5 ms·

I'm always suspicious of things that are named after the maker.

by adamnemecek 4y ago

throwaway744678 4y ago
From the top of my head: Linux, Bourne shell...
- adamnemecek 4y ago
  - kbenson 4y ago
    Sometimes things are named after the maker ex post facto because they need a way to distinguish it. The Bourne shell, mentioned here, is likely called that for the same reason the very first shell was called the Thompson shell, in that they were written by a single person originally and not really given a name (the original being from Ken Thompson), since they were just different (or the original) implementations of the system shell. Eventually you're going to need a way to distinguish one from the other though, right? Noting who wrote it is as good (probably better) than any other option. Linux was probably named differently, but also probably doesn't really match whatever criteria you're using to be suspicious. It started as a hobby project to make a free and open source UNIX system, of which there were few (none?), written by one guy. There was no expectation that other people would use it for anything other than something interesting to play around with, and using a portion of your own name for your own little hobby project isn't something I would look askance at, personally, especially in an age where there was no expectation that it might grow to anything, because that was definitely not the norm at the time.
    - ncmncm 4y ago
      "Linux" was forced on him.
pizlonator 4y ago
It's called libpas, and pas stands for whatever you like.
thrtythreeforty 4y ago
Like Linux, or gcc.godbolt.org? I kid, but I don't see it as a downside for software. Naming a scientific phenomenon after yourself is a red flag though, see also the Crackpot Index [1]. [1]: https://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/crackpot.html https://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/crackpot.html
- tialaramex 4y ago
  Godbolt says Compiler Explorer right there, the fact people call it "Godbolt" is because that's the memorable name rather than because Matt Godbolt tried to name it after himself. He calls it Compiler Explorer. You can't control what people call things. My favourite example is Blackfriars Bridge in London. When that bridge was built, it was formally named after William Pitt. But like, who cares? In what way is this bridge, Pitt's bridge? People knew where it was, the Blackfriars area of London, so too bad William Pitt, everybody called it Blackfriars Bridge. And so, that's what its name is. The priory which is why "Blackfriars" got the name hadn't existed for two hundred years by the time the bridge was proposed. Nobody living when the bridge was finished would have ever known anybody who'd met any of the friars during their lifetime. Nevertheless that part of London had "always" been called Blackfriars, and so a bridge and a railway station built many years later are named that too.
  - bool3max 4y ago
    People call it Godbolt because you access it via godbolt.org,
astrange 4y ago
A better rule is to be suspicious of anything with “fast” or synonyms in the name. It either won’t be fast or it’ll be insecure.
fmajid 4y ago
Did you know the entire US Air Traffic Control system runs on long-discontinued computers and written in JOVIAL, "Jules' Own Version of the International Algebraic Language" (i.e. ALGOL), named after Jules Schwartz? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JOVIAL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JOVIAL The FAA's been trying to replce it for ages, but AFAIK it's still ongoing.

I'm always suspicious of things that are named after the maker.

throwaway744678 4y ago

From the top of my head: Linux, Bourne shell...

adamnemecek 4y ago
- kbenson 4y ago
  Sometimes things are named after the maker ex post facto because they need a way to distinguish it. The Bourne shell, mentioned here, is likely called that for the same reason the very first shell was called the Thompson shell, in that they were written by a single person originally and not really given a name (the original being from Ken Thompson), since they were just different (or the original) implementations of the system shell. Eventually you're going to need a way to distinguish one from the other though, right? Noting who wrote it is as good (probably better) than any other option. Linux was probably named differently, but also probably doesn't really match whatever criteria you're using to be suspicious. It started as a hobby project to make a free and open source UNIX system, of which there were few (none?), written by one guy. There was no expectation that other people would use it for anything other than something interesting to play around with, and using a portion of your own name for your own little hobby project isn't something I would look askance at, personally, especially in an age where there was no expectation that it might grow to anything, because that was definitely not the norm at the time.
  - ncmncm 4y ago
    "Linux" was forced on him.

pizlonator 4y ago

It's called libpas, and pas stands for whatever you like.

thrtythreeforty 4y ago

Like Linux, or gcc.godbolt.org? I kid, but I don't see it as a downside for software. Naming a scientific phenomenon after yourself is a red flag though, see also the Crackpot Index [1]. [1]: https://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/crackpot.html https://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/crackpot.html

tialaramex 4y ago
Godbolt says Compiler Explorer right there, the fact people call it "Godbolt" is because that's the memorable name rather than because Matt Godbolt tried to name it after himself. He calls it Compiler Explorer. You can't control what people call things. My favourite example is Blackfriars Bridge in London. When that bridge was built, it was formally named after William Pitt. But like, who cares? In what way is this bridge, Pitt's bridge? People knew where it was, the Blackfriars area of London, so too bad William Pitt, everybody called it Blackfriars Bridge. And so, that's what its name is. The priory which is why "Blackfriars" got the name hadn't existed for two hundred years by the time the bridge was proposed. Nobody living when the bridge was finished would have ever known anybody who'd met any of the friars during their lifetime. Nevertheless that part of London had "always" been called Blackfriars, and so a bridge and a railway station built many years later are named that too.
- bool3max 4y ago
  People call it Godbolt because you access it via godbolt.org,

astrange 4y ago

A better rule is to be suspicious of anything with “fast” or synonyms in the name. It either won’t be fast or it’ll be insecure.

fmajid 4y ago

Did you know the entire US Air Traffic Control system runs on long-discontinued computers and written in JOVIAL, "Jules' Own Version of the International Algebraic Language" (i.e. ALGOL), named after Jules Schwartz? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JOVIAL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JOVIAL The FAA's been trying to replce it for ages, but AFAIK it's still ongoing.