"Python" is not a good name, should rename to "Athon"

[Bjoern Schliessmann]

New name "Pytn" may be better, do you think so ?

No. How would you pronounce it? Pai-tn?

Why don't you create a fork where the only difference is the name?

Regards,


Björn

 

[David H Wild]

Not necessarily. A python is a sleek and powerful
creature, which are good associations for a programming
language. The word also hints at a bit of danger and
excitement. On the whole, I think it's a good name.

I remember reading an interview with a young woman who danced with a python
across her shoulders and down her arms. The interviewer asked if she was
afraid when she danced. She replied that she was afraid that the python
would go to sleep if she didn't keep him moving.

 

[MonkeeSage]

No. How would you pronounce it? Pai-tn?

Why don't you create a fork where the only difference is the name?

Regards,

Björn

My vote is for "Pyrotron [1] 10,000", heh.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disintegrator_ray

Regards,
Jordan

 

[Tim Chase]

I agree that Python is not a good name for a programming language, but

I'm afraid we're stuck with it.

Well, the language was going to be called "One of the cross beams
has gone out askew on the treadle" but that was a little unwieldy
and hard to understand when mumbled in a hury. Searching for the
runtime "ootcbhgoaott" returns zero hits on Google. That would
have guaranteed that the only hits that came back related to the
language. However typing things like

sh$ ootcbhgoaott myprog.ootcbhgoaott

became too cumbersome. So they decided on Python instead.

Besides...nobody expected a kind of Spanish Inquisition...

Just-making-stuff-up'ly yers,

-tkc

 

[Dotan Cohen]

You will be eaten by the Snake-Ra god tonight!

Wasn't Ra the Sun god?

Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il
×-ב-×’-ד-×”-ו-×–-×—-ט-×™-ך-×›-ל-×-מ-ן-× -ס-×¢-×£-פ-×¥-צ-ק-ר-ש-ת

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?

 

[Dotan Cohen]

Yes, but "Thong" would be a better name,
due to the minimalist syntax and the
attraction/repulsion/catatonic revulsion effect it has with
different people from different cultural backgrounds.

Better yet, call the language "sex". Do you have any idea what kind of
publicity we'd get? Not to mention how many google searches.

Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il
×-ב-×’-ד-×”-ו-×–-×—-ט-×™-ך-×›-ל-×-מ-ן-× -ס-×¢-×£-פ-×¥-צ-ק-ר-ש-ת

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?

 

[Tóth Csaba]

Dotan Cohen írta:

Better yet, call the language "sex". Do you have any idea what kind of
publicity we'd get? Not to mention how many google searches.

man.. ) the biggest point in this thread D
btw in my country not much, because we write it "szex" D

tsabi

 

[Dotan Cohen]

Speaking of stupid names, what does "C++" mean? I think it's the grade
you get when you just barely missed a "B--". But I can't deny that it
*is* good for searching.

C was named after the B programming language, as it was inspired and
meant to replace it. C++ is obviously C+1, ie, what comes after C.

Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il
×-ב-×’-ד-×”-ו-×–-×—-ט-×™-ך-×›-ל-×-מ-ן-× -ס-×¢-×£-פ-×¥-צ-ק-ר-ש-ת

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?

 

[Dotan Cohen]

man.. ) the biggest point in this thread D
btw in my country not much, because we write it "szex" D

tsabi

We got you beat: "סקס". Try that on a Latin keyboard!

Actually, "szex" might be a great name, as it implies the meaning
without actually saying it (as far as English speakers are concerned).
That will be the name of my band if I ever have one...

Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il
×-ב-×’-ד-×”-ו-×–-×—-ט-×™-ך-×›-ל-×-מ-ן-× -ס-×¢-×£-פ-×¥-צ-ק-ר-ש-ת

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?

 

[Bjoern Schliessmann]

C was named after the B programming language, as it was inspired
and meant to replace it. C++ is obviously C+1

Strictly speaking, C++ evalutes to C, but C is incremented
afterwards.

Regards,


Björn

 

[Dan Upton]

Strictly speaking, C++ evalutes to C, but C is incremented
afterwards.

I guess plus-plus-C just doesn't roll off the tongue as well...

 

[Dotan Cohen]

Strictly speaking, C++ evalutes to C, but C is incremented
afterwards.

I will remember that!

Dotan Cohen

http://what-is-what.com
http://gibberish.co.il
×-ב-×’-ד-×”-ו-×–-×—-ט-×™-ך-×›-ל-×-מ-ן-× -ס-×¢-×£-פ-×¥-צ-ק-ר-ש-ת

A: Because it messes up the order in which people normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?

 

[Russ P.]

Why not?

Think about proposing its use to someone who has never heard of it
(which I did not too long ago). As the OP pointed out, a Python is a
snake. Why should a programming language be named after a snake?

BTW, is "Windows" a great name for an operating system?
No.


It's "C incremented".

I know that. But "C" was already a dumb name, and "C++" compounded the
dumbness. Actually, "C" was probably intended as a temporary name for
internal use, but not for a widely used, standard language.

So what dou you think about D language? Or F or F#?

I think that one-letter names are even worse for languages than they
are for variables.

 

[Neil Cerutti]

Strictly speaking, C++ evalutes to C, but C is incremented
afterwards.

Bjarne was only interested in the side-effect. Anyhow,
Pythonistas know it should've been called "C+=1".

 

[J. Clifford Dyer]

Think about proposing its use to someone who has never heard of it
(which I did not too long ago). As the OP pointed out, a Python is a
snake. Why should a programming language be named after a snake?

That's not a persuasive argument.

First of all, Python is named for a comedy troupe from England. For
comparison, Perl is named for a knitting technique, Lisp is named for a
speech impediment, Ruby is named for a rock, Smalltalk is named for a
not-so-useful form of communication, and Java is named after a beverage
or an island.

Which of those is a good name for a programming language by your
criterion? I like the name Python. It has a nice ring to it, and has
connotations that are simultaneously badass and humorous.

For that matter, why name sneakers after a goddess of justice? Why name
a car after a planet/resort town/rodent/mountain?

Because brand names are supposed to be memorable, not meaningful.

Cheers,
Cliff

 

[Russ P.]

That's not a persuasive argument.

First of all, Python is named for a comedy troupe from England. For
comparison, Perl is named for a knitting technique, Lisp is named for a
speech impediment, Ruby is named for a rock, Smalltalk is named for a
not-so-useful form of communication, and Java is named after a beverage
or an island.

Which of those is a good name for a programming language by your
criterion?

None. None of them are good names by my criteria. But then, a name is
only a name. One of the few names I like is Pascal, because he was a
great mathematician and scientist.

After thinking about it a bit, here are examples of what I would
consider a good name for a programming language:

Newton#
Newton*
Newton+

Newton was a great scientist, and his name is easy to spell and
pronounce. The trailing character serves to disambiguate it from
Newton in online searches. For shorthand in online discussions, N#,
N*, or N+ could be used as aliases.

Names of other great scientists, mathematicians, or computer
scientists could also be used, of course. Take your pick.

How about renaming Python3000?

 

[Paul Rudin]

...Perl is named for a knitting technique, Lisp is named for a
speech impediment...

I can't figure out whether you're being serious or not but, for the
record, those are not where the names of those two languages come
from.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl#Name
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisp_programming_language

 

[John Machin]

None. None of them are good names by my criteria. But then, a name is
only a name. One of the few names I like is Pascal, because he was a
great mathematician and scientist.

After thinking about it a bit, here are examples of what I would
consider a good name for a programming language:

Newton#
Newton*
Newton+

Newton was a great scientist, and his name is easy to spell and
pronounce.

Should be, but a large proportion of the population pronounce it so
that it rhymes with "hootin" as in "hootin n hollerin"

 

[Russ P.]

Should be, but a large proportion of the population pronounce it so
that it rhymes with "hootin" as in "hootin n hollerin"

You can count me in that large proportion. 8^)

By the way, after thinking about it a bit, here's a good name for
Python3000:

Newton1

The appended 1 serves to disambiguate the name from that of a late,
great scientist. It could be called N1 for short.

The 1 also serves to identify the major version. If it ever undergoes
a major revision (as in Python3000), it could then be called Newton2,
but that would not be done more than once per decade or so.

 

[Tóth Csaba]

Russ P. írta:

You can count me in that large proportion. 8^)

The 1 also serves to identify the major version. If it ever undergoes
a major revision (as in Python3000), it could then be called Newton2,
but that would not be done more than once per decade or so.

Lets evaluate from the Python3000: Newton3 (N3).

+1 vote from me

tsabi