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language-agnosticnamingprojects

Naming your projects: does it matter?

I work on a variety of projects using different languages and platforms. Parts of them I abstract out into their own separate projects, and I want to open some of these up to the public.

What gets me stuck is the christening.

So, does it matter? Should I just choose something and stick with it?

And if it does matter, what's better: a cool-sounding name that's memorable, or a descriptive name that's easier to find?

Solution

  • I think naming is an important part of getting ideas to spread. What I look for in a name are:

    1. Memorable. It should be different than other names but easy to remember.
    2. Accurate. It is helpful if the name reflects something about the project.
    3. Positive. It is helpful if the opposite of the name is unattractive. For example, Structured Programming follows this rule because no one wants to be unstructured.
    4. Clever. Clever is optional, but it helps make a name memorable when you achieve it. Clever ages badly, though.

    It's not worth waiting to program until you have cool name. The more experience you have with the project, the easier it is to name. JUnit wasn't christened until several months after its debut.

    For more information about naming, I highly recommend "Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear" by Frank Luntz. He is an amoral political operative, but he loves language and communicates that love effectively.

    One last point about "sticky" projects: be sure to tell the "creation myth" frequently, the story of how the project got started. Every project I've seen that has had long-term impact has had an oft-repeated story about its genesis.