These 3 Linux software names make a lot more sense once you know the full story
Terminal commands and FOSS philosophies aside, one of the biggest challenges new Linux folks face is just the sheer number of odd and difficult-to-pronounce names for things. I’ll explain a few of them and their interesting origins.
Being an open source operating system with a lot of open source software, Linux constantly invites the proliferation of weird naming choices. Apps and tools get forked and cloned all over, and the people in charge of those projects aren’t being told what they can and can’t call them. It’s hard to avoid, but with a little bit of background you can sometimes at least discover the logic of the name.
Linux
It’s ubiquitous, but where does it come from?
We’ll start with the most essential term: Linux. Where did such an odd name for an operating system come from?
First, it’s not technically an operating system. Linux, to split hairs, is the name of a kernel that, when combined with GNU software, forms the basis for a complete operating system.
Where the name comes from is pretty simple on the surface if you know who started (and still oversees) development of the Linux kernel: Linus Torvalds.
It’s not as simple as changing the S to an X and thinking it looked cool, though. Linux was inspired by another operating system with an X-ending name called MINIX. That operating system, along with several others of its day, including IRIX and Xenix, were named as such because they were all either considered “Unix-like” or actually had certification as UNIX.
X Marks the What? How Linux Got Its Name
Replace the S in Linus with X and you get Linux. But why an X, and who actually did that?
Why Unix is spelled that way isn’t known, though it is a pun on Multics, an older, influential operating system. The -cs and -x suffixes make the same sound, and thanks to the influence of Unix, the -x suffix stuck.
So, in a sense, Linux was named based on the convention of its day for Unix-like operating systems. Just like if I were building my own operating system today, I might follow convention and call it “Jordan OS,” I’d probably go with something like “Jordix” if this were the early 90s.
openSUSE
This one involves a German language lesson
openSUSE is the free and open source version of SUSE Linux Enterprise, an operating system designed for and marketed to businesses. It’s famously one of the oldest Linux distributions still in development.
You’d be forgiven if you aren’t even sure how to pronounce this Linux term. The acronym part of itself doesn’t directly translate in English, making explanation a little trickier than others on this list.
The reality is that openSUSE gets its name from the company behind it: SUSE S.A. The acronym SUSE stands for “Software Und System-Entwicklung,” which, translated from German, means “software and systems development.”
If we rebuilt the acronym in English, SASD wouldn’t have quite the same ring. Still, its pronunciation may be a little easier to comprehend. openSUSE is pronounced “open sue-suh,” which frankly is not how I’d been saying it before I did my research.
Wayland
It’s actually a place you can go
Wayland is a communication protocol that’s been slowly replacing X as the primary windowing system on Linux distributions. Increasingly in the past few years, popular distros have been fully dropping support for X and embracing Wayland fully.
I don’t think I’m alone when I say, on first hearing about Wayland, I assumed the name was chosen by a fan of the Alien movie franchise. That series has a fictional corporation called Weyland Industries, and a futuristic name makes sense for a forward-minded project.
It turns out that my assumption was wrong. The Wayland protocol has nothing to do with science fiction or outer space. In fact, it’s very grounded on earth with a specific location.
According to Ars Technica, the founder of Wayland, Kristian Høgsberg, was driving through the town of Wayland, Massachusetts, when the idea of Wayland and its unique system “crystallized” in his mind. According to my research, Wayland—the town—is located around 15 miles outside of Boston and has a population of around 13,000 people. It’s famous for being home to the author of the “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” Christmas carol.
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So, in theory, you could actually travel to Wayland and see for yourself what Høgsberg was looking at when he was inspired to create Wayland. Who knows? Maybe you too will end up inventing a new communication protocol while you’re there.
I’ve only scratched the surface of the weird names in the world of Linux, to say nothing of the rampant Linux acronyms and initialisms. Several of them are actually jokes in the form of recursive acronyms, yet another odd tradition in software development culture.
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