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Linux's Difficulty with Names

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the more-important-than-you-think dept.

JohnTyler writes "This article at XYZ Computing takes a look at Linux's strange naming practices. When compared to their Window's equivalents, the names of many Linux programs are difficult to recognize and even tougher to remember. This may seem like splitting hairs, but it is actually an important usability issue. Just think, if you had to do a bit of graphic design which would be easier to pick out of the menu, GIMP or Photoshop? Or if you wanted to play a song, Media Player or xine?" The article is a bit thin, but it raises an excellent point.

30 of 946 comments (clear)

  1. Like most of the *NIX family . . . by mmell · · Score: 5, Funny
    names are based on the assumption that nobody can touch-type.

    ls, rm, df, du, etc . . . did any of the engineers at Bell Labs type 10-fingered?

    1. Re:Like most of the *NIX family . . . by Ploum · · Score: 2, Funny

      etc ? I tought I was a good unix administrator but I didn't know about etc :

      whereis etc ?
      man etc ?

      nothing...

      --
      Ploum.net.
    2. Re:Like most of the *NIX family . . . by drauh · · Score: 5, Funny

      then, along came find(1). who the hell wrote that? :)

      --
      This is a tautology.
    3. Re:Like most of the *NIX family . . . by Kelvie · · Score: 2, Funny

      Why not go one step further?
      GTK+ = GIMP ToolKit
      GIMP = GNU Image Manipulation Program
      GNU = GNU's Not Unix

      from here, ad infinitum.

    4. Re:Like most of the *NIX family . . . by nath_de · · Score: 2, Funny

      I thought PHP = People Hate Perl

  2. Hehe... by setirw · · Score: 5, Funny

    But then again, you click the "Start Button" to shut down in Windows :)

    --
    This message printed on 100% post-consumer recycled electrons.
    1. Re:Hehe... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      "But then again, you click the "Start Button" to shut down in Windows :)"

      Not really, you can just click the IE button like 3 times.

    2. Re:Hehe... by Anopheles · · Score: 5, Funny

      You can do what I do...

      Push the power button about half a dozen times. Then if the system is still up, yank the big black cord out of the back.

      Works in EVERY operating system. Don't even need a password.

      Laptops are a bit more difficult...

  3. Gimp and xine are rather shabby names by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I suggest GIMP be renamed "Baby Guts" and xine be renamed "Smuckers."

  4. Linux names are fantastic by filesiteguy · · Score: 4, Funny

    touch...
    mv...
    finger..
    touch..
    mount...
    mv...
    finger...
    unmount...
    sleep...

    Seriously, I agree. I think that is why I like giving SUSE to my friends/family. Telling my elder family to click on "Image Editor" is much easier than telling them to click on "GIMP."

    --
    The Kai's Semi-Updated Website Thingy
    1. Re:Linux names are fantastic by Kjella · · Score: 4, Funny

      touch...
      mv...
      finger..
      touch..
      mount...
      mv...
      finger...
      unmount...
      sleep...

      I think you forgot to fsck. Then again, this is slashdot so I probably shouldn't be surprised...

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    2. Re:Linux names are fantastic by SpecBear · · Score: 4, Funny

      This is one place where an open source makes things more difficult.

      I'm encouraging people to make use of open source alternatives instead of pirating software. Sometimes it's simple. Firefox is a pretty easy sell. But I've been telling my girlfriend for years that she should never run suspicious programs, so now it takes some doing to get her to open a program called "GIMP".

    3. Re:Linux names are fantastic by barfomar · · Score: 2, Funny
      This is more syntactically correct....

      unzip;strip;touch;finger;mount;fsck;more;yes;unmou nt;sleep

    4. Re:Linux names are fantastic by Ashish+Kulkarni · · Score: 4, Funny

      On that path, ponder this sequence:

      unzip..
      strip..
      touch..
      finger..
      grep..
      mount..
      fsck..
      more..
      yes..
      fsck..fsck..fsck..
      umount..
      sleep..

  5. Slashdots difficulty with names by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Funny

    "This article at XYZ Computing takes a look at Slashdot's strange naming practices. When compared to their Web 2.0's equivalents, the names of many Slashdot URLs are difficult to recognize and even tougher to say. This may seem like splitting hairs, but it is actually an important usability issue. Just think, if you had to do a bit of news which would be easier to tell your friend on the phone, digg.com slash technology or linux dot slash dot dot org slash, no not linux dot slash dot dot org, i said linux fullstop ess ell aye ess haych dee oh tee fullstop oh arr gee?
    The article is a bit thin, but it raises an excellent point.

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
  6. Hurrrrr by SydBarrett · · Score: 1, Funny

    Hey look at me I name things recursively because I'm fucking retarded.

  7. Yeah right by Yahweh+Doesn't+Exist · · Score: 4, Funny

    go ahead, take naming advice from "XYZ Computing", ffs.

  8. Windows WE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    And "longhorn" isn't a strange name for an OS?? I'll bet the next version will be MS Windows WE (Well Endowed)

  9. Re:Names don't matter... by networkBoy · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Oh, and what does Exel and Outlook do? Does Outlook Express do it any faster?"

    Load VB exploits, load HTML exploits, and I think the correct answer for the last one is "yes".
    -nB

    --
    whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
  10. Re:REALLY! It's not THAT obtuse. by Scrameustache · · Score: 5, Funny

    But it makes sense if you think about it.

    Maybe if you think about it drunk.

    --

    You can't take the sky from me...

  11. Re:What a moron. by gowen · · Score: 2, Funny
    A PowerPoint like application
    Powerpoint... presumably that's an application that enables me to plug my devices in, right? Like a powerpoint on a wall?
    --
    Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
  12. Re:Names don't matter... by Pantero+Blanco · · Score: 2, Funny

    No, no. You're supposed to say: My name is Sue! How do you do!? Now you gonna die!

  13. Re:Windows' Difficulty with Names by jrockway · · Score: 5, Funny

    > Is Outlook any more of an intuitive name for mail than Evolution to new users?

    Maybe... but KDE should definitely rename KMail to Kreation. Then we can have an Evolution vs. Kreation debate to go alongside GNOME vs. KDE.

    C'mon KMail devs... you know you want to!

    --
    My other car is first.
  14. Re:You seem to be around my age, then. by dr_dank · · Score: 4, Funny

    Was this back when nickels had pictures of bumblebees on them?

    --
    Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
  15. Re:One big reason for weird names by MrP-(at+work) · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hello my name is Grbst Vndrbfr and I am trademark holder of "Asdfgwksprtxyz".

    Gwksprt is an obvious attempt to steal from my customer base.

    Please cease and desist your use of gwksprt immediately!

    Sincerely,
    Grbst Vndrbfr of Vvvvvvvvgggggrrrrwpry Software, Inc.

    --
    [an error occurred while processing this directive]
  16. Re:You seem to be around my age, then. by MirrororriM · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why, when I was a young programmer we had to write the code in the snow with our pee, and a compiler was just a word for the pilot of the hovering dirigible that read the instructions and passed them to the ALU, which was another fellow with an abacus. They would wrap the results around a rock, and drop it on my house when the program would exit. We had to walk uphill...

    --
    Content Management System: A pretentious way of saying "text editor."
  17. Noooo!!! by SanityInAnarchy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Then Kreation would win! We can't have that!

    --
    Don't thank God, thank a doctor!
  18. Re:Alright, Names Do Matter by Glonoinha · · Score: 2, Funny

    I presumed it meant 'Linux for black people'.
    Not that there's anything wrong with that.

    --
    Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
  19. Re:Alright, Names Do Matter by geminidomino · · Score: 2, Funny

    So not only do you expect slashdotters to be fair, but you expect them to not be hypocritical?

    Wanna buy a bridge?

  20. How about PMP ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    as in "Pimp My Picture" ?