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any relation to ABC[0], the programming language from 1980's which served as inspiration for Python? If not, I recommend renaming it to something else, to avoi

by theamk 25d ago

any relation to ABC[0], the programming language from 1980's which served as inspiration for Python? If not, I recommend renaming it to something else, to avoid confusion. LehnABC perhaps? [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABC_(programming_language) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ABC_(programming_language)

ModernMech 24d ago
Very much this. There are so many good names out there left for the taking, there's no reason to choose one that's already associated strongly with another language.
- michael-lehn 24d ago
  Yes, I know about the earlier ABC. :-) When I originally named mine, it was really just a small language for my own course, so I wasn't particularly worried about name collisions. And the wordplay was simply too tempting: students would use ABC ("A Better C") to write their own compiler, which I jokingly called ABC ("A Bloody Compiler"). The student compiler has since grown into a separate project and is now called "not-abc". Until recently I still thought the language itself was small and obscure enough that there wasn't much risk of confusion. But now that I'm starting to develop it beyond its original teaching purpose, I think the naming issue is a fair point. You're also not the first person to bring it up since I published v0.1. So yes, I may have to come up with a new name. :-) I'm not convinced by LehnABC yet, but suggestions are certainly welcome.
  - deleted 24d ago
    [deleted]
  - ModernMech 24d ago
    Yes, I think when the language leaves the lab is the perfect time to start thinking about branding and I do like MCL that one is apparently also a language from 30 years ago but nothing like abc. It would be pronounced “muscle”. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0010465589900064 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/001046...
- michael-lehn 24d ago
  OK, you convinced me. :-) And the timing is probably good. I'm just about to leave my basement and head to LA for a few days to enjoy some actual sunshine. So I'll either turn to ashes or come back with a creative new name. ;-)
  - michael-lehn 21d ago
    A small update on the naming rabbit hole. A few candidates I currently like: emsiel — pronounced roughly like “M-C-L”. I like how it sounds; several people independently said it sounds vaguely biblical. :-) The downside is that it feels more like the name of a personal project than something inviting people to build a community around. uhu — “under the hood”. This fits the teaching philosophy quite well: the language/compiler is deliberately small and, more importantly, doesn't try to hide what's going on under the hood. ijc (“itchsy”) — short for “it’s just C”. It stays conceptually close to C, while using the syntax I wish C had. There's also an accidental “I just see” hiding in the spelling. At the moment I'm leaning towards ijc, but I'm still not quite ready to rename everything. :-)

by theamk 25d ago

ModernMech 24d ago

Very much this. There are so many good names out there left for the taking, there's no reason to choose one that's already associated strongly with another language.

michael-lehn 24d ago
Yes, I know about the earlier ABC. :-) When I originally named mine, it was really just a small language for my own course, so I wasn't particularly worried about name collisions. And the wordplay was simply too tempting: students would use ABC ("A Better C") to write their own compiler, which I jokingly called ABC ("A Bloody Compiler"). The student compiler has since grown into a separate project and is now called "not-abc". Until recently I still thought the language itself was small and obscure enough that there wasn't much risk of confusion. But now that I'm starting to develop it beyond its original teaching purpose, I think the naming issue is a fair point. You're also not the first person to bring it up since I published v0.1. So yes, I may have to come up with a new name. :-) I'm not convinced by LehnABC yet, but suggestions are certainly welcome.
- deleted 24d ago
  [deleted]
- ModernMech 24d ago
  Yes, I think when the language leaves the lab is the perfect time to start thinking about branding and I do like MCL that one is apparently also a language from 30 years ago but nothing like abc. It would be pronounced “muscle”. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0010465589900064 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/001046...
michael-lehn 24d ago
OK, you convinced me. :-) And the timing is probably good. I'm just about to leave my basement and head to LA for a few days to enjoy some actual sunshine. So I'll either turn to ashes or come back with a creative new name. ;-)
- michael-lehn 21d ago
  A small update on the naming rabbit hole. A few candidates I currently like: emsiel — pronounced roughly like “M-C-L”. I like how it sounds; several people independently said it sounds vaguely biblical. :-) The downside is that it feels more like the name of a personal project than something inviting people to build a community around. uhu — “under the hood”. This fits the teaching philosophy quite well: the language/compiler is deliberately small and, more importantly, doesn't try to hide what's going on under the hood. ijc (“itchsy”) — short for “it’s just C”. It stays conceptually close to C, while using the syntax I wish C had. There's also an accidental “I just see” hiding in the spelling. At the moment I'm leaning towards ijc, but I'm still not quite ready to rename everything. :-)