A guided tour of some notable and peculiar Linux distributions
One Wild Ride
© Lead Image © Jan Will, 123RF.com
Linux distributions proliferate like butterflies. Linux Magazine went hunting for some strange and particularly surprising specimens.
Even if the syntax suggests otherwise, the name of the classic Linux tool awk does not stand for awkward, and it isn't even a reference to the bird known as the Auk, but rather, the name is derived from the names of its authors, Alfred Aho, Peter Weinberger, and Brian Kernighan. Cryptic names are a long-established Unix tradition [1].
Developers often believe the names of their tools are self-explanatory, or they think the name is not of interest to the users anyway. Many developers of the 500+ Linux distributions worldwide clearly subscribe to this school of thought [2] (Figure 1). Even several very early Linux distros bore cryptic abbreviations (LSD, LST, DLD) or really curious names like Yggdrasil (Figure 2).
It isn't difficult to see that humor is a primary motivation for much of the naming that happens around Linux. The Open Source community loves to rebel against the kitschy conventions of market-speak that dominate commercial software companies, with names that seem slightly satirical or, at least, summon up images and associations that would make a marketer cringe.
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