R
Russ P.
Yes, the joke *is* on me -- every time I have to explain to someone
why I am using this funny-sounding language. That's the point.
Yes, the joke *is* on me -- every time I have to explain to someone
why I am using this funny-sounding language. That's the point.
C
Chris Mellon
The vast majority of languages in use today have "joke" names.
Languages with "serious" names are pretty much limited to the
humorless environments of military and government contracting.
There's not a single competent manager out there who'll dismiss Python
just because it's called Python. The fact that incompetent managers
exists does not change that fact, They won't be able to create good
software no matter what language they choose, so there's no particular
reason to cater to them.
Also, you yourself are starting to emit spikes on the trollmeter, as
does anyone who blathers about how "serious" we need to be in order to
ingrate ourselves with hypothetical gray faced bureaucrats.
M
Michael Terry
!!!
Folks admire Newton for some of his breathtaking insights, not because
of his methods. The scientific method is a tool. The results are far
more important than the tool.
Also, it's not a game. His wacky ideas don't cancel out his brilliant ones.
If you want to say that he technically wasn't a scientist, great. But
to suggest that Newton is a myth of the hard sciences kind of misses
the point of his fame.
Michael
Folks admire Newton for some of his breathtaking insights, not because
of his methods. The scientific method is a tool. The results are far
more important than the tool.
Also, it's not a game. His wacky ideas don't cancel out his brilliant ones.
If you want to say that he technically wasn't a scientist, great. But
to suggest that Newton is a myth of the hard sciences kind of misses
the point of his fame.
Michael
N
Neil Cerutti
I didn't think of it as a troll, but as a humor piece. So I tried
to think of a funny response, but failed. Others jumped in to
fill the gap, and well... things progressed from there.
But your opinion is noted.
N
Neil Cerutti
Right. The biggest weakness in the scientific method is that it
doesn't explain how to come up with theories. You need luck,
genius, or both. The same applies to language naming. There's no
theory of good language names (except for a short list of
don'ts); you have to attempt it and see what happens.
R
Russ P.
Look what's going on here, folks. The OP *dared *to suggest that
perhaps the name of Python could be changed in the next major release.
I said it's a long shot, but I think its worth considering. And what
do I get in return. Some reasonable replies, but mostly people who
assert that the idea is absoutely absurd and completely without merit.
You'd think the OP had suggested that God's name be changed to dog.
Open your minds and let in some fresh air, folks. The name of a snake
is not sacred ... for crying out loud! Try to think "outside the box"
for a few seconds if you can. Yes, it frightening at first, but you
can overcome the fear.
T
Terry Reedy
|
| >> Python name is not funny for me. Even the Monty Python, because its
hard
| >> to translate their jokes, and in my country they are not so popular.
| >> Just a few ppl knows them.
|| back from jokes, im _really_ interested what is core developers, mainly
| Guido's opinion about the name change.
Until the OP posted his lastest 'why', I assumed this proposal was an April
Fools' post that he just could not wait to post. In fact, given that the
effective cost would be in the $millions, I an still not sure he is sanely
serious.
Fun discussion of 'what if' is a different matter.
tjr
| >> Python name is not funny for me. Even the Monty Python, because its
hard
| >> to translate their jokes, and in my country they are not so popular.
| >> Just a few ppl knows them.
|| back from jokes, im _really_ interested what is core developers, mainly
| Guido's opinion about the name change.
Until the OP posted his lastest 'why', I assumed this proposal was an April
Fools' post that he just could not wait to post. In fact, given that the
effective cost would be in the $millions, I an still not sure he is sanely
serious.
Fun discussion of 'what if' is a different matter.
tjr
D
Diez B. Roggisch
Russ said:
Yeah, but today you drank Java, your favourite Coffe blend, while
telling your best buddy you plan to get Groovy tonight with Ada, buying
her a Ruby collier & explaining her some Basic concepts of computer
science - because that always makes her express her astonishment about
your mad coding skillz with that cute little Lisp she has.
Just don't forget to not use a Clipper in front of her again. She only
forgave you for that because you tooke her to the Eiffel Tower, meeting
Pascal there. He just got his degree from Haskell university - which is
a major break-through, because all of his professors working on a Scheme
to expel him from there. But he showed it to these little Brainfucks.
Sorry, but if people are joking on you - there must be other reasons for
that than a name of a programming language. And I'm beginning to think I
know it....
Diez
J
Jim Hill
Michael said:
As was Newton, according to many of his contemporaries.
Yep.
Jim
C
Chris Mellon
I do think the idea is absolutely absurd and without merit. That
doesn't mean that I think the current name is some sort of sacred cow
(if I may mix metaphors).
People who claim that everyone would agree with them if they'd only
open their minds or think out of the box are worth more than a few
points on the trollmeter. Consequentially, this will be (my) last post
on the subject, although apparently I have already been trolled.
R
Russ P.
Never said anything like it. It's a red herring that you either
imagined or made up.
Good riddance.
R
Russ P.
I doubt you really thought that. I think you just want to make the OP
feel like a fool. Do you feel better now? Where are the sensitivity
police when they are needed?
I find it interesting that someone can claim that Newton was not a
scientist and be taken seriously on this site, but someone who
suggests changing the name of a programming language is ridiculed.
That's ridiculous.
M
MonkeeSage
Whether Newton was a scientist is a matter of opinion (mainly
regarding one's philosophy of science, and more specifically, the
demarcation problem); whether to change the name of python is a matter
of pragmatics. It's much easier to show that something is
pragmatically wrong (e.g., costs extra money with no overall gain),
than to show that someone's opinion about a complex matter is wrong.
On my view of "science," Newton was a scientist (as is anyone using
the tools of discursive reasoning and empirical observation; even if
they don't strictly follow the "scientific method"). That's all great.
But my opinions have nothing to do with the fact that it makes no
pragmatic sense to change the name of python. It is a foolish (or
"unwise" if you want a more "sensitive" euphemism) suggestion.
The suggestion, in syllogism (w/ conjunctions of the first premise
broken into separate premises 1-N):
1 Python is not taken seriously because of its "joke" name
2 great people of the past deserve honor
3 it would get better publicity with a different name
N ...
N' we want to be taken seriously, &c
Ergo, the name python should be changed to name X
It is easy to prove that premises 1-N are either true or false (or
pragmatically irrelevant, which can be considered as false to preserve
bivalence). So far, no compelling reasons have been given to think
them true, while several counter-examples and contradicting facts have
been given for thinking them false. Thus, a name change is
pragmatically stupid. QED.
Regards,
Jordan
H
Hendrik van Rooyen
Dotan Cohen said:
You live in exciting times - google for "surfer dude" and E8 for a paper
that purports to be a theory of everything. I stumbled across it last week
and downloaded a pdf but true to form I have lost the link.
It was written by A. Garrett Lisi.
Even if his theory pans out, I would oppose changing the language name
to Garrett, or Lisi, on the grounds that John Cleese was funnier.
- Hendrik
Z
Zara
He meant quetzatcoatl. We could rename the language. Now try qith
Quetzatcoatl and its derivatives:
- QuetzatcoatlGTK
- QuetzatcoatlTest
- Quetzatcoatl_argfs_ughs_IlostMybreath
And some equally funny and easy to pronounce others...
Regards,
Zara
Z
Zara
I would never use the name of a mathematician for a procedural
language. Mathemathician names should be for funtional languages (such
as Haskell).
Procedural languages are flexible, they keep on tangling and getting
out of it, they like publicity:
Houdini
or, as suggested in other messages:
Houdini3
Best regards,
Zara
D
Dennis Lee Bieber
What's to explain? The language supports what and how you want to
program -- ie, it is an effective choice for you.
Funny sounding? How about REXX (good doggie?)
Euler? (most non-tech types would probably think that's a reference
to someone who squirts lubricants into the workings of a steam engine)
Changing the name of the language, at this stage, means giving up
over ten years of history and rebuilding name recognition from
scratch... Along with having to rename Jython, IronPython, CherryPy,
probably Boa Constructor, the pysqlite DB adapter, numpy, scipy,
pythonwin, PythonCard, etc.
--
Wulfraed Dennis Lee Bieber KD6MOG
(e-mail address removed) (e-mail address removed)
HTTP://wlfraed.home.netcom.com/
(Bestiaria Support Staff: (e-mail address removed))
HTTP://www.bestiaria.com/
M
MarkE
Ithon
C
cokofreedom
Pie - Fun
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Tóth Csaba
Dennis Lee Bieber Ãrta:
Why should they rename their project too?
Their is very big chance they wont be compatible with Python3000, just
if they rewrite their program too!
They should rename their project when they feel the name is not so good
for the project. Not because _one_ (even if it is the main) of the
depencency project renames itself. in my humble opinion its nonsense
thinking.
tsabi
Why should they rename their project too?
Their is very big chance they wont be compatible with Python3000, just
if they rewrite their program too!
They should rename their project when they feel the name is not so good
for the project. Not because _one_ (even if it is the main) of the
depencency project renames itself. in my humble opinion its nonsense
thinking.
tsabi