Hi! I’m new to J and to this community :)
Regarding the name of J - if I remember correctly, J was chosen because it is
the arithmetic mean of A + P + L, but I cannot find the source atm. Here’s an
example in J:
0 15 11 { 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz'
apl
(>.(+/%#) 0 15 11) { 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz'
j
A rename of the language would be helpful to find new (and maybe renamed,
official) content, even if it takes a while to spread. But a rename offers more
opportunities than just making it easier to find content - it will attract new
users to the language and the community, and to make them „stick“, a rename
should be the last step in a greater endeavor, i.e.:
- setting up a clear learning path for beginners
- bringing tutorials/books/labs up to date
- reordering the front page/wiki, so that content is easier found (I found out
about labs by chance - they are mentioned in the wiki, but buried)
- adding a community page, where the array cast podcast, discource/matrix
server (and maybe more) is mentioned
- a guide on how to contribute code to the project - mailing lists, GitHub pull
requests or some other way?
- document the build steps - J offers binaries for multiple platforms, which is
great, but is not packaged by most(?) linux/bsd systems - e.g., releases do not
have a tag in gitlab, so that it’s impossible to build a specific version from
a git checkout, and there are no code tarballs for releases as well
I also read in the archives of a J list somewhere, that there were some
thoughts to switch J from GPL to MIT or another license, so that could also be
combined with the „new release“.
IMHO, only then does it make sense to rename J.
Just my 2 cents ;)
Nils
> Am 10.05.2023 um 10:14 schrieb HH PackRat <[email protected]>:
>
> I may be completely mistaken (and I didn't have time to double check
> the history), but I thought Roger Hui chose "j" because (I *think*) it
> was convenient (or conveniently located).
>
> In that spirit (and I realize it's probably ridiculous, yet
> practical), I would like to suggest "jkl". It's fantastically easy to
> type. It probably should be pronounced "jay-kel". For a "meaning",
> it might stand for "J--Ken's Language" (Ken, of course, being Ken
> Iverson).
>
> Harvey
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