How do you chose names for your projects?

Hey guys,

yeah i know, this question looks ridiculous, but first just read my questions before thinking and answering it:

There are three kinds of project names on the internet:

1. Names, composed of fetaures of the project (e.g. Windows for.. yeah windows; ComputerCraft, CCTweaks or just any project composed of letters)
2. Names, you aren't sure what it meant, but you are sure that it means something (In my case, ASP-Framework (Google would help yeah i know))
3. Or names, you are sure, that it means nothing (Like Oblox OS, Omni OS, Bootstrap, Atom)

So, how do you compose your project names?
Please be honest.

I mostly take the first letters of some fetaures and mix it with some random, so that it sounds pretty nice.

Sewbacca

I just put Krap and then kinda what it does after it :P/>

Like KrapFile, a directory browser
KrapEditor, a…. Editor.

I just come up with random words in my head and find the one that doesn't sound awful.

CrazedProgrammer, on 03 March 2017 - 10:58 PM said:

I just come up with random words in my head and find the one that doesn't sound awful.

Yeah, but i take too much time to find one, which sounds pretty cool and including fetaures of the project and is a word, because renaming a project is often really hard.

I go with history, mythology or chemistry/physics a lot. A WIP "OS" I were working on is called Helium, I got a new project called Argon Luna (Argon is another element, Luna because it's written in Moonscript), which is composed of stuff like "BigBang" (a semi-configurable TLCO, and is executed first, just like the big bang in many theories) and "Themis" (which is a coroutine manager which handles all the different processes running, which is named after a greek goddess of law/justice).

Btw, there sure is a meaning behind OmniOS, Bootstrap and Atom. Omni means something like "all-surrounding" or "capable of doing everything" in that case; Bootstrap is just like that strap you have on your boots: It helps you start faster; An Atom is the "smallest" unit which can't be broken down into a smaller one (can't see how the editor is related to that though)

H4X0RZ, on 04 March 2017 - 03:47 AM said:

–snip–
An Atom is the "smallest" unit which can't be broken down into a smaller one (can't see how the editor is related to that though)

I think it is called atom because the editor out of box is really bare bones, and only contains the essentials (like an atom) but you can build on it, add packages and make it your own, (creating a molecule). Idk, thats my take on it.

Sewbacca, on 03 March 2017 - 09:34 PM said:

Hey guys,

yeah i know, this question looks ridiculous, but first just read my questions before thinking and answering it:

There are three kinds of project names on the internet:

1. Names, composed of fetaures of the project (e.g. Windows for.. yeah windows; ComputerCraft, CCTweaks or just any project composed of letters)
2. Names, you aren't sure what it meant, but you are sure that it means something (In my case, ASP-Framework (Google would help yeah i know))
3. Or names, you are sure, that it means nothing (Like Oblox OS, Omni OS, Bootstrap, Atom)

So, how do you compose your project names?
Please be honest.

I mostly take the first letters of some fetaures and mix it with some random, so that it sounds pretty nice.

Sewbacca

In my opinion, one must choose a name that can be easily remembered by your target audience. It should be unique ( eye catching) too and has its own identity. Lastly, it should be related to your project.

H4X0RZ, on 04 March 2017 - 03:47 AM said:

I go with history, mythology or chemistry/physics a lot. A WIP "OS" I were working on is called Helium, I got a new project called Argon Luna (Argon is another element, Luna because it's written in Moonscript), which is composed of stuff like "BigBang" (a semi-configurable TLCO, and is executed first, just like the big bang in many theories) and "Themis" (which is a coroutine manager which handles all the different processes running, which is named after a greek goddess of law/justice).

Uhh, that is a pretty nice idea. I think a program with such a name gets its own touch or ambiente. Thanks!

Incinirate, on 04 March 2017 - 04:04 AM said:

I think it is called atom because the editor out of box is really bare bones, and only contains the essentials (like an atom) but you can build on it, add packages and make it your own, (creating a molecule). Idk, thats my take on it.

Idk if Atom has really bare bones, because I can remember many bugs and glitches, but maybe it's just a delusion.

SoftNougat, on 09 March 2017 - 06:39 AM said:

In my opinion, one must choose a name that can be easily remembered by your target audience. It should be unique ( eye catching) too and has its own identity. Lastly, it should be related to your project.

In addition: If the name starts with one of the first letters in the alphabet, then it will be appear at the top of alphabetic sorted lists, but I think it's less important than eye catching names and names, which are related to your project.

I use a very creative and unique naming system that seems to be contrary to all common practice. I call things what they are. So the main part of a warehouse management program gets called "Warehouse Manager" and the turtle control programs associated with it get called zany stuff like "Fetch" and "Deliver". And since I am really going for that whole modern art mind screw thing I'll call the whole project "Warehouse".


Also, whilst the content of the post is 100% genuine in that I do name my software this way the post is meant to be slightly comedic. But if this feels like a bit of a rant that's because it honestly is. All those cute and clever names people put on their programs get really old once you have to actually do something with the software. Like for example figuring out which version of Eclipse someone else is running and how it relates to yours.

Purple, on 31 December 2017 - 02:41 AM said:

And since I am really going for that whole modern art mind screw thing I'll call the whole project "Warehouse".

I can definitely sympathise with this, but I do find it gets a little boring too. It's no fun if we've got 5 different programs called "Warehouse". It's definitely possible to have some mix of practicality and fun: call it "WarePurple" or "SuperWarehouse10000", or "JAWS: Just Another Warehouse System".

Purple, on 31 December 2017 - 02:41 AM said:

All those cute and clever names people put on their programs get really old once you have to actually do something with the software. Like for example figuring out which version of Eclipse someone else is running and how it relates to yours.

I can definitely get behind this. I'm fine with fancy names, but the version number should be the primary name instead. I can never remember which version of Ubuntu "trusty" maps to. That being said, these naming conventions generally have some system. Both Ubuntu and Eclipse go through the alphabet (Mars → Neon → Oxygen → Photon for Eclipse, Tahr → Xerus → Zapus → Aardvark for Ubuntu) which makes it easier to compare versions.

If you have more than one solution to the same job it's a sign that:
1. Your solutions are all bad and you need to redesign them into a more generic framework.
2. Your problem is not well defined and you need to take a good look at it.

:)/>

The way I do it is by taking its basic function (a minimap, an encrypted chat) and summing it up with a pun or single word that is 8 characters or less, and sounds somewhat catchy. On (turns computers on), Map (is a minimap), Enchat (is encrypted chat), Fakechat (fakes chat), Monc (monitor copy)…

If all else fails you could try coming up with a funny backronym.

Here's how I named my stuff

Stuff that is done:
getOpts - named after the ruby OptionParser module getOpts function, also short for get-options

Stuff not done:
PipedPages - It will make pages/forms, and has piping, thus pipedpages
Makerware - It is software, and it makes things, thus makerware
Mweml - MW is because it was orriginally going to be for makerware, and that is what it is short for, e means editor, and ml is markup language
CC.em - CC stands for computercraft, .em stands for emulator
Craftia - CraftOS + Terraria = Craftia
BloopOS - Just a random name

Todo:
EveryOS -as a fad, you can tell where it is derived from
HTTPSockets - named after TCPSockets, very descriptive name
EZInstallers - EZ means easy, so it means easily make installers
(I may not make the above as I am making makerware)

So, as you can see, with the exception of my operating systems, I mostly just merge descriptive words.

The way I USUALLY do it is I first sign it with part of my username (Brine) then I take one word or part of a word to describe it.
Examples:
BrineUtil - Brine Utilities - some random stuff for people to use.
BrineCrypt - Brine Encryptiion - a fail at making sum dank encryption.

in some other cases my "signature" won't work with it
Examples:
Packager - the only options i had to "sign it" were BrinePacking or BrineCombine, which were both garbage.

and RaidPro is before I "signed" my stuff in it's name.