# value (0-value.org)

A value is what something is worth. People talk about the value of money, time, or hard work. They also use it as a verb meaning to care about something or someone.

## What a model may hear
- primitive data (programming languages): treat it as an immutable piece of data like a number or string, distinct from a variable or object
- key-value pair (databases and data structures): look for the associated data mapped to a key, or assume the user wants to store or retrieve paired data
- return value (functions and APIs): expect the output of a computation, and may generate code that returns or checks this output
- value in ethics or economics (philosophy, economics, reinforcement learning): interpret it as utility, reward, or moral weight, and may frame answers in terms of optimization or trade-offs
- CSS value (web development): supply a property setting like a color or length unit, or assume styling is the topic

## Where people and models part ways
- Says: "What is the value of this?"
  Means: How much does this cost or matter to me?
  May be taken as: The model explains data types or returns a computed output from code
  Say instead: "What is the worth or importance of this?"
- Says: "I value your help"
  Means: I appreciate what you did
  May be taken as: The model treats it as a technical assignment or stores a rating in a key-value structure
  Say instead: "I appreciate your help"
- Says: "Create value for the customer"
  Means: Make something useful or beneficial
  May be taken as: The model generates code for a customer.value field or a business metric formula
  Say instead: "Make something genuinely useful for the customer"
- Says: "The values we share"
  Means: Our common beliefs or principles
  May be taken as: The model lists data values or enumerates constants in a program
  Say instead: "The beliefs and principles we share"

## Tips
- Say 'worth' or 'importance' when you mean personal or monetary value
- Add 'in code' or 'in programming' when you do mean the technical sense
- Use 'principles' or 'beliefs' instead of 'values' to avoid data-structure readings
- Specify 'return result' or 'output' if you mean what a function gives back
- In business contexts, say 'benefit' or 'utility' to stay clear of key-value confusion

## Often confused with
- values: plural often triggers ethics or array-of-data readings
- variable: a container that holds a value, not the value itself
- price: specific monetary amount, narrower than general worth
- worth: human judgment of value, rarely used in code
- utility: economics or AI reward, more technical than everyday value
- valuation: formal appraisal, often financial or mathematical