"Georgy Vladimirov" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I actually like the logo without the underscore. I don't think an
> underscore is very collaborative with art. The "_" has always been
> irritating me a little.
>
> I know that there is history and nostalgia involved here but dropping
> an underscore at least in the logo is a nice evolution IMHO. The whole
> "mod_" just happens to be the original Apache naming convention
i agree.
"mod_perl" looks like more like a variable name than a technology, much less
a *brand*. it has a certain coolness factor all it's own, but the coolness
is lost on anyone who isn't a programmer, or more specifically, a mod_perl
programmer! it just inspires more questions than answers.
i cannot tell you how many times i've told someone i was a mod_perl
programmer and then watched as the eyes of my prospective employer glazed
over as they apparently thought, "a what programmer? is that like a
computer programmer?" okay maybe i wouldn't have been happy working for
those folks anyway, but sometimes you'd be happy working for any folks and
*those* are the times we wish mod_perl had a glossier finish, more brand
recognition, maybe some buzz in some business magazines and, you know, the
fame that it deserves.
i'm sure that many business executives who have very immediate problems that
mod_perl (and a mod_perl programmer) could easily solve read (what little
there is) in the press about mod_perl and wonder, "how does one pronounce
this? mod-underscore-perl? what does *mod* mean?" if it was an acronym
they could at least investigate what the letters stood for, and then look up
those words. but mod_ just seems to be whimsically short
for... --something. modified perl? modern perl? is it pronounced "moad"
maybe? is it modal? it's an apache thing? well, why didn't you *say* so?"
(apache gets a pretty good amount of buzz, even out there in the
non-programmer world, for an open-source technology).
some other webserver-specific language API names are easier to fathom. some
are even easier to pronounce. ISAPI is easily spoken and easy to fathom
(once one knows what the letters stand for) if not so easy to afford. NSAPI
is similarly fathomable. a CEO can even find out what CGI is, without
having to embarrass themselves by asking a geek.
so why do we cling to mod_perl as a name? i suppose for the familiar
historical reasons, it's a fond term of endearment to us. but it would be
more descriptive to call it "The Apache perl API" or "Apache-Embedded perl",
would it not? it behooves us to ride along on Apache's name-recognition
doesn't it?
mod_perl, as a name simply does not do justice to the most powerfule and
popular programming language on Earth, embedded into the most powerful and
popular webserver on Earth, does it? no, of course not. so i say we ditch
the new logo (though i did vote for it and do like it a lot, sans_underscore
and all) and propose that we change the name summarily and forthwith TO:
(drum roll, please...)
The Apache-perl API
(or tApAPI for short) it's pronounceable, alliterative, memorable.... and
hey, it almost rhymes with Apache! ok, and slap-happy. well either that or
"Grape Apey", but let's not go there.
what more could anyone want in a name?
-dave
