Re:Show HN: Bit v0.5.0 – Bitcoin made easy, now with SegWit ...
by pavlov on Monday March 18, 2019 @07:38AM
(#19420254)
There are two common kinds of bad names in programming tools:
1) The descriptive where branding would be useful. The line of thought is something like this: "Apple gives everything such simple and obvious names. Their spreadsheet is simply 'Numbers'. I know — I'll call my new general-purpose programming language 'Code.'"
2) The branded where descriptiveness would be useful. Maybe I've built yet another HTTPS client library for language X with some kind of event-handling twist or whatever? I could call it 'pavlov-http' or 'evented-foobar-http'... But instead I'll name it 'robyzowitck' after my favorite Slobonian fantasy literature monster. Now, when person X uses my HTTP library and person Y inherits the project, they'll have to google what this library actually does, and briefly hate me for giving a silly brand name to a pedestrian utility.
1) The descriptive where branding would be useful. The line of thought is something like this: "Apple gives everything such simple and obvious names. Their spreadsheet is simply 'Numbers'. I know — I'll call my new general-purpose programming language 'Code.'"
2) The branded where descriptiveness would be useful. Maybe I've built yet another HTTPS client library for language X with some kind of event-handling twist or whatever? I could call it 'pavlov-http' or 'evented-foobar-http'... But instead I'll name it 'robyzowitck' after my favorite Slobonian fantasy literature monster. Now, when person X uses my HTTP library and person Y inherits the project, they'll have to google what this library actually does, and briefly hate me for giving a silly brand name to a pedestrian utility.