How Programming Languages Got Their Names
kylehigginson.medium.com
How Programming Languages Got Their Names
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Re: How Programming Languages Got Their Names
#2I can't shake a vague memory that Java was named in an early brainstorming session with post-it notes on walls with tons of good and bad names, where eventually Java remained as the winner. I believe I've heard about this as a prime example of good brain storming methods from the early days when it wasn't at all obvious.
Does anybody know if this is right or if I'm confusing it with something else?
Re: How Programming Languages Got Their Names
#3No. Ruby is called Ruby because it is the better Perl.
Re: How Programming Languages Got Their Names
#4This was interesting, although a small list.
But it is definitely lacking any sources to back these claims.
From reading the article I have no idea, where the author got these anecdotes from.
Re: How Programming Languages Got Their Names
#5Why would Kotlin be named after Kotlin Island? What's the connection?
Re: How Programming Languages Got Their Names
#6Why would Kotlin be named after Kotlin Island? What's the connection?
It targets the JVM. Java is also an island. Maybe that's it?
Re: How Programming Languages Got Their Names
#7Why would Kotlin be named after Kotlin Island? What's the connection?
Kotlin runs on the Java virtual machine, Java is an island, they picked another island.
Re: How Programming Languages Got Their Names
#8Puff piece article. I expected something a lot more comprehensive.
Re: How Programming Languages Got Their Names
#9This list is disappointingly short.
Here's a few more of the top of my head, feel free to expand the list! :
C: a successor to B, itself derived from BCPL.
C++: increments over C.
D: a successor to C.
LISP: LISt Processor.
FORTRAN: FORmula TRANslator.
ALGOL: ALGorithmic Language.
Prolog: PROgrammation LOGique (logic programming in French).
PHP: initially PHP/FI for "Personal Home Page Form Interpreter", later rebranded as "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor".
JavaScript: named this way to be associated with the popularity of Java.
Ada: in honor of Ada Lovelace.
OCaml: initially Objective Caml, because it added OOP support among other things.
Caml: Categorical Abstract Machine Language.
ML (as in SML): Meta Language.
SQL: Structured Query Language.
Re: How Programming Languages Got Their Names
#10No. Ruby is called Ruby because it is the better Perl.
I think both you and the article are correct. Here's a bit more context [1], it seems both Ruby and Coral were considered in part due to their connection with Perl, and in the end Ruby won because it "sounds better" and also because it's Matz's birthstone:
1: https://web.archive.org/web/20110717205734/http://blade.naga...
Edit: this also provides a clue for Perl's naming, it's "related to a shell" (I don't know if this is accurate)