Yes; that reason being that we don't have the same strict limits on number of characters in an external name, and we simply have too many API's to remember to be able to give six character mnemonics to them.
Short names are not left behind in core languages. For instance, a function that gives the length of a list, string or other sequence is often called length or len, and not length_of_sequence or whatever.
Arc, in which HN is programmed, has reduced "lambda" to "fn". "fn" is the same sort of shortening as using "pbrk" for "pointer to break".
Ruby has shortened "print" to "p".
For the basic core of a language, shortening names is good. When you're reading code, the short names by their very brevity tell you "I'm a thing in the core language, and not some external API to some add-on lib", which also has connotations of "I might be useful in many contexts; it may be worth it to learn about me and remember me".
Short names are not left behind in core languages. For instance, a function that gives the length of a list, string or other sequence is often called length or len, and not length_of_sequence or whatever.
Arc, in which HN is programmed, has reduced "lambda" to "fn". "fn" is the same sort of shortening as using "pbrk" for "pointer to break".
Ruby has shortened "print" to "p".
For the basic core of a language, shortening names is good. When you're reading code, the short names by their very brevity tell you "I'm a thing in the core language, and not some external API to some add-on lib", which also has connotations of "I might be useful in many contexts; it may be worth it to learn about me and remember me".