4 ms·

I agree unique naming is one of the fundamental pillars of modern coding , or else we would have chaos with stupid generic completely unrelated names like Pyth

by kilon 8y ago

I agree unique naming is one of the fundamental pillars of modern coding , or else we would have chaos with stupid generic completely unrelated names like Python, C, Java, Go, Swift, Ruby, Assembly, Basic, JavaScript ... It would have been chaos. Obviously none would like that, would they ?

ergothus 8y ago
To be fair, most of those pre-date an era where the name collision would be a known significant problem. I remember when Starcraft was released and being frustrated that the young web at the time only gave me info on camping trailers, but even that is much later than half your examples. Also, many of those you name collide with words that have no particular collision within the industry, so while you and I might think "Swift" is a non-ideal choice, it's not the same as the problem people are speaking of here. JavaScript gets a pass because it was intentional. Not wise, as recruiting emails point out to me painfully regularly, but nonetheless intentional. Go is the major and blink-tag-in-neon exception. I have no idea how naming something that is not only one of the english words with the most definitions but ALSO a game that has a higher-than-average overlap with people in the industry AND one that has been a significant target of the industry survived. I can only assume that someone underestimated the concern or I'm overestimating the actual pain. Nowadays, however, there's no reason to repeat the Firebird debacle and fail to do a simple web search within your industry. Particularly if you're with a large company. Doing so earlier in your process is better, but even a last-minute name change can avoid generating a lot of ill will and confusion.
- jwilk 8y ago
  There was also another language called Go beforehand: https://github.com/golang/go/issues/9 https://github.com/golang/go/issues/9
  - baby 8y ago
    Golang is the worst because there is already a very popular game called Go. That's why I always call Golang Golang and not Go.
    - mikadel 8y ago
      And for Swift, there are Swift Messenger and SWIFT code. 1. https://swift.org https://swift.org 2. https://swift.im https://swift.im 3. https://www.swift.com https://www.swift.com
beenBoutIT 8y ago
Those are arguably some of the best examples of software naming and branding done right, with the notable exception of JavaScript, which isn't unique or accurate. Sonar would arguably make a bad name for anything that isn't underwater SOund Navigation And Ranging.

by kilon 8y ago

ergothus 8y ago

To be fair, most of those pre-date an era where the name collision would be a known significant problem. I remember when Starcraft was released and being frustrated that the young web at the time only gave me info on camping trailers, but even that is much later than half your examples. Also, many of those you name collide with words that have no particular collision within the industry, so while you and I might think "Swift" is a non-ideal choice, it's not the same as the problem people are speaking of here. JavaScript gets a pass because it was intentional. Not wise, as recruiting emails point out to me painfully regularly, but nonetheless intentional. Go is the major and blink-tag-in-neon exception. I have no idea how naming something that is not only one of the english words with the most definitions but ALSO a game that has a higher-than-average overlap with people in the industry AND one that has been a significant target of the industry survived. I can only assume that someone underestimated the concern or I'm overestimating the actual pain. Nowadays, however, there's no reason to repeat the Firebird debacle and fail to do a simple web search within your industry. Particularly if you're with a large company. Doing so earlier in your process is better, but even a last-minute name change can avoid generating a lot of ill will and confusion.

jwilk 8y ago
There was also another language called Go beforehand: https://github.com/golang/go/issues/9 https://github.com/golang/go/issues/9
- baby 8y ago
  Golang is the worst because there is already a very popular game called Go. That's why I always call Golang Golang and not Go.
  - mikadel 8y ago
    And for Swift, there are Swift Messenger and SWIFT code. 1. https://swift.org https://swift.org 2. https://swift.im https://swift.im 3. https://www.swift.com https://www.swift.com

beenBoutIT 8y ago

Those are arguably some of the best examples of software naming and branding done right, with the notable exception of JavaScript, which isn't unique or accurate. Sonar would arguably make a bad name for anything that isn't underwater SOund Navigation And Ranging.