3 ms·

What's with people tacking "Lang" on to the end of language names? I can kind of understand it with Go, since Google didn't exactly come up with a very searchab

What's with people tacking "Lang" on to the end of language names? I can kind of understand it with Go, since Google didn't exactly come up with a very searchable name, but now I'm seeing it spread to other languages like Rust, and now here with Cell.

dysoco 4y ago
Well, "cell" isn't too searchable either
10e23 4y ago
Lisp does it too (https://lisp-lang.org/ https://lisp-lang.org/) - I think it's a reasonably familiar convention
- danellis 4y ago
  I'm not talking about domain names. I'm talking about people referring to the language itself as, for example, Rustlang.
  - 10e23 4y ago
    Right, but the colloquial usage stemmed from the domain name :)
    - danellis 4y ago
      I don't think I've actually seen anyone refer to it as Lisplang.
the_af 4y ago
"Rust", "go", "cell", all of those words have a preexisting meaning which is more common than the corresponding programming languages.
- danellis 4y ago
  This is true of everything that is named after something, and it wasn't really something people worried about until Go, which is interesting in itself.
  - the_af 4y ago
    I think the internet was less pervasive before, so it mattered less for C, C++, Java, and it matters a lot more now. So now, if you want to call your language Duck or Car, you better add that "-lang"! It seems to work well enough.
brundolf 4y ago
"Cell" is going to have lots of search-collisions, and it can also help with finding a domain name
pavon 4y ago
I like the convention. Even if you pick a word that isn't very common, you are still unlikely to be able to register a domain name for that word, and will have to amend it somehow, and search engines will still have to guess which use of the word you meant. Having a common convention simplifies searching for things, as opposed to having to type out "Rust Programming Language" every search.
Tade0 4y ago
First result in Google for "Rust" is this: https://store.steampowered.com/app/252490/Rust/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/252490/Rust/ Rust the language is three years older, but I suppose those who bought the domain were aware that it's a common noun likely to be used elsewhere.
bobajeff 4y ago
Odin is one language that could use this convention. My Searches often turn up things on The Odin Project.

dysoco 4y ago

Well, "cell" isn't too searchable either

10e23 4y ago

Lisp does it too (https://lisp-lang.org/ https://lisp-lang.org/) - I think it's a reasonably familiar convention

danellis 4y ago
I'm not talking about domain names. I'm talking about people referring to the language itself as, for example, Rustlang.
- 10e23 4y ago
  Right, but the colloquial usage stemmed from the domain name :)
  - danellis 4y ago
    I don't think I've actually seen anyone refer to it as Lisplang.

the_af 4y ago

"Rust", "go", "cell", all of those words have a preexisting meaning which is more common than the corresponding programming languages.

danellis 4y ago
This is true of everything that is named after something, and it wasn't really something people worried about until Go, which is interesting in itself.
- the_af 4y ago
  I think the internet was less pervasive before, so it mattered less for C, C++, Java, and it matters a lot more now. So now, if you want to call your language Duck or Car, you better add that "-lang"! It seems to work well enough.

brundolf 4y ago

"Cell" is going to have lots of search-collisions, and it can also help with finding a domain name

pavon 4y ago

I like the convention. Even if you pick a word that isn't very common, you are still unlikely to be able to register a domain name for that word, and will have to amend it somehow, and search engines will still have to guess which use of the word you meant. Having a common convention simplifies searching for things, as opposed to having to type out "Rust Programming Language" every search.

Tade0 4y ago

First result in Google for "Rust" is this: https://store.steampowered.com/app/252490/Rust/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/252490/Rust/ Rust the language is three years older, but I suppose those who bought the domain were aware that it's a common noun likely to be used elsewhere.

bobajeff 4y ago

Odin is one language that could use this convention. My Searches often turn up things on The Odin Project.