and the g in gnu stands for gnu
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So if I'm getting it right, gobject is short for gnugnu(...)gnuimptklibobject.
Following the modern C conventions, the text following the series of (gnu) doesn't matter and you can write anything you want there.
Then what does the g in gnu stand for?
I think this is sarcasm, but just in case it isn't... GNU is a recursive acronym for "GNU's Not Unix".
Yeah, they missed the best part.
GNU stands for GNU's Not Unix, which is a recursive acronym. And, when pronounced properly (like the animal) the G is silent. The entire Linux ecosystem has words that start with G based on an acronym where G essentially comes from nowhere, and isn't actually pronounced.
Well, I dont wanna start a debate, but the official website of GNU indicate that the "g" in GNU isn't silent.
So it depends on whether you want to pronounce it "properly" or as it was intended.
The name “GNU” is a recursive acronym for “GNU's Not Unix!”; it is pronounced as one syllable with a hard g, like “grew” but with the letter n instead of r.
Is it pronounced gnu or jnu?
Are you gnu here?
Jnu enough to stoke an ancient flame war for my personal entertainment.
You can easily answer this for yourself by looking up what the G stands for.
Wait...
A topic with a a lot of gnuances.
Does the g in gspot also stand for gnu?
it actually stands for garam masala
In case you were wondering the 'w' in 'wine' stands for 'wine', and the full acronym is 'Wine Is Not an Emulator'. What do you think the 'w' in 'Wine Is Not an Emulator' stands for?
I once tried to play "PHP" in Scrabble and argued that it should be infinite points.
The opponent didn't agree.
As a younger teen trying to get starcraft running on my linux box, my parents were definitely upset when they saw me browsing "winehq". They thought I was trying to get booze shipped to our house :D
Things to do on Christmas:
- Unwrap gifts ❌
- Unwrap acronyms ✔️
I remember a time when almost every category of tool had something named "Yet Another [Thing]" because there were already so many options to choose from when they decided to make their own.
I.......I lost track of what just happened. G stands for......something, I imagine.
Well it kind of stands for nothing, because at the center of this onion is GNU, which is recursive. It stands for "GNU's Not UNIX", so the G in GNU stands for GNU.
Never thought about it and I'm gonna go back to not thinking about it
Opportunity missed in not calling it GnObject.

And this really exposes a major challenge with FOSS.
Names have meaning - it's why Office is called Office.
This gnu naming isn't much of an issue, because this is stuff only technical folks handle. But if we want end-users to embrace things, we need meaningful names - meaningful to them.
Whenever I tell my friends or family to install Jellyfin so they can access my media, the look on their face says it all.
MediaMonkey - alright, I get it (yea, not FOSS)
Plex? OK, if someone then says "think MultiPlex Theaters", you get it. (Also not FOSS)
Jellyfin? What is that? Jam on a sharkfin?
These work really well:
Resilio SYNC (Yeah, not FOSS, but the name makes sense)
SyncThing (FOSS)
FolderSync (not FOSS)
Notice a trend here?
I have a printed spreadsheet for all the software I use - if I haven't touched a service for a couple months, I'll forget the meaningless name.
Counterarguments:
- Chrome
- Edge
- Sky
- Adobe Acrobat
- Outlook
All wellknown programs or services where the name has no relation to the purpose.
Compared to how Microsoft names things, FOSS naming is harmless on average.
Think of them naming the gaming app on Windows PCs "Xbox", or the distinction between "VS Code" and "Visual Studio Code", or "edit" (msedit), etc etc
Banger title
You've been gnomed