Why the complicated names?

[Veli]

I was just wondering why so many Linux programs has the weird and complicated and often unpronounceable names such as emelfm. Or how about this one "LCARS 24". Doesn't tell much about what the program does.

Maybe it's just me, but a see a lot more of those names in linux software than in other OSs.

[techieMoe]

This is probably because Linux programs were often created to replace UNIX programs, and UNIX programs often have very cryptic names (vi, ls, grep). The reason for this (I was told by a very old UNIX guru) is that originally, all commands were entered into large UNIX computers via teletype. Think of it as a very large typewriter that punched holes in paper they used to feed in commands. Each key on a teletype required several pounds of pressure, so in order to conserve keystrokes the names of common UNIX commands were made as short as humanly possible.

[DThor]

I think there's a little bit of misrepresentation in that regard. First off, it's important to remember that many of these things are *utilities*, not applications per se. Most utilities on any platform tend to be acronyms or shortened meaningful phrases(DOS: "dir", "cd"). But yup, there's lots of full-up apps with completely meaningless names(one of my favs for great mix of obscurity and actual usefulness: k3b ).

However, don't forget the vast majority of programs for Windows are for-profit products. Snagging and keeping a marketable name means better sales. Obviously the majority of Linux packages(apache? zpsx???) didn't start off aspiring to be "big sellers", just useful things, so for every "VisiScript", you've got "JAP".

I've found the same thing in Windows, too. If you peruse shareware, or better, freeware products, I think you'll find as many obscure titles as Linux. Well, close maybe.

DT

[techieMoe]

...But yup, there's lots of full-up apps with completely meaningless names(one of my favs for great mix of obscurity and actual usefulness: k3b ).

However, don't forget the vast majority of programs for Windows are for-profit products. Snagging and keeping a marketable name means better sales.

You bring up a good point. I dare say 95% of all Linux/OSS/GPL software is made by hackers, and although we may be adept at writing code, not all of us are terribly handy at marketing (nor do we really *want* to be), so often the names for programs aren't the most....intuitive. At least to anyone aside from the original programmer.

An example from my workplace: I was told to create a tool that our developers could use to run SQL queries to any one of our 4 databases. I created the tool and named it (drum roll please): SQL Runner. Not quite as flashy as a Quark Express or Eudora Mail, but it was descriptive at least.

[carlosponti]

imagine typing ChangeDirectory everytime you had to cd to another place or CopyFileCommand instead of cp. i think it would still be outrageous to have that much trouble just to move around in the command prompt. the application i help maintain where i work is used to help the treasurer collect taxes guess what its called ... Tax. it would help in a point n click world maybe if programs were written with more helpful names. i never understood why MS spreadsheet is called Excel. or Open office is called Calc. What about lotus notes? sometimes companies spend so much time coming up with a name for something that isnt a bad word in another language.

[techieMoe]

sometimes companies spend so much time coming up with a name for something that isnt a bad word in another language.

What, like Vista meaning "hen" in Latvian?

[carlosponti]

yes exactly. but this process of naming products obsure things for marketing purposes is been around for sometime. think about about Kodak it actually doesnt mean anything and doesnt sound like anything bad in foreign languages. Pentium was another marketing toil so not to sound offensive. two products named poorly are El Camino and Nova, el camino just means the road which makes no sense and nova means something like "no go".

[d38dm8nw81k1ng]

well, the thing with names like apache are that the developer thinks they sound cool. firefox is the codename of the netscape sourcecode when it was opensourced. most of the linux names however are meant to be descriptive (cd = change directory, cp = copy for example). and some say what they don't do, so they stay out of legal trouble (LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder) or to clear up confusion (WINE Is Not an Emulator). there's a wide variety of reasons and it depends on the coder. but i think you'll agree that the basic bash commands are best kept short and sweet, and are also easy to remember.

[justin whitaker]

There is a flip side to this as well: the minute you rename these things (see Linspire, Xandros) into something that makes more sense, OSS hackers cry foul and say you are dumbing the system down. It's almost as if obscure=good, which is not the case.

[carlosponti]

well, the thing with names like apache are that the developer thinks they sound cool. firefox is the codename of the netscape sourcecode when it was opensourced. most of the linux names however are meant to be descriptive (cd = change directory, cp = copy for example). and some say what they don't do, so they stay out of legal trouble (LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder) or to clear up confusion (WINE Is Not an Emulator). there's a wide variety of reasons and it depends on the coder. but i think you'll agree that the basic bash commands are best kept short and sweet, and are also easy to remember.

according to wikipedia apache name origin:

The author claims the name was initially chosen as a catchy name in order to be original, but the most widespread interpretation (which almost immediately surfaced) is that the name comes from the fact that when it was developed in early 1995, it consisted of changes in the code to the most popular HTTP server of the time, NCSA HTTPd 1.3 and was therefore "a patchy" server. However, in the FAQ on the server's official site, it is stated: "The name 'Apache' was chosen from respect for the Native American Indian tribe of Apache (Indé), well-known for their superior skills in warfare strategy and their inexhaustible endurance".