From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_ADSP_CUSTOM_MED, DKIM_INVALID,DKIM_SIGNED,FREEMAIL_FROM,MAILING_LIST_MULTI autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 2531 invoked from network); 25 Jul 2022 00:36:03 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (50.116.15.146) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 25 Jul 2022 00:36:03 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [IPv6:::1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 425F04071A; Mon, 25 Jul 2022 10:35:31 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mail-oi1-f177.google.com (mail-oi1-f177.google.com [209.85.167.177]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 539F840613 for ; Mon, 25 Jul 2022 10:35:26 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mail-oi1-f177.google.com with SMTP id n206so11797475oia.6 for ; Sun, 24 Jul 2022 17:35:26 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20210112; h=mime-version:references:in-reply-to:from:date:message-id:subject:to :cc; bh=bT/WlPXgNuPWFcTPzkxtetbyQHJ+1mI9IqHShZZeoz8=; b=F40t8qQxBs1v9vVqGu6TSbUJiKN4U8g+AOpd3JmgFz2ZFSryrDpTBQKZcFrdgIf82F 0hEvjgJKyUfjnwfOpY/4n9yaGt6m6pbN6it32XlimUGHP+TNLNGH2t23CHQ8rJX+NFCv pj5vsx9jV6ltql5xSiIJbQ69GlQwAHbRaNPnRHxIadIuzFbnovuuheIBVnbXQpCmuL5N qWPSJgdxh7HGzHYf7dr0ZKMULgNSQ/k/dbJ5LYtpc9wFW6WxsUnEughrixtvp5DL1U/i GE8fdcpegq9/EhRhAbZsJlFL/9so8XiTCEut9fUV36I0KACHj/DLkAigCCNyXawDFG7U bCGg== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20210112; h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:references:in-reply-to:from:date :message-id:subject:to:cc; bh=bT/WlPXgNuPWFcTPzkxtetbyQHJ+1mI9IqHShZZeoz8=; b=OxQWGN9mxBbBwWThRFsbw4PJO0ndNL2iKuj5A/biW/5Yr8CNmp+9V+AJrG8iUjpWCX ez5yrEgLlbK7LTgVGCfOezqiZuEagtVB4cvOVJkwNJ5Urslw3e/jh/kZepN9SW3GR+XY w3r6MbRPJ7zOGmlnNxNo4lCwhFBRm/Bgoqwjm0QeoSWOHbeM0mqQGF/yUqkChtsxEfl+ ThZuCimlMvzX+Mh2Pl6sdiDFLSYlsa1hAVe9mAXpXAyLZx9CL3LwQMPzbZqM4EbxwItz OOTiv4P125pBXDqaMq5FL4oN2GYW4U8YEfUEpT0gEPU/yxc1+5mLFuHp1CUD7fVd9QYP Aygw== X-Gm-Message-State: AJIora8IGqTEc8zmmgD+t33Ytcd1HU/PbihD70mJnzFKsyjSpA0zfvXq 5uleLLcBgXXT42m5KXVDpWOszH15PgJaHdHXmM/RUthnnyU= X-Google-Smtp-Source: AGRyM1spBRfp5gcKrNtwriQcif9GfWrdRKWsKSAuwjrBvdTaxMydP7gxGQ6RnyaLMQUPL7axwam2CsndvYWwY0+01X4= X-Received: by 2002:a05:6808:186:b0:33a:71a1:a753 with SMTP id w6-20020a056808018600b0033a71a1a753mr4401688oic.49.1658709265516; Sun, 24 Jul 2022 17:34:25 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: <38805096-4f49-884c-8896-a1cfcf433b43@riddermarkfarm.ca> In-Reply-To: <38805096-4f49-884c-8896-a1cfcf433b43@riddermarkfarm.ca> From: Dan Cross Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2022 20:33:49 -0400 Message-ID: To: Stuff Received Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Message-ID-Hash: RYAE3P4AU6RXNU7PQY5SXHEAKEYWHYJ5 X-Message-ID-Hash: RYAE3P4AU6RXNU7PQY5SXHEAKEYWHYJ5 X-MailFrom: crossd@gmail.com X-Mailman-Rule-Misses: dmarc-mitigation; no-senders; approved; emergency; loop; banned-address; member-moderation; nonmember-moderation; administrivia; implicit-dest; max-recipients; max-size; news-moderation; no-subject; digests; suspicious-header CC: COFF X-Mailman-Version: 3.3.6b1 Precedence: list Subject: [COFF] Re: Awk, not Kaw? List-Id: Computer Old Farts Forum Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Help: List-Owner: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: On Sun, Jul 24, 2022 at 7:30 PM Stuff Received wrote: > As I was (re)reading Bentley's "More Programming Pearls", I saw the > following in Sect. 2.6, Further Reading: "Aho, Kernighan, and Weinberger > designed and built the original Awk language in 1977. (Whatever you do, > don't permute the initials of their last names!)" > > The exclamation mark seems to indicate a background story. Anyone know it? I once asked Aho about this when I was a student (his compilers class was one of the few CS courses I took). He said they would meet in a room and people would walk by and stick their heads in and say, "AWK! AWK! AWK!" as a kind of joke, and the name came from that. `akw` seems like the most promising alternative, for no other reason than that the initials are alphabetized. `kaw` feels a bit silly, sounding like the noise that a crow makes. I suspect "awk" was the closest to pronounceable without seeming unduly goofy. - Dan C.