information and Resource Pages] by Geoffrey T. Falk
* [http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.org Doctors Opposing Circumcision] presided by George C. Denniston, MD, MPH
* [http://www.nocirc.org National Organization of Circumcision Information Resource Centers] by Marilyn Milos, RN

===Circumcision promotion===
* [http://www.circinfo.net/ Benefits of circumcision: medical, health and sexual] by Professor Brian Morris
* [http://medicirc.org/ Circumcision: a lifetime of medical benefits] by Edgar Schoen, BSc., M.D.
* [http://www.drweiss.org/ Circumcision Information] by Gerald N. Weiss, M.D.

===Circumcision techniques===
* [http://www.aafp.org/afp/990315ap/1514.html Description of an adult circumcision] from the [[AAFP|American Academy of Family Physicians]].
* [http://www.mcg.edu/pediatrics/CCNotebook/chapter2/circumsion.htm Description of a Plastibell circumcision] from the Medical College of Georgia.

==Further reading==

* Billy Ray Boyd. ''Circumcision Exposed: Rethinking a Medical and Cultural Tradition.'' Freedom, CA: The Crossing Press, 1998. (ISBN 978-0-89594-939-4)
* Anne Briggs. ''Circumcision: What Every Parent Should Know.'' Charlottesville, VA: Birth & Parenting Publications, 1985. (ISBN 978-0-9615484-0-7)
* Robert Darby. ''A surgical temptation: The demonization of the foreskin and the rise of circumcision in Britain.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005. (ISBN 978-0-226-13645-5)
* Aaron J. Fink, M.D. ''Circumcision: A Parent's Decision for Life''. Kavanah Publishing Company, Inc., 1988. (ISBN 978-0-9621347-0-8)
* Paul M. Fleiss, M.D. and Frederick Hodges, D. Phil. ''What Your Doctor May'' Not ''Tell You About Circumcision.'' New York: Warner Books, 2002. (ISBN 978-0-446-67880-3)
* Leonard B. Glick. ''Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. (ISBN 978-0-19-517674-2)
* David L. Gollaher. ''Circumcision: A History of the World's Most Controversial Surgery.'' New York: Basic Books, 2000. (ISBN 0465026532
* Ronald Goldman, Ph.D. ''Circumcision: The Hidden Trauma.'' Boston: Vanguard, 1996. (ISBN 978-0-9644895-3-0)
* Brian J. Morris, Ph.D., D.Sc. ''In Favour of Circumcision.'' Sydney: UNSW Press, 1999. (ISBN 978-0-86840-537-7)
* Rosemary Romberg. ''Circumcision: The Painful Dilemma.'' South Hadley, MA Bergan & Garvey, 1985. (ISBN 978-0-89789-073-1)
* Edgar J Schoen, M.D. ''Ed Schoen, MD on Circumcision.'' Berkeley, CA: RDR Books, 2005. (ISBN 978-1-57143-123-3)
* Edward Wallerstein. ''Circumcision: An American Health Fallacy.'' New York: Springer, 1980 (ISBN 978-0-8261-3240-6)
* Gerald N. Weiss M.D. and Andrea W Harter. ''Circumcision: Frankly Speaking.'' Wiser Publications, 1998. (ISBN 978-0-9667219-0-4)


[[Category:Circumcision]]
[[Category:Circumcision debate]]
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[[br:Trodroc'hañ]]
[[bg:Обрязване]]
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[[cs:Obřízka]]
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Talk:Negative-calorie food

2006-12-19T09:31:08Z

Capi crimm:

So whats some good facts to use to debunk this myth?

Does an apple burn more calories to digest than actual calories contained within the apple?

I can't stand people who believe this crap, its like the religious right!

Negative calorie diet is probably a trick into getting us to eat more fruits, leaf vegetables and a good diet. the foodstuffs included in this diet has already been included on the health pyramid as one of the important ones. so it doesn't hurt to eat them. I must have lost a few kilos to these fruits and vegetables though i didn't keep an exact track of the servings etc.--[[User:Idleguy|Idleguy]] June 28, 2005 07:07 (UTC)

according to this article i learn that all foods require the same amount of energy to digest, so to make it take more energy to burn them, i just need to eat low-calorie foods. no? [[User:Mickeyreiss|mickey]] 03:33, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

:yeah. pretty much. but it's not just any low cal food but low cal veggies and fruits etc. [[User:Idleguy|Idleguy]] 04:23, 21 January 2006 (UTC)

I want to know where this notion originated so I can be more sure that this is a myth. Is it the calorie/kilocalorie (calorie vs Calorie) confusion? That was alluded to but it wasn't clear to me.

:I don't know about all the foods listed, but I've never seen any facts to disprove the celery one. Even snopes seems to think it's true. [http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/celery.asp snopes]. If you have a hard time believing that you can loose calories from eating something, consider water. It has zero calories, and your body has to at the very least warm it up (unless your urine is cold?). Skepticism is good, but it's just as annoying as those "religious right" people when you start to declare everything false. :D --[[User:Capi crimm|Capi crimm]] 09:31, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

----
Questions: How prevalent is this fad diet? The article needs further npov-ing and factual improvement, clarifying what foods actually do provide no net energy. Clearly some foods are zero-calorie, for instance, most dill pickles (American sense; unsweetened pickled cucumbers). But most of the things on this list are quite ludicrous. An apple can contain 80-110 Calories, a single cup of blueberries has over 80. A large wedge of cantaloupe has about 30. That's a significant amount of energy, in a sugary, easily-digestible form. [[User:NTK|NTK]] 14:04, 17 September 2006 (UTC)

== It's as false as any other diet, but an invaluable resource for many people. ==

Carb free diets aren't healthy,

Negative calorie diets and foods do have research behind them, and for many people and our lifestyles this information is useful. Even if the name is not 100% accurate. Just because you don't like us or our lifestyles, which some would rather see as a disease, that is no reason to remove this valuable information. Studies about negative calorie foods are referenced below.

----

Reference #1:
According to a recent study performed by Dr. Dean Ornish, M.D., of the University of California, at San Francisco, a vegetarian diet consisting mostly of fruits and vegetables, was adhered to by research subjects as an experimental study on the reversal of heart disease. As a result each of the research subjects (all suffering from heart disease), lost an average of 20 pounds without cutting calories or limiting serving sizes.

In light of the fact that these subjects were 40 years and older (with relatively slowed metabolisms) and the research performed involved no prescribed exercise program, this constitutes a dramatic weight loss that could only be attributed to the consumption of various fruits & vegetables.

Reference #2:
In an article in the January, ’94 Issue of Self Magazine, contributed by Dr. Neal Barnard M.D., author of “Food For Life” (Harmony Books), he basically supports the concept of “negative calories” foods (keep in mind there were no research studies referenced in this article to support his claims).

Let’s speculate for a moment, shall we? With the above information in mind, while obviously not conclusive, let us assume the transport of these “surplus digestive enzymes” into the blood is a given and pick it up from there. The fact is, enzymes are responsible for the acceleration of ALL chemical reactions in the body. The acceleration of chemical reactions in the body then equates to a faster metabolism (this effect is implied by the earlier referenced studies performed by Dr. Dean Ornish, M.D.).

If CONCLUSIVE this discovery would truly be a tremendous breakthrough. The greater value then, in identifying and ingesting these negative calorie foods is not in their ability to break down other existing calories in digestion at all.

The true potential benefits lie in the increased enzymes produced being absorbed through the mucosa in the small intestine thus entering into the bloodstream where they can positively effect the rate of metabolism.

In building upon the above conjectures, to optimize this metabolic acceleration, these researched & identified negative calories should preferably be ingested in the absence of additional enzyme robbing “empty calories” (junk food). This would insure that an optimum amount of enzymes are produced for absorption into the bloodstream and not wasted during digestive processes on assimilating calories from foods with poor vitamin and nutrient content.

The article above came from the NFPT Personal Trainer Magazine Over 12 Years of Personal Trainer Certification, Credibility & Support. The Most Trusted Name in Personal Fitness Trainer Certification Internationally.

Talk:Code (computer programming)

2006-07-29T01:02:52Z

Capi crimm:

I think this needs some severe consideration for clarification.

''Engineers often use the word "code" to mean a single program. They might say "I wrote a code" or "I have two codes". No software engineer or computer scientist would say that.''

I was trying to propose a solution myself, but I am just not exactly sure what its trying to say. I guess the confusing part to me is "Engineers" used in the first case is then juxtaposed with "software engineer" in the second place. However, logically speaking, a software engineer is a sub-set of engineer and thus can not be set opposite in such a blithe manor.

I mean like this - you can't say ''VW beetles are smaller than all cars''. The beetle itself is a car and can not logically be smaller than itself.
--[[User:Riluve|Riluve]] 14:46, 21 Apr 2005 (UTC)

::I have never heard the expression "I wrote a code" and never expect to, except (perhaps) from children whose linquistic brains have not yet developed the rules for mass nouns. Let's remove this bit of nonsense, shall we?

::: Thats not as horrid as "I have two codes", but I suppose I'm one of those "literate" computer scientists. See the coder code a code. I find it more depressing the page's picture is of HTML.

==merge==
I've proposed a merge. This mostly contains common usage of the word (which can be added to [[source code]] as a section). Thoughts? [[User:Gflores|Gflores]] [[User Talk:Gflores|Talk]] 16:50, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

:Since this describes the word itself and not the subject of the word, does it belong in wiktionary instead of wikipedia? [[User:Cintrom|Cintrom]] 16:07, 7 May 2006 (UTC)

:I'm personally against the merge. For me code is the most generic term that encapsulates all written computer info. Source code is more specific. They are distinct terms. [[User:Mathiastck|Mathiastck]] 21:41, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

== Needs an Expanded definition ==

I see the word code used most by non coders to describe the actions and activity of programmers. This has caused the definition of the word to expand, evern within the context of computer programming. Code need not be in a programming language. Most laymen would consider html to be code. [[User:Mathiastck|Mathiastck]] 21:45, 10 May 2006 (UTC)

Talk:Body mass index

2006-07-23T23:34:54Z

Capi crimm:

{| align=center style="width: 90%; border: 2px #000000 solid; "
|[[Image:Stop hand.svg|100px]]
|valign=top style="padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px; text-align:center;" | <div style="font-size: 35px; font-weight: bold; margin: 10px 0p 0px 0px;">Please Read this notice before posting a comment</div> 
Many people have addressed the fact that they themselves have been classified incorrectly by the body mass index. Please notice the fact that the body mass index is used, in clinical practice for calculating the body mass of ONLY '''sedentary (non active) and obese individuals (people)'''. Please note; the actual composition of athletes or athletically-built individuals should be calculated using an amalgamation of skinfold measurements, densiometry, or bio-electrical impedance analysis, in order to get an accurate measurement.

Use common sense here; if you have developed muscle, it contributes towards your weight more than fat (it is more [[density|dense]]). Don't get upset if the BMI classifies you as obese; i myself weigh over 18 stones, and have less than 16% body fat and yet i am classified as obese by the Body mass index for my height.

If you have any more queries, or want any advice, just leave me a message!

:Thanks for reading! Hope this frees up any problems you have. Otherwise, post away! [[User:JSpudeman|The magical Spum-dandy]] 14:31, 4 February 2006 (UTC)
|}

The language in this entry could be a good deal less arcane. 'ectomorphic and endomorphic, as well as mesomorphic?' These are extremely specialist terms... I myself am unaware of their meaning. If someone who is more conversant in these manners could substitute more pedestrian synonyms, it would be much appreciated.
-Toptomcat

I think that the BMI system is severly flawed. I am a 6'1" (73") 21 y.o. male with a BMI of 29 which according to the system is borderline obease. I am definately not obese; In fact Im very physically fit. I can run 2 miles in < 15 minutes. I ride my bike everywhere and most importantly I am not fat at all. I would consider my ideal body weight to be around 210. Below that people tell me I look gaunt. Yet even when I was that weight, The BMI still considered me severly over weight. The BMI system does not take into account frame size or muscle mass, yet many statistical studies, I believe, are based on simply hight, weight, age and gender.
::-Catskul

You might be interested in Paul Campos' ''The Obesity Myth'', which argues that current obesity guidelines are way out of line. I myself am curious about the history of BMI -- it seems like a very random way to measure people's obesity. --[[User:Ryguasu|Ryguasu]] 04:58, 18 Jun 2004 (UTC)

The BMI system seems to be geared toward the average unexercised person, such as myself, who wonders whether they're in shape or out of shape. I do not work out regularly, I eat when I'm hungry, and I have a sedentary job. I'm 5'11", 235 lbs, with a very noticable belly. In short, I am obese. My BMI of 32.6 reflects this well. (Holy [[fuck]] am I obese!) It would seem to me to be a useful rule of thumb only before a person starts a regimented exercise and diet routine; after that, more scientific measurements can be used. Either way, and regardless of its flaws, it is a part of established human knowledge, as are the theories of [[evolution]] and [[creation|creationism]], and thus deserves to be part of Wikipedia. [[User:BlueNight|BlueNight]] 05:06, 29 Aug 2004 (UTC)

:Apparently, my BMI of 19.1 puts me in the "underweight" category, but that may just be a symptom of inaccuracy for children... [[User:Ugen64|ugen64]] 01:50, Sep 22, 2004 (UTC)

:: There was a not-so-recent article in the New Zealand Herald about the BMI [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?thesection=news&thesubsection=&storyID=3538170], according to the article, the BMI index considers all but one of the [[All Blacks]] to be overweight... [[User:Porge|porge]] 08:01, Sep 30, 2004 (UTC)

::: Interesting fact about BMI-skew for athletes: when boxer Danny Williams weighed in for his world championship bout against Klitchko, he was 270lbs. With him being 6'1", that gives him a BMI of 36.9, which is Obese and not far from Morbidly Obese.
:::If you have lots of muscle, your BMI will be wrong. Simple as. [[User:Andrewsurtees|wimbledon andy]] 13:48, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

::::And even better example; Have a look at [[Markus Rühl]] and ask yourself if you'd call him "morbidly obese" as the BMI does. [[User:Andrewsurtees|wimbledon andy]] 14:22, 28 June 2006 (UTC)
:::::On the flipside, one wonders if having that much muscle might be unhealty in itself. Personally I always used the BMI index outlined in the Zone. Bedies height and weight it takes into consideration the difference betwixt your waist and your wrist size as well.
==BMI 'controversy'==
Most of the above criticism is covered in the [[Obesity]] article, in the section on defining obesity. In sum, the BMI is not especially well suited for use as a clinical, diagnostic tool. Such diagnosis for each ''individual'' is better established using other methods, such as the skinfold test and biolectrical impedance analysis. But ''that is not the BMI's purpose'': Quetelet established the BMI to allow public health ''statistics'' to be examined for evidence of weight-related health risks - ie, ''not'' for clinical practice. Doctors and health officials can introduce the BMI to individuals as a rough guide to what is - ''statistically'' speaking - the optimum weight for their height. But in as much as no individual is an average individual, the statistical picture has to be modified to account for local factors - eg, extreme muscularity. So health 'nannies' shoot themselves in the foot when they make categorical comments about BMI, providing the likes of Paul Campos with an abundance of 'counter examples' proving the absurdity of BMI health pronouncements. Note: the absurdity does not disprove the overwhelming evidence that obesity is a key indicator of health stress, as Campos can be read to argue. It only proves that statistical tools should not be confused for good medical practice. Perhaps the BMI article needs to make this more evident. [[User:Adhib|Adhib]] 15:02, 3 Jan 2005 (UTC)

:It is still relevant to the BMI article that it's been misused. Don't try to whitewash things and restrict their controversy to one single article. [[User:Kade|Kade]] 19:33, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Most obesity drugs can only be prescribed when the BMI exceeds a certain threshold. BMI is not too bad as a screening tool. [[User:Jfdwolff|JFW]] | [[User_talk:Jfdwolff|T@lk]] 13:22, 27 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Although in the various States of the United States that allow discrimination in medically underwritten health plans based on weight, it is very common for the BMI to used as the sole and only determiner of fitness for medical insurance (and therefore for medical care). Many of the health insurance providers (Blue Cross, etc) attach a sliding scale of massive surcharges to their insurance coverage that goes up based on BMI. Considering their applications take into account a self-reported index (ie, the potential customer simply reports what they believe to be their height and what they believe to be their weight) and all decisions are rendered by computer, this is a woefully inadequate method of determining insurance rates, especially in a country that is so thoroughly geared towards over-consumption. The BMI "may" have some value as a statistical calculator, but it is completely inadequate (and borderline criminal) to use it as a method of denying medical insurance to individuals without them ever being able to be evaluated by a medical professional.

== Links to BMI calculators ==

The question was raised whether one link to an online BMI calculator is enough. That would be the case if they had basically the same functionality or comparable ease of use. However, most calculators, like the one by the NHLBI that is currently listed under weblinks only compute and display the BMI value as a number. The disadvantage of this simple approach are:
<ol>
<li>the user does not know immediately how the BMI translates into a weight category (is a BMI of 25.1 kg/m2 "normal weight", "overweight", "obese", "obese II", or "obese III")?
<li>the user has to look up the weight category in a separate table
<li>the user cannot immediately see how many pounds or kilograms they are into a weight category ("how many pounds am I away from "normal"?). Try this: at a height of 185cm and a weight of 90kg, how many kilograms should you lose to get into the "normal" category? This is the MAIN question users have when they use the BMI calculator. Since the BMI formula is too difficult to do mentally, most people never get an answer to their primary question.
<li>people can understand analog displays better when it comes to understanding values that related to other values. In this case the BMI value is compared to both weight (in pounds or kilograms) and the weight categories (normal, overweight, etc.).
</ol>
I had entered the BMI calculator and scale at http://www.bmi-scale.com into the Wikipedia weblinks section for the BMI article. However it was removed with the comment that there were too mnay links and weblinks should be sufficiently different from each other. The BMI scale at http://www.bmi-scale.com has, in our humble opinion, the following advantages over other BMI calculators we have seen on the Internet:
<ol>
<li>the display shows at one glance, and on one display three values: the users weight, the BMI, and the weight category (normal, overweight, etc)
<li>the display is analog and therefor very easy to use
<li>without further calculations or table lookups the user can read the answer to their most important question: "how many pounds am I overweight?" No other online calculator provides this, as far as we know.
<li>The implementation as an interactive Flash is fun and motivational.
</ol>
My suggestion therefor is to include the link to http://www.bmi-scale.com in the weblinks section for the Wikipedia BMI article. ''Unsigned by [[User:Tom.schulz]]''

:Shall we see what the others say before inserting that link? I'm not sure if its merits outweigh the necessity of having Flash installed. [[User:Jfdwolff|JFW]] | [[User_talk:Jfdwolff|T@lk]] 22:34, 26 Jun 2005 (UTC)

::It does have advantages over the other one, and as long as the other one is available and this identified as needing Flash, it makes sense, as long as other serious defects don't show up. [[User:Gene Nygaard|Gene Nygaard]] 3 July 2005 14:32 (UTC)

::There are also BMI graphs around (they are often displayed at gyms). There's one half way down http://www.seekwellness.com/weight/understanding_adult_obesity.htm - but it's too small to be much use. With appropriate values for the bounderies it shouldn't be too hard to create one for here, if a GFDL-compatable one can't be found. [[User:Csmiller|CS Miller]] July 4, 2005 22:34 (UTC)

:::The graph is just confusing and adds nothing. [[User:Jfdwolff|JFW]] | [[User_talk:Jfdwolff|T@lk]] 5 July 2005 08:50 (UTC)

::::See a list of things above, in the introduction of this discussion thread, about what the interactive display adds to the usability of the BMI scale. [[User:Tom.schulz|TS]] 22:22, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

::::The BMI calculator in [http://www.bmi-scale.com/ bmi-scale.com] is probably protected by [[software patents]] (from the page: ''It's so unique that our patent lawyers filed a patent on it.''). The author of the calculator also requires anyone wanting to use the BMI calculator to get a license (presumably for some fee) from them (from the page: ''You can license this interactive Flash BMI calculator and scale!''). Though it might be OK for Wikipedia to link to that BMI calculator, I think such materials are contradictory to Wikipedia's free principles, and, consequently, many people (me included) probably won't like it. Also, because the page advertises a license for a BMI calculator, the link is probably promotional ones, and consequently, should not be included in Wikipedia. [[User:61.94.148.56|61.94.148.56]] 6 July 2005 14:53 (UTC)

:::::As the website states clearly, it is free and encouraged to link to the page. If someone wants to get a customized version for use on their website they need to get a license. It is free to use at the website http://www.bmi-scale.com. [[User:Tom.schulz|TS]] 22:22, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

::::::Have you read [[Wikipedia:External links#What_should_not_be_linked_to|Wikipedia policy on External links, especially the "What should not be linked to" section]]? [[User:61.94.149.132|61.94.149.132]] 05:49, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

::::::Thank you for pointing me to that page. I don't see the relevance though. www.bmi-scale.com is not selling anything. Also, just yesterday I came across a very useful Wikipedia article on low-cost airlines which is full of links to clearly commercial website (the airlines themselves): "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_low-cost_airlines". How is this consistent with the above page? [[User:24.6.153.149|24.6.153.149]] 20:59, 21 July 2005 (UTC)

:::::::They are allowed because they are official sites — see the exception in [[Wikipedia:External links|the policy page]].

:::::::Of course, Wikipedia is really inconsistent (there are rules broken here and there — if you search more, you could come up with much longer list). But, just because "there are other inconsistencies", an inconsistency doesn't become a right thing, isn't it? If something is wrong, then it had to be fixed. After all, there are policies that defines which is right and which is wrong (and we shall obey the policies, not other inconsistencies).

:::::::No, your site ''is'' selling BMI scale licenses (compare with shareware sites: they are providing their programs for free, but if we want to use their programs for commercial or other purposes, we are required to get a license. Are they selling shareware licenses? According to your definition, no).

:::::::After all, ''adding link to one's own'' [your] ''site'' is strongly discouraged (it is [[User:Tom.schulz|your]] [http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=bmi-scale.com site], isn't it?), especially if your site is ''selling something'' (see, you have broken two rules in the [[Wikipedia:External links#What_should_not_be_linked_to|"What should not be linked to" section, which I told you to read]]).

:::I find those graphs fairly easy to read (but I have a mathematical/science/engineering-type brain). If we ever produce a [[Wikipedia_DVD|DVD version of Wikipeida]] we'd need to license the applet, for a [[dead tree edition|dead-tree version]] the applet (obviously), wouldn't work. [[User:Csmiller|CS Miller]] 20:38, July 11, 2005 (UTC)

==Improvement drive==
[[Obesity]] has been nominated to be improved on [[Wikipedia:This week's improvement drive]]. Vote for it there to support the article.--[[User:Fenice|Fenice]] 20:15, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

== Should height be cubed rather than squared? ==

The standard BMI is a ratio of a person’s weight to the square of his/her height.

Does no one but me have the following objection to the standard BMI formula: Since people are three-dimensional objects, it would be logical to relate weight to the cube of the height rather than the square of the height. If the length of a side of one cube is twice that of another cube, the volume (and therefore weight, assuming the same densities) would be eight times as great. This principle applies equally to irregularly shaped objects, such as people.

The person 73” tall feels he is being classified as overweight at too low a BMI, and WHO believes that South East Asians (statistically shorter on average) should be classified as overweight at lower BMIs. These problems both appear to result from the error in the formula—using squares rather than cubes. A person 6’ tall weighing 184 lbs. would have a BMI just under 25, as would a person 5’ tall weighing 128 lbs. If we compared them by the cubes of their heights rather than the squares, then the 5’ tall person would have to weigh 106 lbs. to have the same ratio as the 6’ 184 lb. person. The 5’ 106 lb. person would be a scale model of the 6’ 184 lb. person.

Why wouldn’t it correctly be the cubes of the height rather than the squares that should be used?

Olivia [[User:172.152.199.8|172.152.199.8]] 03:21, 17 August 2005 (UTC)

:I believe this is because human beings do not scale the same in all three dimensions (if an otherwise equivalent person's body is 10% taller than another, that does not mean that he has a 10% larger waistline, for example). In general, height varies much more than width or depth in a human body, so calculating differences in height does not translate the same for the other two dimensions. Cubing the height would not reflect the reality of how the rest of the human body scales with height changes.

:The differences for asian bodies (and people of other ethnicities) generally are not due to height, but to genetic differences in the amount of muscle mass present. Asians typically have less muscle mass than caucasians, and thus the same BMI would indicate the presence of more fat. -- [[User:Foogod|Foogod]] 22:07, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

I find Foogod’s comments interesting, but I wonder if he/she can cite evidence. I have my own anecdotal evidence about correlation of width and height. I’m 5’6”, and when I weighed 124 lbs., I knew two other young women about the same age as me who weighed the same as me, but both were 3” shorter. So they would have to be fatter than me, yet both wore a clothing size two sizes smaller than me. I have to assume that I was wider but less deep than them, so a cross-section of them would be more round (less oval) to have more area and smaller circumference. -- Olivia
::These comments are interesting; but i must present to you the fact that the Body Mass Index is the lowest type of quotient, and is used specifically on '''sedentary''' individuals. Myself, for instance; because of my muscle mass (18 stones), i would considered obese, when in fact i am not at all obese in any stretch of the imagination. The body mass index is something used to compare with a chart; it is simply a measurement of '''body mass''' not '''body composition'''. Regardless of if it is cubed or squared, the values are mostly used for correlation and are a basic calculation used as a basis; i.e. within the obese, it is used to find his body mass index and compare it with a chart; then a dietary or exercise regime can be planned.
::Most of your thoughts, are indeed right; but let's remeber that it's used only as a very simple means of calculating mass of those who are sedentary. The article contains this information :-) [[User:JSpudeman|The magical Spum-dandy]] 12:36, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

Somebody's added a note to the article to the effect that the measure is ''wrong'' because the height is squared rather than cubed. This seems just plain silly. If it were wrong purely on this basis, then somebody would have noticed soon after the BMI was conceived, and it would probably have never become a standard clinical measure, let alone lasted as one for this long. The explanation in Foogood's first paragraph may well be correct. Moreover, even if bodies ''were'' supposed to be in the same proportions regardless of height, then weight is not necessarily directly proportional to volume. The typical composition of a human body, and hence the body's overall density, may well vary with both weight and height. -- [[User:Smjg|Smjg]] 11:57, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

I've reverted your edits partly because they don't seem to be based on any fact, and partly because they made the page look a bit of a mess. Just because a formula is counter-intuitive doesn't automatically mean that it's wrong. Besides, the links appear to be to pages you've created yourself, and they don't convince me any further on the validity of your claim. As such, it looks like original research at best. Moreover, the mere fact that the 'standard' BMI formlua has survived about 170 years already suggests that it was developed on more well-founded research than yours. Please see Talk:Body mass index#Should height be cubed rather than squared? for a more detailed discussion. -- Smjg 12:16, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

Re: the 'standard' BMI formula has survived about 170 years already suggests that it was developed on more well-founded research than yours. Huh? For thousands of years, our ancestors believed that the earth was the center of the Universe. Turns out that was wrong.

Anyway, I'm certainly not guilty of trying to publish original research, because I haven't done much research. All I have done is ask two doctors for their opinion about a 5 ft. 2 in. person weighing 131 lbs. They both said: "Too fat." So I constructed a table using the BMI concept with the height cubed instead of squared and adjusted it so that it would give equal answers at 5 ft. 8 in. What I did was not science. I was just trying to correct an error in the original formula.

All those who genuinely believe that we are two-dimension should not permit any challenges to enter their minds. The only problem is that we are in fact three dimensional. Why resist the truth? [[User:Lwiner|Lwiner]] 21:15, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

And finally, I thought I was making a valid point (that we are three dimensional and a square-based formula cannot be correct) but if there are people here who are so committed to a flat person concept that they remove my comments, I am able to turn my attention to other matters. So, hasta la vista. [[User:Lwiner|Lwiner]] 21:21, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

: You miss the point. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the average human being is three-dimensional. When the BMI formula was introduced, there can only have been many people, both laypeople and medical researchers, asking why it's squared rather than cubed. If the answer was that Quetelet made such a simple slip as this, then the work would have been rejected straight away. Therefore, there can only be a more complicated, possibly legitimate reason that Quetelet defined the BMI in this way.
: Does anyone have, or know where to find, Quetelet's own literature? This might help put the problem into better perspective.... -- [[User:Smjg|Smjg]] 19:46, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Someone alleges in the article, “[T]he majority of the calculation was based on the intuition of its creator, and not through experimental design. … Quatelet was working strictly from intuition. Unfortunately his intuition was only 2/3 correct.” I don’t know whether this is so, but we can test the formula against another form of assessing body fat as easily now as then. The mention of skin-fold measurements suggests to me a way of evaluating this formula. I would suggest this experiment: Find about 20 people (maybe fewer) with the same BMI (computed using the square formula we are testing) and different heights, preferably a lot of tall and short people. They would have to be “sedentary,” not muscular, and it would be better if they were all the same gender and similar in age. Take a skin-fold measurement of each. Then test the null hypothesis that there is no difference in average skin-fold measurements for tall and short people. -- Olivia, 24 Feb 2006

I guess I should have read this before editing the article - someone will probably revert me. The BMI calculation - as a square - does generate obviously absurd results for people of extreme height. I'm not saying that the exponent should be 3, but it should quite clearly be larger than 2. Otherwise, people who are 7' tall show up as overweight if they weigh 240 lb, and 240 seems like a decent weight for a 7' tall guy. He might even be thin. --[[User:Llewdor|Llewdor]] 22:27, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

The address below provides an abstract of a 1985 paper in the International Journal of Obesity, and indicates a high degree of correlation (0.955 for women, 0.94 for men) between an estimate of body fat derived from the BMI and from some other methods, for the sample population (people attending an obesity clinic). Clearly this is not the last word on the subject (one might ask eg what about other surveys? what about other populations? what about correlation with other methods of assessing body fat? would an exponent other than 2 have offered a better match?). Nevertheless, it does provide an example of evidence that the BMI with a (counterintuitive) exponent of 2 is a useful, simple, approximate measure of obesity, subject to the requirement that the banding criteria (eg the BMI value defining morbid obesity) are chosen to be suitable for the population being assessed.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=4030199&dopt=Abstract

== Evidence that slightly overweight is healthier? ==

The article currently contains the following statement:

:Some evidence exists that people with a BMI that would classify them as slightly overweight (25-27 for average Caucasians) actually live longer, healthier lives on average.

Does anyone have any references for this statement? If references are available, they should be provided.. if not it's arguable this statement shouldn't be included if it's unsupportable. (I also ask because I'm curious myself about the evidence mentioned and would like to research this further, but don't know where to start) -- [[User:Foogod|Foogod]] 21:56, 19 December 2005 (UTC)

'''Update:''' After some digging, I did find a reference to this in the Health Policy Institute of Ohio document linked to at the end of the article. There is apparently a finding of reduced mortality rates in overweight people relative to "ideal weight" people in a 2005 NIH/CDC study, however this study does not appear to speak towards "healthier lives". Any other references anybody has to these sort of studies of this would still be welcome. -- [[User:Foogod|Foogod]] 19:14, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

* The following well-publicized, peer-reviewed JAMA article is probably the best reference for the evidence that those in BMI 25-30 have lower overall mortality than those in BMI 20-25. [http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/293/15/1861?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=obesity&searchid=1137789066490_625&FIRSTINDEX=0&journalcode=jama] [[User:Peachy1|Peachy1]] 20:33, 20 January 2006 (UTC)

== Working on a cleanup and slight de-muddification of facts ==

Hello,it's Spum here, registered Dietician/Nutritionist and training Physician. I think the article could do with making more condensed and more informative. Definately, the concerns of the above are correct, however, the Quatelet index is not, to all intensive purposes, a way of measuring body composition, but merely a tool used to show the median possibility of injury or illness, but more specifically should be used at the discretion fo the dietician; something which i use only for those who rarely do exercise or are sedentary in their nature. Of course for those of an athletic nature, [[Tomography|Computed tomography]], [[Magnetic resonance imaging]], or [[Bioelectrical Impedance analysis|BIA]] would be more suited.

If nyou have any further questions you wish to ask, please do not hesitate to drop me a message! [[User:Spum|The magical Spum-dandy]] ([[User talk:Spum|talk]])

== Mass is not Weight ==

Where the article often says the word [[weight]] (like in the BMI eqn.), it shold say [[mass]]. Mass is the amount of material in an object ([[SI]] unit kilograms, imperial unit [[pound (mass)|pounds]]), while weight is the force of gravity on the object (technically measured in [[Newtons]]). If someone where to go to Earths moon or Mars, their weight wold change (gravity is lower), but mass would not and they would still have too much fatty material. However, it is possible that the extra mass would not cause that much damage if gravity was reduced (so the "weight" term in obesity management is really accurate. Did anyone ever investigate this possibility (and find it correct), or should the weight it the equation be replaced by mass? [[User:Polonium|Polonium]] 20:07, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

:You're correct for the most part; however, the calculation is correct in having "weight"; mass is a quotient which takes into consideration more than one dimension; eg the mass of a cube, or soforth. Upon this, the term "BMI = mass / height squared" would actually be a recursive calculation because in this particular instance, the mass is calculated using the body mass index. Nevertheless, the lower portions which i have not cleaned up are quite old and therefore do have some errors. [[User:JSpudeman|The magical Spum-dandy]] 20:15, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

::No, if someone were to go to the Moon or Mars, their "weight" would not change as that term is quite properly used in medicine and physiology. It '''can''' say mass (a synonym in this context), and may keep people like you from becoming confused when it does, but it is not an error to call it weight. [[User:Gene Nygaard|Gene Nygaard]] 15:09, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

OK, this is the best place I could find to put this comment: muscle does not weight more than fat, as was stated in the article. A pound of anything, is equal to one pound of anything else. I have changed the line in the article from "muscle weighs a great deal more than fat" to "muscle is denser than fat." --[[User:Scottclemens|Scottclemens]] 18:25, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

Scott great point, it reminds me of the old joke, what weighs more a pound of feathers or a pound of nails....? BMI was discussed in-depth by several top bariatric surgeons recently in some recorded interviews. {{unsigned|68.161.190.158}}

==Underweight==
I'm a student currently researching BMI and I noticed one of your facts are wrong. Underweight starts at 18.5, not 20. You can check the Center for Disease Control and Prevention if you feel like it. {{unsigned|156.63.190.132}}
:Maybe you can provide a citation for not only this fact, but some place where this particular United States agency was given the authority to determine this interpretation not only for everyone in the United States, but for everyone in the rest of the world as well. [[User:Gene Nygaard|Gene Nygaard]] 15:05, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

== Underweight-healthy boundary ==

Nobody seems sure of the lower bound of the ideal BMI range. I've seen it variously given as 18, 18.5, 19, 19.5 or 20. But this is probably the first source I've seen that gives separate figures for male and female.

And this looks nonsensical: "Human bodies rank along the index from around 15 (near starvation) to over 40 (morbidly obese)". The average for a newborn baby ATMS (20", 7lb) is 12.8. When you get to babies that are born skinnier than usual, it would seem silly to claim that they're still around 15. -- [[User:Smjg|Smjg]] 14:42, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

:Just to point out; '''The body mass index takes height into consideration as well'''. Take a look at the chart on the main article. [[User:JSpudeman|The magical Spum-dandy]] 13:58, 4 February 2006 (UTC)

:: As well as what? It would seem obvious from what I just said that I know what a body mass index is. -- [[User:Smjg|Smjg]] 16:36, 7 February 2006 (UTC)

== What is this about? ==

I have only read the intro and briefly skimmed the article, which should be enough to get an idea of that the article is about. But it isn't. At first I thought this was a statistical thing, a method to record the ''actual'' height-to-weight ratios. But then I got the impression it is about determining if one is overweight. The intro should state more clealry what it is about. Also, if it is about the latter then there should be a clear link to any article about the former (and vice versa). [[User:DirkvdM|DirkvdM]] 11:04, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

:Well; it should be taken into consideration that the lower sections of the article have not been clarified by myself. The idea of the body mass index is that, it is a simple quotient of body mass; from which, it can be calculated if somebody is overweight. Similarly, it can used to check for ideal body mass or the body mass of the underweight; but that is not the direct nature of the body mass index.

:Just as you can use a speedometer to see if you are speeding, it is not made solely for that purpose; The idea of the body mass index is that it is used as a simple means of calculating the body mass of sedentary individuals. From this data, it can then be compared with a chart to determine obese or underweight individuals, but it is not specifically used for that. The basic gist of what i am saying is that the Body Mass Index, itself, ONLY calculates the general mass of an individual. Although this can then be correlated with charts, this is just using BMI for another purpose.
:[[User:JSpudeman|The magical Spum-dandy]] 11:45, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

::However all that may be, I somehow ended up here (trying to answer a ref desk question) and hadn't a clue what the article was about. That should be stated way at the top, not somewhere in the middle, so people will instantly know if this is the page for them. More specifically, I was looking for statistics of the general population concerning body weight. And the title suggests this article is about that. So I wasted time reading something that was totally irrellevant to my quest. I gather that in certain circles 'BMI' is a well known thing, but one cannot assume such knowledge and jump right into the deep. There has to be an intro for people who haven't a clue what it is about. It ''is'' about checking if one's length/weight ratio is healthy, right? However this may secifically be the case, clear it up in the intro. [[User:DirkvdM|DirkvdM]] 12:41, 9 February 2006 (UTC)

== Obscure introduction ==

What does this mean in the introduction?
:Despite the fact it only takes into consideration 2 dimensions of the human body, it is only used as a quotient of an individual's body mass, which in clinical practice would be used in correlation with a body mass index chart.
*Does "2 dimensions" mean height squared (rather than cubed) or two variates (height and weight)?
*What is the meaning of "quotient" in this context?
*What sort of "body mass index chart" is implied? I thought the charts simply graphed BMI (often by colour) as a function of height and weight. Or do some charts "correct" BMI categories for height?
[[User:Thincat|Thincat]] 12:27, 8 March 2006 (UTC)
:I have now tried to sort this out myself. [[User:Thincat|Thincat]] 14:21, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

== Means of estimating body mass ==

The article says
:"the BMI is a relatively simple and quick process for calculating overall body mass"
and
:"BMI is typically used as a means of estimating body mass".
These statements both seem wrong (and so, presumably, non-verifiable) and yet have been there quite some time. I wonder what is meant? [[Weighing scale]]s are a means of estimating [[Human weight|body weight]] and, hence, body mass (see [[weight]]). BMI is a means of estimating [[body type]] or [[body fat]] (or words to that effect). This sort of confusion seems to occur elsewhere in the article and I find many parts written in a rather obscure style.

In the [[human weight]] article it says:
:"Another way of looking at human weight is finding the lean body weight. Lean body weight is essentially your total body weight minus weight comprised of fat."
which I also find rather obscure. However, even there, I do not think it is suggesting "body weight" and "lean body weight" are to be equated. Does anyone have comments before I make some changes? [[User:Thincat|Thincat]] 14:18, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

:Just throw that one-sentence paragraph out, rather than trying to salvage anything. Maybe it was intended to do with something like calculating "ideal" or "acceptable" body mass for someone of a given height, but do we really need to speculate about what was intended? It doesn't make sense; just toss it. Whatever it was intended to say is likely redundant with what is already said; if it make you think of some point not covered, just start from scratch. [[User:Gene Nygaard|Gene Nygaard]] 16:14, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

== Imperial units of measurement and image concern ==

I added a BMI formula that works directly with <s>United States</s> Imperial units, and is in fairly widespread use. It avoids one having to convert to metric first. The conversion factor 703 is sometimes (incorrectly) stated as 704 or even some other value, but using Google calculator comes up with 703.06958, which rounds to 703 with negligible error. I also added a link to the CDC BMI faq which has a similar formula, but moved the 703 to the front, which is mathematically equivalent and much neater.

As for the BMI chart, an outdated "fair use" chart could be better replaced with an up-to-date free image, it is likely that some government site has a suitable one, but I do not have time at the moment to go find one. --[[User:Frank Lofaro Jr.|Frank Lofaro Jr.]] 07:33, 26 March 2006 (UTC)

== Changes to BMI article ==

I have made a series of quite major changes to the article, mainly to reorganise the existing material into what seems to me to be a more logical order.

However, I have added a new section on how BMI is calculated (partly drawing in material from elsewhere in the article). It seems to me that BMI itself is easily and pretty accurately measured. It is the categorisation based on BMI measurements that causes confusion and dispute. Hence, I have tried to emphasise BMI categories as being a rather separate issue (and one prone to error). I have tried to make a start in clarifying this.

Apart from deleting a sentence and a phrase which I commented on above previously and which I'm sure were incorrect, I have not attempted a detailed critique of the physiological aspects: I am not qualified to do this. I might have a shot at this later, but giving other editors time to examine each point separately. [[User:Thincat|Thincat]] 12:21, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

== Suggestion for BMI FAQ, ideal weight and body fat ==

Here is a suggestion for ideal weight and BMI calculator at [http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/idealWeight.php BMI and ideal weight] along with a [http://www.dietandfitnesstoday.com/bmifaq.php BMI FAQ] and 2 different body fat calculators from bmi (with references). I think the BMI FAQ is more extensive than the current BMI FAQ.
Thanks
Antonia

== Underwater weighing vs bio-electric impedence ==

Underwater weighing is the gold standard, bio-electric impedence is of low accuracy and low reproducibility, being influenced greatly by hydration and skin resistance. --[[User:Frank Lofaro Jr.|Frank Lofaro Jr.]] 03:59, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

:Correct, but bio-electrical impedence is much more accurate than using the body mass index because it's an attempt to measure body composition directly. [[User:JSpudeman|The magical Spum-dandy]] 07:49, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

I personally found the Bio-electrial impedence to be way off for me. Of the three of us that used it, I'm the only one that obviously has extra weight (all of it in the tummy) and yet by that measurement, I had the least. As a singer, I drink lots & lots of water daily. Currently my primary forms of exercise are the weekly chorus rehersals (mostly lungs, but there's some stage movements), and a 1/4 mile walk each way from our parking garage to the office, and when the weather is nice on a work day, up to a 1/2 mile walk during lunch. [[User:Joncnunn|Joncnunn]] 18:35, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

:Again, they are not meant to be 100% unfallable, and again; biolectical impedence is more accurate. [[User:JSpudeman|The magical Spum-dandy]] 21:03, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

==Recent news==
Authors of this article may be interested in the - sort of related - new childrens growth standards released by the WHO, see [http://www.who.int/childgrowth/en/index.html this].--[[User:Petaholmes|nixie]] 04:08, 1 May 2006 (UTC)

==Units==
Can someone PLEASE post a chart here in U.S. units? Most of this site's readers are Americans, and we have no idea what you are talking about. A chart with kilos on it signifies absolutely nothing to me. I understand having a metric chart in the spirit of multiculturalism, but please put a U.S. one as well so that we can understand it when we read it.

[[User:History21|History21]] 01:11, 26 May 2006 (UTC)History21

:Kilos makes sense, but the charts other option is "stones." Does anyone measure their weight in stones these days?--[[User:T. Anthony|T. Anthony]] 21:23, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

Only the WHOLE of the British Isles. And most of Europe uses Kilos. Not everyone uses the same units of measurement as the Americans, though I suspect they would like us to. [G Pearce 15:34, 05 June 2006]

This is an interactive BMI calculator in metric, US, and UK units: [http://www.bmi-scale.com BMI Calculator and Scale]

==Starvation BMI?==
One part of this article says that a BMI under 15 is considered starvation, but the scale says that under 17 is starvation... which is it? [[User:Melange fiesta|Melange fiesta]] 01:10, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

==Removed POV paragraph==
I removed this paragraph from the problems section, as it is POV, (possible original research) male-bashing feminist propaganda:
:''"One more problem is that men, in general, tend to over-estimate the amount of muscle mass that they have. Conversely, they tend to under-estimate their body-fat percentage. That causes them to believe that their high BMI is not indicative of large fat stores, and to discount the usefulness of the BMI as a screening tool. Studies indicate that the higher the BMI, the less likely it is to be a result of abundant muscle mass."''
I feel text such as this does not belong anywhere but in a leaflet for recrutment, furthering the masses of feminism. Bad ju-ju - [[User:Jrockley|Jak]] [[User talk:Jrockley|(talk)]] 02:14, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

==Validity for tall folk==
At 198cm here, I can safely say that the BMI completely breaks down for me as an average build, sedentry man. The only time in my adult life I've been within the 'normal' range is after a 6 week nervouse breakdown where I couldn't eat - I had a concave belly and countable ribs, and still scored high normal in the BMI (see the graph 92kg is high normal).

How the BMI addresses height is important, considering that the population is getting taller on average. If the goalposts aren't moved with the move in average height, more people will be classed obese just simply because they're taller and the BMI isn't classing them properly.

Talk:Caveman

2006-05-31T22:51:24Z

Capi crimm:

How many words in the [[English language]] are there a level of disagreement on whether they are masculine or generic?? [[User:66.245.5.89|66.245.5.89]] 19:27, 4 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I think it's a bad idea to bring that up at all. They should mostly talk about how not all "cavemen" lived in caves instead... Besides, as a comment it's completely useless and tells us nothing. OF friggen course there's going to be females with them, do you think that people will start thinking they reproduced asexually or were hermaphrodites? na

:: There is no disagreement from an etymological standpoint. Caveman refers to mankind in a cave, not the male half of our species. In old english, for example, man was gender nuetral. I don't know the exact history of caveman, but I think it's more common use mirrors the etymology of women.

== Cavemen ==

Cave men are very intresting in very diffrent ways it is intresting how they looked at things diffrent then we do. It is very intresting on how they actually survived in the way they wreliving in.

Talk:Desktop computer

2006-05-12T05:43:03Z

Capi crimm: /* Removed floppy disk drive from components */

I had to remove the careful product placing. I must remind you that Wikipedia is not an advertising site, information here will provide the most useful (less misguiding) info to the readers.

==Is this true?==

Under the subhead All In One, the following statement appears -- ''These types of desktop computers save desk space, but are limited when it comes to expansion to improve their capabilities.''
Is that true? What does it mean by ''improve their capabilities''? [[User:Moriori|Moriori]] 20:39, July 15, 2005 (UTC)

==sound card==

Are sound cards really necessary, especially in this day and age where most sound codecs are integrated directly into the motherboard?

== Removed floppy disk drive from components ==

Its been completly phased out, except through usb on all new computers.

[[User:Superway25|Superway25]] 07:02, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

: since when have floppy disks been phased out? I may be misunderstanding you here, but I see floppy drives all the time, and consider them fairly standard? They may not be used as much as they once were, but they definetly still carry an important role in computing. [[User:Capi crimm|Capi crimm]] 05:43, 12 May 2006 (UTC)

Metaprogramming

2006-04-12T03:05:11Z

Capi crimm:

:''This article is about the programming technique. For the management technique, see [[metaprogramming (management)]].''

'''Metaprogramming''' is the writing of [[computer program|programs]] that write or manipulate other programs (or themselves) as their data or that do part of the work that is otherwise done at [[runtime]] during [[compile time]]. In many cases, this allows programmers to get more done in the same amount of time as they would take to write all the code manually.

The language in which the metaprogram is written is called the '''meta-language'''. The language of the programs that are manipulated is called the '''object-language'''. The capacity of a programming language to be its own meta-language is called '''reflexivity'''.

A simple example of a metaprogram is this [[bash]] [[script (computer programming)|script]], which is an example of [[generative programming]]:

#!/bin/bash
# metaprogram
echo '#!/bin/bash' >program
for ((I=1; I<=992; I++)); do
echo "echo $I" >>program
done
chmod +x program

This script (or program) generates a new 993 line program which prints out the numbers 1–992. This is only an illustration on how to use code to write more code, not the most efficient way to print out a list of numbers. Nonetheless, a good programmer can write and execute this metaprogram in just a couple of minutes, and will have generated exactly 1000 lines of code in that amount of time.

Not all metaprogramming involves generative programming. If programs are modifiable at runtime (as in [[Lisp programming language|Lisp]], [[Smalltalk]], [[Ruby programming language|Ruby]], [[PHP]], and other languages), then techniques can be used to accomplish metaprogramming without actually generating source code.

*The most common metaprogramming tool is a [[compiler]] which allows a programmer to write a relatively short program in a [[high-level language]] and uses it to write an equivalent [[assembly language]] or [[machine language]] program. This generally saves a good deal of time compared to writing the machine language program directly.

*Another still fairly common example of metaprogramming might be found in the use of [[lex]] (see also: [[Flex lexical analyser|flex]]) and [[yacc]] (see also: [[GNU bison|bison]]), which are used to generate compilers and interpreters.

*A [[quine]] is a special kind of metaprogram that has its own source as its output.

*One style of programming which focuses heavily on metaprogramming is called [[Language Oriented Programming]].

[[Reflection (computer science)|Reflection]] is a valuable language feature for facilitating metaprogramming. Having the programming language itself as a first class data type (as in [[Lisp programming language|Lisp]]) is also very useful.

==See also==
*[[Template metaprogramming]], a C++ compile-time example
*[[OpenC Plus Plus|OpenC++]]
*[[Recoder]]
*[[Code generation]]
*[[introspector (program)|GCC RDF Introspector]]
*[[XL Programming Language]]
*[[Self-modifying code]]
*[[Partial evaluation]]
*[[Ruby on Rails]], an [[open-source]] [[web application]] [[framework]]
*[[Assembly language|Assembly]]
*[[LISP]]
*[[Interpretive Languages]]
*[[REBOL]]
*[[Domain-specific programming language]]

==External links==
*[http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-metaprog3/?ca=dgr-wikiaMetaprogP3 The Art of Enterprise Metaprogramming]
*[http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?MetaProgramming c2.com Wiki: Metaprogramming article]
*[http://fare.tunes.org/articles/ll99/index.en.html Metaprogramming and Free Availability of Sources] by François-René Rideau
*[http://www.meta-language.net/ MetaL] - Metaprogramming language with source code in XML that is used to generate code in several target languages: Java, Perl, PHP, etc.
*[http://dslengine.sourceforge.net/ DSLEngine] - Scheme macro metaprogramming example
*[http://www.cse.ogi.edu/PacSoft/projects/metaml/ MetaML] - A version of ML with homogeneous (same-language) metaprogramming
*[http://recoder.sourceforge.net/ RECODER] - Framework for source code metaprogramming in Java
*[http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/taxonomy/node/or/15 Metaprogramming Weblog] - At Lambda the Ultimate
*[http://mozart-dev.sf.net/moka.html Moka, a Java-to-Java extensible compiler]
*[http://poignantguide.net/ruby/chapter-6.html why’s (poignant) guide to ruby] - Metaprogramming in Ruby
*[http://www-128.ibm.com/developerworks/linux/library/l-metaprog1.html The art of metaprogramming, Part 1] - Introduction to metaprogramming, with codes in several languages
*[http://eigenclass.org/] - Wiki with myriad Metaprogramming examples for the Ruby programming language

[[Category:Code generation]]
[[Category:Programming paradigms]]

[[es:Metaprogramación]]
[[pl:Metaprogramowanie]]
[[ru:Метапрограммирование]]
[[vi:Lập trình meta]]

Talk:Microsoft Windows

2006-04-12T01:54:37Z

Capi crimm: /* Invention of GUI */

{{GA}}

{{talkheader}}

'''Discussion archive''': 
'''[[Talk:Microsoft Windows/History as of 2005 Dec 31|Archive 1]]''': Article creation to [[December 31]] [[2005]].

==Invention of GUI==
"Windows has produced a significant change in the way people interact with computers; it is possible to perform most common tasks, some quite complex, with very little computer knowledge." - mightn't this give some people the impression that MS invented the GUI? [[User:Thomas Ash|Thomas Ash]]
:The corollary to that theorem is of course that it is quite impossible to perform the simplest tasks, even with a great deal of computer knowledge.—[[User:Kbolino|Kbolino]] 07:11, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

:GUI technology has evolved. You could start with CDC Plato, which is almost never given the credit it deserves. Then the familiar Xerox PARC which inspired Apple and Microsoft. Microsoft has made major contributions to GUI, in particular the extensible GUI that evolved out of MS Office and became OLE Automation (consider what happenes when you install something like Via Voice or Systran, where new software integrates and modifies the interface of MS Word). And the use of scripting and interface prototyping with Visual Basic was hugely influential, inspiring many web-based interface scripting languages like javascript. [[User:DonPMitchell|DonPMitchell]] 06:28, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

:: I'd like some references for what your saying Don P Mitchell. I don't want to commit an ad ignorantiam, but I've never heard any of that as being inspired by Microsoft. I'd consider myself fairly aware of the topic, for example I've read some papers by Brendan Eich, but I've never heard the conclusions your pulling up. I just don't connect Windows with founder of extensibilty.--[[User:Capi crimm|Capi crimm]] 01:54, 12 April 2006 (UTC)

== Pictures of Vista? ==

I think it would be good if there was a good picture (screenshot) of Windows Vista to show the evolution of Windows and what it is proposed to become. In fact, shots of Windows 3.1, Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP, and Vista would be even better, if they were side by side, in showing the changes in the UI over time. It's really been quite dramatic. [[User:Nicholasink|Nicholasink]] 05:28, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

== Removed picture from "See Also" section ==

I removed a picture from the "See Also" section. It showed a teller machine with a Windows exception error message, but the description just stated that it ran Windows and nothing else regarding the message. Besides a picture not making sense in a "See Also" links section, that particular picture's NPOV is highly disputable. [[User:Spookfish|Spookfish]] 19:31, 2 January 2006 (UTC)

== No Windows 2003/XP x64 mentioned and WINE is not an emulator ==

I think Windows 2003 and Windows XP x64 need to be mentioned here. XP to Vista is totally misleading.

Also, http://sourceforge.net/projects/wine/ , Says "WINE is not an emulator," it is an API compatible with WIN32.

:"'''WINE I'''s '''N'''ot an '''E'''mulator" is the current official breakdown of the acronym, but what it really means is that WINE is not a hardware emulator or an emulation layer, but simply an API layer that in itself emulates the Windows APIs. --[[User:tonsofpcs|tonsofpcs]] ([[User talk:tonsofpcs|Talk]]) 07:55, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

== thumbs.db ==

[[thumbs.db]] redirects to "Microsoft Windows", but it is not explained what thumbs.db is. --[[User:Abdull|Abdull]] 12:04, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

== Relation between versions ==
An image similar to the one below would improve the article.

[[Image:Unix.png|400px]] —This [[Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages|unsigned]] comment was added by [[User:193.166.18.45|193.166.18.45]] ([[User talk:193.166.18.45|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/193.166.18.45|contribs]]) {{{2|}}}.

:See [[History of Microsoft Windows]]. It has such an image. [[User:Warrens|Warrens]] 17:29, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

==GA==

Needs more references, but passes GA standards. [[User:Savidan|savidan]][[User_talk:Savidan|(talk)]] [[Wikipedia:Esperanza|(e@)]] 03:55, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

== "Windows" article redirect issue ==

There are some questions arising as to whether or not [[Windows]] should redirect to [[Microsoft Windows]] or [[Window (disambiguation)]]. There are merits to both routes, so please give it some thought and chip in your thoughts at [[Talk:Windows]]. :-) [[User:Warrens|Warrens]] 21:49, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

Talk:Microsoft Windows

2006-04-12T01:53:32Z

Capi crimm: /* Invention of GUI */

{{GA}}

{{talkheader}}

'''Discussion archive''': 
'''[[Talk:Microsoft Windows/History as of 2005 Dec 31|Archive 1]]''': Article creation to [[December 31]] [[2005]].

==Invention of GUI==
"Windows has produced a significant change in the way people interact with computers; it is possible to perform most common tasks, some quite complex, with very little computer knowledge." - mightn't this give some people the impression that MS invented the GUI? [[User:Thomas Ash|Thomas Ash]]
:The corollary to that theorem is of course that it is quite impossible to perform the simplest tasks, even with a great deal of computer knowledge.—[[User:Kbolino|Kbolino]] 07:11, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

:GUI technology has evolved. You could start with CDC Plato, which is almost never given the credit it deserves. Then the familiar Xerox PARC which inspired Apple and Microsoft. Microsoft has made major contributions to GUI, in particular the extensible GUI that evolved out of MS Office and became OLE Automation (consider what happenes when you install something like Via Voice or Systran, where new software integrates and modifies the interface of MS Word). And the use of scripting and interface prototyping with Visual Basic was hugely influential, inspiring many web-based interface scripting languages like javascript. [[User:DonPMitchell|DonPMitchell]] 06:28, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

:: I'd like some references for what your saying Don P Mitchell. I don't want to commit an ad ignorantiam, but I've never heard any of that as being inspired by Microsoft. I'd consider myself fairly aware of the topic, for example I've read some papers by Brendan Eich, but I've never heard the conclusions your pulling up. I just don't connect Windows with founder of extensibilty.

== Pictures of Vista? ==

I think it would be good if there was a good picture (screenshot) of Windows Vista to show the evolution of Windows and what it is proposed to become. In fact, shots of Windows 3.1, Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP, and Vista would be even better, if they were side by side, in showing the changes in the UI over time. It's really been quite dramatic. [[User:Nicholasink|Nicholasink]] 05:28, 1 January 2006 (UTC)

== Removed picture from "See Also" section ==

I removed a picture from the "See Also" section. It showed a teller machine with a Windows exception error message, but the description just stated that it ran Windows and nothing else regarding the message. Besides a picture not making sense in a "See Also" links section, that particular picture's NPOV is highly disputable. [[User:Spookfish|Spookfish]] 19:31, 2 January 2006 (UTC)

== No Windows 2003/XP x64 mentioned and WINE is not an emulator ==

I think Windows 2003 and Windows XP x64 need to be mentioned here. XP to Vista is totally misleading.

Also, http://sourceforge.net/projects/wine/ , Says "WINE is not an emulator," it is an API compatible with WIN32.

:"'''WINE I'''s '''N'''ot an '''E'''mulator" is the current official breakdown of the acronym, but what it really means is that WINE is not a hardware emulator or an emulation layer, but simply an API layer that in itself emulates the Windows APIs. --[[User:tonsofpcs|tonsofpcs]] ([[User talk:tonsofpcs|Talk]]) 07:55, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

== thumbs.db ==

[[thumbs.db]] redirects to "Microsoft Windows", but it is not explained what thumbs.db is. --[[User:Abdull|Abdull]] 12:04, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

== Relation between versions ==
An image similar to the one below would improve the article.

[[Image:Unix.png|400px]] —This [[Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages|unsigned]] comment was added by [[User:193.166.18.45|193.166.18.45]] ([[User talk:193.166.18.45|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/193.166.18.45|contribs]]) {{{2|}}}.

:See [[History of Microsoft Windows]]. It has such an image. [[User:Warrens|Warrens]] 17:29, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

==GA==

Needs more references, but passes GA standards. [[User:Savidan|savidan]][[User_talk:Savidan|(talk)]] [[Wikipedia:Esperanza|(e@)]] 03:55, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

== "Windows" article redirect issue ==

There are some questions arising as to whether or not [[Windows]] should redirect to [[Microsoft Windows]] or [[Window (disambiguation)]]. There are merits to both routes, so please give it some thought and chip in your thoughts at [[Talk:Windows]]. :-) [[User:Warrens|Warrens]] 21:49, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

Talk:Linux kernel

2006-04-11T22:42:32Z

Capi crimm: /* List of people involved in Linux */

== Poor intro ==

The article starts in a weird way, with a discussion of the freeness of the kernel. I think it should start with couple of sentences that define what the Linux kernel actually is and how it got started. --Anon

== Language ==

What language(s) is the Linux kernel actually written in? The Wiki article says "almost entirely in C", but I wonder if actually, the Linux kernel uses gcc compiler extensions to the C language. If so, is it proper to simply state that it is written in C? --[[User:Lfwlfw|LarryW]] 22:16, 16 Aug 2003 (UTC)

:Maybe not ANSI C, but it is C. Some device drivers may include inline assembler, but as such they are architecture-dependent. I assume that's what the "mostly" refers to. -- [[User:Miguel|Miguel]]

::C with a few gcc extensions. But even with a few extensions, it's still C. It's "almost entirely in C" because a small minority of the code is written in assembler. --[[User:Adrian Bunk|Adrian Bunk]] 20:20, 8 Jun 2004 (UTC)

== Architecture name ==

Should it be Compaq Alpha? They merged with HP... --Anon

== Technical features ==

I think that this page needs more information on the capabilities of the Linux kernel; things like it's RCU implementation, it's new unified device model, User Mode Linux, ACPI etc. I'll do what I can, but I'm sure that there are people who are better suited to this task than I am, and who would know how to better present the extra information I am looking for. --MJA

=== Needs to get more technical ===

This article needs a good description of how the kernel is arranged internally, starting with the directories in the kernel source, kernel/, fs/ sound/ and so on, how they relate to each other and how the build process takes place. --[[User:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason| ]] [[User:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason/|Ævar]] [[User talk:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason/|Arnfjörð]] [{{SERVER}}{{localurl:User talk:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason|action=edit&section=new}} Bjarmason] [[User:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason/| ]] 21:24, 2004 Sep 25 (UTC)

:Are you sure that is appropriate? Might be more fit for Wikibooks than an encyclopedia article. --[[User:Marudubshinki|maru]] [[User talk:Marudubshinki|(talk)]] [[Special:Contributions/Marudubshinki|Contribs]] 01:44, 22 January 2006 (UTC)
::I agree, if you really want them link to the resources(tons of them out there), but a encylopedia should be a quick terse overview. Nothing too indepth or technical if we can help it.

== Who has the most ports? ==

I read in MatthewWilcox changes that "NetBSD has been ported to almost as many architectures" Do we have some numbers for that? Some quick googling gave these pages:
[http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/] for NetBSD and [http://perso.wanadoo.es/xose/linux/linux_ports.html] for Linux. It certainly seems that NetBSD "wins" in number of ports. Does anybody has better references? --[[User:Sander123|Sander123]] 13:33, 1 Nov 2004 (UTC)

:http://www.kroah.com/log/2004/09/29/#more_archs is a claim from a Linux kernel hacker that Linux supports more architectures than NetBSD; it references the [http://en.tldp.org/HOWTO/User-Group-HOWTO-1.html Linux User Group HOWTO]. --[[User:Neilc|Neilc]] 14:41, 1 Nov 2004 (UTC)

== List of people involved in Linux ==

It would good to have on this page (or another page) a list of the people involved in Linux and who they are. The people I could find in WikiPedia so far were: [[[Linus_Torvalds]]], [[[Alan_Cox]]], [[[Ingo_Molnar]]], [[[Marcelo_Tosatti]]] and [[[Miguel_de_Icaza]]] has worked on it in the past. a good place to start might be in the Linux [http://lxr.linux.no/source/MAINTAINERS MAINTAINERS] file. --Anon1

:Don't forget [[Robert Love]]. --Anon2

:: and Eric Raymond!... wait... no, no, I forgot wikipedia was supposed to be based on facts.

== Doubled? ==

Did anyone notice that the page was doubled in various places over the last week or so? Man, that's embarrassing. Apologies if I've reverted anyone's changes; I think I have it right, but everyone's fallible... --[[User:Grendelkhan|grendel]]|[[User_talk:Grendelkhan|khan]] 17:19, July 20, 2005 (UTC)

:I didn't notice <tt>:(</tt>. I guess that's what I get for being more concerned about commas and hyphens than the actual content of the article! —[[User:HorsePunchKid|HorsePunchKid]]→[[User talk:HorsePunchKid|龜]] 18:42, July 20, 2005 (UTC)

== Shared Libraries ==

The kernel doesn't have shared libraries, it has loadable modules. Shared libraries are managed entirely by the user space toolchain. The kernel's support for shared libraries consists of the mmap() system call by means of which a shared library file (.so) is made to appear as a data object in the virtual address space of a process. The kernel doesn't "know" or "care" what is in that mapping. —''The preceding [[Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages|unsigned]] comment was added by'' [[User:192.139.122.66|192.139.122.66]] ([[User talk:192.139.122.66|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/192.139.122.66|contribs]]) 14:06, July 22, 2005.

:If you feel that there's a factual problem with the article, please [[WP:BOLD|be bold]] and fix it! —[[User:HorsePunchKid|HorsePunchKid]]→[[User talk:HorsePunchKid|龜]] 20:35, July 22, 2005 (UTC)

== Fork vs. Branch ==

"Also, sometimes after the version there will be some more letters such as 'rc1' or 'am2'. The 'rc' refers to release candidate and indicates a non-official release. Other letters are usually the initials of a person. This indicates a slight fork of the kernel by that person. e.g. am2 would stand for Andrew Morton."

It's a branch, not a fork, right?

:Correct. A fork would imply that these developers are going off on their own seperate development. That's not what's happening. In most cases they're trying out and working on various patches and additions (e.g Reiser4 in -am), but they're still tracking Linus' development. And occasionally those patches are accepted by Linus into his kernel tree. So "branch" is the more appropriate term. [[User:Imroy|Imroy]] 08:29, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

== Linux Kernel Architecture ==

The Architecture section of this article should actually go to [[Linux architecture]]. This will keep things in parallel with what the [[Architecture of the Windows NT operating system line]] article did. This page is evolving as more of a history of the Linux kernel, and its expansive architecture really deserves a page of its own. Any opinions? --[[User:Dirkbike|Dirkbike]] 03:04, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

:That's what main article templates are for. --[[User:Marudubshinki |maru]] [[User talk:Marudubshinki|(talk)]] [[Special:Contributions/Marudubshinki |contribs]] 04:41, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

== On [[Portal:Free software]], Linux kernel is currently the featured article ==

Just to let you know. The purpose of featuring an article is both to point readers to the article and to highlight it to potential contributors. It will remain the feature for a week or so. The previous feature was [[KDE]]. [[User:Gronky|Gronky]] 09:09, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Talk:Linux kernel

2006-04-11T22:39:24Z

Capi crimm: /* Needs to get more technical */

== Poor intro ==

The article starts in a weird way, with a discussion of the freeness of the kernel. I think it should start with couple of sentences that define what the Linux kernel actually is and how it got started. --Anon

== Language ==

What language(s) is the Linux kernel actually written in? The Wiki article says "almost entirely in C", but I wonder if actually, the Linux kernel uses gcc compiler extensions to the C language. If so, is it proper to simply state that it is written in C? --[[User:Lfwlfw|LarryW]] 22:16, 16 Aug 2003 (UTC)

:Maybe not ANSI C, but it is C. Some device drivers may include inline assembler, but as such they are architecture-dependent. I assume that's what the "mostly" refers to. -- [[User:Miguel|Miguel]]

::C with a few gcc extensions. But even with a few extensions, it's still C. It's "almost entirely in C" because a small minority of the code is written in assembler. --[[User:Adrian Bunk|Adrian Bunk]] 20:20, 8 Jun 2004 (UTC)

== Architecture name ==

Should it be Compaq Alpha? They merged with HP... --Anon

== Technical features ==

I think that this page needs more information on the capabilities of the Linux kernel; things like it's RCU implementation, it's new unified device model, User Mode Linux, ACPI etc. I'll do what I can, but I'm sure that there are people who are better suited to this task than I am, and who would know how to better present the extra information I am looking for. --MJA

=== Needs to get more technical ===

This article needs a good description of how the kernel is arranged internally, starting with the directories in the kernel source, kernel/, fs/ sound/ and so on, how they relate to each other and how the build process takes place. --[[User:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason| ]] [[User:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason/|Ævar]] [[User talk:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason/|Arnfjörð]] [{{SERVER}}{{localurl:User talk:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason|action=edit&section=new}} Bjarmason] [[User:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason/| ]] 21:24, 2004 Sep 25 (UTC)

:Are you sure that is appropriate? Might be more fit for Wikibooks than an encyclopedia article. --[[User:Marudubshinki|maru]] [[User talk:Marudubshinki|(talk)]] [[Special:Contributions/Marudubshinki|Contribs]] 01:44, 22 January 2006 (UTC)
::I agree, if you really want them link to the resources(tons of them out there), but a encylopedia should be a quick terse overview. Nothing too indepth or technical if we can help it.

== Who has the most ports? ==

I read in MatthewWilcox changes that "NetBSD has been ported to almost as many architectures" Do we have some numbers for that? Some quick googling gave these pages:
[http://www.netbsd.org/Ports/] for NetBSD and [http://perso.wanadoo.es/xose/linux/linux_ports.html] for Linux. It certainly seems that NetBSD "wins" in number of ports. Does anybody has better references? --[[User:Sander123|Sander123]] 13:33, 1 Nov 2004 (UTC)

:http://www.kroah.com/log/2004/09/29/#more_archs is a claim from a Linux kernel hacker that Linux supports more architectures than NetBSD; it references the [http://en.tldp.org/HOWTO/User-Group-HOWTO-1.html Linux User Group HOWTO]. --[[User:Neilc|Neilc]] 14:41, 1 Nov 2004 (UTC)

== List of people involved in Linux ==

It would good to have on this page (or another page) a list of the people involved in Linux and who they are. The people I could find in WikiPedia so far were: [[[Linus_Torvalds]]], [[[Alan_Cox]]], [[[Ingo_Molnar]]], [[[Marcelo_Tosatti]]] and [[[Miguel_de_Icaza]]] has worked on it in the past. a good place to start might be in the Linux [http://lxr.linux.no/source/MAINTAINERS MAINTAINERS] file. --Anon1

:Don't forget [[Robert Love]]. --Anon2

== Doubled? ==

Did anyone notice that the page was doubled in various places over the last week or so? Man, that's embarrassing. Apologies if I've reverted anyone's changes; I think I have it right, but everyone's fallible... --[[User:Grendelkhan|grendel]]|[[User_talk:Grendelkhan|khan]] 17:19, July 20, 2005 (UTC)

:I didn't notice <tt>:(</tt>. I guess that's what I get for being more concerned about commas and hyphens than the actual content of the article! —[[User:HorsePunchKid|HorsePunchKid]]→[[User talk:HorsePunchKid|龜]] 18:42, July 20, 2005 (UTC)

== Shared Libraries ==

The kernel doesn't have shared libraries, it has loadable modules. Shared libraries are managed entirely by the user space toolchain. The kernel's support for shared libraries consists of the mmap() system call by means of which a shared library file (.so) is made to appear as a data object in the virtual address space of a process. The kernel doesn't "know" or "care" what is in that mapping. —''The preceding [[Wikipedia:Sign your posts on talk pages|unsigned]] comment was added by'' [[User:192.139.122.66|192.139.122.66]] ([[User talk:192.139.122.66|talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/192.139.122.66|contribs]]) 14:06, July 22, 2005.

:If you feel that there's a factual problem with the article, please [[WP:BOLD|be bold]] and fix it! —[[User:HorsePunchKid|HorsePunchKid]]→[[User talk:HorsePunchKid|龜]] 20:35, July 22, 2005 (UTC)

== Fork vs. Branch ==

"Also, sometimes after the version there will be some more letters such as 'rc1' or 'am2'. The 'rc' refers to release candidate and indicates a non-official release. Other letters are usually the initials of a person. This indicates a slight fork of the kernel by that person. e.g. am2 would stand for Andrew Morton."

It's a branch, not a fork, right?

:Correct. A fork would imply that these developers are going off on their own seperate development. That's not what's happening. In most cases they're trying out and working on various patches and additions (e.g Reiser4 in -am), but they're still tracking Linus' development. And occasionally those patches are accepted by Linus into his kernel tree. So "branch" is the more appropriate term. [[User:Imroy|Imroy]] 08:29, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

== Linux Kernel Architecture ==

The Architecture section of this article should actually go to [[Linux architecture]]. This will keep things in parallel with what the [[Architecture of the Windows NT operating system line]] article did. This page is evolving as more of a history of the Linux kernel, and its expansive architecture really deserves a page of its own. Any opinions? --[[User:Dirkbike|Dirkbike]] 03:04, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

:That's what main article templates are for. --[[User:Marudubshinki |maru]] [[User talk:Marudubshinki|(talk)]] [[Special:Contributions/Marudubshinki |contribs]] 04:41, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

== On [[Portal:Free software]], Linux kernel is currently the featured article ==

Just to let you know. The purpose of featuring an article is both to point readers to the article and to highlight it to potential contributors. It will remain the feature for a week or so. The previous feature was [[KDE]]. [[User:Gronky|Gronky]] 09:09, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

Nail biting

2006-04-08T01:54:57Z

Capi crimm: /* Health effects */

'''Nail biting''' is the habit of [[biting]] one's [[fingernail]]s or [[toenail]]s during periods of [[nervousness]], [[stress (medicine)|stress]] or [[boredom]]. It can also be a sign of mental or emotional disorder, but is commonly seen in intellectuals. The clinical name for nail biting is '''chronic onychophagia'''.

It occurs in:
* 28% to 33% of children ages 7-10 years old,
* 44% of adolescents,
* 19% to 29% of young adults and
* 5% of older adults
*It is more common in boys

==Negative Side-Effects==
Biting the nails can result in the transportation of germs that are buried under the surface of the nail into the mouth. In fact, nail salons use tools that potentially affect a human in a similar way. “If they (nail tools such as files) are used on different people, these tools may spread nail fungi, [[staph]] bacteria or viruses,” warns Rick Lopes, a spokesperson for the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. In fact, over 100 bacterial skin infections in 2000 were traced to footbaths in nail salons. Thus, one can see that many pathogens have the ability to "live" inside of a nail, and because of this biting the nails can potentially cause health issues.

Nail biting also has the negative side effect of restraining the use of the hands. A compulsive nailbiter can be restricted in their ability to work(i.e. writing, typing, drawing, driving) because their hand is in their mouth. A person who bites their toenails would be totally incapacitated as well.

==Breaking the habit==
Various forms of [[aversion therapy]] exist to help people stop biting their nails. These include methods such as coating the nails with a bad-tasting substance (sometimes in the form of a special [[nail polish]]) or wearing a rubber band on their wrist and having friends and family members snap it (or tell the nailbiter to snap it) when they see nailbiting. Some methods (including aforementioned aversion methods) can work by making the biter aware of their actions and finding other things to do. Keeping a record of when one bites may also be helpful in finding the root of the problem.

Some nail biters who undergo orthodontic treatment find that wearing a [[retainer (orthodontic device)|retainer]] or a bite plate makes it impossible for them to sever their nails with their teeth. This can have the unintentional [[side-effect]] of helping the individual to overcome their nail-biting habit.

Some nailbiters may try [[hypnotherapy]] if other methods fail.

Some nail-biters, however, find the effectiveness of these remedies to be poor. For them, it may take sheer determination to break the habit. Tactics they may find helpful include making a mental note to stop, promising oneself not to bite, and making it a New Year's resolution to stop.

Like other nervous habits, nail biting is sometimes a symptom of an emotional problem. In these cases, resolving the underlying problem can help to lessen or eliminate the nail-biting habit.

==Facts==

*Nail biting is, according to [[Sigmund Freud|Freudian]] theory, a symptom of [[oral fixation]].
*It is considered to be a mildly embarrassing habit in some cultures.

[[Category:Habits]]
[[da:Bide negle]]
[[de:Fingernägelkauen]]

==External links==
*[http://www.breakingthehabits.com/latest/nailbiting.html Stop Nail Biting Free eBook]

[[da:Løgn]]
[[de:Lüge]]
[[es:Mentira]]
[[eo:Mensogo]]
[[fr:Mensonge]]
[[id:Bohong]]
[[hu:Hazugság]]
[[nl:Leugen]]
[[ja:嘘]]
[[pt:Mentira]]
[[ru:Ложь]]
[[sv:Lögn]]

Nail biting

2006-04-08T01:52:05Z

Capi crimm: /* Facts */

'''Nail biting''' is the habit of [[biting]] one's [[fingernail]]s or [[toenail]]s during periods of [[nervousness]], [[stress (medicine)|stress]] or [[boredom]]. It can also be a sign of mental or emotional disorder, but is commonly seen in intellectuals. The clinical name for nail biting is '''chronic onychophagia'''.

It occurs in:
* 28% to 33% of children ages 7-10 years old,
* 44% of adolescents,
* 19% to 29% of young adults and
* 5% of older adults
*It is more common in boys

==Health effects==
Biting the nails can result in the transportation of germs that are buried under the surface of the nail into the mouth. In fact, nail salons use tools that potentially affect a human in a similar way. “If they (nail tools such as files) are used on different people, these tools may spread nail fungi, [[staph]] bacteria or viruses,” warns Rick Lopes, a spokesperson for the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. In fact, over 100 bacterial skin infections in 2000 were traced to footbaths in nail salons. Thus, one can see that many pathogens have the ability to "live" inside of a nail, and because of this biting the nails can potentially cause health issues.

==Breaking the habit==
Various forms of [[aversion therapy]] exist to help people stop biting their nails. These include methods such as coating the nails with a bad-tasting substance (sometimes in the form of a special [[nail polish]]) or wearing a rubber band on their wrist and having friends and family members snap it (or tell the nailbiter to snap it) when they see nailbiting. Some methods (including aforementioned aversion methods) can work by making the biter aware of their actions and finding other things to do. Keeping a record of when one bites may also be helpful in finding the root of the problem.

Some nail biters who undergo orthodontic treatment find that wearing a [[retainer (orthodontic device)|retainer]] or a bite plate makes it impossible for them to sever their nails with their teeth. This can have the unintentional [[side-effect]] of helping the individual to overcome their nail-biting habit.

Some nailbiters may try [[hypnotherapy]] if other methods fail.

Some nail-biters, however, find the effectiveness of these remedies to be poor. For them, it may take sheer determination to break the habit. Tactics they may find helpful include making a mental note to stop, promising oneself not to bite, and making it a New Year's resolution to stop.

Like other nervous habits, nail biting is sometimes a symptom of an emotional problem. In these cases, resolving the underlying problem can help to lessen or eliminate the nail-biting habit.

==Facts==

*Nail biting is, according to [[Sigmund Freud|Freudian]] theory, a symptom of [[oral fixation]].
*It is considered to be a mildly embarrassing habit in some cultures.

[[Category:Habits]]
[[da:Bide negle]]
[[de:Fingernägelkauen]]

==External links==
*[http://www.breakingthehabits.com/latest/nailbiting.html Stop Nail Biting Free eBook]

[[da:Løgn]]
[[de:Lüge]]
[[es:Mentira]]
[[eo:Mensogo]]
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[[id:Bohong]]
[[hu:Hazugság]]
[[nl:Leugen]]
[[ja:嘘]]
[[pt:Mentira]]
[[ru:Ложь]]
[[sv:Lögn]]

Talk:Nail biting

2006-04-08T01:51:45Z

Capi crimm:

Shouldn't this be called "nail-biting"? [[User:STGM|STGM]] 09:11, 14 October 2005 (UTC)
:If that's more gramatically accurate, it's easy enough to do. --[[User:Icarus3|Icarus]] 05:28, 15 October 2005 (UTC)

----
===Addictive===

I think nail biting is addictive. I mean, once I start, I can't stop. Maybe they have trace amounts of [[nicotine]]...*laughs*. [[User:The Republican|The Republican]] 03:29, 4 November 2005 (UTC)
: Yeah, I definitely think nail biting is addictive, maybe it's just me but I must have in insanely large case of chronic onychophagia :( I've actually been biting the SKIN off of my fingers... Solutions solutions solutions :( - [[User:Xer0X|Blackguard]] 02:01, 12 November 2005 (UTC)

:Hm, me too with the skin thing...[[User:The Republican|The Republican]] 02:20, 14 November 2005 (UTC)

== consistant nail biter ==

i am a nail biter i know it's bad for your health but i can't stop. ( i even think i bite my nails in my sleep) but i know you can get bitter nail polish you put on your nails to make it taste bad. i just can't find ours. any good luck to all nail biters who r trying to stop>

== canabilism? ==

'''It does not break the taboo of cannibalism against eating parts of the human body, as the nails are not usually consumed.'''

I've never seen a nailbiter who spits out their nails after they bite them, and I definetly don't when I bite mine. Maybe I'm generalizing, but I think if it doesn't break canabilism it's because it's not a vital or large part of a human, id est, not an arm or leg. If you consider nail biting cannabilism whats to stop you from saying people who kiss aren't in some way eating each other alive?

Alice (software)

2006-04-06T00:24:05Z

Capi crimm:

[[Alice (software)]], is a [[freeware]] introductory [[object-oriented programming]] software produced by [[Carnegie-Mellon]]. Alice uses a point and click environment to create computer animations.

Alice 3.0 is being underwritten by [[Electronic Arts]] and will utilize the character models from the [[Sims]].

Alice can be downloaded on it's homepage of http://www.alice.org/

{{software-stub}}

Computer programming

2006-04-04T23:30:19Z

Capi crimm: No Reason for the Link

{{otheruses4|computer programming|programming in a music context|Programming (music)}}

[[Image:Html-source-code.png|thumb|300px|[[HTML]] and [[JavaScript]] in an [[Integrated Development Enviroment|IDE]] that uses [[color coding]] to highlight various [[keyword]]s and help the developer see the function of each piece of code.]]

'''Computer programming''' (often simply '''programming''') is the craft of implementing one or more interrelated abstract [[algorithm]]s using a particular [[programming language]] to produce a concrete [[computer program]]. Programming has elements of [[science]], [[mathematics]], and [[engineering]].

==Programming languages==
{{main|Programming language}}

A [[programmer]] writes [[source code]] in a particular programming language.

Different programming languages support different styles of programming (called ''[[programming paradigm]]s''). Part of the art of programming is selecting one of the programming languages best suited for the task at hand. Different programming languages require different levels of detail to be handled by the programmer when implementing algorithms, often resulting in a compromise between ease of use and performance (a trade-off between "programmer time" and "computer time").

The only programming language a computer can directly execute is [[machine language]] (sometimes called "machine code"). Originally all programmers worked out every detail of the machine code, but this is hardly ever done anymore. Instead, programmers write source code, and a computer (running a [[compiler]], an [[interpreter]] or occasionally an [[assembler]]) translates it through one or more translation steps to fill in all the details, before the final machine code is executed on the target computer. Even when complete low-level control of the target computer is required, programmers write [[assembly language]], whose instructions are mnemonic one-to-one transcriptions of the corresponding machine language instructions.

In some languages, an interpretable ''[[p-code]]'' binary (or ''[[byte-code]]'') is generated, rather than machine language. Bytecode is used in the popular [[Java programming language]] by [[Sun Microsystems]] as well as [[Microsoft]]'s recent [[.NET Framework|.NET]] family of languages and [[Visual Basic]] previous to the .NET version.

==A brief history of programming==
The earliest of computer programs were made using a soldering iron and a large number of [[vacuum tubes]] (later [[transistor|transistors]]). As programs became more complex, this became almost impossible, as one mistake would likely render the whole program useless. As data storage media became more advanced, it became possible to re-use one program for many things according to the content of the [[computer memory|memory]]. A person would spend quite some time making [[punch cards]] that would hold a list of instructions for a computer. Every model of computer would be likely to need different instructions to do the same task. As computers became more powerful, and storage media became re-usable. It became possibe to use the computer to make the program. Programmers quickly began to favor text over 1s and 0s, and punch cards were phased out. Over time, computers have become extremely powerful, and this has resulted in a branch of programming called [[scripting programming language|scripting]]. Programming has become gradually easier as new languages are invented but this has opened the scene to [[script kiddies]], who are generally seen as an annoyance because of their lack of skill whilst often claiming to be hackers.

{{wikibookspar||Computer programming}}

== Examples of Programming Languages ==
*[[C++]] is an object oriented compiled programming language and one of the most widely-used programming languages currently available. It is often considered to be the industry-standard language of [[game development]], but is also very often used to write other types of computer software applications. C++ was developed by [[Bjarne Stroustrup]] and was based on the programming language [[C programming language|C]]. C++ retains the syntax and many familiar functions of C, but also adds various [[object-oriented programming]] concepts such as [[class (object-oriented programming)|classes]]. C++ is a very fast programming language, meaning programs written in C++ tend to run at high framerates (which is important for games).
*[[Java programming language|Java]] is an object oriented interpreted programming language. It has gained popularity in the past few years for its ability to be run on many platforms, including [[Windows]], [[Linux]], [[Mac OS]], and other systems. It was developed by [[Sun Microsystems]].
*[[Lisp_programming_language|Lisp]] is a functional, sometimes scripted, programming language often used in [[Artificial intelligence|AI]].
*[[C]] is a compiled procedural programming language made popular as the basis of [[Unix]].
*[[JavaScript]] is a scripted language and is the basic client end language of the web.

==Software development==
{{main|Software engineering}}

''[[Software]]'' is a [[mass noun]] for computer programs and data. The accompanying documentation and [[software license]] are also considered an essential part of the software, even though they don't involve any actual coding.

Creating software involves:
* [[Requirements analysis]]
* [[Specification]]
* [[Software architecture]]
* [[Coding]]
* [[Compilation]]
* [[Software testing]]
* [[Documentation]]
* [[Integration]]
* [[Maintenance]]

== Demographics ==
In the U.S.:
* Nearly half of all computer programmers held a bachelor’s degree in 2002; about 1 in 5 held a graduate degree. [http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos110.htm]
* Education requirements range from a 2-year degree to a graduate degree. [http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos042.htm]
*Men hold 72% of the Bachelor's degrees in computer science, women hold 28%. [http://news.com.com/Opening+doors+for+women+in+computing/2100-1022_3-5557311.html]
*The average age is 38 years old for a software developer. [http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19991222/mcconnell_pfv.htm]

{{section-stub}}

== See also ==
*[[Software development process]]
*[http://computerprogramming.suite101.com Computer Programming topic at Suite101]

== External links ==
*[http://www.gamasutra.com/features/19991222/mcconnell_pfv.htm 1999 article on software programmer demographics]
*[http://www.levenez.com/lang/history.html#04 Detailed timeline on history of programming languages]
*[http://vdesign.awardspace.com Viewser's Design - programs, tutorials, and graphics]
*[http://www.ticalcs.net TI calculator programming]

[[Category:Computer programming]]

[[ar:برمجة]]
[[ast:Programación]]
[[bs:Programiranje]]
[[bn:কম্পিউটার প্রোগ্রামিং]]
[[de:Programmierung]]
[[es:programación]]
[[fa:برنامه‌نویسی]]
[[fr:Programmation]]
[[he:תכנות מחשבים]]
[[hu:számítógép-programozás]]
[[id:Pemrograman komputer]]
[[ja:プログラミング]]
[[ko:프로그래밍]]
[[nl:Programmeren]]
[[no:Programmere]]
[[pl:Programowanie]]
[[pt:Programação de computadores]]
[[ru:Программирование]]
[[sl:Računalniško_programiranje]]
[[sv:Programmering]]
[[vi:Lập trình]]
[[yi:קאמפיוטער פראגראמירונג]]
[[zh:程序设计]]

Crash (2004 film)

2006-04-02T01:51:10Z

Capi crimm: More POV.

{{Infobox_Film | name = Crash |
image = Crash film poster.jpg |
caption = Promotional poster of ''Crash'' [[Internet Movie Database|IMDB]] [[Image:4 out of 5.png]] 8.4/10 (48,476 votes) |
imdb_id = 0375679 |
producer = [[Cathy Schulman]] [[Don Cheadle]] [[Bob Yari]] [[Mark R. Harris]] [[Bobby Moresco]] [[Paul Haggis]] |
director = [[Paul Haggis]] |
writer = [[Paul Haggis]] [[Bobby Moresco]] |
starring = [[Sandra Bullock]] [[Don Cheadle]] [[Matt Dillon]] [[Jennifer Esposito]] [[William Fichtner]] [[Brendan Fraser]] [[Ludacris|Chris "Ludacris" Bridges]] [[Terrence Howard]] [[Thandie Newton]] [[Michael Peña]] [[Ryan Phillippe]] [[Larenz Tate]] [[Shaun Toub]] |
music = [[Mark Isham]] | cinematography = [[James Muro]] [[Dana Gonzales]] |
editing = [[Hughes Winborne]] |
distributor = [[Lions Gate Films]], [[DEJ Productions]], [[Bob Yari Productions]] |
released = [[May 6]], [[2005]] (USA) |
runtime = 113 min. |
language = [[English language|English]] |
budget = $6.5 million |
}}

:'' For other films and books also known as ''Crash'', please see the disambiguation page [[Crash]].

'''''Crash''''' is an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning [[drama film]] [[film director|directed]] by [[Paul Haggis]]. It premiered at the [[Toronto Film Festival]] in [[September]] [[2004]], and was released internationally in [[2005 in film|2005]]. The film is about racial and social tensions in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]]. It won [[Academy Awards|Oscars]] for [[Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]] and [[Academy Award for Film Editing|Best Editing]] of [[2005 in film|2005]] at the [[78th Academy Awards]].
== Reaction ==
''Crash'' (which opened in wide release on [[6 May]] [[2005]]) was a critical and box-office success in the late [[spring]] of 2005. The film's budget was $6.5 million (plus $1 million in financing). Because of the financial constraints, director Haggis filmed in his own house, borrowed a set from the TV show ''[[Monk (TV series)|Monk]]'', used his car in parts of the film, and even used cars from other staff members. It grossed $53.4 million domestically, making back more than three times its budget (roughly 60% of the box office takings of a movie do not return to the financiers but instead pay for distribution costs). Despite its success in relation to its cost, ''Crash'' was the least successful film, financially, to win [[Best Picture]] since "[[The Last Emperor]]" in 1988.

[[Chicago Sun-Times]] film critic [[Roger Ebert]] named ''Crash'' the best film of 2005 <ref>[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051218/COMMENTARY/512180302 Ebert's Best 10 Movies of 2005]</ref>. [[LA Weekly]] critic Scott Foundas named it the worst film of the year, touching off a debate between the two critics <ref>[http://www.laweekly.com/index.php?option=com_lawcontent&task=view&id=12416&Itemid=9 Roger and Me: Scott Foundas responds to Ebert's critic-bait]</ref>.

The film was nominated for six [[Oscars]], and won three of them, including a surprise win of [[Best Picture]], which Ang Lee's heavily favored ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' was predicted to take home. It was nominated for two [[Golden Globe Awards]]: one for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture|Best Supporting Actor]] ([[Matt Dillon]]) and the other for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]] ([[Paul Haggis]] and [[Robert Moresco]]). Other awards include Best Ensemble Cast at the [[2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards]], Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress ([[Thandie Newton]]) at the [[BAFTA Awards]], Best Writer at the [[Critics' Choice Awards]], and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture ([[Terrence Howard]]) and [[NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Motion Picture|Outstanding Motion Picture]] at the [[NAACP Image Award]]s.

Director Paul Haggis has mentioned work on a sequel to the film, involving the continued story of Anthony—Chris "Ludacris" Bridges' character.

==Plot summary==
The film depicts several characters living in [[Los Angeles, California]] and brings them together through car accidents, shootings, and carjackings. Most of the characters depicted in the film are racially prejudiced in some way and become involved in conflicts which force them to examine their own prejudices. Through these characters' interactions, the film depicts racial tension in America.

== Cast of characters ==
{{spoilers}}

''Crash'' features an [[ensemble cast]]:

* '''Rick''' ([[Brendan Fraser]]) is the white [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[district attorney]] of Los Angeles. He and his wife Jean are carjacked by Anthony and Peter; subsequently he tries to save his political career by persuading voters that he is racially sensitive. His character is never depicted as a bigot, which makes his racial stance ambiguous. The ambiguity asks the question as to whether people of such actions are racially positive or just discriminatory in pursuit of their greater ends.
* '''Jean''' ([[Sandra Bullock]]) is Rick's white wife, whose racial prejudices escalate after the carjacking. At the end of the film, following an accident in her home, she realizes that the person who is nicest and most helpful to her is Maria, her Hispanic maid.
[[Image:Crash poster.jpg|thumb|Alternate film poster.]]
* '''Anthony''' ([[Ludacris|Chris "Ludacris" Bridges]]) is a black petty crook who sells stolen cars. He believes that society is unfairly biased against blacks. At one point in the film he justifies his actions by saying he would never hurt another black person. Yet, when he and Peter mistakenly try to carjack a car driven by a black man, Cameron, and when Cameron attacks Anthony during the carjacking, Anthony's response is to call on Peter to shoot Cameron.
* '''Peter''' ([[Larenz Tate]]) is Anthony's friend and partner in crime. Like Anthony, he is African-American, but he scoffs at Anthony's paranoia over racism. Peter is killed by Officer Hanson, who picks him up in the valley hours after their failed carjacking and mistakenly shoots him after assuming he is drawing a gun, when in reality he was reaching into his pocket to show the cop a figure of [[Saint Christopher]].
* '''Graham''' ([[Don Cheadle]]) is Peter's brother, and a detective in the [[Los Angeles Police Department]]. He is disconnected from his poor family. He promises his mother that he would find his younger brother, but is preoccupied with a case concerning a racist white cop who shot a possibly corrupt black cop. Flanagan offers him a furthering of his career and a clearing of his brother's record, for leaving out what is controversial evidence. Graham, offended and opposed at first, is convinced with some arguments for [[affirmative action]] in a private conversation with Flanagan. In the end he makes a very tough decision to leave out the information, putting a possible innocent man behind bars, although important to note, that the man in question had just barely gotten off two previous race related shootings as well. Ironically, Graham witholds evidence, clearing his brother's name, who is then later killed.
* '''Flanagan''' ([[William Fichtner]]) is an aide to Rick who talks Graham into accepting a corrupt deal, by arguing in strong favor of [[affirmative action]]. The corrupt deal outlined by Flanagan was that of furthering of his career, and the clearing of his brother's charges. Although the deal is corrupt, Flanagan plays a small but incredibly important role for the discussion of the theme on [[positive discrimination]], and takes a moral highground to justify his actions. In the end he leaves the decision up to Graham by suggesting that "you're the closest to all of this, you tell us what needs to be done!" (paraphrased), to suggest that maybe enough substantive inequality in a systematically equal society, is justification for the actions taken.
* '''Ria''' ([[Jennifer Esposito]]) is a Latina detective and Graham's girlfriend.
* '''Officer Ryan''' ([[Matt Dillon]]) is a white police officer who molests Christine, a black woman, during a traffic stop. This causes his partner, Officer Hanson, to believe his partner has racist tendencies. Meanwhile, Ryan is trying to get help for his father, who may possibly have prostate cancer but seems to have been misdiagnosed with a bladder infection. Ryan's racist remarks to a black insurance representative prevent him from getting his father the treatment he needs. Ryan later saves Christine from a car wreck, whom he previously sexually harassed. His racial prejudices seem to stem in part from the negative impact that local affirmative action-style policies that favored minority businesses had on his father's business, family, and life.
* '''Cameron''' ([[Terrence Howard]]) is a black television director who becomes distraught after witnessing Officer Ryan molesting his wife and realizing that the very show he produces is propogating racist stereotypes about black people. In an emotional moment, he fights off Anthony and Peter when they try to steal his car, takes away Anthony's gun, and gets himself into a harsh argument with armed white police officers, no longer afraid of losing his [[Uncle Tom]] image - or, seemingly, his life. Just when it is very likely that he will be shot to death, Officer Hanson intervenes on his behalf and prevents any outbreak of violence.
* '''Christine''' ([[Thandie Newton]]) is Cameron's wife. She is molested by Officer Ryan after she and Cameron are pulled over. She becomes very angry with her husband because he does not act while she is being molested, and the next day is trapped in an overturned car due to a highway accident. Her life is saved by Officer Ryan, the very man who molested her.
* '''Officer Hanson''' ([[Ryan Phillippe]]) is Officer Ryan's partner who is disgusted by his partner's racism and the city's inaction. After trying to get another partner after seeing Ryan molest Christine, Hanson accepts a solo patrol vehicle. Hanson saves Cameron during his confrontation with the police, yet shoots Peter when Peter reaches for what he suspected was a weapon, but was actuallly a statue of [[Saint Christopher]] in his car after picking him up and giving him a ride. His reaction was most likely influenced by his earlier encounter with Cameron. He dumps the body and burns he car to clear the evidence.
* '''Daniel''' ([[Michael Peña]]) is a Mexican-American locksmith who faces discrimination from Jean and others because he looks like a "gangbanger" (has tattoos, shaved head) to them, when actually, he is a devoted family man. He is seeking a safe environment for his young daughter, who had her window shot up in their previous home. That is why he moved to a safe neighborhood and enrolled her in a private school. He and his daughter are shot at by Farhad but did not get hurt because the bullets were blanks.
* '''Farhad''' ([[Shaun Toub]]) is a Persian store owner who is afraid for his safety. He is depicted as a man frustrated by the racial harassment he experiences in the United States as well as deterred with difficulties with speaking English. Blaming Daniel for the invasion and racially-motivated destruction of his store, he confronts him at his house and is about to fire a gun at him. Daniel's daughter wears a "special" cloak that, her father has told her, was impenetrable and thus will protect her from bullets. She runs to protect him. Farhad means to shoot at Daniel but accidently shoots at his daughter in front of him. However, unknown to Farhad and Daniel, it is a blank. The fact that the daughter is not hurt is a great relief, also for Farhad, who thinks an angel intervened, and he leaves without further attacking Daniel.
* '''Dorri''' ([[Bahar Soomekh]]) is Farhad's daughter, and is more acclimated than her father to the American culture. She also selects the blanks (instead of bullets) to go with her father's new gun from the pawn shop. She is also the doctor at the morgue who escorts Graham and his mother to Peter's body after it is discovered in a field.

=== Other cast members ===
* Fred ([[Tony Danza]])
* Lt. Dixon ([[Keith David]])
* Shaniqua Johnson ([[Loretta Devine]])
* Shereen ([[Marina Sirtis]])
* Karen ([[Nona Gaye]])

== Criticism ==
The film has been criticized by conservative commentators who feel the movie is not an accurate reflection of race relations in contemporary Los Angeles, particularly with regards to the film's portrayal of police and racial tension.[http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49286]

The film has likewise been criticized by liberal commentators who feel that institutionalized forms of [[white supremacy]] and white racism are far more destructive than individual prejudices, and feel that the movie is "self-indulgent" for white Americans who "want to feel victimized too".[http://www.blackcommentator.com/176/176_think_crash_jensen_wosnitzer.html]

In addition, the film has been criticized by several members of the Asian community, regarding it's reinforcement of Asian stereotypes, and it's apparent lack of character development of Asian characters.[http://www.mixedmediawatch.com/2005/05/11/crash-upholds-stereotypes-about-asian-americans/]

== Awards ==
{{wikinews|2006 Oscars handed out at Kodak Theatre}}
''Crash'' was nominated for six awards in the 78th Academy Awards (2006). Although it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2004, it did not qualify for the 77th Academy Awards, as it was not released theatrically until 2005.

''Crash'' beat out frontrunner ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'', as well as ''[[Munich (film)|Munich]]'', ''[[Capote (film)|Capote]]'', and ''[[Good Night, And Good Luck]]''.

=== Wings TEC Critics Awards ===
*Won: Best Film
*Won: Best Original Screenplay
*Won: Best Editing
*Won: Best Original Song - "In The Deep" by [[Kathleen York]]
*Won: Best Casting
*Nominated: Best Supporting Actress - [[Thandie Newton]]
*Nominated: Best Supporting Actress - [[Sandra Bullock]]
*Nominated: Best Supporting Actor - [[Matt Dillon]]

==Trivia==
[[image:Crash NTSC DVD.jpg|thumb|DVD cover of ''Crash''.]]
* ''Crash'' contains more profanity than any other film nominated for the best picture Oscar over the prior five years with 182 expletives, [[List of films ordered by uses of the word "fuck"|99 of which]] are "fuck," according to a report by ''Family Media Guide''. <ref>[http://www.familymediaguide.com/specials/Oscars_2006.html For Entertainment Purposes Only: FamilyMediaGuide.com Analyzes the 2006 Academy Award Nominees for Best Picture]</ref>

*Before [[Ryan Phillippe]] signed on, [[Heath Ledger]] was in talks for the role of Hanson. Ledger's film ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' would go on to compete as the favorite for the title of Best Picture against Crash. Other first choices include [[John Cusack]] as Rick Cabot and [[Forest Whitaker]] as Cameron.
*Crash, a self-described [[passion piece]] for director [[Paul Haggis]], was partially inspired by a real life incident where he was [[carjack]]ed (mentioned on the DVD commentary track).

*A [[BusinessWeek]] article on [[product placement]] noted that the [[Lincoln Navigator]] [[SUV]] is featured prominently in the film. [http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/mar2006/id20060302_169840.htm?chan=innovation_branding_branding+lead]

* The California Vehicle Code requires Authorized Emergency Vehicles to have a steady-burning red lamp visible for 1,000 feet to the front of the vehicle. In scene 4, Matt Dillon's character does a car stop on Terence's character. The patrol car has the right kind of California light bar but the light bar is mounted backward with the steady-burning red to the rear. The patrol car in this scene appears in several others with the backward light bar.

* Ludacris' character, Anthony, hates rap music. The irony is in the fact that Ludacris is an award-winning rapper.

* In the movie, Farhad can't read English (according to his daughter, when checked on by insurance person) and yet he fishes out Daniel from store reciept and yellow pages

==References==
<references />

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* [http://www.crashfilm.com/ Official site]
* {{imdb title|id=0375679|title=Crash}}

{{start box}}
{{succession box
| title=[[Academy Award for Best Picture]]
| years=2005
| before=''[[Million Dollar Baby]]''
| after=''To be determined''
}}
{{end}}
{{Template:AcademyAwardBestPicture}}

[[Category:2004 films]]
[[Category:Crime films]]
[[Category:Drama films]]
[[Category:Race-related films]]
[[Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe Nominee (film)]]
[[Category:Best Film Editing]]
[[Category:Best Picture Oscar]]
[[Category:Best Song Oscar Nominee]]

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[[fr:Collision (film)]]
[[hr:Fatalna nesreća]]
[[hu:Ütközések]]
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[[ja:クラッシュ (映画 2004年)]]
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Aptitude (software)

2006-03-29T19:12:38Z

Capi crimm:

{{lowercase|aptitude}}

'''<tt>aptitude</tt>''' is a [[front-end]] to [[Advanced Packaging Tool|APT]]. It displays a list of [[software package]]s and allows the user to interactively pick packages to install or remove. It was initially created for the [[Debian]] [[GNU]]/[[Linux]] distribution, but has appeared in [[RPM Package Manager|RPM]]-based distributions as well (such as [[Conectiva]]).

<tt>aptitude</tt> is based on the [[ncurses]] [[computer terminal]] library, with which it provides an interface that incorporates some elements commonly seen in [[graphical user interface]]s (GUIs) (such as pull-down [[menu (computer)|menu]]s).

==History==
<tt>aptitude</tt> was created in [[1999]]. At the time, two other terminal-based APT [[front-end]]s were available: the [[dselect]] program, which had been used to install Debian since before APT was created, and the [[console-apt]] program, a project that was considered to be the [[heir apparent]] to [[dselect]]. aptitude was created to experiment with a more [[object-oriented]] design than that used in [[console-apt]], in the hope that this would result in a more flexible program with a broader set of features.

[[image:aptitude-screen-shot.png|thumb|Screenshot of <tt>aptitude</tt>]]

The first public release of <tt>aptitude</tt> was version 0.0.1 on November 18th, 1999. It was very limited: it had the ability to view the list of available packages, but could not actually download or install any packages. By version 0.0.4a, this capability had been added, along with many other improvements; this version was included in Debian 2.2 ("<tt>potato</tt>").

In late 2000, the entire user interface module was rewritten; a new architecture was created, based on the [[libsigc++]] callback library and concepts from modern [[widget toolkit]]s such as [[GTK+]] and [[Qt (toolkit)|Qt]]. This enabled the interface to become much more similar to GUIs than it had been previously, with features such as pull-down [[menu (computer)|menu]]s and pop-up dialogs. One of <tt>aptitude</tt>'s surprisingly popular features, a tiny implementation of [[Minesweeper (game)|Minesweeper]], was added at this time. The first official <tt>aptitude</tt> release following this rewrite was 0.2.0. <tt>aptitude</tt> 0.2.11.1 was released with Debian 3.0 ("Woody"). By this time, the <tt>console-apt</tt> project (renamed to <tt>deity</tt>) had been effectively abandoned by its maintainers, and it was removed from woody.

At the time of writing, <tt>aptitude</tt> is regarded as the primary terminal-based alternative to [[dselect]], and may even replace it in the near future. In Debian 3.1 ("Sarge"), aptitude is now optionally used by the installer to select which packages to install. aptitude is a package with its priority set at ''important'', while dselect is still a ''required'' one, due to backwards compatibility.

==Super Cow Powers==

Aptitude unlike the previous apt-get does not have Super Cow Powers. In apt-get super cow powers can be found be issuing the command ``apt-get moo``. However, in aptitude issuing moo will give the user a prompt saying there are no easter eggs. However, by issuing ``aptitude -v moo``, then ``aptitude -v -v moo`` and so on the user will see a series of statements telling them to go away. Different versions of the program have different sequences.

== See also ==

* [[Package management]]

== External links ==
* http://packages.debian.org/aptitude
* http://people.debian.org/~dburrows/aptitude-doc

[[pl:Aptitude]]
[[de:Aptitude]]
[[fr:Aptitude]]

[[Category:Debian]]

Talk:Aptitude (software)

2006-03-29T19:05:12Z

Capi crimm:

I deleted the bit about Super Cow Powers thinking it was vandalism. I guess it's actually an [http://www.eeggs.com/items/37085.html easter egg] in apt-get. However, it's still not relevant to the program's history. --[[User:Shimei|Shimei]] 06:09, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
: I can add it in as a footnote if you want. Although it's not part of the actual workings of the program it is important to the program itself. 90% of discussions about apt-get/aptitude will mention super-cow powers, and even $ aptitude/apt-get --help mentions it.

Talk:Assembly language

2006-03-16T01:26:21Z

Capi crimm: /* Another Book */

== Metaprogramming ==

Seems there is some individuals interested in a concept called [[metaprogramming]] on wikipedia, which I believe is being regarded as something new.. Note, Viruses can metaprogram, and why? Code and Data looks the same in assembly (well in machine code, but ever disassembled machine code with the wrong code offset?). I'm of the camp that belives all coders should begin with assembly language, at least to keep them from assuming too much. To really understand object oriented design you should try taking a course on assembly language and digital electronics.. [[Digital_electronics]] are very object oriented, so much so, just by the arrangement of circuits you can program without ever writing a line of code.

Truths about assembly:

Assembly Language is a macro language version of machine code, its a one to one reltationship. Anyone can program in machine code given enough time but it offers no advantage over using assembly language (usually).

Assembly language is needed to use computers effectively in the initial stages.

Assembly language is not often cross platform compatible.

Assembly language is a general name for a style of programming language where the syntax and semantics are similar but not equal; reliant on the CPU make/model, the system architecture, and working environment of the computer. This is why there is different kinds of assembly, like 8080+ assembly (IBM PC's, MSDOS, Windows), 68000+ assembly (Macs, Amigas) , 6502 assembly (Commodore 64), etc..

The use of compilers afforded programmers the ability to apply their abilities to a general set of computers, rather than being stuck to a particular platform, so that programmers become masters of patterns and not wizards of a particular archiecture (not unless they prefer that kind of masochism).

Compiled programs cannot run faster than assembly programs as compileable languages are a superset of assembly language. Think of a a compiled program as a set of assembly language programs strung together. Each command in C is at least one assembly language statement, but is usually tens, hundreds, thousands of lines of assembly code.

Assembly language is not very effective for rapid prototyping (unless you are a really good assembly programmer who prefers to write in assembly code before writing a language to manage the complexity)

Assembly language is often machine dependent (not portable).

Java bytecode is not better than assembly language, its just a condensed and unreadible form of Java code (think code obfuscation and commercialization, read up on interpretive languages, Java is just a compileable interpretive language).

Sometimes stuff is coded in assembly to allow it to be sold and impossible to dis-assemble (a business/political concern).

Due to continual changes in microprocessors, investment in experience of programming
in assembly is not very rewarding unless you are involved with embedded technologies. So applications programmers tend to use compilers, hardware designers tend to work with assembly language..

Data and Code are represented in machine code the same way, with bytes, so assembly programs must be executed from a particular offset in memory. The facility that a disk based operating system brings to users is the ability to relocate and access code and data over a hard disk platter, but beyond that it doesn't do anything that can't be done with some memory and a CPU.

Assembly language can be abstracted to function like the most capable object oriented language. C is less capable of this feat.

Assembly language is less forgiving than C.

Assembly programs are often written by other programs written by humans, than by humans, this is what a compiler is - a program that writes assembly programs (from instructions written by humans).

Rewriting a program in assembly is not a good way of optimizing a program (many advances in computing came from significant advancements in software design not in advancements in hardware technology), Example, MPEG/JPEG compression, MPEG audio compression, web browsers, etc. Software is like liquified hardware, hardware is like solidified software.

Analogy for younger programmers:
Consider high level applications to be like boats, and cros-compilers and virtual machines to be like canals between oceans, and oceans to be the computer platforms, assembly language programs are like the water. However it breaks down when considering the distinction between aseembly languages, versus the distinction of water from one ocean or another.

--[[User:Rofthorax|Rofthorax]] 06:47, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

--

''Unlike in high-level languages, there is a 1-to-1 mapping from simple assembly to machine language, so that computers can translate in both directions without losing information.''
: this is not entirely correct. Much information is lost if the assembled executable does not contain debugging information (most executables don't). Such debugging information includes the names of variables, procedures, labels, et al. Without this information, a disassembler cannot show meaningful symbol names and as a result, disassembly listings use addresses or numbered labels which are not human readable (rendering the program almost useless except by experts with a ton of time on thier hands to figure out what each peice of data is used for). Comments and whitespace are also not stored in the executable, meaning that a disassembler cannot recover this information. It would be more correct to state that there is a ''logical'' 1-to-1 relationship. [[User:24.198.144.163|24.198.144.163]]

''There is some debate over the usefulness of assembly language.''
:Debate? over the ''usefulness''? I think this is a bit far fetched, maybe debate over suitability for some fields of application, I think nobody with sufficient experience would debate the ''usefulness'' of asm. Maybe people who don't use asm would ''debate'' the usefulness, but that's with any tool.
''In many cases, modern compilers can render higher-level languages into code as that runs as fast as hand-written assembler. ''
:Really?? can anyone give a reference for one of these ''modern compilers'' please? I've never heard such claims by compiler authors, nor did I encounter such a compiler, I'm very doubtful about the existance of such a compiler, for which programming language? the so called 'high-level' langs of today, don't allow the programmer to express the ''meaning'' of the code enough for the compiler to have enough data to make optimisations which the programmer could see. (Nov,2003)

::I think the above quote is an overstatement. A compiler like the GCC with optimisation as high as it will go can probably out-optimise a new ASM programmer. It has been programmed with weird and wonderful shortcuts that the human just wouldn't know about. However, if you pitch a modern compiler against an experienced ASM programmer, the issue would not be optimisation, it would be time. [[User:Giddie|Paul Gideon Dann (Giddie)]] 30/03/2004 0241 UTC

''some low-level programming is simply easier to do in assembler.''
:Sometimes some ''high-level' programming is simply easier to do in assembler, depends what the high-level language you would compare it to at the time would 'hide' from you. for example, writing many numerical abstactions is more direct in ASM, including some work in represantations of groups.

Anyway, the point being that ''ease'' is not really dependant on the ''abstraction level'' of the code, but rather, on the abstract-idioms or details that the high-level language chose to ignore. (simplest example, C programming language, in-ability to access to carry-flag)

==Generations of Programming Languages==
So what is a '''First Generation''' programming language? and is there a '''Third Generation'''? [[User:Phil Boswell|Phil]] 15:40, Dec 8, 2003 (UTC)

: See [[First-generation programming language]], [[Third generation language]] and even [[Fourth-generation programming language]]. This naming is probably more a naming gimmick than anything else. Especially the 4th. generation languages. [[User:Rasmus Faber|Rasmus Faber]] 15:45, 8 Dec 2003 (UTC)

:: My problem was that [[Second-generation programming language]] is a REDIRECT to [[Assembly language]], so there's no cross-reference to the other generations there. Maybe a covering article showing all four generations in overview? [[User:Phil Boswell|Phil]] 16:43, Dec 8, 2003 (UTC)

::: Ah, sorry about that! Good idea. I don't think the generations warrant a page each. [[User:Rasmus Faber|Rasmus Faber]] 16:47, 8 Dec 2003 (UTC)

----
I frankly don't know whose idea it was to name this article ''assembly programming language'', but although it is in use and parallels the names of other articles like [[C programming language]], I believe the term '''assembly language''' is considerably more common and entirely unambiguous. I will move this page and talk page. [[User:Dcoetzee|Derrick Coetzee]] 22:42, 17 Sep 2004 (UTC)

:Assembly language is used specifically in dissembly, so its useless to underestimate its need in present as well as future scenario. shareplatform.com disclose its importance.

== Another Book ==

I didn't want to spam the main page, but since you're linking to Randall Hyde's book on assembly language, I thought you might be interested in linking to my book, "Programming from the Ground Up". It's being used by both Princeton University and DeVry right now. It's Linux-specific, so I don't know if it would belong on this page or not. But if you want to add it you can link to it:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0975283847/

There's a slightly older online version at:

http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/pgubook/

:I didn't even see this, but I added a link to the savannah page a while back. I personally think people on wikipedia prefer a free book over a pay one, but that's just because I'm cheap.(one of the best assembly books I've read yet, BTW :D)

== History and variation ==

IMHO, this article is a bit x86-centric, and it needs a history section.
Right now it gives the impression that Lotus 1-2-3 was remarkable in using assembly.
Surely the idea was born in the 1950s or earlier, and widely used?
The Unix OS was noted for ''not'' being written in assembly, circa 1970.

Possibly there is a reference to some article on computer instruction sets that I missed.
[[User:Jgrahn|Jgrahn]] 22:41, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

Italian language

2006-03-12T21:28:40Z

Capi crimm: /* External links */

{{Infobox Language
|name=Italian
|nativename=Italiano
|region=[[Italy]] and 29 other countries
|speakers=70 million
|rank=19-20 native (in a near tie with [[Urdu]])
|familycolor=Indo-European
|fam2=[[Italic languages|Italic]]
|fam3=[[Romance languages|Romance]]
|fam4=[[Italo-Western languages|Italo-Western]]
|fam5=[[Italo-Dalmatian languages|Italo-Dalmatian]]
|nation=[[Italy]], [[European Union]], [[Switzerland]], [[San Marino]], [[Slovenia]] (regional language), [[Vatican City]], [[Istria county]] of [[Croatia]]
|agency=[[Accademia della Crusca]]
|iso1=it|iso2=ita|iso3=ita}}

'''Italian''' (''{{Audio|It-italiano.ogg|italiano}}'', or ''lingua italiana'') is a [[Romance languages|Romance language]] spoken by about 70 million people primarily in [[Italy]]. Standard Italian is based on [[Tuscany|Tuscan]] [[dialect|dialects]] and is somewhat intermediate between the languages of [[Mezzogiorno|Southern Italy]] and the Gallo-Romance languages of the North. Like many languages written using the [[Latin alphabet]], Italian has double consonants. However, contrary to, for example, [[French language|French]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]], double [[consonant]]s are pronounced as long ([[gemination|geminated]]) in Italian. As in most [[Romance languages]] (with the notable exception of French), [[stress (linguistics)|stress]] is distinctive. Out of the Romance languages, Italian is generally considered to be the one most closely resembling [[Latin]] in terms of [[vocabulary]], though [[Romanian language|Romanian]] most closely preserves the grammar of Classical [[Latin]] while [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]] is the most conservative in terms of phonology.

==History==

The history of the Italian language is quite complex but the modern standard of the language was largely shaped by relatively recent events. The earliest surviving texts which can definitely be called Italian (as opposed to its predecessor [[Vulgar Latin]]) are legal formulae from the region of Benevento dating from A.D. 960-963. Italian was first formalized in the first years of the [[14th century]] through the works of [[Dante Alighieri]], who mixed southern Italian dialects, especially [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]], with his native Tuscan in his epic poems known collectively as the ''[[Divine Comedy|Commedia]],'' to which [[Boccaccio]] later affixed the title ''Divina''. Dante's much-loved works were read throughout Italy and his written dialect became the "[[canonical standard]]" that others could all understand. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language.

Italian has always had a distinctive dialect for each city, since the cities were up until recently [[city-state]]s. A well-known Italian dictum has it that the best spoken Italian is ''lingua toscana in bocca romana'' - 'the Tuscan tongue, in a Roman mouth' (Tuscan dialects spoken with Roman inflection). The Romans are known for speaking clearly and distinctly, while the Tuscan dialect (supposedly influenced by [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]] and [[Oscan language|Oscan]]), is the closest existing dialect to Dante's now-standard Italian.

In contrast to the dialects of northern Italy, the older southern Italian dialects were largely untouched by the Franco-[[Occitan language|Occitan]] influences introduced to Italy, mainly by [[bard]]s from [[France]], during the middle ages. (See [[La Spezia-Rimini Line]].)
The economic might and relative advanced development of [[Tuscany]] at the time (late middle ages), gave its dialect weight, though Venetian remained widespread in medieval Italian commercial life. Also, the increasing cultural relevance of [[Florence, Italy|Florence]] during the periods of '[[Umanesimo]]' and [[Renaissance|Rinascimento (Renaissance)]] made its ''vulgare'' (dialect) a standard in the arts.

==Classification==

Italian is most closely related to the other two [[Italo-Dalmatian languages]], [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] and the extinct [[Dalmatian language|Dalmatian]]. The three are part of the [[Italo-Western languages|Italo-Western]] grouping of the [[Romance languages]], which are a subgroup of the [[Italic languages|Italic]] branch of [[Indo-European language family|Indo-European]].

==Geographic distribution==

Italian is the official language of [[Italy]] and [[San Marino]], and is an official language in [[Canton Ticino|Ticino]] and [[Graubünden|Grigioni]] cantons of [[Switzerland]]. It is also the second official language in [[Vatican City]] and in some areas of [[Istria]] in [[Slovenia]] and [[Croatia]] with an Italian minority. It is also widely known and taught in [[Monaco]] and in the
nearby island of [[Malta]]; it served as an official language of the country until English was enshrined in the [[1934]] Constitution. It is widely used also in [[France]] ([[Corsica]] and [[Nice]]) and in [[Albania]].

It is widely used by immigrant groups in [[Luxembourg]], [[Germany]], [[Belgium]], the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Venezuela]], [[Brazil]], [[El Salvador]], [[Argentina]], and [[Australia]], and is also spoken in nearby [[Albania]]. It is spoken, to a much lesser extent, in parts of [[Africa]] formerly under Italian rule such as [[Somalia]], [[Libya]] and [[Eritrea]].

Italian is widely taught in many schools around the world, but rarely as the first non-native language of pupils. In anglophone parts of [[Canada]], Italian is, after [[French language|French]], the second most taught language. In the [[United States]] and the [[United Kingdom]], Italian ranks fourth (after [[Spanish language|Spanish]]-French-[[German language|German]] and French-German-Spanish respectively). Throughout the world, Italian is the fifth most taught non-native language, after [[English language|English]], French, Spanish and German.

===Official status===

Italian is an official language of [[Italy]], the [[European Union]], [[San Marino]] and [[Switzerland]]. It is also an official language in the [[Istria County]] ([[Croatia]]) and municipalities of [[Koper]], [[Piran]] and [[Izola]] ([[Slovenia]]).

It is a co-official language in [[Vatican City]] alongside [[Latin]], where it is usually used by the hierarchy of the [[Catholic Church]] as a [[lingua franca]] for internal communication.

===Dialects and regional languages of Italy===
:''See [[Italian dialects]]''

The dialects of Italian identified by the [[Ethnologue]] are [[Tuscan language|Tuscan]], Abruzzese, Pugliese (Apulian), Umbrian, Laziale, Central Marchigiano, Cicolano-Reatino-Aquilano, and Molisan. On the contrary [[Ethnologue]] and the ''Red book on endangered languages'' of [[UNESCO]] consider [[Piemontese language|Piemontese]], [[Lombard language|Lombard]], [[Ligurian language (Romance)|Ligurian]], [[Emiliano-Romagnolo]], [[Venetian language|Venetian]], [[Friulian language|Friulian]], Neapolitan-Calabrian or Tricalabrian (a range including [[Neapolitan language|Neapolitan]], [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] and [[Calabrian language|Calabrian]]) and [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]] as regional minority languages, structurally separated from Italian. Most Italians, however, refer to these simply as "dialect", with the exception of Sardinian and Friulian, which are usually recognized language status in the regions of [[Sardinia]] and [[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]].
Also the [[Corsican language]] has strong similarities to Italian and most linguists consider it as a Tuscany dialect, the closest to modern Italian.

Many of the so-called dialects of Italian spoken around the country are different enough from standard Italian to be considered separate [[language]]s by most [[linguist]]s and some speakers themselves. Thus a distinction can be made between "dialects of (standard) Italian" and "dialects (or languages) of Italy".

A link to an Italian site with translation features between Italian dialects and Italian: [http://www.dialettando.com]

====Cultural acceptance of dialects====

The dialect of [[Tuscany]] became the basis for what would become the official language of Italy, by way of the famous Tuscan author Dante Alighieri. Dante and other Tuscan poets were inspired by the Sicilian [[koine]] wanted by the [[Sicilian School]] under the Holy Roman Emperor [[Frederick II]]. His project (in which [[Giacomo da Lentini]] invented the [[sonnet]]) was accomplished by enriching the [[Sicilian language]] with new words adapted from French, Latin, and Apulian. The Sicilians produced a collection of love-poems which can be considered the first standard Italian ever produced, though it was only used for literary purposes until [[Guittone d'Arezzo]]. When the Svevs dynasty ended the Tuscans and Dante re-discovered it (see ''De Vulgari Eloquentia'' and ''Vita Nova'')and integrated the Sicilians into Florence's linguistic heritage.

The ''[[dolce stil novo]],'' the platonic school of courtly love, can be considered the link between the old southern school and Tuscan poetry which aimed to express the new intellectual sensibility and fervor of the newly-born city-states, as Florence. Dante's work, ''Divina Commedia'' was the first of its kind to be written in a dialect (though sensibly enriched compared with its spoken counterpart), as opposed to the traditional Latin. The success of his work spread the Florentine dialect, and gave it prestige and acceptance. For this he is referred to as the father of the Italian Language.

By the time Italy was unified [[1861]], the Italian standard had further been influenced by Florentine through the work of the [[Accademia della Crusca]] (Cardinal [[Pietro Bembo]] and followers). Bembo laid the foundation for what is today's modern standard. But Bembo was a purist and had accepted no other influence than that from Dante, Petrarca and Boccaccio. As time went on, the language was losing touch with linguistic change, and could not put up with technology and science. The much-needed update would have to wait a little longer until, in what is commonly regarded as the first modern novel of the Italian literature, [[The Betrothed|''I Promessi Sposi'']] (The Betrothed), [[Alessandro Manzoni]] further refined his widely read novel by "rinsing" it in the waters of the [[Arno]] ([[Florence]]'s river), as he states in his 1840 Preface.

However, Manzoni refused the Crusca's purist, written Florentine-only attitude and admitted a certain influence from other dialects, though he reduced it as compared to the first edition of ([[1821]]). After unification the huge number of civil servants and soldiers recruited from all over the country introduced many more words and idioms from their home dialects ("ciao" is Venetian, "panettone" is Milanese etc.), in fact confirming Manzoni's linguistic views.

Tuscan has thus become one of the twenty official dialects of Italy. Though technically speaking the division between dialect and language is purely conventional, it has been used by scholars (e.g., by Francesco Bruni) to distinguish between the languages that made up the Italian ''[[koine]],'' and those which had very little or no part in it, as [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Südtirolean language|Südtirolean]], [[Ladin language|Ladin]], [[Friulian language|Friulian]] and [[Occitan language|Occitan]], which are still spoken by small minorities.

Dialects are generally not used for general communication (e.g., on TV), but are limited to native speakers in informal contexts. Dialect is often deprecated as a sign of poor education. Younger generations, especially those under 35 (though it may vary in different areas), speak almost exclusively standard Italian in all situations, usually with local accents.{{fact}} Different accents can be recognized from various factors: the openness of vowels, the length of the consonants, and influence of the local dialect (for example, ''annà'' for ''andare'' in the area of Rome).

Dialects have their share of enthusiasts, but in most areas of Italy this is a small niche of the population. The promotion of dialects by political forces such as the [[Lega Nord]] has possibly damaged rather than promoted their status. Throughout Italy, some singers and actors use dialects as their language, but the language they use is, in most cases, strongly influenced by Italian.

Dialects and accents are often used in movies to provide comic relief or to produce stereotypes: northern dialects can be connected to self-made entrepreneurs; a Roman accent is associated with arrogant, simple-minded bullies; Neapolitan reminds of dishonest slackers, or of people living from hand to mouth; and, even in Italy, Sicilian is often associated with the [[Mafia]]. However, many screenwriters also explore the more expressive and spontaneous features of a dialect, often to challenge the common cliches and present a richer, less explored reality.



==Sounds==
Main Page: [[Italian phonology]]
{{IPA notice}}


===Vowels===

Italian has seven vowel phonemes: {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/ɛ/}}, {{IPA|/i/}}, {{IPA|/o/}}, {{IPA|/ɔ/}}, {{IPA|/u/}}. The pairs {{IPA|/e/}}-{{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/o/}}-{{IPA|/ɔ/}} are seldom distinguished in writing and often confused, even though each variety of Italian employs both phonemes consistently. Compare, for example: {{IPA|/per'kɛ/}} (because) and {{IPA|/'senti/}} (you listen), employed by some northern speakers, with {{IPA|/per'ke/}} and {{IPA|/'sɛnti/}}, as pronounced by most central and southern speakers. As a result, the usage is strongly indicative of a person's origin. The standard (Tuscan) usage of these vowels is listed in vocabularies, and employed outside Tuscany mainly by the more educated people, especially actors and (television) journalists.
These are truly different [[phonemes]], however: compare {{IPA|/'peska/}} (fishing) and {{IPA|/'pɛska/}} (peach), both spelled "pesca" ({{Audio|It-pesca.ogg|listen}}). Similarly {{IPA|/'bot:e/}} (barrel) and {{IPA|/'bɔt:e/}} (beatings), both spelled as "botte", discriminate {{IPA|/o/}} and {{IPA|/ɔ/}} ({{Audio|It-botte-mp.ogg|listen}}).

In general, vowel combinations usually pronounce each vowel separately. [[Diphthong]]s exist,(e.g. "uo", "iu", "ie", "ai"), but are limited to the pattern:
(unstressed "u" or "i", or zero) + (stressed vowel) + (unstressed "u" or "i", or zero)

The unstressed "u" in a diphthong approximates the English semivowel "w", the unstressed "i" approximates the semivowel "y". E.g.: ''buono'', ''ieri''.
As a semivowel, "j" is an alternate spelling of i, currently obsolete but common until early 20th century and preserved in specific words like "Jesi" (a town) or "Jacopo" (a first name).

[[Triphthong]]s are limited to a diphthong plus an unstressed "i". (e.g. ''miei'', ''tuoi''.) Other sequences of three vowels exist (e.g. ''noia'', ''febbraio''), but they are not triphthongs; they consist of a vowel followed by a diphthong.

===Consonants===

Two symbols in a table cell denote the voiceless and voiced consonant, respectively.

{| class="wikitable"
!
![[bilabial consonant|bilabial]]
![[labiodental consonant|labiodental]]
![[dental consonant|dental]]
![[alveolar consonant|alveolar]]
![[postalveolar consonant|postalveolar]]
![[palatal consonant|palatal]]
![[velar consonant|velar]]
|-
![[plosive consonant|plosive]]
|{{IPA|p}}, {{IPA|b}}
|
|{{IPA|t}}, {{IPA|d}}
|
|
|
|{{IPA|k}}, {{IPA|g}}
|-
![[nasal consonant|nasal]]
|{{IPA|m}}
|
|{{IPA|n}}
|
|
|{{IPA|ɲ}}
|
|-
![[trill consonant|trill]]
|
|
|
|{{IPA|r}}
|
|
|
|-
![[flap consonant|flap]]
|
|
|
|{{IPA|ɾ}}
|
|
|
|-
![[fricative consonant|fricative]]
|
|{{IPA|f}}, {{IPA|v}}
|
|{{IPA|s}}, {{IPA|z}}
|{{IPA|ʃ}}
|
|
|-
![[affricate consonant|affricate]]
|
|
|
|{{IPA|ʦ}}, {{IPA|ʣ}}
|{{IPA|ʧ}}, {{IPA|ʤ}}
|
|
|-
![[lateral consonant|lateral]]
|
|
|
|{{IPA|l}}
|
|{{IPA|ʎ}}
|
|}

The phoneme {{IPA|/n/}} undergoes assimilation when followed by a consonant, e.g., when followed by a velar ({{IPA|/k/}} or {{IPA|/g/}}) it's pronounced {{IPA|[ŋ]}}, etc.

Italian plosives are not [[aspirated]] (unlike in English). Italian speakers hear the difference as a foreign accent.

Italian has geminate, or double, consonants, which are distinguished by length. Length is distinctive for all [[consonant]]s except for {{IPA|/ʃ/}}, {{IPA|/ʦ/}}, {{IPA|/ʣ/}}, {{IPA|/ʎ/}} {{IPA|/ɲ/}}, which are always geminate, and {{IPA|/z/}} which is always single.
Geminate plosives and affricates are realized as lengthened closures. Geminate fricatives, nasals, and {{IPA|/l/}} are realized as lengthened [[continuant]]s. Geminate {{IPA|/ɾ:/}} is realized as the trill {{IPA|[r]}}.

===Assimilation===

Italian has few diphthongs, and so most unfamiliar diphthongs heard in foreign words (in particular, those with a first vowel that is not "i" or "u", or a first vowel that is stressed), will be assimilated as the corresponding [[dieresis]] (i.e., the vowel sounds will be pronounced separately). Italian [[phonotactics]] don't usually permit words to end on consonants, so foreign words may receive extra terminal vowel sounds.



==Grammar==
''see [[Italian grammar]].''


==Writing system==
[[Image:Jon Hawk.jpg|right|thumb|280px|Example of Italian]]
Italian is written using the [[Latin alphabet]]. The letters ''J'', ''K'', ''W'', ''X'' and'' Y'' are not part of the standard Italian alphabet, but are seen in imported words (such as ''jeans'', ''whiskey'', ''taxi''). ''J'' may also appear in many words from different dialects. Each of these foreign letters had an Italian equivalent spelling: ''gi'', ''ch'', ''u'', ''cs'' or ''s'', and ''i'', but these are now obsolete.

* Italian uses the [[acute accent]] over the letter ''E'' (as in ''perché'', why/because) to indicate a mid-close vowel, and the [[grave accent]] (as in ''tè'', tea) to indicate a mid-open vowel. The [[grave accent]] is also used on letters ''A'', ''I'', ''O'', and ''U'' to mark the stress position when it is on the last letter of a word (for instance ''gioventù'', youth). Typically, the penultimate syllable is stressed. If other syllables are stressed, marking an accent is not mandatory, as is instead done in [[Spanish language|Spanish]], and, in virtually all cases, no accent is marked. In some cases, when the word is ambiguous (as ''principi''), the accent is sometimes marked in order to disambiguate the meaning (in this case, ''príncipi'', princes, or ''princípi'', principles; ''balia'', nurse or ''balìa'', force

* The letter ''H'' is always silent when it begins a word, and is only used to distinguish ''ho'', ''hai'', ''ha'', ''hanno'' (present indicative of ''avere'', to have) from ''o'' (or), ''ai'' (to the), ''a'' (to), ''anno'' (year). ''H'' is otherwise used for some combinations with other letters (see below), but the /h/ sound does not exist in Italian.

* The letter ''Z'' is pronounced {{IPA|/dz/}}, for example: ''Zanzara'' {{IPA|/dzanˈdzara/}} (mosquito), or sometimes {{IPA|/ts/}}, for example: ''Nazione'' {{IPA|/naˈtsione/}} (nation), depending on context, though there are few minimal pairs. The same goes with ''S'', which can be pronounced {{IPA|/s/}} or {{IPA|/z/}}. However, these two phonemes are in complementary distribution everywhere except between two vowels in the same word, and even in such environment there are extremely few minimal pairs, therefore this distinction is being lost in most accents.

* The letters ''C'' and ''G'' are [[affricate]]s: {{IPA|/ʧ/}} as in "chair" and {{IPA|/ʤ/}} as in "gem", respectively, before the [[front vowel]]s ''I'' and ''E''. They are pronounced as [[plosive]]s {{IPA|/k/}}, {{IPA|/g/}} (as in "call" and "gall") otherwise1. But, the normally silent ''H'' is added between ''CI'', ''CE'', ''GI'' or ''GE'' if the consonant is to be a plosive. For example:

:{| border=2 cellpadding=2
!
|Before back vowel: plosive
|Before front vowel: affricate
|With "H": plosive
|-
!"C"
|'''cara''' ({{IPA|ˈkara}})
|'''ciao''' ({{IPA|/ˈʧao/}})
|'''chiaro''' ({{IPA|/ˈkjaro/}})
|-
!"G"
|'''gallo''' ({{IPA|/ˈgallo/}})
|'''genere''' ({{IPA|/ˈʤɛnere/}})
|'''ghetto''' ({{IPA|/ˈgetto/}})
|}

:1(Front/back vowel rules for ''C'' and ''G'' are similar in [[French language|French]], [[Romanian language|Romanian]], and to some extent [[English language|English]] (including [[Old English]]). [[swedish language|Swedish]] and [[norwegian language|Norwegian]] have similar rules for ''K'' and ''G''. See also [[palatalization]].)

* There are two special [[digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] in Italian: ''GN'' and ''GL''. ''GN'' is always pronounced {{IPA2|ɲ}} ,for the spanish, between "n" and "e", and ''GL'' (only in italian) is pronounced {{IPA2|λ}}) palatal lateral consonant (between "l" and "e" long) or but only before i, and never when at the beginning of the word, except in the plural form ''gli'' of the masculine [[definite article]]. (Compare with [[Spanish language|Spanish]] "ñ" and "ll", [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] "nh" and "lh".)

* In general all letters are clearly pronounced, and always in the same way. (The only notable allophonic variations in the pronunciation of phonemes in standard Italian are the assimilation of /n/ before consonants, and vowel length (vowels are long in stressed open syllables, and short elsewhere) — compare with the enormous number of allophones of the English phoneme /t/. Spelling is clearly phonetic and difficult to mistake given a clear pronunciation. Exceptions are generally only found in foreign borrowings. There is less [[dyslexia]] than in languages like English.

=== Usage among Younger Generations ===
Some variations in the usage of the writing system may be present in practical use. Most scholars consider these to be mistakes, but they are so common that knowledge of these may be useful to read an Italian text.
* Usage of '''x''' instead of ''per'': this is very common among teenagers and in [[SMS]] abbreviations. Since ''per'' means "to", "for you" becomes ''x te'', similar to the English ''2'' and ''4 U''. Words containing ''per'' can also have it substituted with ''x'', and once a university student allegedly pronounced the surname of Italian revolutionary [[Nino Bixio]] as ''Biperio'' at an oral exam[http://pacs.unica.it/rassegna/rassegna0905.txt]. ''Perché'' (both "why" and "because") is often shortened as ''x`''.
* Usage of foreign letters such as ''k'', ''j'' and ''y'', especially in nicknames and SMS language: ''ke'' instead of ''che'', ''Giusy'' instead of ''Giuseppina''. This is curiously mirrored in the usage of ''i'' in English names such as ''Staci'' instead of ''Stacey'', or in the usage of ''c'' in Northern Europe (''Jacob'' instead of ''Jakob''). The letter ''k'' also appears to give words a certain strength and threatening aspect, possibly because it is associated with [[Germany]]. Politician [[Francesco Cossiga]] used to be nicknamed ''Kossiga'' by rioting students as early as 1968, because of his role as minister of internal affairs.
* Accents are often substituted by apostrophes, such as in ''perche''' instead of ''perché''. ''È'' is particularly rare, as it is absent from the Italian keyboard layout. Few are aware of the distinction between grave and acute accents.

==Examples==

*cheers (generic toast): ''cin cin'' {{IPA|}}
*English: ''inglese'' {{IPA|/inˈgleze/}}
*good-bye: ''arrivederci'' {{IPA|/arriveˈdertʃi/}}
*hello: ''ciao'' {{IPA|/ˈtʃao/}} (informal); ''buongiorno'' {{IPA|/bwonˈdʒorno/}} (good morning/good afternoon), ''buonasera'' {{IPA|/bwonaˈsera/}} (good evening)
*Yes: ''sì'' {{IPA|/si/}}
*No: ''no'' {{IPA|/nɔ/}}
*Sorry: ''scusi'' /{{IPA|ˈskuzi}}/
*Again: ''di nuovo'' /{{IPA|di ˈnwɔvo}}/
*Always: ''sempre'' /{{IPA|ˈsɛmpre}}/
*When: ''quando'' {{IPA|/ˈkwando/}}
*Why? / Because: ''perché'' {{IPA|/per'ke/}}
*how much?: ''quanto'' {{IPA|/ˈkwanto/}}
*thank you!: ''grazie!'' {{IPA|/ˈgrattsie/}}
*Bon appetit: ''Buon appetito'' {{IPA|/ˌbwɔn appeˈtito/}}
*you're welcome!: ''prego!'' {{IPA|/ˈprɛgo/}}
*I love you: ''Ti amo'' {{IPA|/ti ˈamo/}}

==Sample texts==

You can hear a recording of [[Dante]]'s [[Divine Comedy]] read by [[Lino Pertile]] at http://etcweb.princeton.edu/dante/pdp/.

'''From the Holy Bible, Luke 2, 1-7'''
(for an English version see http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=luke+2)

You can [[Media:It-Vangeli.ogg|listen]] to a rendition of this text as recorded by an Italian native speaker from Milan.

'''2:1''' In quei giorni, un decreto di Cesare Augusto ordinava che si facesse un censimento di tutta la terra. '''2''' Questo primo censimento fu fatto quando Quirino era governatore della Siria. '''3''' Tutti andavano a farsi registrare, ciascuno nella propria città. '''4''' Anche Giuseppe, che era della casa e della famiglia di Davide, dalla città di Nazaret e dalla Galilea si recò in Giudea nella città di Davide, chiamata Betlemme, '''5''' per farsi registrare insieme a Maria, sua sposa, che era incinta. '''6''' Proprio mentre si trovavano lì, venne il tempo per lei di partorire. '''7''' Mise al mondo il suo primogenito, lo avvolse in fasce e lo depose in una mangiatoia, poiché non c'era posto per loro nella locanda.

==See also==
*[[Italian phonology]]
*[[Sicilian School]]
*[[Veronese Riddle]]
*[[Italian grammar]]

==External links==
{{InterWiki|code=it}}
{{Wikibooks}}
{{wiktionarypar|Italian}}
*{{About.com|topic=Italian}}
*[http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it Homepage of the Accademia della Crusca]
*[http://www.ielanguages.com/italian.html Italian Language Tutorial at ielanguages.com]
*[http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Italian-english/ Italian English Dictionary] from [http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org Webster's Online Dictionary] - the Rosetta Edition
*[http://www.garzantilinguistica.it A free Italian-English Dictionary, Italian Dictionary, and Thesaurus] from Garzanti Linguistica (in Italian, requires free registration)
*[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ita Ethnologue report on Italian]
*[http://www.italianoinglese.com Italian English Dictionary]
*[http://www.english-to-italian.com English Italian Dictionary]
*[http://www.dicts.info/dictlist1.php?k1=53 All free Italian dictionaries]
*[http://www.ilsonline.it/test.html Online italian language test]
*[http://www.eslbase.com/language-exchange/ Language exchange - Practise Italian online]
*[http://italian-language-test.scuolaleonardo.com/ Test your Italian - Free Italian language test]
*[http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/modlang/carasi/site/pageone.html Online Italian language course]
*[http://www.wordreference.com Italian English and English Italian Dictionary]
*[http://www.loecsen.com/travel/discover_pop.php?lang=en&to_lang=8&learn-Italian/ Learn and listen to useful expressions in Italian]
*[http://www.asils.it/ Italian Language schools]
*[http://www.quiz-tree.com/Italian_Vocabulary_main.html Italian Vocabulary Training]
*[http://www.impariamo.com Forum for Learning Italian]

{{Official EU languages}}

[[Category:Italian language|*]]
[[Category:Languages of Italy]]
[[Category:Languages of Switzerland]]
[[Category:Languages of Vatican City]]
[[Category:Languages of San Marino]]
[[Category:Languages of Slovenia]]

[[als:Italienische Sprache]]
[[ar:لغة إيطالية]]
[[bg:Италиански език]]
[[be:Італьянская мова]]
[[br:Italianeg]]
[[ca:Italià]]
[[cs:Italština]]
[[cy:Eidaleg]]
[[da:Italiensk (sprog)]]
[[de:Italienische Sprache]]
[[et:Itaalia keel]]
[[el:Ιταλική γλώσσα]]
[[es:Idioma italiano]]
[[eo:Itala lingvo]]
[[eu:Italiera]]
[[fr:Italien]]
[[gl:Lingua italiana]]
[[ko:이탈리아어]]
[[hr:Talijanski jezik]]
[[io:Italiana linguo]]
[[id:Bahasa Italia]]
[[it:Lingua italiana]]
[[he:איטלקית]]
[[kw:Italek]]
[[la:Lingua Italica]]
[[lt:Italų kalba]]
[[li:Italiaans]]
[[hu:Olasz nyelv]]
[[mk:Италијански јазик]]
[[ja:イタリア語]]
[[no:Italiensk språk]]
[[oc:Italian]]
[[pl:Język włoski]]
[[pt:Língua italiana]]
[[ro:Limba italiană]]
[[rm:Lingua taliana]]
[[ru:Итальянский язык]]
[[sc:Limba italiana]]
[[scn:Lingua taliana]]
[[simple:Italian language]]
[[sk:Taliančina]]
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[[sr:Италијански језик]]
[[fi:Italian kieli]]
[[sv:Italienska]]
[[tl:Wikang Italyano]]
[[th:ภาษาอิตาลี]]
[[vi:Tiếng Ý]]
[[tr:İtalyanca]]
[[zh:意大利语]]

Talk:Programming language

2006-03-06T04:30:57Z

Capi crimm: /* Article image */

==Humans or machines?==
I think we need to point out that programming languages, like other languages, are for humans to express human ideas in. The unique thing about programming languages is that we can automatically translate these expressions into the ones and zeros that computers use. Still, the primary purpose that should be stressed is that these are human languages, for humans to express solutions in which are meant to be understandable by other humans. Since most of the cost of software across the useful lifespan of a program is invested in enhancements and maintenance, the human-readability of programs is much more important than their nature as a "technique for expressing instructions to a computer".

''Low-level languages such as machine code are also programming languages. All programming languages are in principle both human- and machine-readable, but the relative emphasis varies.''

:I agree, the importance of producing code that can be easily understood by a human is of extremely important and must be mentioned prominently in this article. Indeed, producing readable code that other humans (and not merely computers) can easily understand is one of the hallmarks of a good programmer. But - this is accomplished mostly through adding comments in a natural human language to the source at key points, and mostly not through the direct use of the programming language itself.
:The original and still primary purpose of a computer programming language is ''not'' communication with other humans. A programming language is ''not'' a human language in the oridnary sense of the term; even two hardcore professional programmers don't ever go to lunch and talk to each other in Java or C. Natural human languages are far better suited to interpersonal communication. Programming languages were invented for and are used nearly exclusively for the express purpose of allowing humans to easily communicate instructions to computers (and later be able to easily modify those instructions), and not for human-to-human communication. Even programming manuals frequently express algorithms as human language influenced pseudocode rather than in a real programming language.
:It's perfectly possible (and regrettably common) to write huge complex blocks of code or even entire applications that are unintelligible to anyone but the author, yet which work perfectly well when executed by a computer. A programming language is basically and fundamentally a "technique for expressing instructions to a computer." Doing so in a human-readable fashion is a big plus, of course, but it is not the fundamental purpose of a programming language, and is usually accomplished through appropriately garnishing the code with comments in some natural human language. [[User:Kwertii|Kwertii]] 09:38, 9 May 2004 (UTC)

:: FWIW, I am a programming language theorist and I would define "programming language" formally in the following manner: a ''programming language'' is a [[decidable]] [[formal language]] equipped with a [[Turing-complete]] [[semantics]]; a ''program'' is a programming language together with a member of that language. (BTW, the page for "Turing-complete" is not really, er, adequate...) This means that a language is a set of finitary strings, for which it is computable whether or not a given string belongs to it, ''together with'' a computationally adequate model, for example a mapping from each such string to a λ-term, or Turing tape, or partial recursive numeric function. In my opinion, few programming language researchers would disagree with this definition as applied to formal work. However, if you want to define the popular notion of "programming language" then, yes, you might want to add fuzzy conditions like "human-readable" and so on, and maybe weaken the Turing-completeness condition to admit terminating languages like Charity. -- [[http://www.cs.uu.nl/~franka Frank Atanassow]], 24 July 2004
:::That formal definition is too constraining. It would be a rather odd definition of "programming language" that did not count the simply-typed lambda calculus as a programming language. Conversely, I had a colleague working on a language with an undecidable type system. (The subtyping constraints were flexible enough to allow the user to encode Prolog programs in them.) He had proposed various restrictions to make the type system decidable, but it seems clear to me that his language didn't become a "programming language" only when he imposed those restrictions. So a programming language need not have a Turing-complete semantics, nor must it be a decidable formal language. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 23:09, 25 Jul 2004 (UTC)

::And conversely, to determine which is more "primary" or "important"--which is worse, a programming language that humans can't read, or one computers can't read? "Most of the cost of software across the useful lifespan of a program" may be in enhancements and maintenance, but if the program weren't machine-readable, its "useful lifespan" would be zero. --Daniel.
:::A programming language that humans can't read is clearly worse. There are plenty of useful programs that are not machine-readable. Virtually all work by academic programming language designers begins with the development of "core" languages, which are mathematical constructs first and foremost. The call-by-name lambda calculus is hardly primarily a tool for communicating with computers (if by "computers" you mean those beeping chunks of silicon that sit on people's desks). I find this this machine-oriented focus kind of disheartening. Do we not agree with the Dijkstra quote concerning astronomy and telescopes at the top of the [[computer science]] article?

::::"plenty of useful programs that are not machine-readable"--and similarly there are plenty of useful programs that are barely human-readable. That's not a good test.
:::::There is a big difference between "not" and "barely". [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 23:09, 25 Jul 2004 (UTC)
:::: The test I have in mind is:

::::-Examine the total amount of resources that humans have put into designing, studying, and using programming languages. (Or, if you like, examine the returns on that investment.)

::::-What portion of that investment would have been made, and what portion of those returns would have been received, if no programming language had been machine-readable? I think 3% for both would be a wild overestimate.

::::-What portion of that investment would have been made, and what portion of those returns would have been received, if no programming language had been more human-readable than, say, FORTRAN? I'd guess 70% of the investment and 20% of the returns, anyway...given how badly even readable programming languages are typically used.

::::The exact numbers are obviously arguable, but that's the test I had in mind. I agree with Dijkstra, but what computer science is about, and what programming languages are for, are two different things. Computer science is not about machines, but programming languages are for controlling machines, first and foremost; if they could not be used for that they would be relegated to a smallish sub-discipline of mathematics, neither very popular nor very well-funded.

::::-Daniel.
:::::FORTRAN is already tremendously human-readable, compared to binary machine code or any number of encodings that would be adequate to the purpose of describing computation to machines. Furthermore, I don't see too much programming language research on making languages easier to read by machines. So this argument actually demonstrates the opposite of what you intended it to. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 23:09, 25 Jul 2004 (UTC)

:::Lastly, Kwertii's comments strike me as unconvincing:
:::*It is irrelevant that programmers don't speak to each other in Java. Musicians don't speak to each other in musical notation. Mathematicians don't speak to each other in pure set theory and first-order logic. (Admittedly, some of them come close.) Lawyers do not speak to each other purely in legalese. Sculpters do not speak to each other with a series of little [[statuettes]]. There are other forms of human-to-human communication besides the oral use of natural language. Programming languages are one of them.
:::*Furthermore, although programs can be written that are often called "unreadable", they are not ''literally'' unreadable, merely ''difficult to read''. Nor should we construe the existence of hard to read ''programs'' as evidence that the primary purpose of ''programming languages'' is to communicate with machines. The English translation of Jacques Derrida's ''On Grammatology'' is nigh unreadable, but that does not show that deconstructionist literary theory is not a form of human-to-human communication.
:::*It is certainly ''not'' the case that programmers communicate with other programmers primarily through comments! In fact, natural language comments are a noriously ''bad'' way to communicate precisely about a program. Code itself is the major form of programmer-to-programmer communication. (See the [http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS/amicus-brief.html amicus curiae brief in MPAA v. 2600], which argues a similar point.)
:::*Finally, as for Kwertii's claim that the "original" purpose of programming languages was to communicate with machines --- programming languages predate executable programming language implementations by at least two decades. The lambda calculus was invented in the 1930's. FORTRAN was invented in the 1950's. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 09:24, 20 May 2004 (UTC)

::::Make that one decade. The codes given to some of the first computers in the 1940's, via paper tape and the like, certainly count as programming languages, and were designed to control machines. For that matter, Babbage's punch cards were designed to control machines.

::::-Daniel.

::::''Augusta Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace, born December 10th 1813 ... invented the first computer programming language.'' -- [[Wiki:AugustaAdaByron]]. I'm not sure which side of the argument this factoid supports.

----

''producing readable code that other humans (and not merely computers) can easily understand is one of the hallmarks of a good programmer. But - this is accomplished mostly through adding comments in a natural human language to the source at key points, and mostly not through the direct use of the programming language itself.''

Many people believe this. Quite a few programmers disagree very, very strongly. We believe that producing readable code is mostly through renaming, refactoring, etc. so that the name of an variable communicates (to humans) what it is, the name of a method communicates (to humans) what it does, etc.

See
[[Wiki:TreatCommentsWithSuspicion]],
[[Wiki:ToNeedComments]]
("Refactor the code properly and you won't need comments.")

-- [[User:DavidCary|DavidCary]] 23:36, 5 Jul 2004 (UTC)

As computers grow more complex, our ability to translate solutions into executable binary has become more abstract, enabling us to express solutions in terms of objects, templates, patterns and aspects. Such abstractions enable a more natural translation from human needs, often expressed as "use cases", into executable solutions. It is this trend toward greater abstraction in the expression of programming solutions that enables programmer productivity to double, despite programmers being locked into fixed biological hardware.

If we gaze deep into the crystal ball, we see the logical extension of this trend as computers that are capable of conversing with humans and creating executable binary programs from desires or solutions expressed in pure human language. The shift away from computer-centric aspects of programming languages toward more human-solution-centric aspects will continue to be the defining characteristic of near-future programming languages.

The "holy grail" of programming language development from this viewpoint would be the creation of a transparent interface to a computing substrate that can extract requirements from the user and instantiate an executable solution. Of course, at this level of abstraction, there is no "programming language" any longer, merely a somewhat pedantic conversation required to define the essential complexity of the problem the user wishes to solve.

At any rate, some mention should be made of this shift from computer-centric aspects toward human-centric aspects and how this affects programmer productivity and how it will shape the role of programming languages going forward.

==language links==

(moved to [[Talk:List_of_programming_languages]])

==Possible prejudices re: "mainstream" languages==
This article seems to be written largely from the point of view of a programmer in mainstream languages. For example, interactive use is attributed to interpreters, without considering that eg. many Smalltalk and Lisp systems have native compilers that are used interactively. Sorry for not bothering to work this rant into a considered and balanced edit of the article.

-- han

I disagree. I don't think we need to perpetuate the prejudices of "programmers in mainstream languages" (read C/C++, Java). That would be about as stupid as rewriting the operating systems entry from the point of view of a windows user.

Anyways, someone who has a copy of 'Programming Language Concepts and Paradigms' handy, an exceedingly comprehensible book on the subject, should rewrite this article. -- Ark

==Total rewrite==

This entire section needs to be rewritten from scratch. This includes this topic plus those for the various languages and language concept articles. This is going to be a big project but I think its important. Computer programming is too much a part of modern life to be half covered in an encyclopedia so I have to agree with Ark. [[User:Rlee0001|Rlee0001]] 05:25 Jul 27, 2002 (PDT)

On another note: I would limit the list of programming languages here to just the main languages and not all the dialects. For example, there are something like 15-20 dialects of BASIC listed in the [[BASIC programming language]] page. Instead of listing all of them, one link for the entire language would suffice. If the user want's a dialect, he/she can stiff get to it from the BASIC page. Same goes for all the languages. Further, I fail to see why people are listing such obscure languages and dialects in an encyclopedia. Some languages have historical or technological significance. Others are just current brandnames for half-written freeware with a source forge page and no user base. Should "Applesoft BASIC" really get its own topic? What did it do to revolutionize the language? Did it have a particularly large user base? Did it establish any conventions which are widely in use today? If not its probably not worthy of its own topic. Even worse is articles like ibasic. This is a basic interpreter for the mac. It has no historical significance: it was just created within the last year by an ameture developer who lives in some small cottage in sweden somewhere. It gets it's own encyclopedia article? [[User:Rlee0001|Rlee0001]]

: I would propose the following:

* Make a (short) list of the most significant programming languages in history to put on the [[Programming language]] page. Annotate the list to make clear just why these language are mentioned.
* Make new article called [[List of programming languages]], where every single progamming language can be mentioned, even dialects. This page can have several different orders, such as alphabetical, but also by type (functional, OO, etc.) or maybe even a history tree (there's a good book about the history of Programming Language by Sebasta, if I'm right, you may use that as a reference).
* For those dialects/spin-offs/implementations/ports of programming languages that are never going to be more than a single-sentence article: assemble on the page of the main article ([[BASIC programming language]] here) and make a section where you mention this or, when this is getting a long list, make it a separate article.

: That's what I think would be best. I'll try and see if I can help you with some of the work you're proposing to do; there are enough other people with knowledge about the subject around, so it should be possible to get something good out of this. [[User:Jheijmans|Jeronimo]] 01:56 Jul 29, 2002 (PDT)
---
: BTW re: classifying languages by category, many languages belong in more than one category (constraint languages vs. rule-based languages vs. logic languages; and what about functional + OO languages like CLOS?) Just to keep in mind. --[[User:K.lee|k.lee]]
----
{{wikibookspar||Wikibooks:Programming languages bookshelf}} {{wikibookspar||Computer programming}}
I have added two Wikibook links which allready have the texts which where suggested - The first link has an alphabetical and category list of languages - the 2nd link points to short introductions. I hope that helps. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 16:52, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

===Rewrite of [[User:K.lee|k.lee]]===

FYI: For some time I've been working on a ground-up rewrite of this article, because its current state does not make me happy. It's not ready to go live, but I've finally posted my current draft [[User:K.lee/Programming language rewrite|in my user space]]. I welcome comment on my rewrite; also feel free to edit it directly. It's taking me a long time to do the rewrite, but I plan to replace the entire current article eventually. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 02:28, 27 Aug 2003 (UTC)

:The link seems to be broken. -- [[User:P3d0|P3d0]] 11:05, 27 Aug 2003 (UTC)

::It appears to me as a red "edit" link rather than a regular blue link. -- [[User:P3d0|P3d0]] 21:49, 28 Aug 2003 (UTC)

::: is there a reason that javascript isn't mention in the " Commonly Used Languages"? Also the link is red for me too ... [[User:Reddi|reddi]] 21:58, 28 Aug 2003 (UTC)

::Ok, the link works now. -- [[User:P3d0|P3d0]] 00:03, 1 Sep 2003 (UTC)

:: I'm not sure I like the rewrite. I haven't read the original to compare it, but the rewrite seems to be at a very awkward level of detail. Anyone with enough background in the area to understand that writeup presumably doesn't need to read it. For instance, the grammar example casually uses the terms "atom" and "symbol" which have very little meaning to those outside the field of computer programming. In fact, the whole section on grammars would be better off in another article (say, on parsing). -- [[User:P3d0|P3d0]] 00:10, 1 Sep 2003 (UTC)
:::Actually, I think that when I get to editing this article some more, I'll factor out several sections (e.g., the history of programming languages, and language semantics) into separate articles. I'll keep your suggestion in mind. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 02:07, 2 Sep 2003 (UTC)
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The link seems to be working now. :-)

I would like to ask is there a clear concensus that the original article is unsatisfactory to the extent that it needs a re-write?
[[User:TonyClarke|TonyClarke]] 11:38, 27 Aug 2003 (UTC)
:Well, I don't know about a consensus, but here are my reasons for wanting to rewrite the article. First, the original article is rather disorganized. Second, it leaps into issues like the representation of data without even saying why programming languages exist in terms that a layperson can understand. Third, the original article does not maintain a sufficient distinction between the design of programming languages and their implementation. Fourth, the article does not give enough attention to formal languages (actually, if you counted all the programming languages ever invented, I suspect formal languages would outnumber "practical" languages). Finally, and most importantly, as the poster at the top of this talk page noted, the article does not give priority to a programming language's role in ''human-to-human'' communication --- which all language designers and software engineering researchers, not to mention most working programmers, understand as its most important role. It's possible that you could alter the original article to fix these flaws, but the changes would be radical enough to resemble a ground-up rewrite anyway. BTW I have reused sections from the original article where I thought appropriate. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 02:07, 2 Sep 2003 (UTC)
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The current main page definitely needs to be re-considered. While it is quite accurate (it seems to me), it is mostly a summary of the topic using the terminology of the discipline, and so is quite inscrutable to a newcomer. It occurs to me that an encyclopedia needs both a specialist and non-specialist version of the general information articles. The specialists need a means to agree on the theoretical structure of the topic, and the newcomers need to learn about it from scratch.

===Removed from subject page:===
'''To Do:''' this is just an outline to get started;
add some descriptive text (or put in '/' links)
and add a ''few'' representative languages to the descriptions

*sequence of execution
**procedural, sequential, linear
**event-driven
**pseudo-random
*method of execution
**interpreted
**compiled
**hybrid
* main programming paradigm
** [[procedural programming]]
** [[structured programming]]
** [[object-oriented]] programming
** [[functional programming]]
** [[aspect oriented programming]]
** [[logical programming]]
** [[distributed programming]]
*primary method of use
**script, shell, command
**[[macro]], text processing
**application
**systems programming
*abstraction level
**visual programming and integrated development environments
**1GL (First Generation Languages)
**2GL (Second Generation Languages)
**3GL (Third Generation Languages)
**4GL (Fourth Generation Languages)
**database UI development kits
**high-level (declarative, objective, procedural)
**[[assembly language|assembly]]
**[[machine language|machine]]
**[[microcode]]
*other
**pathological
***[[Turing tarpit]]s
**specialty

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[[User:Rlee0001|Rlee0001]] 01:51 Oct 20, 2002 (UTC)

==Numbers of Users?==
Do Ruby and Scheme really have several hundred thousand users, as in programmers who use them regularly? I doubt it, but I've been wrong before. [[User:Wesley|Wesley]]

I believe so. But no one can prove either point anyway. --TakuyaMurata

I think it's probably true. For example, OCaml has at least 10^3 vocal users, probably 10^4 real users and probably 10^5 people who've played with it. However, such things are so difficult to quantify (e.g. look at Tiobe's silly estimates, which see huge bias from big business) and even to define (e.g. should we be talking about the total running time of programs written in different languages in order to combat, for example, the majority of Sourceforge projects "written in C++" that have yet to see an alpha release?) that I don't think such (mis)information belongs on Wikipedia. -- [[User:jdh30|Jon Harrop]]

==Naming conventions?==
Hi,

why have we put virtually every programming language on "Foo programming language", and not on "Foo" if "Foo" is reasonably unique? "Programming language" is disambiguation, and that should only be used when there is ambiguity, should it not?
--[[User:Eloquence|Eloquence]] 00:08 Jan 24, 2003 (UTC)

:Please see [[Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (languages)]]. There's no counterargument against changing to a sensible naming scheme that I'm aware of other than that certain people seemed to take it as a personal affront when it has been suggested in the past. --[[User:Brion VIBBER|Brion]] 00:12 Jan 24, 2003 (UTC)

Heck, I'd forgotten about that. The convention as stated at [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions]] does now say ''not'' to add "programming language" if the name of the language is unique, but I've not done any work in moving pages to reflect this new convention yet. I don't have time to start on this right now, but now that I've been reminded about it, I'll get to it when I have time (others, of course, are more than welcome - indeed encouraged, nay ''begged'' - to get there before me). --[[User:Camembert|Camembert]]

Great. I'll start some moving, although fixing double redirs will be an annoyance and we'll probably lose some page histories .. --[[User:Eloquence|Eloquence]] 00:19 Jan 24, 2003 (UTC)
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==Proper classification of Python==
Some people including me might take exception to Python being classified as procedural with bolt-on OO technology, this has been extensively discussed in [http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&group=comp.lang.python the Python community]

==Miscellany==
I would like to point out that the programming language list above misses [[Objective-C]]. [[User:Brent Gulanowski|Brent Gulanowski]] 15:54, 15 Oct 2003 (UTC)

==Turing completeness and generality==
One thing the article appears to miss is the basic elements that all languages must share to be able to express any computable algorithm. I was taught this as "Sequence, Selection, Repetition" but it may be known in a number of ways. I feel this is important, as well as correct attribution to whoever proved it mathematically - was it [[Alan Turing|Turing]] maybe? I feel that once it is clear that all languages must support this basic elements, then they can be discussed in the abstract without having to say language X has this feature, language Y has this feature, etc. (though that can be added as an extension). [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 23:29, 9 Nov 2003 (UTC)

:I agree that it would be very nice if the article has discussion for foundmental aspects of programming language. Particularly I would like to see what makes programming language real languages. What distinguishes them from markup languages like HTML. I am not sure about Sequence, Selection, Repetition. I believe the most basic elements of languages are control and data abstraction. This theory fits to the explanation of assembly language very well. Assembly language supports jump and conditional jump, very primitive form of control abstraction. It also supports labeling, primitive form of data abstraction.

:Also I think that the article is too much devoted to discussion for data type and data structures. Is it so important to mention strong typed or dynamic type checking since [[datatype]] article covers such adequately. And control flow on the other hand has very few. Don't we have to even mention if or while? -- [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] 05:34, Nov 11, 2003 (UTC)

::Sequence/selection/repetition is far more fundamental to the concept of a programming language than data or control abstraction. I'm not saying that a language with only those features would be a good language, but I am saying that without those features it would not be a programming language at all. See [[brainfuck]] - it's a perfectly valid programming language, any computable problem can be expressed in it - it's just not a good one for expressing human ideas. It's at that second level that abstractions are important, but these are building on the fundamental requirement for stepwise execution, decision branches and loops. Incidentally assembly languages are possible without the features you mention, yet still remain valid languages. I can remember using a (poor) 6502 assembler on the [[commodore 64]] that did not have labels - you had to specify branches using line numbers. But it did work. [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 06:28, 11 Nov 2003 (UTC)

::Thinking about this further, this is ''precisely'' what separates programming languages from markup languages. I'm not familiar with the full extent of HTML, but as far as I know it lacks the ability to perform branches based on conditions, or the ability to perform repeats. Also, talking of assembly language, it is possible in theory to design a serial processor with only one instruction - "subtract and branch if negative", yet such a processor could still implement any known algorithm, because it obeys the fundamental requirement of seq/sel/rep. This is pretty close to the idea of brainfuck in hardware. I sometimes wonder if such a processor, despite lacking, well, anything much really, could be made to go so fast that it would still be actually pretty good on performance. You could also make it massively pipelined. The ultimate RISC machine... Anyway, I digress, but the point is made, I think. See also [[turing complete]]. [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 06:41, 11 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Umm, very interesting. I think you are talking about what an minimum requirement to make the language capable of simulating the [[Turing machine]]. And probably the three criteria Sequence, Selection, Repetition are right. I was thinking like programming language as the mean of abstraction. The [[Turing machine]] is the most powerful computer we know today and we don't need any programming languages or such to perform computable algorithms. Programming languages were in my view needed and then invented because human beings need something abstract to make programming easier. Mnemonics in assembly languages are completely meaningless to the computer but are only to we human. This is why I claimed data and code abstraction are basic elements of programming language.

But you are right. [[Brainfuck]] is considered as programming language generally, if it misses my picture of programming languages. SImilar small languages like [[PostScript]] are also among them. In other words, programming languages are not only for human or are they? -- [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] 06:40, Nov 13, 2003 (UTC)

-- [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] 06:40, Nov 13, 2003 (UTC)

Is "sequence/selection/repetition" what they're teaching the kiddies nowadays? :-) [[Functional programming]] folks might prefer to say it's abstraction/evaluation/recursion. Turing equivalence can't be used as a precise criterion, because for instance it assumes infinite storage, and classic [[Fortran]] requires fixed-size allocation, yet few would say it's not a programming language. I would call Turing-equivalent languages "general-purpose programming languages", while leaving "programming language" as a more general moniker for any linguistic form of expression that instructs a computer, irrespective of generality. [[User:Stan Shebs|Stan]] 08:23, 13 Nov 2003 (UTC)

"Sequence, selection, and repetition" are ''not'' enough to make a language Turing-complete. A finite-state automaton is capable of all of the above (which correspond to the concatenation, union, and Kleene star operator of regular languages). You also need arbitrary memory allocation (or infinite storage, which is the same thing).

Also, Stan's point re: FORTRAN is a good one. The primary distinction between markup and programming languages is one of emphasis. They overlap --- any Turing-complete markup language (e.g., LaTeX) can also be considered a programming language --- but "everyone knows" when something is primarily a programming language or a markup language.

Finally, it's pretty obvious that any non-joke programming language is intended primarily for human consumption. Joke languages like [[Brainfuck]] or [[Unlambda]] are simply exceptions that prove the rule --- they're designed by humans for human amusement. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 05:27, 17 Nov 2003 (UTC)

:Actually Stan I have no idea what they are teaching the "kiddies" these days as you so dismissively put it. I actually picked up the seq/sel/rep thing from a course I did many years ago which was an introduction to microprocessor design. The point was emphasised that as long as the hardware provided these things, then it could run any software "language", and therefore all programming languages mapped to these fundamental concepts at their heart. This stayed with me so it must have made some sort of good sense to me at the time. Now, it's quite likely that from a software perspective, some of these things may be self evident - for example, the fact that each statement of a language is executed in written order and thus one thing logically follows another (Sequence). Programmers take that for granted (though obviously CPU designers need to construct a mechanism to make it happen), so maybe it doesn't need to be stated - but we must write for the proper audience here.

::Too bad that they take it for granted :-) What you say is valid for procedural languages, but absolutely not for declarative ones. In [[Prolog]] language, you state the set of "rules of inference". The burden of setting the order of their application is onto compiler. Once you see what I mean, it is easies to agree that HTML and TEX are as good a programming language in a sense that they make the computer do what I want. The "magic triads" abstraction/evaluation/recursion, sequence/selection/repetition, encapsulation/.../... are woodoo talk for specific approaches, important for sure, but they must be discussed where they fit. When speaking about PL in general, one must have a broader POV. Read more good SF, folks :-)[[User:Mikkalai|Mikkalai]]

That audience is not other programmers - they know this stuff already -, it is the "intelligent layman" who may not realise that that's the case. Without some proper foundations, the abstraction/evaluation/recursion thing is still too "high concept". Another example I clearly remember from my own early steps with programming (I've been a professional programmer for 20 years, so it's a while ago!) is parameter passing - programmers take for granted that parameters map from caller to callee based on the ''position'' of the parameter in a list, but I can remember thinking how error prone that seemed - back then I thought it would be better to "find" the parameter based on its name and ignore its position. Of course knowing now how a CPU actually implements a subroutine, the "position" thing is clearly far more efficient and sensible, and there are likely other undesirable side effects that name binding might have. The point to make here is that to the uninitiated, what seems obvious to a programmer may not be at all obvious to someone else, so starting with implicit fundamentals in order to eliminate any misunderstandings seems a good way to go with an article such as this. Given this approach, I'm not sure that referring to Turing completeness is even a good idea - is the intelligent layman that bothered about the mathematics? I suspect most people coming to WP are looking for a solid, precise but not necessarily complete discussion of the subject. If it grabs them sufficiently, they can look into the maths further if they want. [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 12:05, 18 Nov 2003 (UTC)
::People learn positional parameter passing in junior high school algebra: if f(x, y) = 3x + 4y, then f(1,2) = 11. It's true that a function in a programming language is not the same thing as a function in pure math, but the notation ought to be familiar enough. It's only because (a) programming is usually taught at such a low, machine-oriented level and (b) math is usually taught badly, period, that so many programmers find the "high-concept" explanation less intuitive. To the educated layperson, who has not been forced into low-level thinking by a typical CS curriculum, abstraction and application may well be as easy to explain as branching and looping. The experiences of the PLT Scheme folks suggest that Scheme (which is, basically, the call-by-value lambda calculus) is easier to teach to undergraduates than C or Java. The only undergraduates who struggle with Scheme are those who learned bad hackery in C in high school, and convinced themselves that this was the only way to program. If we're targeting the article towards laypeople, then there's no reason to avoid conceptual explanations in favor of a machine-oriented explanation.
::Also, a Wikipedia article should be as complete as the contributors can make it. If the article grows too long, then it should have a quick summary at the top of the article, followed by the more in-depth discussion; or else it should be broken into sub-articles. But there's no reason to leave something out if it's an important concept, simply because it requires more effort on the part of the reader to grasp.
::P.S. Minor pedantic point: you don't need recursion in order to be Turing complete. Abstraction and application suffice; you can build recursion out of abstraction and application, as with the pure lambda calculus's y-combinator. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 18:15, 18 Nov 2003 (UTC)

:Hey, I added the ":-)" to indicate clearly that the "kiddie" remark was in jest, oh well. Although I'm probably the most formally qualified WP editor for this article (PhD in languages and all that), my first step would be to learn from my predecessors - review the current EB/Encarta/etc writeups, plus reread the intro sections to the best textbooks, both those aimed at specialists and those aimed at nonspecialists - and get an idea of the strategy that others have used. Since encyclopedias are reference works, there is a certain falloff; everybody reads the first sentence, 50% read the second also, 10% get to the second paragraph, and so forth, with only the deeply interested lasting all the way to the end of the article; so you generally want to transition gradually from generalities ("language is how we tell a computer what to do") to Church-Turing, which has to be mentioned eventually, because it's one of the bases that justify some of our classification of types of languages. [[User:Stan Shebs|Stan]] 18:43, 18 Nov 2003 (UTC)

::I agree about the structure 100% - far too many WP articles dive in with no context establishing stuff up front. I suppose the rest of it comes down to whether we approach languages bottom-up or top-down. I can see advantages to both approaches. Since I came from a hardware background, bottom-up seemed to work well for me, going from boolean algebra to logic gates to registers to CPU architecture to stored programs to machine code blah blah etc. Other readers will respond better to the top-down approach, going from "high concepts" of languages towards the underlying bits and bytes. Perhaps both approaches need integrating in the article by including two sections. I'm presuming that the top-down approach is preferred by most teachers of the subject these days, but one thing I do notice is that as a result few people (who are not programmers but nevertheless are expected to know the basic principles) cannot understand or make the mental leap from the language to the chips that implement it in hardware. I've read a lot of vague handwaving arguments to explain it recently while marking some student work at the local uni, so perhaps I've just got a bee in my bonnet about bridging the software/hardware divide in a sensible, clear manner. [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 22:29, 18 Nov 2003 (UTC)

:::The hardware/software divide should get its own article I think; tricky to explain but worth trying. You could maybe do it as a sort of slice across other articles, xref'ing if the reader doesn't know a particular term. Something like "global = 1;" -> "ld r2,1; st global,r2" -> memory-mapped device -> electricity flowing -> light bulb turning on. If you stuck to the "what" and "how", and leave out the "why", it could be both succinct and illuminating. [[User:Stan Shebs|Stan]] 08:15, 19 Nov 2003 (UTC)

I know you guys know much about programming languages and theories in computer science than I do but I was wondering how about historical approach. [[RISC]] is a very good article. Although I don't have much expertise in hardware, the article makes a lot of sense to me. The nice thing is that it doesn't know give particular examples of RISC like a list of instruction code but it focuses on why computer science comes up with the idea of RISC in historical and technical context and also gives a plenty of practical examples of architectures. I think the same strategy can be applied to this article. In some ways, the article simply gives a summary of concepts which really doesn't make sense unless you know it before and sometimes goes to too much detailed. For example, I don't see why it is so important to spend a lot of space to discuss type system while some important concepts such as lazy evalution, side effects and referentical transparency are completely omited.

As I keep repeating, I think it is very important to avoid the article is like a textbook. [[RISC]] article is completely useless if you want to learn an assembly language and how to make a code generator for RISC architectures. Let alone [[Wikibook]] for such case. Well, just a thought. I am just hoping I am any help at all. -- [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] 07:15, Nov 19, 2003 (UTC)

:Yes, a bit of historical recapitulation is helpful, especially to motivate why there are different languages. This article can't really get much into specific concepts like lazy evaluation though, those have to be pushed to language semantics articles so as to keep the top-level article readable by laypeople. [[User:Stan Shebs|Stan]] 08:15, 19 Nov 2003 (UTC)

:You would not expect to learn an assembly language or how to make a code generator for RISC architectures from Wikipedia. You would get that from a text book! So which is it to be? To my mind, the RISC article is actually a very good encyclopedia article. [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 09:40, 20 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Umm, can we have a slight summary of different programming paradigms? I think it is important to show that why we have come to have several languages and what is difference between them. I am not suggesting to have complete discussion of specific topics like lazy evaluation but I don't know how to put, more like how different languages approach the problem of programming in different ways. I think such discussion can have the article more focused on making sense to the general public about what programming is like. The imperative approach is not only one and surprisingly many even computer programmers know little about how problems are done in programming with many different ways. Many people just learn how to do programming in a particular language like C or LISP and not sure programming language as general. For example, I think it would be nice to see how to reverse a string in many ways as an example. While it is very unnecessary to discuss how arguments are passed or how type system works. The bottom line is that the article must not be a summary of programming languages topics, but should discuss actual problems. I know it is easy to say and hard to achive, just chating about my idealistic view. -- [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] 08:40, Nov 20, 2003 (UTC)

:I agree that there should be some explanation for why there are many languages - this itself shows that there is no one, true way to program. However, I'm not sure about examples, at least not in this article. There could be a link to a separate article listing the same program in all the various languages if you wanted. The problem is that including examples here of string reversal (or whatever) is EXACTLY turning it into a text book. The article should be about languages, not a tutorial for any particular one (or all of them). Seems to me your suggestions lean more towards the textbook approach, despite declaring that you don't want WP to be one. [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 09:52, 20 Nov 2003 (UTC)

::Well, it shows that we have not yet found any one, true way to program. -[[User:P3d0|P3d0]] 15:40, 20 Nov 2003 (UTC)

''I agree with [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] -- if you think something is "too much" for an encyclopedia article, please move it to one of the Wiki Books http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/IT_bookshelf --[[User:DavidCary|DavidCary]] 15:36, 26 Jul 2004 (UTC)''

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(moved to [[User talk:Dysprosia]])

==Cut from "History of..."==
The following piece is cut out of section "History of programming languages".
:<<<

As the cost of computers has dropped significantly and the complexity of computer programs has increased dramatically, development time is now seen as a more costly consideration than computer time.

Newer integrated, visual development environments have brought clear progress.
They have reduced expenditure of time, money (and nerves). Regions of the screen that control the program can often be arranged interactively. Code fragments can be invoked just by clicking on a control. The work is also eased by prefabricated components and software libraries with re-usable code, primarily object-oriented.

Object-oriented methodology was introduced to reduce the complexity of programs, making code easier to write and to maintain. However, some argue that programs have, despite this, continued to increase in complexity. Recent languages are emphasising new features, like meta classes, mix-ins, delegation, program patterns and aspects.

See [[programming paradigm]]
:>>>
All the above is true, but... This rant is good for a pop-sci article in an online magazine, but not for encyclopedia: chaotic, no *history*, and no *programming languages* [[User:Mikkalai|Mikkalai]] 00:37, 13 Dec 2003 (UTC)
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"[[Computer language]]" is not synonymous with "[[programming language]]". A programming language is a computer language used for programming.-[[User:P3d0|P3d0]] 00:14, 2 Jan 2004 (UTC)
: I'm agree, [[computer language]] has its own article, and shouldn't be stated that is a synonym of "programming language" because "computer language" is broader. --[[User:Suruena|surueña]] 13:02:51, 2005-09-06 (UTC)

== Writing From Scratch ==

This Section Programming Language needs a total wash and be written from scracth. I volunteer myslef to devote some time to it. As I am new to this site and I am learning how to edit things so this section will be online within a week and with a new style
[[User:Yana209|yana209]] 22:01, Jun 22, 2004 (UTC)

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''Some languages such as [[MUMPS]] and is called [[dynamic recompilation]]; [[emulator]]s and other [[virtual machine]]s exploit this technique for greater performance.''

The clause before the semicolon isn't even complete. I'd fix it, but I'm not sure how exactly it should read. - [[User:Furrykef|Furrykef]] 15:17, 9 Sep 2004 (UTC)
:fixed. [[User:Ancheta Wis|Ancheta Wis]] 11:42, 29 Jan 2005 (UTC)

==Programming languages causing crashes==

The reason that I deleted the sentence
:"Unfortunately many programming languages cause crashes because the languages themselves are poorly constructed."
is that I don't understand it. I suppose it means that the poor design of some programming languages is causing crashes, which raises the question: which languages is the author refering to? A possible interpretation is that programs written in low-level languages like C are prone to crashes, but that is not poor design in my opinion, but a conscious design choice to prefer speed, ease of compilation and flexibility at the price of allowing more crashes. Putting this sentence in the history section confuses me even more, because that implies that the problem of poor design no longer exists, which is at odds with my interpretation. So, please explain what you mean if you reinsert the above sentence. Thanks, [[User:Jitse Niesen|Jitse Niesen]] ([[User talk:Jitse Niesen|talk]]) 16:30, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

You're right it shouldn't be in history section because it is such a fundamental point and the bane of any decent computer scientist. We are swamped with poorly written junk languages (and operating systems) that gain prominence via clever marketing rather than on merit. Yes I'm referring to design and unfortunately don't have time right now to flesh it out (though, again, anyone who knows the field should be able to do so). Treat it as a stub and add to the list. No I'm not referring to C and I recognise it's horses for courses. Thanks for the feedback. And please add to the "stub" rather than delete again. [[User:Mccready|Mccready]] 01:22, 1 August 2005 (UTC)

Of all major programming languages I would only say of C++ and C#, that they are poorly constructed. This could hardly be considered many, and should be discussed in their respecive articles, not here. Your statement also lacks any form of argument. --[[User:R.Koot|R.Koot]] 01:44, 1 August 2005 (UTC)

I would like to add to the discussion here. In fact there aren't many badly constructed languages at all (I know none, and I've programmed in many). What one can say is the lower the languages (closer to the machine language) the more stress is put on the knowledge of the developer to create a good working program (You need to know your language's do's and don'ts). Take for instance the difference between C++ and Java. Although they both are Modern Languages, C++ still can cause buffer over and underruns while this is pretty difficult to achieve in Java. Although memory leaks still can appear in Java this is probably one of the major flaws in C++ Programs. It's not the language that's bad, but the code that's written in them!
--[[User:PaulSinnema|Paul Sinnema]] 09:44, 16 September 2005 (UTC)

Programming languages don't cause crashes. Programmers who write bad code, or faulty compilers, runtimes, etc. do. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 08:08, 17 September 2005 (UTC)
{{Wikibooks Module|Computer programming|Error handling}}
: I begg to differ. Example: <code>X / 0</code> will crash a C and C++ programm but will be a CONSTRAINT_ERROR in Ada. So there are differences in how languages tread error conditions and it is rightfull that we describe that to the reader - preaps a comparison table might be helpfull to the reader in that respect. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 09:08, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

:: I beg to differ in turn -- it is ''you'' who is causing the division by zero error, not the programming language. What you are measuring above is something completely different. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 10:31, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

::: True. And yes, we talk about two half of the same coin - a programming mistake and how the language reacts to that - but then this Module is called [[Programming language]] and not [[Programmers]]. And how about <code>X / Y</code>. Is still the programmers fault or prehaps faulty data delivered to the programm. If you say "programmer" then I ask: Have you realy got a <code>if (Y != 0)</code> in front of every division - or made a full static analysis proving that Y can't be 0 - for all programms you have ever coded?

::: We live in a time of Viruses, Worms and Trojian Horses. A time where an unprotected Windows XP computer is infected and turned into a Spam-Bot in about 4 minutes after beeing connected to the internet. Programmers are not perfect and error handling - or the absence - is an important aspect of a Programming language and need to be explained to the reader. Please Note: I have never said a programming language is faulty because it has no error handling - that would break the NPOV. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 12:31, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

:::: It is the programmer's fault for not making a program that is not tolerant to faults and errant data, the programmer's fault that they do not perform adequate buffer checking, the programmer's fault for inadequate testing. Blaming Windows XP's insecurity on the programming language that they used, in my mind, is a cop-out. A programming language is just a means of expressing an algorithm -- what has any significance is the behaviour of the compiler or the runtime or the libraries or all of these, when unspecified or illegal behaviour occurs. The compiler is not the programming language.

::::: You can't have is that some programming language has better features then your beloved C, can you? You can stand that expressing an algrorithm (incl. the needed error handling) might be easier in another language, can you? A typical case of "If my beloved programming language does not have feature X then feature X is bad, evil, send from hell - or whatever other nasty place you religion has to offer". You think I am unfair - well, you violent defence of C's greates weakness leads to no other conclusion. Or why should a programmer not know about or choose a programming language wich makes error handling easier? And Yes: I have 15 years of C/C++ programming experience I know what I am talking about - but then: I also have experience in Pascal, Modula-2 and Ada - programming languages where buffer overruns are virtualy unknown. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 09:44, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

:::::: You ought not to get into insults and making nonsense claims that I have thought you "unfair" and that I have made some "violent defence" towards C (I've barely mentioned the name of the language in this thread). Think about the actual matter at hand. If you actually think about this carefully, you will understand where I am coming from: a programming language is ''only'' a specification on how to translate ideas into something more low-level. A specification does not cause crashes. Misunderstanding the specification ''does''. If I tell you not to cross the street when the light is red, and you cross it anyway and get hit by a car, whose fault is it? [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]]

::::::: The person who walks of course. But then: there must be a traffic light in the first place. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 11:47, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

:::::::: It is still possible to cross a light safely without a light. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 05:07, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

::::::::: One person crossing one road: Yes. But can you image a city like New York, London or Paris without traffic lights? Trafic light where invented because traffic became to compex for the old "look right look left" technique of crossing the road. (BTW: The Ada motto is "Ada, the language for a complex world") ---[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 10:45, 21 September 2005 (UTC)

:::::::::: However, it is still possible. Regardless, what you need to also understand is that while runtime checks are fine and dandy, the overhead they incur is simply unacceptable for certain applications. When you're running some application where a bit of performance lag isn't an issue, then fine. But if you're writing hardware applications or time-critical applications, performing checks may unacceptably slow things down. The lack or disabling of runtime error checking/handling is not necessarily a bad thing. Again, the language is not to blame for this (for example, you can get C compilers which integrate bounds checking, but slow the application down -- you have to check ''every'' single array access), but of the compilers or the execution environment.
:::::::::: Which is what I've been maintaining all along. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 09:18, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

:::: And since you mention it, I ''do'' check return values when I call C library functions, amongst other things.

::::: All return values - all parameters - all buffers sizes - all integer ranges - all type convertions - allways - never ever forgetting it even once? Because that is what you have to measure up against when compare yourself to a compiler which provides all that be default. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 09:44, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

:::::: So you understand now that it is not the programming language that provides typechecking ''et al''? You said yourself "a compiler which provides..." (Regardless, understanding types is not very difficult. There are other more strongly typed languages than C, and there are even dynamic typed programming languages. It is not difficult to understand and keep in mind.) [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]]

:::: And so should you. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 22:23, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

::::: Actualy: No I don't have to check return values - my current assingment is done in Ada. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 09:44, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

:::::: When you program in C, you'd better. Do you catch exceptions and/or perform error checks when you program in Ada or do you just ignore them? [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 10:10, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

::::::: Depends - the great strenght of expeptions is that I only need to handle the expeptions I am interested in and let the applications framework worry about the rest. Shure, the applications framework is done by programmers as well, just like the compiler. And I can still forget an exeption I ''should'' be interested in - but it does not happen as often as in C. Net result: I start the debugger only twice a month. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 11:47, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

:::::::: Thus Ada is not immune to you having to perform error correction at some point. No programming language is. (This is beside the nub of the matter though.) [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 05:07, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

::::::::: Shure can't argue with that. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 10:45, 21 September 2005 (UTC)

== programming language popularity: the TIOBE Programming Community Index ==

Should we realy have [http://www.tiobe.com/tpci.htm TIOBE Programming Community Index a link] to a biased statistic without telling the readers in which way the index is flawed?

TIOBE's [http://www.tiobe.com/ company statement] is: ''We offer out-of-the-box solutions for the programming languages C, C++, C# and Java.'' — which oviously means they want those languages to look "good" on there statistic.

We should either explain he flaw or remove the link. Of course it is tricky to keep an NPOV when explaining an flaw in some way.

=== How is the Index flawed? ===

'''The search query '+"<language> programming" -tv -channel' is used to calculate the TPC Index.'''

Since you are probably reading this discussing because you are language advocate of some sort you can just google for '+"<language> programming" +tv +channel' with <language> beeing your favorite programming language - and then decide if those pages where rightfully excluded from the index.

My first google hit for my favorite language is: '''This association is aimed at promoting ADA programming language to the software... TV channel, producer) on any type of platform (OpenTV, MediaHighway). ...''' — rightfully excluded — don't think so.

: I removed the link, because you are not alloweds to link to your own website, not because I'm advocating some language. Please [[assume good faith]]. Cheers, --[[User:R.Koot|R.Koot]] 14:01, 14 August 2005 (UTC)

:: Hmmm, there are several links to some of my pages on Wikipedia and Wikibooks. But they have never been added for vanity but only because they fit to the topic at hand. If it was any different the other contributers would have removed them. And in that respect I [[assume good faith]]. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] 14:21, 14 August 2005 (UTC)

=== popular programming languages ===

The article "[[buffer overflow]]" currently claims that
:''" As of 2005, the most popular languages generally are C and its derivative, C++."''

While I suspect this is correct, I wonder how that author found out?

Is it even possible to rank programming languages according to "popularity"
(or in some other, more objective way) in a NPOV way?
If so, should we discuss "popularity" here in the [[programming language article]],
or split it off into a [[popular programming language]] article?
See [http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ProgrammingLanguageUsageStatistics C2: Programming Language Usage Statistics].
--[[User:DavidCary|DavidCary]] 05:19, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

== Rewrite has gone on long enough ==

I have given [[User:K.lee]] two weeks to put up or give up with his rewrite. His "rewrite" approach is anti-collaborative and he has been claiming that his rewrite is pending for over two years. The "reqeustrewrite" template is only used for k.lee's claim for this article. Wikipedia itself is not much older than that, which meas that no else has had a real and equal "turn" at this article since most of the work for the past two years will be lost when/if k.lee ever commits his version. [[User:Fplay|Fplay]] 19:55, 9 December 2005 (UTC)
: k.lee e-mails that that requstrewrite tag can be removed immediately. [[User:Fplay|Fplay]] 20:14, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

== Article image ==

Is there a better, more representative image of computer code than the [[:Image:Html-source-code.png|current one]]?

:What would it ideally depict? Certainly not HTML like currently. Perhaps a simple function in a typical, popular programming language such as C. Or something more readable such as Python. --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 12:32, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

::Instead of cropping the picture to make it fit, maybe it's better to have a scaled-down image that conveys the shape and layout of some chunk of code, without necessarily trying to be legible in detail.
::As for the language, i'm sure everyone has their favorite (also Python, in my case). But for Wikipedia, the language's historical recognition, heritage, and influence are probably more important factors than current popularity. To me, the two most obvious contenders are C, and Lisp/Scheme. --[[User:Piet Delport|Piet Delport]] 16:58, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
:::I don't have a problem with C/C++ or LISP. However, to keep source code language agnostic I'd propose using a psuedo-language that just shows block structure layout of programming languages, which is universal to all languages.--[[User:Capi crimm|Capi crimm]] 04:30, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

== FORTRAN ==

Minor note, but the spelling was changed from "Fortran" to "FORTRAN" since the article was referring to the first version of the language which was indeed spelled that way. The current accepted convention (see the [[Fortran]] page) is as follows: FORTRAN, FORTRAN II, FORTRAN IV, FORTRAN 66, FORTRAN 77 are in upper-case, with the new versions (such as Fortran 90) are in lower-case "Fortran" as per their convention. The FORTRAN spelling is a very important issue for FORTRAN programmers worldwide.

== New introduction ==

I am willing to agree that my first stab at an introductory paragraph for "programming language" might not be ideal. However, the current first paragraph is likely to be incomprehensible to all but the most knowledgable of people.

The first paragraph should provide a brief summary/definition for a reasonably intelligent person who knows nothing about computers. Later material can get technical and dense.

Let's work out some good wording that encapulates this rather nebulous of entities.

[[User:Derek farn|Derek farn]] 14:15, 15 February 2006 (UTC) ''(Copied here from my talk page --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 16:31, 15 February 2006 (UTC))''

:I'm sorry for impolitely reverting your introductory paragraph, I was thinking of the edit history of another programming-related article. I'll restore it here for further discussion:

:<blockquote>A '''programming language''' is a language designed to allow [[programmer]]s to specify a sequence of operations to be performed (usually by a computer). The syntax and semantics of programming languages are much more restricted than [[natural language]]s. The written, human accessible, form of a programming language is known as [[source code]] and may be translated by a [[compiler]] into a form that can be executed by the [[cpu]] of a computer.</blockquote>

:What I like about your version is that it's easy to read and probably also to understand. What I like about the earlier version is that it doesn't oversimplify, and it has links to other ''relevant'' articles. To me, the important things to tell in the introduction include:
:*The purpose of programming languages is to allow people to describe computer programs on a level where they can be made executable.
:*Programs are described by the data they act on and the algorithms they employ.
:*My pet with some nice links: "Programming languages are a type of [[computer language]]s, excluding [[pseudocode]] which is exclusively for human communication."

:--[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 16:31, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure I would have made the programming/computer language distinction. Yes html is a markup language, but some people think it is a programming language. Who are we to disagree? Do we require programming languages to be Turing complete? Is calling html a computer language just a way of deflecting critisism of not calling it a programming language?

: We can somewhere down the article mention that some people think that HTML is a programming language, but we need not include this topic in the introduction. HTML doesn't allow one to describe algorithms so it clearly isn't a programming language. HTML and programming languages allow humans to communicate with computers so they're computer languages and mentioning this puts the topic in its place. --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 19:23, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

Anyway, back to the problem at hand. I now appreciate that my definition was overly restrictive. Some languages require programmers to specify what, not how. For instance, SQL requires a set of conditions to be specified, not the nuts and bolts of finding the data. What about Prolog which consists of clauses (ok, most implementations have extensions that support a more imperative style). How about:

:A '''programming language''' is a language designed to allow people to create programs that control the actions of a machine (which is often a [[computer]]). The [[syntax]] and [[semantic]]s of programming languages are much more restrictive than [[natural language]]s. The written, human accessible, form of a programming language is known as [[source code]] and is often translated into a different form before being executed on a machine (in the case of a computer, by the [[cpu]]).

:Programming languages take many forms. Many in common use require programmers to write [[source code]] that implements the algorithms used to produce the required actions (so called [[imperative programming]]). Other languages require programmers to specify the ''what'' rather than the ''how'' (so called [[declarative programming]]). For instance, users of [[SQL|structured query language]] specify the conditions that must be met by data in a database for it to be returned as the result of a query, and various support programmers work out how to actually retrieve that data).

: Programming languages differ from languages such as [[markup languages]] in that they are [[Turing complete]].
[[User:Derek farn|Derek farn]] 01:34, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

:: This feels like a runaway introduction, see for example [[Wikipedia:Lead_section]]. I don't feel we should go into details such as syntax, semantics, source code, cpu, imperative vs. declarative, let alone Turing-completeness. --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 19:23, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

Yes, it is getting a bit bloated. I think that Turing completeness is a good way of distinguishing programming languages from other kinds of languages (I don't understand you later comment about infinite execution; there are various mathematical formalisms used when discussing properties of languages; I am using the term as a way of putting a minimum limit on the expressive power of a programming language). Or are we going to duck this issue entirely?

: Could you check [[Turing completeness]] and [[machine that always halts]]? My comment below referred to the fact that if you require programming languages to be Turing complete you artificially leave out programming languages that are somehow able to limit programs to always halt. I say we duck this issue entirely because it's about a mathematical theory which isn't directly applicable in practice, in programming. We can duck for example by restricting programming languages to those that ''are used'' to describe ''data structures'' and ''algorithms''. --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 09:31, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

People are familiar with what a natural language is, so let's make use of this knowledge.

:A '''programming language''' is a language designed to allow people to create programs that control the actions of a machine (which is often a [[computer]]). The [[syntax]] and [[semantic]]s of programming languages are much more restrictive than [[natural language]]s. The written, human accessible, form of a programming language is known as [[source code]] and is often translated into a different form before being executed on a machine.

:Programming languages take many forms, the two major divisions being [[imperative programming]] and [[declarative programming]]. Some languages are intended to be used within specific domains (eg, banking), while others are intended for more general usage.

:Languages differ in their [[formal language|expressive power]] and a language powerful enough to be [[Turing complete]] would be regarded as a programming language. [[Markup language]]s such a pure [[html]] are not Turing complete, but can be made so with the addition of extensions such as [[PHP]], or [[Javascript]].

[[User:Derek farn|Derek farn]] 00:28, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

=== [[Turing complete]] is not enough ===

I don't think that beeing [[Turing complete]] is enough to make a programming language. The language should also be used for general programming. That's why at [[Wikibooks]] we draw the line between [[b:Wikibooks:Programming languages bookshelf|Wikibooks:Programming languages bookshelf]] and [[b:Wikibooks:Domain-specific languages bookshelf|Wikibooks:Domain-specific languages bookshelf]]. A "domain-specific language" may as well be [[Turing complete]] but it is not used for general programming bu only in a specific domain. i.E. [[PostScript]] is considered turing complete however I would not consider it a programming language as it not used for general programming - Or has anybody seen a text-editor or an excel clone written in PostScript?

--[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 07:11, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

: A "domain-specific language" can very well be a programming language but not necessary one suitable for general purposes. The article on [[PostScript]] has links to game of life, a webserver, fractals, barcodes, HTML renderer, raytracer. Even if a language isn't the best tool for the job it can still be a programming language. --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 19:23, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

:: Now that I find intersting - especialy the webserver part. And unlike the akademic brabble below this could change my mind about [[PostScript]]. In which case I have choosen a bad example. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 12:00, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

==== Yes it is ====

What difference does it make what a language is actually used for? And what exactly is ''general programming''?

Postscript is very much like [[Forth]], would you say that Forth is not a programming language?

: Forth is used by humans to create programms for computers - so certanly it is programming language. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 11:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

Most languages are only used by a handful of people. Does that mean they are not programming languages because they are only used for specific tasks (whatever it is that the handful of people write with them)?

To take your example, I know people who work with printers and formatting software who spend large amounts of time writing code in postscript. I even have a program that prints out a calendar that is written in postscript. Just because lots of people choose not to write their software in postscript does not stop it being a programming language.

[[User:Derek farn|Derek farn]] 12:46, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

: In your edit comment you claim that a programming language is equivalent to Turing complete. There are a lot of programming tasks that don't need infinite execution, so if a language would otherwise be a programming language but it has only finite execution you wouldn't call it a programming language. Now I wouldn't call it ''a Turing-complete programming language''. To take another example, primitive lambda calculus is a Turing-complete model of computation but it lacks data types and IO. I don't really know if it should be classified as a programming language but I think it's better to keep the models of computation separate from the introduction of programming language. --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 19:23, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

:: Actualy: How many programming languages are turing complete? '''int''' in C is either 16, 32 or 64 bit - hardly ''infinite''. C demands that there is an integer type '''intptr_t''' to which a pointer can be cast to - here goes support for ''infinite'' memory. "Turing complete" is the theoretical concept for academic use only. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 11:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

: The assertion that PostScript is ''not'' a programming language is utterly nonsensical. What is it, if it is not a programming language?

:: A page description language. Because that is what it is used for in 99.99% of all cases. Even the calendar programm mentioned above is only that - it '''prints''' a calender - it is not an outlook clone. If it starts having a database to keep appointments then it aproaches programming. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 11:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

::: Look. Do you even ''know'' about the PostScript language at all? It sounds like you think that PostScript's capabilities are solely devoted to graphics output. Yes, it does this well, but it is not its only functionality.
::: Furthermore, it can be argued that nearly ''all'' programming languages can in some sense be page description languages. What do you think a GUI display does when it prints a calendar?
::: Just because PostScript does not have the regular idea of user I/O that other programming languages have does not mean the language is suddenly "not" a programming language. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]]

:::: I never tought that a programming language needs "user i/o". Many embedded programms or batch processing programms do well without. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 13:01, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

::::: So what on earth are you basing your argument upon that PostScript is not a programming language? You seem to use some sort of arbitrary definition that because some programming language doesn't "keep appointments" or is an "excel clone", it's not a programming language? [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 13:17, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

: Does a programming language have to have [[curses]] or GUI capabilities to be considered a programming language? Of course not. Just because PostScript does not have a lot of user-interaction libraries available to it doesn't mean it fails to be a programming language. If PostScript had such libraries, it would be rather easy to create a "text-editor" or "excel clone"! [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 09:49, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

:: I think we are all in agreement that PostScript is a programming language, and even a Turing-complete one, and you can even write different kinds of programs in it in practice. Perhaps you meant this answer to Krischik above, he was the one who didn't want to think of PostScript as a programming language? --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 10:37, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

::: Of course. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 11:05, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

::: No, I am not in agreement - I still think it is a page description language. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 11:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

:::: And Lisp is a list processing language and Visual Basic a painting program. —''[[User:R.Koot|Ruud]]'' 13:29, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

=== SQL is not Turing complete ===

SQL has no looping construct. Ok, the support software behind it contains lots of loops, but that is not the same thing.

I have always thought of SQL as a programming language, but on reflection I guess it should be called something like a ''database query language'' and along with [[markup language]]'s not be included in the list of programming languages. The SQL Standard is not maintained by [[SC22]], the [[ISO]] committee responsible for programming languages.

[[User:Derek farn|Derek farn]] 13:08, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

: Have you had a look at [[PL/SQL]]? [[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 13:03, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

PL/SQL adds programming language features to SQL (because it does not have any), hence the name Programming Language/SQL.

[[User:Derek farn|Derek farn]] 14:17, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

== Removed comments ==

I just removed the following comments from the end of "History of programming languages" (reformatted to shorten lines), as their presence (with newlines in between) was creating excessive vertical whitespace, and in any case they really belonged here. [[User:Hairy Dude|Hairy Dude]] 05:14, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Talk:Programming language

2006-03-06T04:30:40Z

Capi crimm: /* Article image */

==Humans or machines?==
I think we need to point out that programming languages, like other languages, are for humans to express human ideas in. The unique thing about programming languages is that we can automatically translate these expressions into the ones and zeros that computers use. Still, the primary purpose that should be stressed is that these are human languages, for humans to express solutions in which are meant to be understandable by other humans. Since most of the cost of software across the useful lifespan of a program is invested in enhancements and maintenance, the human-readability of programs is much more important than their nature as a "technique for expressing instructions to a computer".

''Low-level languages such as machine code are also programming languages. All programming languages are in principle both human- and machine-readable, but the relative emphasis varies.''

:I agree, the importance of producing code that can be easily understood by a human is of extremely important and must be mentioned prominently in this article. Indeed, producing readable code that other humans (and not merely computers) can easily understand is one of the hallmarks of a good programmer. But - this is accomplished mostly through adding comments in a natural human language to the source at key points, and mostly not through the direct use of the programming language itself.
:The original and still primary purpose of a computer programming language is ''not'' communication with other humans. A programming language is ''not'' a human language in the oridnary sense of the term; even two hardcore professional programmers don't ever go to lunch and talk to each other in Java or C. Natural human languages are far better suited to interpersonal communication. Programming languages were invented for and are used nearly exclusively for the express purpose of allowing humans to easily communicate instructions to computers (and later be able to easily modify those instructions), and not for human-to-human communication. Even programming manuals frequently express algorithms as human language influenced pseudocode rather than in a real programming language.
:It's perfectly possible (and regrettably common) to write huge complex blocks of code or even entire applications that are unintelligible to anyone but the author, yet which work perfectly well when executed by a computer. A programming language is basically and fundamentally a "technique for expressing instructions to a computer." Doing so in a human-readable fashion is a big plus, of course, but it is not the fundamental purpose of a programming language, and is usually accomplished through appropriately garnishing the code with comments in some natural human language. [[User:Kwertii|Kwertii]] 09:38, 9 May 2004 (UTC)

:: FWIW, I am a programming language theorist and I would define "programming language" formally in the following manner: a ''programming language'' is a [[decidable]] [[formal language]] equipped with a [[Turing-complete]] [[semantics]]; a ''program'' is a programming language together with a member of that language. (BTW, the page for "Turing-complete" is not really, er, adequate...) This means that a language is a set of finitary strings, for which it is computable whether or not a given string belongs to it, ''together with'' a computationally adequate model, for example a mapping from each such string to a λ-term, or Turing tape, or partial recursive numeric function. In my opinion, few programming language researchers would disagree with this definition as applied to formal work. However, if you want to define the popular notion of "programming language" then, yes, you might want to add fuzzy conditions like "human-readable" and so on, and maybe weaken the Turing-completeness condition to admit terminating languages like Charity. -- [[http://www.cs.uu.nl/~franka Frank Atanassow]], 24 July 2004
:::That formal definition is too constraining. It would be a rather odd definition of "programming language" that did not count the simply-typed lambda calculus as a programming language. Conversely, I had a colleague working on a language with an undecidable type system. (The subtyping constraints were flexible enough to allow the user to encode Prolog programs in them.) He had proposed various restrictions to make the type system decidable, but it seems clear to me that his language didn't become a "programming language" only when he imposed those restrictions. So a programming language need not have a Turing-complete semantics, nor must it be a decidable formal language. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 23:09, 25 Jul 2004 (UTC)

::And conversely, to determine which is more "primary" or "important"--which is worse, a programming language that humans can't read, or one computers can't read? "Most of the cost of software across the useful lifespan of a program" may be in enhancements and maintenance, but if the program weren't machine-readable, its "useful lifespan" would be zero. --Daniel.
:::A programming language that humans can't read is clearly worse. There are plenty of useful programs that are not machine-readable. Virtually all work by academic programming language designers begins with the development of "core" languages, which are mathematical constructs first and foremost. The call-by-name lambda calculus is hardly primarily a tool for communicating with computers (if by "computers" you mean those beeping chunks of silicon that sit on people's desks). I find this this machine-oriented focus kind of disheartening. Do we not agree with the Dijkstra quote concerning astronomy and telescopes at the top of the [[computer science]] article?

::::"plenty of useful programs that are not machine-readable"--and similarly there are plenty of useful programs that are barely human-readable. That's not a good test.
:::::There is a big difference between "not" and "barely". [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 23:09, 25 Jul 2004 (UTC)
:::: The test I have in mind is:

::::-Examine the total amount of resources that humans have put into designing, studying, and using programming languages. (Or, if you like, examine the returns on that investment.)

::::-What portion of that investment would have been made, and what portion of those returns would have been received, if no programming language had been machine-readable? I think 3% for both would be a wild overestimate.

::::-What portion of that investment would have been made, and what portion of those returns would have been received, if no programming language had been more human-readable than, say, FORTRAN? I'd guess 70% of the investment and 20% of the returns, anyway...given how badly even readable programming languages are typically used.

::::The exact numbers are obviously arguable, but that's the test I had in mind. I agree with Dijkstra, but what computer science is about, and what programming languages are for, are two different things. Computer science is not about machines, but programming languages are for controlling machines, first and foremost; if they could not be used for that they would be relegated to a smallish sub-discipline of mathematics, neither very popular nor very well-funded.

::::-Daniel.
:::::FORTRAN is already tremendously human-readable, compared to binary machine code or any number of encodings that would be adequate to the purpose of describing computation to machines. Furthermore, I don't see too much programming language research on making languages easier to read by machines. So this argument actually demonstrates the opposite of what you intended it to. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 23:09, 25 Jul 2004 (UTC)

:::Lastly, Kwertii's comments strike me as unconvincing:
:::*It is irrelevant that programmers don't speak to each other in Java. Musicians don't speak to each other in musical notation. Mathematicians don't speak to each other in pure set theory and first-order logic. (Admittedly, some of them come close.) Lawyers do not speak to each other purely in legalese. Sculpters do not speak to each other with a series of little [[statuettes]]. There are other forms of human-to-human communication besides the oral use of natural language. Programming languages are one of them.
:::*Furthermore, although programs can be written that are often called "unreadable", they are not ''literally'' unreadable, merely ''difficult to read''. Nor should we construe the existence of hard to read ''programs'' as evidence that the primary purpose of ''programming languages'' is to communicate with machines. The English translation of Jacques Derrida's ''On Grammatology'' is nigh unreadable, but that does not show that deconstructionist literary theory is not a form of human-to-human communication.
:::*It is certainly ''not'' the case that programmers communicate with other programmers primarily through comments! In fact, natural language comments are a noriously ''bad'' way to communicate precisely about a program. Code itself is the major form of programmer-to-programmer communication. (See the [http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS/amicus-brief.html amicus curiae brief in MPAA v. 2600], which argues a similar point.)
:::*Finally, as for Kwertii's claim that the "original" purpose of programming languages was to communicate with machines --- programming languages predate executable programming language implementations by at least two decades. The lambda calculus was invented in the 1930's. FORTRAN was invented in the 1950's. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 09:24, 20 May 2004 (UTC)

::::Make that one decade. The codes given to some of the first computers in the 1940's, via paper tape and the like, certainly count as programming languages, and were designed to control machines. For that matter, Babbage's punch cards were designed to control machines.

::::-Daniel.

::::''Augusta Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace, born December 10th 1813 ... invented the first computer programming language.'' -- [[Wiki:AugustaAdaByron]]. I'm not sure which side of the argument this factoid supports.

----

''producing readable code that other humans (and not merely computers) can easily understand is one of the hallmarks of a good programmer. But - this is accomplished mostly through adding comments in a natural human language to the source at key points, and mostly not through the direct use of the programming language itself.''

Many people believe this. Quite a few programmers disagree very, very strongly. We believe that producing readable code is mostly through renaming, refactoring, etc. so that the name of an variable communicates (to humans) what it is, the name of a method communicates (to humans) what it does, etc.

See
[[Wiki:TreatCommentsWithSuspicion]],
[[Wiki:ToNeedComments]]
("Refactor the code properly and you won't need comments.")

-- [[User:DavidCary|DavidCary]] 23:36, 5 Jul 2004 (UTC)

As computers grow more complex, our ability to translate solutions into executable binary has become more abstract, enabling us to express solutions in terms of objects, templates, patterns and aspects. Such abstractions enable a more natural translation from human needs, often expressed as "use cases", into executable solutions. It is this trend toward greater abstraction in the expression of programming solutions that enables programmer productivity to double, despite programmers being locked into fixed biological hardware.

If we gaze deep into the crystal ball, we see the logical extension of this trend as computers that are capable of conversing with humans and creating executable binary programs from desires or solutions expressed in pure human language. The shift away from computer-centric aspects of programming languages toward more human-solution-centric aspects will continue to be the defining characteristic of near-future programming languages.

The "holy grail" of programming language development from this viewpoint would be the creation of a transparent interface to a computing substrate that can extract requirements from the user and instantiate an executable solution. Of course, at this level of abstraction, there is no "programming language" any longer, merely a somewhat pedantic conversation required to define the essential complexity of the problem the user wishes to solve.

At any rate, some mention should be made of this shift from computer-centric aspects toward human-centric aspects and how this affects programmer productivity and how it will shape the role of programming languages going forward.

==language links==

(moved to [[Talk:List_of_programming_languages]])

==Possible prejudices re: "mainstream" languages==
This article seems to be written largely from the point of view of a programmer in mainstream languages. For example, interactive use is attributed to interpreters, without considering that eg. many Smalltalk and Lisp systems have native compilers that are used interactively. Sorry for not bothering to work this rant into a considered and balanced edit of the article.

-- han

I disagree. I don't think we need to perpetuate the prejudices of "programmers in mainstream languages" (read C/C++, Java). That would be about as stupid as rewriting the operating systems entry from the point of view of a windows user.

Anyways, someone who has a copy of 'Programming Language Concepts and Paradigms' handy, an exceedingly comprehensible book on the subject, should rewrite this article. -- Ark

==Total rewrite==

This entire section needs to be rewritten from scratch. This includes this topic plus those for the various languages and language concept articles. This is going to be a big project but I think its important. Computer programming is too much a part of modern life to be half covered in an encyclopedia so I have to agree with Ark. [[User:Rlee0001|Rlee0001]] 05:25 Jul 27, 2002 (PDT)

On another note: I would limit the list of programming languages here to just the main languages and not all the dialects. For example, there are something like 15-20 dialects of BASIC listed in the [[BASIC programming language]] page. Instead of listing all of them, one link for the entire language would suffice. If the user want's a dialect, he/she can stiff get to it from the BASIC page. Same goes for all the languages. Further, I fail to see why people are listing such obscure languages and dialects in an encyclopedia. Some languages have historical or technological significance. Others are just current brandnames for half-written freeware with a source forge page and no user base. Should "Applesoft BASIC" really get its own topic? What did it do to revolutionize the language? Did it have a particularly large user base? Did it establish any conventions which are widely in use today? If not its probably not worthy of its own topic. Even worse is articles like ibasic. This is a basic interpreter for the mac. It has no historical significance: it was just created within the last year by an ameture developer who lives in some small cottage in sweden somewhere. It gets it's own encyclopedia article? [[User:Rlee0001|Rlee0001]]

: I would propose the following:

* Make a (short) list of the most significant programming languages in history to put on the [[Programming language]] page. Annotate the list to make clear just why these language are mentioned.
* Make new article called [[List of programming languages]], where every single progamming language can be mentioned, even dialects. This page can have several different orders, such as alphabetical, but also by type (functional, OO, etc.) or maybe even a history tree (there's a good book about the history of Programming Language by Sebasta, if I'm right, you may use that as a reference).
* For those dialects/spin-offs/implementations/ports of programming languages that are never going to be more than a single-sentence article: assemble on the page of the main article ([[BASIC programming language]] here) and make a section where you mention this or, when this is getting a long list, make it a separate article.

: That's what I think would be best. I'll try and see if I can help you with some of the work you're proposing to do; there are enough other people with knowledge about the subject around, so it should be possible to get something good out of this. [[User:Jheijmans|Jeronimo]] 01:56 Jul 29, 2002 (PDT)
---
: BTW re: classifying languages by category, many languages belong in more than one category (constraint languages vs. rule-based languages vs. logic languages; and what about functional + OO languages like CLOS?) Just to keep in mind. --[[User:K.lee|k.lee]]
----
{{wikibookspar||Wikibooks:Programming languages bookshelf}} {{wikibookspar||Computer programming}}
I have added two Wikibook links which allready have the texts which where suggested - The first link has an alphabetical and category list of languages - the 2nd link points to short introductions. I hope that helps. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 16:52, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

===Rewrite of [[User:K.lee|k.lee]]===

FYI: For some time I've been working on a ground-up rewrite of this article, because its current state does not make me happy. It's not ready to go live, but I've finally posted my current draft [[User:K.lee/Programming language rewrite|in my user space]]. I welcome comment on my rewrite; also feel free to edit it directly. It's taking me a long time to do the rewrite, but I plan to replace the entire current article eventually. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 02:28, 27 Aug 2003 (UTC)

:The link seems to be broken. -- [[User:P3d0|P3d0]] 11:05, 27 Aug 2003 (UTC)

::It appears to me as a red "edit" link rather than a regular blue link. -- [[User:P3d0|P3d0]] 21:49, 28 Aug 2003 (UTC)

::: is there a reason that javascript isn't mention in the " Commonly Used Languages"? Also the link is red for me too ... [[User:Reddi|reddi]] 21:58, 28 Aug 2003 (UTC)

::Ok, the link works now. -- [[User:P3d0|P3d0]] 00:03, 1 Sep 2003 (UTC)

:: I'm not sure I like the rewrite. I haven't read the original to compare it, but the rewrite seems to be at a very awkward level of detail. Anyone with enough background in the area to understand that writeup presumably doesn't need to read it. For instance, the grammar example casually uses the terms "atom" and "symbol" which have very little meaning to those outside the field of computer programming. In fact, the whole section on grammars would be better off in another article (say, on parsing). -- [[User:P3d0|P3d0]] 00:10, 1 Sep 2003 (UTC)
:::Actually, I think that when I get to editing this article some more, I'll factor out several sections (e.g., the history of programming languages, and language semantics) into separate articles. I'll keep your suggestion in mind. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 02:07, 2 Sep 2003 (UTC)
----

The link seems to be working now. :-)

I would like to ask is there a clear concensus that the original article is unsatisfactory to the extent that it needs a re-write?
[[User:TonyClarke|TonyClarke]] 11:38, 27 Aug 2003 (UTC)
:Well, I don't know about a consensus, but here are my reasons for wanting to rewrite the article. First, the original article is rather disorganized. Second, it leaps into issues like the representation of data without even saying why programming languages exist in terms that a layperson can understand. Third, the original article does not maintain a sufficient distinction between the design of programming languages and their implementation. Fourth, the article does not give enough attention to formal languages (actually, if you counted all the programming languages ever invented, I suspect formal languages would outnumber "practical" languages). Finally, and most importantly, as the poster at the top of this talk page noted, the article does not give priority to a programming language's role in ''human-to-human'' communication --- which all language designers and software engineering researchers, not to mention most working programmers, understand as its most important role. It's possible that you could alter the original article to fix these flaws, but the changes would be radical enough to resemble a ground-up rewrite anyway. BTW I have reused sections from the original article where I thought appropriate. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 02:07, 2 Sep 2003 (UTC)
----
The current main page definitely needs to be re-considered. While it is quite accurate (it seems to me), it is mostly a summary of the topic using the terminology of the discipline, and so is quite inscrutable to a newcomer. It occurs to me that an encyclopedia needs both a specialist and non-specialist version of the general information articles. The specialists need a means to agree on the theoretical structure of the topic, and the newcomers need to learn about it from scratch.

===Removed from subject page:===
'''To Do:''' this is just an outline to get started;
add some descriptive text (or put in '/' links)
and add a ''few'' representative languages to the descriptions

*sequence of execution
**procedural, sequential, linear
**event-driven
**pseudo-random
*method of execution
**interpreted
**compiled
**hybrid
* main programming paradigm
** [[procedural programming]]
** [[structured programming]]
** [[object-oriented]] programming
** [[functional programming]]
** [[aspect oriented programming]]
** [[logical programming]]
** [[distributed programming]]
*primary method of use
**script, shell, command
**[[macro]], text processing
**application
**systems programming
*abstraction level
**visual programming and integrated development environments
**1GL (First Generation Languages)
**2GL (Second Generation Languages)
**3GL (Third Generation Languages)
**4GL (Fourth Generation Languages)
**database UI development kits
**high-level (declarative, objective, procedural)
**[[assembly language|assembly]]
**[[machine language|machine]]
**[[microcode]]
*other
**pathological
***[[Turing tarpit]]s
**specialty

----
[[User:Rlee0001|Rlee0001]] 01:51 Oct 20, 2002 (UTC)

==Numbers of Users?==
Do Ruby and Scheme really have several hundred thousand users, as in programmers who use them regularly? I doubt it, but I've been wrong before. [[User:Wesley|Wesley]]

I believe so. But no one can prove either point anyway. --TakuyaMurata

I think it's probably true. For example, OCaml has at least 10^3 vocal users, probably 10^4 real users and probably 10^5 people who've played with it. However, such things are so difficult to quantify (e.g. look at Tiobe's silly estimates, which see huge bias from big business) and even to define (e.g. should we be talking about the total running time of programs written in different languages in order to combat, for example, the majority of Sourceforge projects "written in C++" that have yet to see an alpha release?) that I don't think such (mis)information belongs on Wikipedia. -- [[User:jdh30|Jon Harrop]]

==Naming conventions?==
Hi,

why have we put virtually every programming language on "Foo programming language", and not on "Foo" if "Foo" is reasonably unique? "Programming language" is disambiguation, and that should only be used when there is ambiguity, should it not?
--[[User:Eloquence|Eloquence]] 00:08 Jan 24, 2003 (UTC)

:Please see [[Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (languages)]]. There's no counterargument against changing to a sensible naming scheme that I'm aware of other than that certain people seemed to take it as a personal affront when it has been suggested in the past. --[[User:Brion VIBBER|Brion]] 00:12 Jan 24, 2003 (UTC)

Heck, I'd forgotten about that. The convention as stated at [[Wikipedia:Naming conventions]] does now say ''not'' to add "programming language" if the name of the language is unique, but I've not done any work in moving pages to reflect this new convention yet. I don't have time to start on this right now, but now that I've been reminded about it, I'll get to it when I have time (others, of course, are more than welcome - indeed encouraged, nay ''begged'' - to get there before me). --[[User:Camembert|Camembert]]

Great. I'll start some moving, although fixing double redirs will be an annoyance and we'll probably lose some page histories .. --[[User:Eloquence|Eloquence]] 00:19 Jan 24, 2003 (UTC)
----
==Proper classification of Python==
Some people including me might take exception to Python being classified as procedural with bolt-on OO technology, this has been extensively discussed in [http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&group=comp.lang.python the Python community]

==Miscellany==
I would like to point out that the programming language list above misses [[Objective-C]]. [[User:Brent Gulanowski|Brent Gulanowski]] 15:54, 15 Oct 2003 (UTC)

==Turing completeness and generality==
One thing the article appears to miss is the basic elements that all languages must share to be able to express any computable algorithm. I was taught this as "Sequence, Selection, Repetition" but it may be known in a number of ways. I feel this is important, as well as correct attribution to whoever proved it mathematically - was it [[Alan Turing|Turing]] maybe? I feel that once it is clear that all languages must support this basic elements, then they can be discussed in the abstract without having to say language X has this feature, language Y has this feature, etc. (though that can be added as an extension). [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 23:29, 9 Nov 2003 (UTC)

:I agree that it would be very nice if the article has discussion for foundmental aspects of programming language. Particularly I would like to see what makes programming language real languages. What distinguishes them from markup languages like HTML. I am not sure about Sequence, Selection, Repetition. I believe the most basic elements of languages are control and data abstraction. This theory fits to the explanation of assembly language very well. Assembly language supports jump and conditional jump, very primitive form of control abstraction. It also supports labeling, primitive form of data abstraction.

:Also I think that the article is too much devoted to discussion for data type and data structures. Is it so important to mention strong typed or dynamic type checking since [[datatype]] article covers such adequately. And control flow on the other hand has very few. Don't we have to even mention if or while? -- [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] 05:34, Nov 11, 2003 (UTC)

::Sequence/selection/repetition is far more fundamental to the concept of a programming language than data or control abstraction. I'm not saying that a language with only those features would be a good language, but I am saying that without those features it would not be a programming language at all. See [[brainfuck]] - it's a perfectly valid programming language, any computable problem can be expressed in it - it's just not a good one for expressing human ideas. It's at that second level that abstractions are important, but these are building on the fundamental requirement for stepwise execution, decision branches and loops. Incidentally assembly languages are possible without the features you mention, yet still remain valid languages. I can remember using a (poor) 6502 assembler on the [[commodore 64]] that did not have labels - you had to specify branches using line numbers. But it did work. [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 06:28, 11 Nov 2003 (UTC)

::Thinking about this further, this is ''precisely'' what separates programming languages from markup languages. I'm not familiar with the full extent of HTML, but as far as I know it lacks the ability to perform branches based on conditions, or the ability to perform repeats. Also, talking of assembly language, it is possible in theory to design a serial processor with only one instruction - "subtract and branch if negative", yet such a processor could still implement any known algorithm, because it obeys the fundamental requirement of seq/sel/rep. This is pretty close to the idea of brainfuck in hardware. I sometimes wonder if such a processor, despite lacking, well, anything much really, could be made to go so fast that it would still be actually pretty good on performance. You could also make it massively pipelined. The ultimate RISC machine... Anyway, I digress, but the point is made, I think. See also [[turing complete]]. [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 06:41, 11 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Umm, very interesting. I think you are talking about what an minimum requirement to make the language capable of simulating the [[Turing machine]]. And probably the three criteria Sequence, Selection, Repetition are right. I was thinking like programming language as the mean of abstraction. The [[Turing machine]] is the most powerful computer we know today and we don't need any programming languages or such to perform computable algorithms. Programming languages were in my view needed and then invented because human beings need something abstract to make programming easier. Mnemonics in assembly languages are completely meaningless to the computer but are only to we human. This is why I claimed data and code abstraction are basic elements of programming language.

But you are right. [[Brainfuck]] is considered as programming language generally, if it misses my picture of programming languages. SImilar small languages like [[PostScript]] are also among them. In other words, programming languages are not only for human or are they? -- [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] 06:40, Nov 13, 2003 (UTC)

-- [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] 06:40, Nov 13, 2003 (UTC)

Is "sequence/selection/repetition" what they're teaching the kiddies nowadays? :-) [[Functional programming]] folks might prefer to say it's abstraction/evaluation/recursion. Turing equivalence can't be used as a precise criterion, because for instance it assumes infinite storage, and classic [[Fortran]] requires fixed-size allocation, yet few would say it's not a programming language. I would call Turing-equivalent languages "general-purpose programming languages", while leaving "programming language" as a more general moniker for any linguistic form of expression that instructs a computer, irrespective of generality. [[User:Stan Shebs|Stan]] 08:23, 13 Nov 2003 (UTC)

"Sequence, selection, and repetition" are ''not'' enough to make a language Turing-complete. A finite-state automaton is capable of all of the above (which correspond to the concatenation, union, and Kleene star operator of regular languages). You also need arbitrary memory allocation (or infinite storage, which is the same thing).

Also, Stan's point re: FORTRAN is a good one. The primary distinction between markup and programming languages is one of emphasis. They overlap --- any Turing-complete markup language (e.g., LaTeX) can also be considered a programming language --- but "everyone knows" when something is primarily a programming language or a markup language.

Finally, it's pretty obvious that any non-joke programming language is intended primarily for human consumption. Joke languages like [[Brainfuck]] or [[Unlambda]] are simply exceptions that prove the rule --- they're designed by humans for human amusement. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 05:27, 17 Nov 2003 (UTC)

:Actually Stan I have no idea what they are teaching the "kiddies" these days as you so dismissively put it. I actually picked up the seq/sel/rep thing from a course I did many years ago which was an introduction to microprocessor design. The point was emphasised that as long as the hardware provided these things, then it could run any software "language", and therefore all programming languages mapped to these fundamental concepts at their heart. This stayed with me so it must have made some sort of good sense to me at the time. Now, it's quite likely that from a software perspective, some of these things may be self evident - for example, the fact that each statement of a language is executed in written order and thus one thing logically follows another (Sequence). Programmers take that for granted (though obviously CPU designers need to construct a mechanism to make it happen), so maybe it doesn't need to be stated - but we must write for the proper audience here.

::Too bad that they take it for granted :-) What you say is valid for procedural languages, but absolutely not for declarative ones. In [[Prolog]] language, you state the set of "rules of inference". The burden of setting the order of their application is onto compiler. Once you see what I mean, it is easies to agree that HTML and TEX are as good a programming language in a sense that they make the computer do what I want. The "magic triads" abstraction/evaluation/recursion, sequence/selection/repetition, encapsulation/.../... are woodoo talk for specific approaches, important for sure, but they must be discussed where they fit. When speaking about PL in general, one must have a broader POV. Read more good SF, folks :-)[[User:Mikkalai|Mikkalai]]

That audience is not other programmers - they know this stuff already -, it is the "intelligent layman" who may not realise that that's the case. Without some proper foundations, the abstraction/evaluation/recursion thing is still too "high concept". Another example I clearly remember from my own early steps with programming (I've been a professional programmer for 20 years, so it's a while ago!) is parameter passing - programmers take for granted that parameters map from caller to callee based on the ''position'' of the parameter in a list, but I can remember thinking how error prone that seemed - back then I thought it would be better to "find" the parameter based on its name and ignore its position. Of course knowing now how a CPU actually implements a subroutine, the "position" thing is clearly far more efficient and sensible, and there are likely other undesirable side effects that name binding might have. The point to make here is that to the uninitiated, what seems obvious to a programmer may not be at all obvious to someone else, so starting with implicit fundamentals in order to eliminate any misunderstandings seems a good way to go with an article such as this. Given this approach, I'm not sure that referring to Turing completeness is even a good idea - is the intelligent layman that bothered about the mathematics? I suspect most people coming to WP are looking for a solid, precise but not necessarily complete discussion of the subject. If it grabs them sufficiently, they can look into the maths further if they want. [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 12:05, 18 Nov 2003 (UTC)
::People learn positional parameter passing in junior high school algebra: if f(x, y) = 3x + 4y, then f(1,2) = 11. It's true that a function in a programming language is not the same thing as a function in pure math, but the notation ought to be familiar enough. It's only because (a) programming is usually taught at such a low, machine-oriented level and (b) math is usually taught badly, period, that so many programmers find the "high-concept" explanation less intuitive. To the educated layperson, who has not been forced into low-level thinking by a typical CS curriculum, abstraction and application may well be as easy to explain as branching and looping. The experiences of the PLT Scheme folks suggest that Scheme (which is, basically, the call-by-value lambda calculus) is easier to teach to undergraduates than C or Java. The only undergraduates who struggle with Scheme are those who learned bad hackery in C in high school, and convinced themselves that this was the only way to program. If we're targeting the article towards laypeople, then there's no reason to avoid conceptual explanations in favor of a machine-oriented explanation.
::Also, a Wikipedia article should be as complete as the contributors can make it. If the article grows too long, then it should have a quick summary at the top of the article, followed by the more in-depth discussion; or else it should be broken into sub-articles. But there's no reason to leave something out if it's an important concept, simply because it requires more effort on the part of the reader to grasp.
::P.S. Minor pedantic point: you don't need recursion in order to be Turing complete. Abstraction and application suffice; you can build recursion out of abstraction and application, as with the pure lambda calculus's y-combinator. [[User:K.lee|k.lee]] 18:15, 18 Nov 2003 (UTC)

:Hey, I added the ":-)" to indicate clearly that the "kiddie" remark was in jest, oh well. Although I'm probably the most formally qualified WP editor for this article (PhD in languages and all that), my first step would be to learn from my predecessors - review the current EB/Encarta/etc writeups, plus reread the intro sections to the best textbooks, both those aimed at specialists and those aimed at nonspecialists - and get an idea of the strategy that others have used. Since encyclopedias are reference works, there is a certain falloff; everybody reads the first sentence, 50% read the second also, 10% get to the second paragraph, and so forth, with only the deeply interested lasting all the way to the end of the article; so you generally want to transition gradually from generalities ("language is how we tell a computer what to do") to Church-Turing, which has to be mentioned eventually, because it's one of the bases that justify some of our classification of types of languages. [[User:Stan Shebs|Stan]] 18:43, 18 Nov 2003 (UTC)

::I agree about the structure 100% - far too many WP articles dive in with no context establishing stuff up front. I suppose the rest of it comes down to whether we approach languages bottom-up or top-down. I can see advantages to both approaches. Since I came from a hardware background, bottom-up seemed to work well for me, going from boolean algebra to logic gates to registers to CPU architecture to stored programs to machine code blah blah etc. Other readers will respond better to the top-down approach, going from "high concepts" of languages towards the underlying bits and bytes. Perhaps both approaches need integrating in the article by including two sections. I'm presuming that the top-down approach is preferred by most teachers of the subject these days, but one thing I do notice is that as a result few people (who are not programmers but nevertheless are expected to know the basic principles) cannot understand or make the mental leap from the language to the chips that implement it in hardware. I've read a lot of vague handwaving arguments to explain it recently while marking some student work at the local uni, so perhaps I've just got a bee in my bonnet about bridging the software/hardware divide in a sensible, clear manner. [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 22:29, 18 Nov 2003 (UTC)

:::The hardware/software divide should get its own article I think; tricky to explain but worth trying. You could maybe do it as a sort of slice across other articles, xref'ing if the reader doesn't know a particular term. Something like "global = 1;" -> "ld r2,1; st global,r2" -> memory-mapped device -> electricity flowing -> light bulb turning on. If you stuck to the "what" and "how", and leave out the "why", it could be both succinct and illuminating. [[User:Stan Shebs|Stan]] 08:15, 19 Nov 2003 (UTC)

I know you guys know much about programming languages and theories in computer science than I do but I was wondering how about historical approach. [[RISC]] is a very good article. Although I don't have much expertise in hardware, the article makes a lot of sense to me. The nice thing is that it doesn't know give particular examples of RISC like a list of instruction code but it focuses on why computer science comes up with the idea of RISC in historical and technical context and also gives a plenty of practical examples of architectures. I think the same strategy can be applied to this article. In some ways, the article simply gives a summary of concepts which really doesn't make sense unless you know it before and sometimes goes to too much detailed. For example, I don't see why it is so important to spend a lot of space to discuss type system while some important concepts such as lazy evalution, side effects and referentical transparency are completely omited.

As I keep repeating, I think it is very important to avoid the article is like a textbook. [[RISC]] article is completely useless if you want to learn an assembly language and how to make a code generator for RISC architectures. Let alone [[Wikibook]] for such case. Well, just a thought. I am just hoping I am any help at all. -- [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] 07:15, Nov 19, 2003 (UTC)

:Yes, a bit of historical recapitulation is helpful, especially to motivate why there are different languages. This article can't really get much into specific concepts like lazy evaluation though, those have to be pushed to language semantics articles so as to keep the top-level article readable by laypeople. [[User:Stan Shebs|Stan]] 08:15, 19 Nov 2003 (UTC)

:You would not expect to learn an assembly language or how to make a code generator for RISC architectures from Wikipedia. You would get that from a text book! So which is it to be? To my mind, the RISC article is actually a very good encyclopedia article. [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 09:40, 20 Nov 2003 (UTC)

Umm, can we have a slight summary of different programming paradigms? I think it is important to show that why we have come to have several languages and what is difference between them. I am not suggesting to have complete discussion of specific topics like lazy evaluation but I don't know how to put, more like how different languages approach the problem of programming in different ways. I think such discussion can have the article more focused on making sense to the general public about what programming is like. The imperative approach is not only one and surprisingly many even computer programmers know little about how problems are done in programming with many different ways. Many people just learn how to do programming in a particular language like C or LISP and not sure programming language as general. For example, I think it would be nice to see how to reverse a string in many ways as an example. While it is very unnecessary to discuss how arguments are passed or how type system works. The bottom line is that the article must not be a summary of programming languages topics, but should discuss actual problems. I know it is easy to say and hard to achive, just chating about my idealistic view. -- [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] 08:40, Nov 20, 2003 (UTC)

:I agree that there should be some explanation for why there are many languages - this itself shows that there is no one, true way to program. However, I'm not sure about examples, at least not in this article. There could be a link to a separate article listing the same program in all the various languages if you wanted. The problem is that including examples here of string reversal (or whatever) is EXACTLY turning it into a text book. The article should be about languages, not a tutorial for any particular one (or all of them). Seems to me your suggestions lean more towards the textbook approach, despite declaring that you don't want WP to be one. [[User:GRAHAMUK|GRAHAMUK]] 09:52, 20 Nov 2003 (UTC)

::Well, it shows that we have not yet found any one, true way to program. -[[User:P3d0|P3d0]] 15:40, 20 Nov 2003 (UTC)

''I agree with [[User:TakuyaMurata|Taku]] -- if you think something is "too much" for an encyclopedia article, please move it to one of the Wiki Books http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/IT_bookshelf --[[User:DavidCary|DavidCary]] 15:36, 26 Jul 2004 (UTC)''

----
(moved to [[User talk:Dysprosia]])

==Cut from "History of..."==
The following piece is cut out of section "History of programming languages".
:<<<

As the cost of computers has dropped significantly and the complexity of computer programs has increased dramatically, development time is now seen as a more costly consideration than computer time.

Newer integrated, visual development environments have brought clear progress.
They have reduced expenditure of time, money (and nerves). Regions of the screen that control the program can often be arranged interactively. Code fragments can be invoked just by clicking on a control. The work is also eased by prefabricated components and software libraries with re-usable code, primarily object-oriented.

Object-oriented methodology was introduced to reduce the complexity of programs, making code easier to write and to maintain. However, some argue that programs have, despite this, continued to increase in complexity. Recent languages are emphasising new features, like meta classes, mix-ins, delegation, program patterns and aspects.

See [[programming paradigm]]
:>>>
All the above is true, but... This rant is good for a pop-sci article in an online magazine, but not for encyclopedia: chaotic, no *history*, and no *programming languages* [[User:Mikkalai|Mikkalai]] 00:37, 13 Dec 2003 (UTC)
----
"[[Computer language]]" is not synonymous with "[[programming language]]". A programming language is a computer language used for programming.-[[User:P3d0|P3d0]] 00:14, 2 Jan 2004 (UTC)
: I'm agree, [[computer language]] has its own article, and shouldn't be stated that is a synonym of "programming language" because "computer language" is broader. --[[User:Suruena|surueña]] 13:02:51, 2005-09-06 (UTC)

== Writing From Scratch ==

This Section Programming Language needs a total wash and be written from scracth. I volunteer myslef to devote some time to it. As I am new to this site and I am learning how to edit things so this section will be online within a week and with a new style
[[User:Yana209|yana209]] 22:01, Jun 22, 2004 (UTC)

----
''Some languages such as [[MUMPS]] and is called [[dynamic recompilation]]; [[emulator]]s and other [[virtual machine]]s exploit this technique for greater performance.''

The clause before the semicolon isn't even complete. I'd fix it, but I'm not sure how exactly it should read. - [[User:Furrykef|Furrykef]] 15:17, 9 Sep 2004 (UTC)
:fixed. [[User:Ancheta Wis|Ancheta Wis]] 11:42, 29 Jan 2005 (UTC)

==Programming languages causing crashes==

The reason that I deleted the sentence
:"Unfortunately many programming languages cause crashes because the languages themselves are poorly constructed."
is that I don't understand it. I suppose it means that the poor design of some programming languages is causing crashes, which raises the question: which languages is the author refering to? A possible interpretation is that programs written in low-level languages like C are prone to crashes, but that is not poor design in my opinion, but a conscious design choice to prefer speed, ease of compilation and flexibility at the price of allowing more crashes. Putting this sentence in the history section confuses me even more, because that implies that the problem of poor design no longer exists, which is at odds with my interpretation. So, please explain what you mean if you reinsert the above sentence. Thanks, [[User:Jitse Niesen|Jitse Niesen]] ([[User talk:Jitse Niesen|talk]]) 16:30, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

You're right it shouldn't be in history section because it is such a fundamental point and the bane of any decent computer scientist. We are swamped with poorly written junk languages (and operating systems) that gain prominence via clever marketing rather than on merit. Yes I'm referring to design and unfortunately don't have time right now to flesh it out (though, again, anyone who knows the field should be able to do so). Treat it as a stub and add to the list. No I'm not referring to C and I recognise it's horses for courses. Thanks for the feedback. And please add to the "stub" rather than delete again. [[User:Mccready|Mccready]] 01:22, 1 August 2005 (UTC)

Of all major programming languages I would only say of C++ and C#, that they are poorly constructed. This could hardly be considered many, and should be discussed in their respecive articles, not here. Your statement also lacks any form of argument. --[[User:R.Koot|R.Koot]] 01:44, 1 August 2005 (UTC)

I would like to add to the discussion here. In fact there aren't many badly constructed languages at all (I know none, and I've programmed in many). What one can say is the lower the languages (closer to the machine language) the more stress is put on the knowledge of the developer to create a good working program (You need to know your language's do's and don'ts). Take for instance the difference between C++ and Java. Although they both are Modern Languages, C++ still can cause buffer over and underruns while this is pretty difficult to achieve in Java. Although memory leaks still can appear in Java this is probably one of the major flaws in C++ Programs. It's not the language that's bad, but the code that's written in them!
--[[User:PaulSinnema|Paul Sinnema]] 09:44, 16 September 2005 (UTC)

Programming languages don't cause crashes. Programmers who write bad code, or faulty compilers, runtimes, etc. do. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 08:08, 17 September 2005 (UTC)
{{Wikibooks Module|Computer programming|Error handling}}
: I begg to differ. Example: <code>X / 0</code> will crash a C and C++ programm but will be a CONSTRAINT_ERROR in Ada. So there are differences in how languages tread error conditions and it is rightfull that we describe that to the reader - preaps a comparison table might be helpfull to the reader in that respect. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 09:08, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

:: I beg to differ in turn -- it is ''you'' who is causing the division by zero error, not the programming language. What you are measuring above is something completely different. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 10:31, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

::: True. And yes, we talk about two half of the same coin - a programming mistake and how the language reacts to that - but then this Module is called [[Programming language]] and not [[Programmers]]. And how about <code>X / Y</code>. Is still the programmers fault or prehaps faulty data delivered to the programm. If you say "programmer" then I ask: Have you realy got a <code>if (Y != 0)</code> in front of every division - or made a full static analysis proving that Y can't be 0 - for all programms you have ever coded?

::: We live in a time of Viruses, Worms and Trojian Horses. A time where an unprotected Windows XP computer is infected and turned into a Spam-Bot in about 4 minutes after beeing connected to the internet. Programmers are not perfect and error handling - or the absence - is an important aspect of a Programming language and need to be explained to the reader. Please Note: I have never said a programming language is faulty because it has no error handling - that would break the NPOV. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 12:31, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

:::: It is the programmer's fault for not making a program that is not tolerant to faults and errant data, the programmer's fault that they do not perform adequate buffer checking, the programmer's fault for inadequate testing. Blaming Windows XP's insecurity on the programming language that they used, in my mind, is a cop-out. A programming language is just a means of expressing an algorithm -- what has any significance is the behaviour of the compiler or the runtime or the libraries or all of these, when unspecified or illegal behaviour occurs. The compiler is not the programming language.

::::: You can't have is that some programming language has better features then your beloved C, can you? You can stand that expressing an algrorithm (incl. the needed error handling) might be easier in another language, can you? A typical case of "If my beloved programming language does not have feature X then feature X is bad, evil, send from hell - or whatever other nasty place you religion has to offer". You think I am unfair - well, you violent defence of C's greates weakness leads to no other conclusion. Or why should a programmer not know about or choose a programming language wich makes error handling easier? And Yes: I have 15 years of C/C++ programming experience I know what I am talking about - but then: I also have experience in Pascal, Modula-2 and Ada - programming languages where buffer overruns are virtualy unknown. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 09:44, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

:::::: You ought not to get into insults and making nonsense claims that I have thought you "unfair" and that I have made some "violent defence" towards C (I've barely mentioned the name of the language in this thread). Think about the actual matter at hand. If you actually think about this carefully, you will understand where I am coming from: a programming language is ''only'' a specification on how to translate ideas into something more low-level. A specification does not cause crashes. Misunderstanding the specification ''does''. If I tell you not to cross the street when the light is red, and you cross it anyway and get hit by a car, whose fault is it? [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]]

::::::: The person who walks of course. But then: there must be a traffic light in the first place. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 11:47, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

:::::::: It is still possible to cross a light safely without a light. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 05:07, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

::::::::: One person crossing one road: Yes. But can you image a city like New York, London or Paris without traffic lights? Trafic light where invented because traffic became to compex for the old "look right look left" technique of crossing the road. (BTW: The Ada motto is "Ada, the language for a complex world") ---[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 10:45, 21 September 2005 (UTC)

:::::::::: However, it is still possible. Regardless, what you need to also understand is that while runtime checks are fine and dandy, the overhead they incur is simply unacceptable for certain applications. When you're running some application where a bit of performance lag isn't an issue, then fine. But if you're writing hardware applications or time-critical applications, performing checks may unacceptably slow things down. The lack or disabling of runtime error checking/handling is not necessarily a bad thing. Again, the language is not to blame for this (for example, you can get C compilers which integrate bounds checking, but slow the application down -- you have to check ''every'' single array access), but of the compilers or the execution environment.
:::::::::: Which is what I've been maintaining all along. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 09:18, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

:::: And since you mention it, I ''do'' check return values when I call C library functions, amongst other things.

::::: All return values - all parameters - all buffers sizes - all integer ranges - all type convertions - allways - never ever forgetting it even once? Because that is what you have to measure up against when compare yourself to a compiler which provides all that be default. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 09:44, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

:::::: So you understand now that it is not the programming language that provides typechecking ''et al''? You said yourself "a compiler which provides..." (Regardless, understanding types is not very difficult. There are other more strongly typed languages than C, and there are even dynamic typed programming languages. It is not difficult to understand and keep in mind.) [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]]

:::: And so should you. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 22:23, 18 September 2005 (UTC)

::::: Actualy: No I don't have to check return values - my current assingment is done in Ada. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 09:44, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

:::::: When you program in C, you'd better. Do you catch exceptions and/or perform error checks when you program in Ada or do you just ignore them? [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 10:10, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

::::::: Depends - the great strenght of expeptions is that I only need to handle the expeptions I am interested in and let the applications framework worry about the rest. Shure, the applications framework is done by programmers as well, just like the compiler. And I can still forget an exeption I ''should'' be interested in - but it does not happen as often as in C. Net result: I start the debugger only twice a month. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 11:47, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

:::::::: Thus Ada is not immune to you having to perform error correction at some point. No programming language is. (This is beside the nub of the matter though.) [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 05:07, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

::::::::: Shure can't argue with that. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 10:45, 21 September 2005 (UTC)

== programming language popularity: the TIOBE Programming Community Index ==

Should we realy have [http://www.tiobe.com/tpci.htm TIOBE Programming Community Index a link] to a biased statistic without telling the readers in which way the index is flawed?

TIOBE's [http://www.tiobe.com/ company statement] is: ''We offer out-of-the-box solutions for the programming languages C, C++, C# and Java.'' — which oviously means they want those languages to look "good" on there statistic.

We should either explain he flaw or remove the link. Of course it is tricky to keep an NPOV when explaining an flaw in some way.

=== How is the Index flawed? ===

'''The search query '+"<language> programming" -tv -channel' is used to calculate the TPC Index.'''

Since you are probably reading this discussing because you are language advocate of some sort you can just google for '+"<language> programming" +tv +channel' with <language> beeing your favorite programming language - and then decide if those pages where rightfully excluded from the index.

My first google hit for my favorite language is: '''This association is aimed at promoting ADA programming language to the software... TV channel, producer) on any type of platform (OpenTV, MediaHighway). ...''' — rightfully excluded — don't think so.

: I removed the link, because you are not alloweds to link to your own website, not because I'm advocating some language. Please [[assume good faith]]. Cheers, --[[User:R.Koot|R.Koot]] 14:01, 14 August 2005 (UTC)

:: Hmmm, there are several links to some of my pages on Wikipedia and Wikibooks. But they have never been added for vanity but only because they fit to the topic at hand. If it was any different the other contributers would have removed them. And in that respect I [[assume good faith]]. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] 14:21, 14 August 2005 (UTC)

=== popular programming languages ===

The article "[[buffer overflow]]" currently claims that
:''" As of 2005, the most popular languages generally are C and its derivative, C++."''

While I suspect this is correct, I wonder how that author found out?

Is it even possible to rank programming languages according to "popularity"
(or in some other, more objective way) in a NPOV way?
If so, should we discuss "popularity" here in the [[programming language article]],
or split it off into a [[popular programming language]] article?
See [http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?ProgrammingLanguageUsageStatistics C2: Programming Language Usage Statistics].
--[[User:DavidCary|DavidCary]] 05:19, 11 November 2005 (UTC)

== Rewrite has gone on long enough ==

I have given [[User:K.lee]] two weeks to put up or give up with his rewrite. His "rewrite" approach is anti-collaborative and he has been claiming that his rewrite is pending for over two years. The "reqeustrewrite" template is only used for k.lee's claim for this article. Wikipedia itself is not much older than that, which meas that no else has had a real and equal "turn" at this article since most of the work for the past two years will be lost when/if k.lee ever commits his version. [[User:Fplay|Fplay]] 19:55, 9 December 2005 (UTC)
: k.lee e-mails that that requstrewrite tag can be removed immediately. [[User:Fplay|Fplay]] 20:14, 9 December 2005 (UTC)

== Article image ==

Is there a better, more representative image of computer code than the [[:Image:Html-source-code.png|current one]]?

:What would it ideally depict? Certainly not HTML like currently. Perhaps a simple function in a typical, popular programming language such as C. Or something more readable such as Python. --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 12:32, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

::Instead of cropping the picture to make it fit, maybe it's better to have a scaled-down image that conveys the shape and layout of some chunk of code, without necessarily trying to be legible in detail.
::As for the language, i'm sure everyone has their favorite (also Python, in my case). But for Wikipedia, the language's historical recognition, heritage, and influence are probably more important factors than current popularity. To me, the two most obvious contenders are C, and Lisp/Scheme. --[[User:Piet Delport|Piet Delport]] 16:58, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
:::I don't have a problem with C/C++ or LISP. However, to keep source code language agnostic I'd propose using a psuedo-language that just shows block structure layout of programming languages, which is universal to all languages.

== FORTRAN ==

Minor note, but the spelling was changed from "Fortran" to "FORTRAN" since the article was referring to the first version of the language which was indeed spelled that way. The current accepted convention (see the [[Fortran]] page) is as follows: FORTRAN, FORTRAN II, FORTRAN IV, FORTRAN 66, FORTRAN 77 are in upper-case, with the new versions (such as Fortran 90) are in lower-case "Fortran" as per their convention. The FORTRAN spelling is a very important issue for FORTRAN programmers worldwide.

== New introduction ==

I am willing to agree that my first stab at an introductory paragraph for "programming language" might not be ideal. However, the current first paragraph is likely to be incomprehensible to all but the most knowledgable of people.

The first paragraph should provide a brief summary/definition for a reasonably intelligent person who knows nothing about computers. Later material can get technical and dense.

Let's work out some good wording that encapulates this rather nebulous of entities.

[[User:Derek farn|Derek farn]] 14:15, 15 February 2006 (UTC) ''(Copied here from my talk page --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 16:31, 15 February 2006 (UTC))''

:I'm sorry for impolitely reverting your introductory paragraph, I was thinking of the edit history of another programming-related article. I'll restore it here for further discussion:

:<blockquote>A '''programming language''' is a language designed to allow [[programmer]]s to specify a sequence of operations to be performed (usually by a computer). The syntax and semantics of programming languages are much more restricted than [[natural language]]s. The written, human accessible, form of a programming language is known as [[source code]] and may be translated by a [[compiler]] into a form that can be executed by the [[cpu]] of a computer.</blockquote>

:What I like about your version is that it's easy to read and probably also to understand. What I like about the earlier version is that it doesn't oversimplify, and it has links to other ''relevant'' articles. To me, the important things to tell in the introduction include:
:*The purpose of programming languages is to allow people to describe computer programs on a level where they can be made executable.
:*Programs are described by the data they act on and the algorithms they employ.
:*My pet with some nice links: "Programming languages are a type of [[computer language]]s, excluding [[pseudocode]] which is exclusively for human communication."

:--[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 16:31, 15 February 2006 (UTC)

I'm not sure I would have made the programming/computer language distinction. Yes html is a markup language, but some people think it is a programming language. Who are we to disagree? Do we require programming languages to be Turing complete? Is calling html a computer language just a way of deflecting critisism of not calling it a programming language?

: We can somewhere down the article mention that some people think that HTML is a programming language, but we need not include this topic in the introduction. HTML doesn't allow one to describe algorithms so it clearly isn't a programming language. HTML and programming languages allow humans to communicate with computers so they're computer languages and mentioning this puts the topic in its place. --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 19:23, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

Anyway, back to the problem at hand. I now appreciate that my definition was overly restrictive. Some languages require programmers to specify what, not how. For instance, SQL requires a set of conditions to be specified, not the nuts and bolts of finding the data. What about Prolog which consists of clauses (ok, most implementations have extensions that support a more imperative style). How about:

:A '''programming language''' is a language designed to allow people to create programs that control the actions of a machine (which is often a [[computer]]). The [[syntax]] and [[semantic]]s of programming languages are much more restrictive than [[natural language]]s. The written, human accessible, form of a programming language is known as [[source code]] and is often translated into a different form before being executed on a machine (in the case of a computer, by the [[cpu]]).

:Programming languages take many forms. Many in common use require programmers to write [[source code]] that implements the algorithms used to produce the required actions (so called [[imperative programming]]). Other languages require programmers to specify the ''what'' rather than the ''how'' (so called [[declarative programming]]). For instance, users of [[SQL|structured query language]] specify the conditions that must be met by data in a database for it to be returned as the result of a query, and various support programmers work out how to actually retrieve that data).

: Programming languages differ from languages such as [[markup languages]] in that they are [[Turing complete]].
[[User:Derek farn|Derek farn]] 01:34, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

:: This feels like a runaway introduction, see for example [[Wikipedia:Lead_section]]. I don't feel we should go into details such as syntax, semantics, source code, cpu, imperative vs. declarative, let alone Turing-completeness. --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 19:23, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

Yes, it is getting a bit bloated. I think that Turing completeness is a good way of distinguishing programming languages from other kinds of languages (I don't understand you later comment about infinite execution; there are various mathematical formalisms used when discussing properties of languages; I am using the term as a way of putting a minimum limit on the expressive power of a programming language). Or are we going to duck this issue entirely?

: Could you check [[Turing completeness]] and [[machine that always halts]]? My comment below referred to the fact that if you require programming languages to be Turing complete you artificially leave out programming languages that are somehow able to limit programs to always halt. I say we duck this issue entirely because it's about a mathematical theory which isn't directly applicable in practice, in programming. We can duck for example by restricting programming languages to those that ''are used'' to describe ''data structures'' and ''algorithms''. --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 09:31, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

People are familiar with what a natural language is, so let's make use of this knowledge.

:A '''programming language''' is a language designed to allow people to create programs that control the actions of a machine (which is often a [[computer]]). The [[syntax]] and [[semantic]]s of programming languages are much more restrictive than [[natural language]]s. The written, human accessible, form of a programming language is known as [[source code]] and is often translated into a different form before being executed on a machine.

:Programming languages take many forms, the two major divisions being [[imperative programming]] and [[declarative programming]]. Some languages are intended to be used within specific domains (eg, banking), while others are intended for more general usage.

:Languages differ in their [[formal language|expressive power]] and a language powerful enough to be [[Turing complete]] would be regarded as a programming language. [[Markup language]]s such a pure [[html]] are not Turing complete, but can be made so with the addition of extensions such as [[PHP]], or [[Javascript]].

[[User:Derek farn|Derek farn]] 00:28, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

=== [[Turing complete]] is not enough ===

I don't think that beeing [[Turing complete]] is enough to make a programming language. The language should also be used for general programming. That's why at [[Wikibooks]] we draw the line between [[b:Wikibooks:Programming languages bookshelf|Wikibooks:Programming languages bookshelf]] and [[b:Wikibooks:Domain-specific languages bookshelf|Wikibooks:Domain-specific languages bookshelf]]. A "domain-specific language" may as well be [[Turing complete]] but it is not used for general programming bu only in a specific domain. i.E. [[PostScript]] is considered turing complete however I would not consider it a programming language as it not used for general programming - Or has anybody seen a text-editor or an excel clone written in PostScript?

--[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 07:11, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

: A "domain-specific language" can very well be a programming language but not necessary one suitable for general purposes. The article on [[PostScript]] has links to game of life, a webserver, fractals, barcodes, HTML renderer, raytracer. Even if a language isn't the best tool for the job it can still be a programming language. --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 19:23, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

:: Now that I find intersting - especialy the webserver part. And unlike the akademic brabble below this could change my mind about [[PostScript]]. In which case I have choosen a bad example. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 12:00, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

==== Yes it is ====

What difference does it make what a language is actually used for? And what exactly is ''general programming''?

Postscript is very much like [[Forth]], would you say that Forth is not a programming language?

: Forth is used by humans to create programms for computers - so certanly it is programming language. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 11:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

Most languages are only used by a handful of people. Does that mean they are not programming languages because they are only used for specific tasks (whatever it is that the handful of people write with them)?

To take your example, I know people who work with printers and formatting software who spend large amounts of time writing code in postscript. I even have a program that prints out a calendar that is written in postscript. Just because lots of people choose not to write their software in postscript does not stop it being a programming language.

[[User:Derek farn|Derek farn]] 12:46, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

: In your edit comment you claim that a programming language is equivalent to Turing complete. There are a lot of programming tasks that don't need infinite execution, so if a language would otherwise be a programming language but it has only finite execution you wouldn't call it a programming language. Now I wouldn't call it ''a Turing-complete programming language''. To take another example, primitive lambda calculus is a Turing-complete model of computation but it lacks data types and IO. I don't really know if it should be classified as a programming language but I think it's better to keep the models of computation separate from the introduction of programming language. --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 19:23, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

:: Actualy: How many programming languages are turing complete? '''int''' in C is either 16, 32 or 64 bit - hardly ''infinite''. C demands that there is an integer type '''intptr_t''' to which a pointer can be cast to - here goes support for ''infinite'' memory. "Turing complete" is the theoretical concept for academic use only. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 11:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

: The assertion that PostScript is ''not'' a programming language is utterly nonsensical. What is it, if it is not a programming language?

:: A page description language. Because that is what it is used for in 99.99% of all cases. Even the calendar programm mentioned above is only that - it '''prints''' a calender - it is not an outlook clone. If it starts having a database to keep appointments then it aproaches programming. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 11:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

::: Look. Do you even ''know'' about the PostScript language at all? It sounds like you think that PostScript's capabilities are solely devoted to graphics output. Yes, it does this well, but it is not its only functionality.
::: Furthermore, it can be argued that nearly ''all'' programming languages can in some sense be page description languages. What do you think a GUI display does when it prints a calendar?
::: Just because PostScript does not have the regular idea of user I/O that other programming languages have does not mean the language is suddenly "not" a programming language. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]]

:::: I never tought that a programming language needs "user i/o". Many embedded programms or batch processing programms do well without. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 13:01, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

::::: So what on earth are you basing your argument upon that PostScript is not a programming language? You seem to use some sort of arbitrary definition that because some programming language doesn't "keep appointments" or is an "excel clone", it's not a programming language? [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 13:17, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

: Does a programming language have to have [[curses]] or GUI capabilities to be considered a programming language? Of course not. Just because PostScript does not have a lot of user-interaction libraries available to it doesn't mean it fails to be a programming language. If PostScript had such libraries, it would be rather easy to create a "text-editor" or "excel clone"! [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 09:49, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

:: I think we are all in agreement that PostScript is a programming language, and even a Turing-complete one, and you can even write different kinds of programs in it in practice. Perhaps you meant this answer to Krischik above, he was the one who didn't want to think of PostScript as a programming language? --[[User:TuukkaH|TuukkaH]] 10:37, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

::: Of course. [[User:Dysprosia|Dysprosia]] 11:05, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

::: No, I am not in agreement - I still think it is a page description language. --[[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 11:53, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

:::: And Lisp is a list processing language and Visual Basic a painting program. —''[[User:R.Koot|Ruud]]'' 13:29, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

=== SQL is not Turing complete ===

SQL has no looping construct. Ok, the support software behind it contains lots of loops, but that is not the same thing.

I have always thought of SQL as a programming language, but on reflection I guess it should be called something like a ''database query language'' and along with [[markup language]]'s not be included in the list of programming languages. The SQL Standard is not maintained by [[SC22]], the [[ISO]] committee responsible for programming languages.

[[User:Derek farn|Derek farn]] 13:08, 16 February 2006 (UTC)

: Have you had a look at [[PL/SQL]]? [[User:Krischik|Krischik]] [[User_talk:Krischik|T]] 13:03, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

PL/SQL adds programming language features to SQL (because it does not have any), hence the name Programming Language/SQL.

[[User:Derek farn|Derek farn]] 14:17, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

== Removed comments ==

I just removed the following comments from the end of "History of programming languages" (reformatted to shorten lines), as their presence (with newlines in between) was creating excessive vertical whitespace, and in any case they really belonged here. [[User:Hairy Dude|Hairy Dude]] 05:14, 2 February 2006 (UTC)

Duracell

2006-02-26T21:27:44Z

Capi crimm:

[[Image:Duracell.jpg|thumb|right|150px|A pair of Duracell AAA batteries.]]
'''Duracell''' is a leading brand of [[Battery (electricity)|batteries]] and [[flashlight]]s, and is [[Energizer]]'s historic arch-rival.

==Products==

Duracell manufactures [[Alkaline battery|alkaline batteries]] in many common sizes, such as AAA, AA, C, D, and 9V. Lesser known sizes such as AAAA (primarily for pagers, pen lights and blood glucose meters) and J size batteries (for hospital devices)are also manufactured along with a range of "button" batteries using Zinc-air chemistry, used in calculators, hearing aids, and other devices.

Duracell also manufactures specialty batteries, including [[NiMH]] rechargeable batteries and batteries for cameras, watches, hearing aids, etc. Their two main battery brands are Coppertop, marketed as longer-lasting, and Ultra, directed mainly at users of digital devices and devices that need more power. The Coppertop and Ultra brands of batteries use the Alkaline Manganese Dioxide chemistry. Duracell also has a line of lithium chemistry batteries and products, now manufactured outside of the US.

In recent years, Duracell innovations expanded to include new battery designs altogether with their prismatic batteries. These prismatic cells were different in geometry from traditional batteries in that they are prismatic in shape (hence their namesake) rather than cylindrical. Prismatic cells were made available in both alkaline and lithium designs. In 2006, Duracell introduced Power Pix (TM) batteries with metal hydroxy technology, meant to supply even longer life to digital cameras and other high drain devices by up to twice the number of photos typically achievable by using ordinary alkaline batteries.

==Business==

Duracell introduced many battery formats, including AA in [[1960]] and AAA in the 1950s. It merged with [[Global Gillette|Gillette]] in 1996, and became a part of [[Procter & Gamble]] when it acquired Gillette in [[2005]]. Duracell's main competitor is the [[Energizer]] brand of batteries. Duracell continues to have manufacturing facilities in the U.S. (primarily in the southeast US) and globally in Asia and in Europe. Duracell's global headquarters is located in Bethel, Connecticut, about an hour from New York City on the Connecticut-New York state line.

==History==

Duracell came to be via the partnership of scientist Samuel Ruben and businessman P.R. Mallory, who met in the 1920s. The P.R. Mallory Company produced mercury cells for military equipment use, trumping the Zn-air battery technology then used in virtually all applications. In the late 1970s, when the Company's concerns for the now known effects of mercury took hold, mercury quickly became an obsolete ingredient in all their manufacturing processes. Alkaline technology quickly rose to take its place.

In the 1950s when Kodak introduced cameras with built-in flashes, the design called for a new cell size and the AAA was born.

In 1964 the term "Duracell" as a brand was formally introduced. (SOURCE: www.Duracell.com)

Duracell batteries are also bulk packaged for end users under the brand name [http://www.duracell.com/procell Procell]

== External links ==
*http://www.duracell.com/

{{company-stub}}

{{Procter & Gamble}}
[[Category:Battery manufacturers]]
[[Category:Procter & Gamble brands]]

[[es:Duracell]]
[[sk:Duracell]]

Talk:Prime factorization algorithm

2006-02-23T12:53:20Z

Capi crimm: /* C++ Example */

Can someone give me the python script which returns

$ python factorize.py 1800
[2^3, 3^2, 5^2]

instead of

$ python factorize.py 1800
[2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 5]

<pre>
import sys,math
def factorize(n):
def isPrime(n):
return not [x for x in xrange(2,int(math.sqrt(n)))
if n%x == 0]
primes = []
candidates = xrange(2,n+1)
candidate = 2
while not primes and candidate in candidates:
if n%candidate == 0 and isPrime(candidate):
primes = primes + [candidate] + factorize(n/candidate)
candidate += 1
return primes

def condense(L):
prime,count,list=0,0,[]
for x in L:
if x == prime:
count = count + 1
else:
if prime != 0:
list = list + [str(prime) + '^' + str(count)]
prime,count=x,1
list = list + [str(prime) + '^' + str(count)]
return list

print factorize(int(sys.argv[1]))
print condense(factorize(int(sys.argv[1])))
</pre>
----
<pre>
$ python factorize.py 1800
[2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 5]
['2^3', '3^2', '5^2']
</pre>

== some improvements of the code ==

The current sqrt() algorithm has limitations due to recursion. I've written a new one based on [[Square root]] that should run faster and accept larger values. Then I have rewritten the factorize() algorithm. The performance improvements here are marginal, I've just rewritten it for learning purposes. The source is available at [http://cracki.incast-security.de/downloads/primes.py]. Feel free to use it as you want.

== C++ Example ==

If were going to have examples shouldn't they actually work? The C++ example wouldn't even compile, unless their is a new version of C++ that doesn't use namespaces or require an int return from main()? If you fix those minor errors however the example seesm to be putting out nonsense; id est, giving the same primes for output no matter what the input. I wish life were that easy. :D (I didn't check the logs, but I'm thinking this was originally a C example someone haphazardly converted to C++, or someone has a goat for a compiler.)

I'm putting it here until I or someone else can fix it.

<pre>
#include <iostream>
#include <cmath>

using std::cout;
using std::endl;

int isPrime(int n)
{
for(int ind=2;ind<=sqrt(n);ind++) {
if (n%ind==0) {
return true;
}
}
return false;
}

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
// check argc to make sure we recieved a value.

int n = atoi(argv[1]);

for(int i=2;i<=n;i++)
{
while ( !isPrime(i) && n%i == 0 )
{
cout <

Talk:Prime factorization algorithm

2006-02-22T05:29:35Z

Capi crimm:

Can someone give me the python script which returns

$ python factorize.py 1800
[2^3, 3^2, 5^2]

instead of

$ python factorize.py 1800
[2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 5]

<pre>
import sys,math
def factorize(n):
def isPrime(n):
return not [x for x in xrange(2,int(math.sqrt(n)))
if n%x == 0]
primes = []
candidates = xrange(2,n+1)
candidate = 2
while not primes and candidate in candidates:
if n%candidate == 0 and isPrime(candidate):
primes = primes + [candidate] + factorize(n/candidate)
candidate += 1
return primes

def condense(L):
prime,count,list=0,0,[]
for x in L:
if x == prime:
count = count + 1
else:
if prime != 0:
list = list + [str(prime) + '^' + str(count)]
prime,count=x,1
list = list + [str(prime) + '^' + str(count)]
return list

print factorize(int(sys.argv[1]))
print condense(factorize(int(sys.argv[1])))
</pre>
----
<pre>
$ python factorize.py 1800
[2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 5]
['2^3', '3^2', '5^2']
</pre>

== some improvements of the code ==

The current sqrt() algorithm has limitations due to recursion. I've written a new one based on [[Square root]] that should run faster and accept larger values. Then I have rewritten the factorize() algorithm. The performance improvements here are marginal, I've just rewritten it for learning purposes. The source is available at [http://cracki.incast-security.de/downloads/primes.py]. Feel free to use it as you want.

== C++ Example ==

If were going to have examples shouldn't they actually work? The C++ example wouldn't even compile, unless their is a new version of C++ that doesn't use namespaces or require an int return from main()? If you fix those minor errors however the example seesm to be putting out nonsense; id est, giving the same primes for output no matter what the input. I wish life were that easy. :D (I didn't check the logs, but I'm thinking this was originally a C example someone haphazardly converted to C++, or someone has a goat for a compiler.)

I'm putting it here until I or someone else can fix it.

<pre>
#include <iostream>
#include <cmath>

int isprime(int n)
{
for(int ind=2;ind<=sqrt(n);ind++)
if (n%ind==0)
return 0;

return 1;
}

void main()
{
int n=9438;

for(int ind=2;ind<=n;ind++)
{
while ( isprime(ind) && n%ind==0 )
{
cout << ind << " ";
n=n/ind;
}
}
}
</pre>

Prime factorization algorithm

2006-02-22T05:22:18Z

Capi crimm:

A '''prime factorization algorithm''' is any [[algorithm]] by which an [[integer]] (whole number) is "decomposed" into a product of [[divisor|factor]]s that are [[prime number]]s (see [[prime factor]]). The [[fundamental theorem of arithmetic]] guarantees that this decomposition is [[unique]]. This article gives a simple example of an algorithm, which works well for numbers whose prime factors are small; faster algorithms for numbers with larger prime factors are discussed in the article on [[integer factorization]]. A 'fast' algorithm (which can factorise large numbers in a reasonably small time) is much sought after.

== A simple factorization algorithm ==

=== Description ===

We can describe a [[recursion|recursive]] algorithm to perform such factorizations:
given a number ''n''
* if ''n'' is prime, this is the factorization, so stop here.
* if ''n'' is composite, divide ''n'' by the first prime ''p''1. If it divides cleanly, recurse with the value ''n''/''p''1. Add ''p''1 to the list of factors obtained for ''n''/''p''1 to get a factorization for n. If it does not divide cleanly, divide ''n'' by the next prime ''p''2, and so on.

Note that we need to test only primes ''p''''i'' such that ''p''''i''  ≤  √''n''.

===Example ===
:Suppose we wish to factorize the number 9438.

:9438/2 = 4719 with a remainder of 0, so '''2 is a factor''' of 9438. ''We repeat the algorithm with 4719.''
:4719/2 = 2359 with a remainder of 1, so 2 is NOT a factor of 4719. ''We try the next prime, 3.''
:4719/3 = 1573 with a remainder of 0, so '''3 is a factor''' of 4719. ''We repeat the algorithm with 1573.''
:1573/3 = 524 with a remainder of 1, so 3 is NOT a factor of 1573. ''We try the next prime, 5.''
:1573/5 = 314 with a remainder of 3, so 5 is NOT a factor of 1573. ''We try the next prime, 7.''
:1573/7 = 224 with a remainder of 5, so 7 is NOT a factor of 1573. ''We try the next prime, 11.''
:1573/11 = 143 with a remainder of 0, so '''11 is a factor''' of 1573. ''We repeat the algorithm with 143.''
:143/11 = 13 with a remainder of 0, so '''11 is a factor''' of 143. ''We repeat the algorithm with 13.''
:13/11 = 1 with a remainder of 2, so 11 is NOT a factor of 13. ''We try the next prime, 13.''
:13/13 = 1 with a remainder of 0, so '''13 is a factor''' of 13. ''We stop when we reached 1.''

Thus working from top to bottom, we have 9438 = 2 × 3 × 11 × 11 × 13.

====Code====
Here is some code in [[Python programming language|Python]] for finding the factors of numbers less than 2147483647:
<pre>
import sys
from math import sqrt
def factorize(n):
def isPrime(n):
return not [x for x in xrange(2,int(sqrt(n))+1)
if n%x == 0]
primes = []
candidates = xrange(2,n+1)
candidate = 2
while not primes and candidate in candidates:
if n%candidate == 0 and isPrime(candidate):
primes = primes + [candidate] + factorize(n/candidate)
candidate += 1
return primes
print factorize(int(sys.argv[1]))
</pre>
output:
<pre>python factorize.py 9438
[2, 3, 11, 11, 13]
</pre>

Here is more complex code in [[Python programming language|Python]] for finding the factors of any arbitrarily large number:
<pre>
import sys

ListOfPrimes=[2,3,5,7,11,13,17,19]
maxindex=len(ListOfPrimes)
maxprimeinlist=ListOfPrimes[-1]

# Put Primes in a dictionary
DictPrime={}
DictPrime.fromkeys(ListOfPrimes,True)

def intsqrt(n):
""" Return the integer square root of a long number """
def intsqrt_core(digitpair,remainder,results):
# function intsqrt_core returns (results,remainder)
if digitpair<100:
currvalue=remainder*100 + digitpair
for d in range(9,-1,-1):
x=(2*10*results + d)*d
if x <= currvalue:
remainder= currvalue - x
results=results*10 + d
return(results,remainder)
else:
(results,remainder)=intsqrt_core(digitpair//100,remainder,results)
(results,remainder)=intsqrt_core(digitpair%100,remainder,results)
return(results,remainder)
(results,remainder)=intsqrt_core(n,0,0)
return results

def isPrime(n):
""" Return True if n is a prime """
if DictPrime.has_key(n):
return True
high=intsqrt(n)
for x in ListOfPrimes:
if x <= high and n%x == 0:
return False
if x >= high:
return True
x=maxprimeinlist + 2
while x<=high:
if n%x == 0:
return False
x += 2
return True

def factorize(n):
""" Factorize a integer number """
primes = []
index=0
candidate = ListOfPrimes[index]
while not primes and candidate <= n:
if n%candidate == 0 and (index < maxindex or isPrime(candidate)):
primes = primes + [candidate] + factorize(n//candidate)
index += 1
if index < maxindex:
candidate = ListOfPrimes[index]
else:
candidate += 2
return primes

def condense(L):
""" Condense result in list to prime^nth_power format """
prime,count,list=0,0,[]
for x in L:
if x == prime:
count += 1
else:
if prime != 0:
list = list + [str(prime) + '^' + str(count)]
prime,count=x,1
list = list + [str(prime) + '^' + str(count)]
return list

if __name__ == '__main__':
print condense(factorize(long(sys.argv[1])))

# Sample output
#
# python factorize.py 173248246132375748867198458668657948626531982421875
# ['3^24', '5^14', '7^33', '13^1']
</pre>

=== Time complexity ===

The algorithm described above works fine for small ''n'', but becomes impractical as ''n'' gets larger. For example, for an 18-[[decimal digit|digit]] (or 60 [[Binary numeral system|bit]]) number, all primes below about 1,000,000,000 may need to be tested, which is taxing even for a computer. Adding two decimal digits to the original number will multiply the computation time by 10.

The difficulty (large time complexity) of factorization makes it a suitable basis for modern [[cryptography]].

==See also==

* [[Euler's theorem]]
* [[Integer factorization]]
* [[Trial division]]

== External links ==
* [http://mathworld.wolfram.com/PrimeFactorizationAlgorithms.html Prime factorization at Mathworld]
* [http://www.algebra.com/algebra/homework/divisibility/ Factorization solver implementing the algorithm described here, work shown]
* [http://www.hermetic.ch/factors/factors.htm Factorizer] Windows software to decompose numbers up to 2,147,483,646 into their prime constituents.

[[Category:Integer factorization algorithms]]

[[de:Primfaktorzerlegung]]
[[fr:Factorisation en nombres premiers]]
[[ru:Факторизация]]

Assembly language

2006-02-19T17:04:15Z

Capi crimm: /* Books */

'''Assembly language''' commonly called '''assembly''' or '''asm''', is a [[human-readable]] notation for the [[machine language]] that a specific [[computer architecture]] uses. Machine language, a pattern of bits encoding machine operations, is made readable by replacing the raw values with symbols called ''mnemonics''.

For example, a computer with the appropriate processor will understand this [[x86]]/[[IA-32]] [[machine language]]:
10110000 01100001
For programmers, however, it is easier to remember the equivalent assembly language representation:
mov al, 061h
which means to move the [[hexadecimal]] value 61 (97 [[decimal]]) into the [[processor register]] with the name "al". The [[mnemonic]] "mov" is short for "move", and a comma-separated list of arguments or parameters follows it; this is a typical assembly language statement.

Transforming assembly into machine language is accomplished by an [[assembler]], and the reverse by a [[disassembler]]. Unlike in [[high-level language]]s, there is usually a [[1-to-1]] correspondence between simple assembly statements and machine language instructions. However, in some cases an assembler may provide ''pseudoinstructions'' which expand into several machine language instructions to provide commonly needed functionality. For example, for a machine that lacks a "branch if greater or equal" instruction, an assembler may provide a pseudoinstruction that expands to the machine's "set if less than" and "branch if zero (on the result of the set instruction)".

Every [[computer architecture]] has its own machine language, and therefore its own assembly language. Computers differ by the number and type of operations that they support. They may also have different sizes and numbers of registers, and different representations of data types in storage. While all general-purpose computers are able to carry out essentially the same functionality, the way they do it differs, and the corresponding assembly language must reflect these differences.

In addition, multiple sets of [[mnemonic|mnemonics]] or assembly-language syntax may exist for a single instruction set. In these cases, the most popular one is usually that used by the manufacturer in their documentation.

==Machine instructions==
Instructions in assembly language are generally very simple, unlike in a [[high-level language]]. Any instruction that references memory (for data or as a jump target) will also have an [[addressing mode]] to determine how to calculate the required memory address. More complex operations must be built up out of these simple operations. Some operations available in most instruction sets include:
* moving
** set a [[processor register|register]] (a temporary "scratchpad" location in the CPU itself) to a fixed constant value
** move data from a memory location to a register, or vice versa. This is done to obtain the data to perform a computation on it later, or to store the result of a computation.
** read and write data from hardware devices
* computing
** add, subtract, multiply, or divide the values of two registers, placing the result in a register
** perform [[bitwise operation]]s, taking the conjunction/disjunction (and/or) of corresponding bits in a pair of registers, or the negation (not) of each bit in a register
** compare two values in registers (for example, to see if one is less, or if they are equal)
* affecting program flow
** jump to another location in the program and execute instructions there
** jump to another location if a certain condition holds
** jump to another location, but save the location of the next instruction as a point to return to (a ''call'')

Some computers include one or more "complex" instructions in their instruction set. A single "complex" instruction does something that may take many instructions on other computers. Such instructions are typified by instructions that take multiple steps, may issue to multiple functional units, or otherwise appear to be a design exception to the simplest instructions which are implemented for the given processor. Some examples of such instruction include:

* saving many registers on the stack at once
* moving large blocks of memory
* complex and/or floating-point arithmetic ([[sine]], [[cosine]], [[square root]], etc.)
* performing an atomic test and set instruction
* instructions that combine ALU with an operand from memory rather than a register

A form of complex instructions that has become particularly popular recently are [[SIMD]] operations that perform the same arithmetic operation to multiple pieces of data at the same time, which have appeared under various trade names beginning with [[MMX]] and [[AltiVec]].

The design of instruction sets is a complex issue, with a simpler instruction set (generally grouped under the concept [[RISC]]) perhaps offering the potential for higher speeds, while a more complex one (traditionally called [[CISC]]) may offer particularly fast implementations of common performance-demanding tasks, may use memory (and thus [[cache]]) more efficiently, and be somewhat easier to program directly in assembly. See [[instruction set]] for a fuller discussion of this point.

==Assembly language directives==
In addition to codes for machine instructions, assembly languages have extra directives for assembling blocks of data, and assigning address locations for instructions or code.

They usually have a simple symbolic capability for defining values as symbolic expressions which are evaluated at assembly time, making it possible to write code that is easier to read and understand.

Like most computer languages, comments can be added to the [[source code]]; these often provide useful additional information to human readers of the code but are ignored by the assembler and so may be used freely.

They also usually have an embedded [[macro language]] to make it easier to generate complex pieces of code or data.

In practice, the absence of comments and the replacement of symbols with actual numbers makes the human interpretation of disassembled code considerably more difficult than the original (high level) source would be.

==Usage of assembly language==
Historically, a large number of programs have been written entirely in assembly language. A classic example was the early IBM PC [[spreadsheet]] program [[Lotus 123]]. Even into the 1990s, the majority of console video games were written in assembly language, including most games written for the [[Sega Genesis]] and the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]]. The popular arcade game [[NBA Jam]] (1993) was also coded entirely using assembly language.

There is some debate over the continued usefulness of assembly language. It is often said that modern compilers can render higher-level languages into codes that run as fast as hand-written assembly, but counter-examples can be made, and there is no clear consensus on this topic. It is reasonably certain that, given the increase in complexity of modern processors, effective hand-optimization is increasingly difficult and requires a great deal of knowledge.

However, some discrete calculations can still be rendered into faster running code with assembly, and some [[Low-level programming language|low-level]] programming is actually easier to do with assembly. Some system-dependent tasks performed by [[operating system|operating systems]] simply cannot be expressed in high-level languages. In particular, assembly is often used in writing the low level interaction between the operating system and the hardware, for instance in [[device driver|device drivers]]. Many compilers also render high-level languages into assembly first before fully compiling, allowing the assembly code to be viewed for debugging and optimization purposes.

It's also common, especially in relatively low-level languages such as [[C programming language|C]], to be able to embed assembly language into the source code with special syntax. Programs using such facilities, such as the [[Linux kernel]], often construct abstractions where different assembly language is used on each platform the program supports, but it is called by portable code through a uniform interface.

Many [[embedded system|embedded systems]] are also programmed in assembly to obtain the absolute maximum functionality out of what is often very limited computational resources, though this is gradually changing in some areas as more powerful chips become available for the same minimal cost.

Another common area of assembly language use is in the system [[BIOS]] of a computer. This low-level code is used to initialize and test the system hardware prior to booting the OS and is stored in [[Read-only memory|ROM]]. Once a certain level of hardware initialization has taken place, code written in higher level languages can be used, but almost always the code running immediately after power is applied is written in assembly language. This is usually due to the fact that system [[RAM]] may not yet be initialized at power-up and assembly language can execute without explicit use of memory, especially in the form of a [[stack (computing)|stack]].

Assembly language is also valuable in [[reverse engineering]], since many programs are distributed only in machine code form, and machine code is usually easy to translate into assembly language and carefully examine in this form, but very difficult to translate into a higher-level language. Tools such as the [[Interactive Disassembler]] make extensive use of disassembly for such a purpose.

Assembly language is also the primary programming language of [[MenuetOS]], a floppy-based system with a fully functional GUI. The author claims that only through assembly language could he produce his system in less than 1.4 megabytes.

==See also==
* List of [[assembler]]s

==Books==
*[http://cs.smith.edu/~thiebaut/ArtOfAssembly/artofasm.html The Art of Assembly Language Programming], by [[Randall Hyde]]
*[http://www.computer-books.us/assembler.php Computer-Books.us], Online Assembly Language Books
*[http://www.drpaulcarter.com/pcasm/redir.php?file=pcasm-book-pdf.zip PC Assembly Language] by [[Dr Paul Carter]]; *[http://drpaulcarter.com/pcasm/ PC Assembly Tutorial using NASM and GCC] by Paul Carter
*[http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/pgubook/ Programming from the Ground Up] by Jonathan Bartlett

==External links==
{{Wikibookspar||Programming:Assembly}}
*[http://www.menuetos.net/ MenuetOS - hobby Operating System for the PC written entirely in 64bit assembly language]
* [http://home.comcast.net/~dtgm/asm_links.html List of resources; books, websites, newsgroups, and IRC channels]
* [http://asm.sf.net Linux Assembly]
* [http://www.int80h.org/ Unix Assembly Language Programming]
* [http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?LearningAssemblyLanguage PPR: Learning Assembly Language]
* [http://www.codeteacher.com CodeTeacher]
* [http://www.azillionmonkeys.com/qed/asmexample.html Assembly Language Programming Examples]
* [http://www.cs.cornell.edu/talc/ Typed Assembly Language (TAL)]
* [http://www.grc.com/smgassembly.htm Authoring Windows Applications In Assembly Language]
{{Major programming languages small}}
[[Category:Assembly languages|*Assembly language]]
[[Category:Programming languages]]

[[bg:Асемблер]]
[[cs:Assembler]]
[[da:Assemblersprog]]
[[de:Assemblersprache]]
[[eo:Asembla lingvo]]
[[es:Lenguaje ensamblador]]
[[et:Assemblerkeel]]
[[fi:Assembly (ohjelmointikieli)]]
[[fr:Assembleur (langage)]]
[[he:שפת_סף]]
[[hr:Assembler]]
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Comparison of open-source and closed-source software

2006-02-15T04:39:59Z

Capi crimm: /* Support */

{{NPOV}}

The '''[[open source]] vs. [[closed source]]''' (alternatively called [[Proprietary software|proprietary]] development) debate is very heated.

==Making money==
The primary mechanisms for making money from closed-source software all seem to involve imposition of [[artificial scarcity]] constraints on something that, by its nature, can be very easily and cheaply copied and distributed. It has famously been said that "[[information wants to be free]]"; closed-source vendors would counter this by saying that "information providers want to be paid". Thus, they impose various limitations on what can be done with their software, first of all by usually not giving customers access to the source code, and then backing this up by restrictions on copying, enforced using both legal ([[copyright]] law) and technological measures ([[copy protection]] and [[digital rights management]]).

Thus, in ''all'' closed-source software, there is an element of the design which means that the product is designed to ''prevent'' the customer from doing some things that they might want to do.

Open-source, on the other hand, abandons all such attempts at forcing the customer to do things in a certain way. Instead, the revenue model is based solely on what customers can be persuaded to pay for of their own free will.

Another important factor in the closed-source revenue model involves fending off competitors (both actual and potential) by continually ''raising the [[barriers to entry]]''. Thus, new versions of the software are continually being introduced, with lots of new features being added. Competitors then have to come up with their own answers to these new features (otherwise they will not be seen to "remain competitive"), which they have to reinvent essentially from scratch, which adds to their own costs. Typically these features are added with little thought for their impact on the conceptual integrity of the overall product, leading to the well-known phenomenon of [[software bloat]].

Trouble is, the addition of these features also add to the software vendor's ''own'' costs, when they try to adapt the product to new markets and new applications; the more feature-ridden the product is, the less flexible and adaptable it becomes. For example, operating systems built on the [[Linux]] kernel are available for a wider range of processor architectures than [[Microsoft Windows]], including [[PowerPC]] and [[SPARC]]. None of these can match the sheer popularity of the [[x86]] architecture, nevertheless they do have significant numbers of users; yet Windows remains unavailable for these alternative architectures, because the cost of porting it would be far too great.

The most obvious complaint against open source software revolves around the fact that making money through some traditional methods, such as the sale of the use of individual copies and [[patent]] [[royalty]] payments, is much more difficult and sometimes impractical with open source software. Moreover, many see the introduction of open source software as damaging to the market for commercial software. Most software development companies sell licenses to use individual copies of software as their primary source of income, using a combination of [[copyright]], patent, [[trademark]] and [[trade secret]] laws (collectively called [[intellectual property rights]] laws). Fees from sale and licensing of commercial software are the primary source of income for companies that sell software.

Additionally, some companies with large research and development teams develop extensive patent portfolios, with the purpose of making money from patent royalties. These companies can charge licensing fees for the use of their patents in software, however open source distribution creates the potential for an unlimited number of derived works using the patented technology without payment to the patent holder.

This complaint is countered by a large number of alternative funding streams, which are actually better-connected to the real costs of creating and maintaining software. After all, the cost of making a copy of a software program is essentially zero, so per-use fees are perhaps unreasonable. At one time, open-source software development was almost entirely volunteer-driven, and although this is true for many small projects, many alternative funding streams have been identified and employed for open source software:
*give away the program and charge for installation and support (used by many [[Linux distributions]]).
*"commoditize complements": make a product cheaper so that people are more likely to purchase a related product or service you do sell (this is a primary reason for OpenOffice.org; Sun gives away the office suite to encourage users to buy their computer hardware). (This is similar to [[The Gillette Company]] giving away razor handles so they could make money on razor blades, or [[Radio Shack]] giving away [[CueCat|:CueCat]] scanners).
*cost avoidance / cost sharing: many developers need a product, so it makes sense to share development costs (this is the genesis of the [[X Window System]] and the [[Apache_HTTP_Server|Apache]] web server).

Increasingly, open source software is developed by commercial organizations. In 2004, [[Andrew Morton (computer programmer)|Andrew Morton]] noted that 37,000 of the 38,000 recent patches in the [[Linux kernel]] were not created by developers directly paid to develop the Linux kernel. Many projects, such as the X Window System and Apache, have had commercial development as a primary source of improvements since their inception. This trend has accelerated over time.

Additionally, it is worth noting that open source programmers may have non-financial reasons for developing software. An analogy is that of [[Wikipedia]], where people contribute without expecting compensation.

==Support==
Computer software is complex enough that users frequently need help with it even after they have got it set up and working to begin with. Software also invariably has ''[[software bug|bugs]]'' in it, which may adversely impact the users' ability to get work done and so need to be fixed. And a user may see areas in which the functionality of the software may be improved, to help not just that user but others as well.

Closed-source software vendors typically provide a "one-stop shop" for all support matters: since the vendor developed the software (and appropriately licensed any included components that were developed by others), the vendor also provides all necessary support functions. Nobody else can provide the level of support that the original vendor does, simply because nobody else has the requisite access to the source code (not just to understand how it works, but to make modifications and fix bugs).

This kind of model works well up to a certain point. However, as the number of customers increases, its effectiveness decreases. The better-known PC software packages of today have customer bases numbered in the millions. With that many users, support needs to be delegated to a group of people separate from the software developers (otherwise the developers would have no time to work on the software). This group is inevitably less technically-skilled than the developers; then there is the question of how to decide when the occasional user problem is too difficult for the support staff to handle, and needs to be escalated to someone closer to the actual software development group. But this decision itself can require skills that the support staff might not have. So it can often require a degree of stubborn persistence on the part of the user with the problem, to get through to someone with the right skills to get it solved.

In an interview in issue 45 of ''Linux User & Developer'' magazine, [[Jon "maddog" Hall]] is quoted as saying:

: The problems we experience with software today are only going to get worse. When people started in this business, they hired perhaps a hundred engineers, and they had a thousand customers. When one of those customers had a problem, they called the company, and they would typically get the president of the company on the line, or the chief programmer, or someone like that. They'd explain the problem, and the person on the other end would know exactly what the problem was, because they wrote the software -- and you'd get the fix. But today, the same company might have 4[-]5 million customers. So when you call them up, who are you going to get? Certainly not the president! What you get is "Push button number 1 for service" and some muzak...

: It's not because the companies don't want to help their customers -- they can't. They're being pulled in too many different directions. When you talk to companies about this issue, they say it's difficult for a large company to scale in the service marketplace. It's easy to make product -- Microsoft makes 80% profit on every single licence they sell. They can do this because they're just manufacturing the stuff and tossing it over the wall.

: From our viewpoint, what they're doing now is not scaling -- because we can't get the service to make the software do what it's supposed to do. Every time someone comes up to me and says the service thing doesn't scale, I say "No -- the product doesn't scale, and it hasn't been scaling for the last ten years. You've got to fix it, and the only way you can fix it is to open up your source code, so that people can go out and hire people to make the software work."

: Companies say "It's not in our best interest to do that". Pardon me, but what about ''my'' best interest? I'm your customer, and it's in my best interest to have your software in the native language I speak, to support the printer I have, to fix bugs and extend it...

Many customers of closed-source products with large user-bases share this experience while communicating through the management and support levels of large software companies. Open-source offers an alternative model, where easy access to the source code allows the proliferation of a multitude of alternative support organizations, each remaining small enough to remain responsive to the needs of its own set of customers. The fact that [[barriers to entry]] remain low discourages the kind of [[Consolidation (Business)|business consolidation]] that produces large, slow-to-respond behemoths. With ready access to the source code, anybody can find a bug or shortcoming in the software, and submit a patch for it all the way back to the original software developers, who in turn can very quickly decide whether the patch is worth accepting or not.

==Innovation==
Open-source software has often been accused of being more derivative than innovative. This is true to some extent, mostly in the desktop arena. Thus, [[GIMP]] is in many ways a reinvention of the functionality of [[Photoshop]], while [[OpenOffice.org]] is primarily designed as a plug-compatible replacement for [[Microsoft Office]].

Many of the largest well-known open source projects are either legacy code (e.g., FreeBSD or Apache) developed a long time ago independently of the open source movement, or by companies like Netscape which open-sourced its code with the hope that they can compete better, or by companies like [[MySQL]] which use open source to lure customers for its more expensive licensed product. However, it is notable that most of these projects have seen major or even complete rewrites (in the case of the Mozilla and Apache 2 code, for example) and do not contain much of the original code.

However, one should not overlook the many innovations that have come, and continue to come, from the open-source world:
* [[GNU Compiler Collection|GCC]] is a set of compilers for [[C programming language|C]] and other languages, that supports more different processor architectures, for both native and cross-compilation, than any other compiler.
* [[Linux]] is available for [http://lxr.linux.no/source/arch/ nearly two dozen] different major processor architectures—more than any other operating system.
* [http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/ Mozilla Firefox] is a Web browser which has managed to take a certain amount of market share from Microsoft's [[Internet Explorer]], to the extent that the forthcoming version 7 of Internet Explorer promises many features similar to those already in Firefox.
* [http://greasemonkey.mozdev.org/ Greasemonkey] is a Firefox [[plug-in]] that allows user customization of the appearance and behaviour of Web sites, whether to work around bugs, or to add features that the site creators omitted (inadvertently or otherwise).
* [[Beowulf (computing)|Beowulf]] [[Message Passing Interface|MPI]] is an open-source framework used for building [[parallel processing|parallel-processing]] applications that run on [[Linux]] and other [[UNIX]]-like operating systems. It has proved itself so powerful that [http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1859439,00.asp Microsoft has adopted it] as a crucial part of its own efforts to establish a presence in the [[supercomputing]] market.
* The [http://richard.jones.name/google-hacks/gmail-filesystem/gmail-filesystem.html Gmail Filesystem] is a good example of the collaborative nature of much open-source development. Building on [http://fuse.sourceforge.net/ FUSE] (which allows filesystems to be implemented in userspace, instead of as code that needs to be loaded into the kernel) combined with [http://sourceforge.net/projects/libgmail libgmail], which is a [[Python programming language|Python]] library for programmatic access to a user's [[Gmail]] message store, the result is the ability to use the multiple gigabytes of Gmail message space as a fileserver accessible from anywhere on the Internet.
* [[Perl]], the pioneering open-source scripting language, made popular many features, like [[regular expressions]] and [[associative array]]s, that were unusual at the time. The newer [[Python programming language|Python]] language continues this innovation, with features like functional constructs and class-dictionary unification.
* [http://www.cybercom.net/~dcoffin/dcraw/ dcraw] is an open-source tool for decoding [[RAW format|RAW-format]] images from a variety of [[digital camera]]s, which can produce [http://www.aim-dtp.net/aim/digicam/dcraw/ better-quality output] than the closed-source tools provided by the camera vendors themselves.
* Nicholas Negroponte's [http://news.com.com/Are+politics+delaying+the+100+laptop/2100-1003_3-6032656.html $100 laptop] will use Linux as its operating system. The decision was made after months of discussions with vendors of closed-source alternatives.
* [http://jackit.sourceforge.net/ JACK] is an audio-routing architecture that has been found sufficiently useful to be ported to Apple's [[Mac OS X]].

Open source is becoming more and more crucial to the information technology and consumer electronics industries every day. In the words of [[Eben Moglen]][http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2006/tc20060206_503666.htm]:

<BLOCKQUOTE>In the world we're living in right now, no one can make small, cheap consumer electronics without [open source]. Our pre-market clout, our use as a raw material of manufacturing, is now large enough to bring an industry coalition into being.</BLOCKQUOTE>

==Compatibility==
One issue that needs to be watched with software as it evolves is the need to maintain compatibility with other software, whether via common data formats, communication protocols or [[API]]s. Closed-source software has a particular problem with APIs, since old, obsolete ones may need to be supported essentially forever, because they are still being used by other software that has never been updated.

For instance, consider the migration from [[16-bit]] to [[32-bit]] [[x86]] processor architectures. Microsoft brought out its first 32-bit version of Windows, [[Windows NT]] 3.1, in 1993, yet it wasn't until 2001, with the release of [[Windows XP]], that it was able to put out a mass-market 32-bit OS that did away with most of the backward compatibility with 16-bit code. Now there is the next transition, to [[64-bit]] processor architectures. [[Windows XP Professional x64 Edition]] was released in 2005, but full 64-bit support in the way of applications and hardware drivers still remains thin on the ground, and the migration looks likely to be at least as protracted as the 16-to-32-bit one.

Contrast the situation with [[Linux]]. That has been available on a range of processor architectures, including 64-bit ones, since early in its history. Now that 64-bit processors are commonplace in the mass market, all the major Linux distributions offer full 64-bit-native versions, running full 64-bit binaries and using full 64-bit drivers.

==Freedom==
The politics of Open Source is an area that is so controversial, often even Open Source advocates themselves cannot agree what it should be.

However, one thing all are agreed on is that Open Source software is never designed to ''prevent'' users from doing things they might legitimately want to do.

For example, when [[Adobe Systems]] released its [[SDK]] for [[Photoshop]] 7.0 in 2002, it abandoned its previous policy of making SDKs available for free download from its Web site, instead requiring prospective developers to sign non-disclosure agreements before they could obtain the SDK. The reason given was that the new version included [[trade secret]]s and other commercially-sensitive information that could not be revealed to all and sundry. Which seemed reasonable enough. Except that, at the same time, SDKs for 6.0 and earlier versions of Photoshop were withdrawn from the site. Surely the argument of trade secrets in version 7.0 could not retroactively apply to earlier versions. Yet this kind of arbitrary exercise of control is precisely the sort of thing that regularly happens in the closed-source world, and that open-source advocates abhor.

==Integration==
When people compare the user experience with using Microsoft Windows versus typical Linux distributions as a desktop system, they generally agree that Windows works in a more seamless fashion. Every bit of the system was produced by one company, so naturally the parts work together well. A typical Linux distro, on the other hand, is a combination of pieces from a large number of independent groups: the Linux kernel itself, basic [[operating system]] infrastructure from the [[GNU]] project, basic [[GUI]] functions from [[X.Org]] on top of which one may run [[window manager]]s or alternatively more elaborate GUI environments such as [[Gnome]] or [[KDE]], and so on. The Linux desktop experience is very much a work in progress.

But on the other hand, all the different open-source groups have a strong interest in having their projects work well together. They achieve this by having a fondness for open interoperability standards, such as those promoted by [[Freedesktop.org]] and the [[Linux Standard Base]].

This cooperation between different groups naturally has to be conducted on a more structured basis than that between different departments of the same company. This turns out to have benefits in some respects. For instance, the [[Internet Explorer]] browser is so heavily tied into the Windows operating system that it needs to run effectively as "superuser", with full access to every part of the machine. This kind of situation would be unacceptable in the Linux world, where ordinary user desktop software has no business requesting full superuser privileges; if there is some task that it needs superuser privileges to perform, then it can ask the user for appropriate permissions before performing that specific task, or if that is not convenient then alternatively a suitably-privileged [[daemon]] could be created to perform that part of the task, with a defined protocol for communication between privileged and non-privileged code, to minimize the opportunity for security breaches that might compromise the integrity of the machine. Having the entire application run all the time with full superuser privileges is almost never the right solution to the problem.

==Security==
Open source advocates usually believe that open source programs are more secure, mostly because flaws in the code can be seen and fixed by anyone. Different studies reach different conclusions about [[security through obscurity]] versus open source. Closed source programs have fewer advisories, but open-source software usually has less times between flaw discovery and a patch or a fix. Also note that proprietary software companies may not always release advisories for all bugs in their software. Closed source advocates, including [[Microsoft]] corporation, argue that since no one is responsible for open source, there is no way to know whether it has been fixed. Open Source advocates argue back that no one knows what bugs exist in a closed source product, since there is no one checking claims made by its vendor.

Some people believe that closed source software is  more secure than open source software. With any given piece of software, it's much easier for a [[black hat]] to find and exploit security holes in any given piece of software when he has the source code than without it. For example, many open source web programs using [[PHP]] have serious security problems and although these problems are being fixed, they are only fixed when affected end users prompt the developers about the problem.

Other people believe that open source software is more secure than closed source software. The availability of open source code leads to faster discovery of security issues, and faster resolution of these issues. They point to the exploitation of proprietary software such as [[Internet Explorer]]. But others claim that such software is exploited because it has a large market share—making it an attractive target for attackers—and claim that open-source software would also be exploited if it attracted the attention of those attackers. Open source advocates often counter by pointing to [[Apache HTTP Server|Apache]], which is more popular than its main competitor, [[Microsoft IIS]], but is also exploited less often. This argument is analogous to one in [[cryptography]]: it is believed that a secure encryption scheme has to be able to withstand attacks from people who have access to the code, and that security through obscurity is not a good thing. Though, cryptography and software development are very much different things.

Flaws certainly occur in both closed-source and open-source software. However it has frequently been the case[http://news.com.com/Windows+patch+backfires+on+the+security-minded/2100-1002_3-5897997.html][http://news.com.com/Microsoft+fixes+Windows+2000+update/2100-1002_3-5863060.html][http://news.com.com/Microsoft+Windows+patch+is+flawed/2100-1002_3-5648595.html][http://news.com.com/QuickTime+patch+hits+trouble/2100-1002_3-6026745.html] that a patch to fix one security problem in closed-source software has created another problem or failed to fix the actual problem[http://news.com.com/Expert+Flaw+still+dogs+Windows+patch/2100-1002_3-5548586.html][http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1909445,00.asp], and other times[http://news.com.com/Unpatched+flaw+found+in+Microsoft+software/2100-1002_3-5668257.html][http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1872574,00.asp] [http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/26/security_researcher_versus_oracle/] a vendor may leave a known flaw unpatched for months or even years at a time. These sorts of issues seem to be less common in open-source software [http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS7350372195.html].

==See also==
*[[Open source vs. free software]]
*[[Windows vs. Linux]]
* [[Open system (computing)|Open system]]
* [[Open standard]]
* [[Open format]]
* [[Vendor lock-in]]
* [[Embrace, extend and extinguish]]
* [[Network effect]]
* [[Opendocument]] great summary of the new OASIS Opendocument format (ODF) to create an open system for business & public sector documents

==External links==
*[http://www.matthewbarr.co.uk/opensource.htm Open source versus proprietary software: a discussion]

; Debate

*[http://forum.redlers.com/viewtopic.php?t=14 Forum Debate] a lively and informative ongoing debate over whether or not a word processor application should adopt the OpenDocument format (ODF) included is a discusion of open vs. closed systems, open vs. closed standards, and free vs. proprietary software

[[Category:Free software]]

Fruitcake

2006-02-03T05:31:10Z

Capi crimm: added a source. Link taken from leet page[nubcake]

'''Fruitcake''' is a heavy [[cake]] made of dried or candied fruits and nuts that are soaked in [[brandy]] or [[rum]], often used in the celebration of weddings and Christmas.

The earliest recipe from [[ancient Rome]] lists pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins that were mixed into barley mash.

In the [[Middle Ages]], [[honey]], spices, and preserved fruits were added and the name ''fruitcake'' was first used. Robert Sietsema finds that inexpensive sugar from the [[American Colonies]] and the discovery that high concentrations of sugar could preserve fruits created an excess of candied fruit. The fruitcake was the way to use them.

In the [[18th century]], Europeans were baking fruitcakes using nuts from the harvest for good luck in the following year. The cake was saved and eaten before the next harvest. Fruitcakes proliferated until a law in Europe restricted them to Christmas, weddings, and a few other holidays. Even so, the fruitcake remained popular at [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[Tea (meal)|Tea]]s in England throughout the 19th century.

Mail-order fruitcakes began in [[1913]]. The management of [[Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus|Ringling Brothers Circus]] liked the fruitcake from [[Collin Street Bakery]], a local bakery in [[Corsicana, Texas]]. They ordered them as gifts to be mailed to friends around the country. Collin Street Bakery, using the old European recipe of baker Gus Weidmann and salesman Tom McElwee, grew quickly, and have shipped their fruitcakes to nearly 200 countries worldwide and numerous multi-national corporations and famous individuals.

The modern fruitcakes are fundamentally butter cakes, with just enough dough to bind the fruit. The cakes are saturated with [[liqueur]]s or [[brandy]], and covered in [[powdered sugar]], both of which prevent mold. Brandy or wine-soaked linens are used to store the fruitcakes. Many people feel fruitcakes improve with age. Some cakes have been eaten 25 years after baking.

==Fruitcake in popular culture==
The fruitcake has become one of the most ridiculed desserts and the butt of many jokes centered on its heaviness and long shelf life.

Former ''Tonight Show'' host [[Johnny Carson]] joked that there really is only one fruitcake in the world. It is passed from family to family -- a joke also frequently attributed to the writer [[Calvin Trillin]], who denies being the source. Trillin says he was just passing along a theory he "had heard from someone in Denver". He continues, "There is nothing dangerous about fruitcakes as long as people send them along without eating them." The Fruitcake Lady makes appearances with current host [[Jay Leno]] and offers her "fruitcake" opinions.

For the last nine years about 500 people have shown up in [[Manitou Springs, Colorado]] each January for the Great Fruitcake Toss. "We encourage the use of recycled fruitcakes", says Leslie Lewis of the Manitou Springs Chamber of Commerce. The all-time Great Fruitcake Toss record is 420 feet.

Fruitcakes have been banned on airplanes. Due to their density, it is possible for a weapon to be baked inside the cake, to avoid detection.

''Fruitcake'' is also used, especially in the United Kingdom, as insulting slang for a 'crazy person' (e.g. "he's a complete fruitcake"). It is derived from the expression "nutty as a fruitcake", which was first recorded in [[1935]]. It is also sometimes used as insulting slang for a homosexual male. [http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fruitcake&defid=706327#706327]

==See also==
* [[Christmas cake]]
* [[Christmas pudding]]

==External links==
*[http://southernfood.about.com/cs/christmasfood/a/fruitcakes.htm Many fruitcake recipes]

[[Category:Cakes]]
[[Category:Christmas food]]

Aptitude (software)

2006-01-22T20:20:56Z

Capi crimm:

{{lowercase|aptitude}}

'''<tt>aptitude</tt>''' is a [[front-end]] to [[Advanced Packaging Tool|APT]]. It displays a list of [[software package]]s and allows the user to interactively pick packages to install or remove. It was initially created for the [[Debian]] [[GNU]]/[[Linux]] distribution, but has appeared in [[RPM Package Manager|RPM]]-based distributions as well (such as [[Conectiva]]).

<tt>aptitude</tt> is based on the [[ncurses]] [[computer terminal]] library, with which it provides an interface that incorporates some elements commonly seen in [[graphical user interface]]s (GUIs) (such as pull-down [[menu (computer)|menu]]s).

==History==
<tt>aptitude</tt> was created in [[1999]]. At the time, two other terminal-based APT [[front-end]]s were available: the [[dselect]] program, which had been used to install Debian since before APT was created, and the [[console-apt]] program, a project that was considered to be the [[heir apparent]] to [[dselect]]. [[aptitude]] was created to experiment with a more [[object-oriented]] design than that used in [[console-apt]], in the hope that this would result in a more flexible program with a broader set of features. Aptitude, unlike the previous apt-get, does not have Super Cow Powers.

[[image:aptitude-screen-shot.png|thumb|Screenshot of <tt>aptitude</tt>]]

The first public release of <tt>aptitude</tt> was version 0.0.1 on November 18th, 1999. It was very limited: it had the ability to view the list of available packages, but could not actually download or install any packages. By version 0.0.4a, this capability had been added, along with many other improvements; this version was included in Debian 2.2 ("<tt>potato</tt>").

In late 2000, the entire user interface module was rewritten; a new architecture was created, based on the [[libsigc plus plus|libsigc++]] callback library and concepts from modern [[widget toolkit]]s such as [[GIMP Toolkit|GTK+]] and [[Qt_toolkit|Qt]]. This enabled the interface to become much more similar to GUIs than it had been previously, with features such as pull-down [[menu (computer)|menus]] and pop-up dialogs. One of <tt>aptitude</tt>'s surprisingly popular features, a tiny implementation of [[Minesweeper (game)|Minesweeper]], was added at this time. The first official <tt>aptitude</tt> release following this rewrite was 0.2.0. <tt>aptitude</tt> 0.2.11.1 was released with Debian 3.0 ("Woody"). By this time, the <tt>console-apt</tt> project (renamed to <tt>deity</tt>) had been effectively abandoned by its maintainers, and it was removed from woody.

At the time of writing, <tt>aptitude</tt> is regarded as the primary terminal-based alternative to [[dselect]], and may even replace it in the near future. In Debian 3.1 ("Sarge"), aptitude is now optionally used by the installer to select which packages to install. aptitude is a package with its priority set at ''important'', while dselect is still a ''required'' one, due to backwards compatibility.

== External links ==
* http://packages.debian.org/aptitude
* http://people.debian.org/~dburrows/aptitude-doc

[[pl:Aptitude]]
[[de:Aptitude]]

[[Category:Debian]]