UCI protocol question

[benstoker]

What is the point of adding "UCI" to an engine option?

For example: "UCI_AnalyzeMode" instead of simply "AnalyzeMode"?

[hgm]

I think it is supposed to indicate a standard option, and engines should not implement the same function under another name. This so that standard controls of the GUI can be used to set the option in a way that will apply for all engines, rather than having to set it for each engine separately in the private engine-options dialog.

Of course some older options, like Hash, do not obey this convention.