this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2025
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Programmer Humor

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Free software has some glib naming conventions (feddit.uk)
submitted 7 hours ago by flamingos@feddit.uk to c/programmer_humor@programming.dev
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Toot

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[–] ilinamorato@lemmy.world 7 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

GIMP is an acronym for what's arguably the most descriptive name possible: GNU Image Manipulation Program.

[–] squaresinger@lemmy.world 6 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

But the acronym totally destroys the understandability of the program name and instead is understood as "an unpleasant or stupid person" (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/gimp).

If you look at similar commercial software you get names like MS Paint, Photoshop or Lightroom.

They should have stuck with "GNU Image", "GNU Photo" or maybe "GNU PhotoEdit".

[–] JesusChristLover420@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 4 hours ago

When I teach old people how to use GIMP, we all laugh at the name, I explain what it stands for, and then they don't forget it.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 hours ago

This is what confused me about OP, because I think of this as the application (ie program, or tool) not the library. So to put the name of the tool back into a library, seems backwards.