←back to thread

Dolt is Git for data

(www.dolthub.com)
358 points timsehn | 8 comments | 30 Mar 20 20:24 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
Show context
timdorr ◴[31 Mar 20 01:11 UTC] No.22734024[source]▶
Any reason or history behind the name? It means "a stupid person", which seems like a bad choice IMHO: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dolt
replies(8): >>22734038 #>>22734040 #>>22734043 #>>22734157 #>>22734230 #>>22734423 #>>22735134 #>>22735211 #
1. RandallBrown ◴[31 Mar 20 01:13 UTC] No.22734043[source]▶
That's also what Git means.
replies(1): >>22734073 #
2. hprotagonist ◴[31 Mar 20 01:20 UTC] No.22734073[source]▶
"I'm an egotistical bastard, and I name all my projects after myself." --Linus
replies(2): >>22734250 #>>22735845 #
3. laughinghan ◴[31 Mar 20 01:56 UTC] No.22734250[source]▶
In case it isn't obvious, this is a joke, Linus actually didn't name Linux after himself, the person who hosted the original source tree did: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux#Naming
replies(1): >>22734554 #
4. shakna ◴[31 Mar 20 03:00 UTC] No.22734554{3}[source]▶
However, Linux was a name that Linus had considered before dismissing it as too self-centered. It wasn't invented by the later host.
5. slavik81 ◴[31 Mar 20 08:34 UTC] No.22735845[source]▶
Linus is self-aware enough that I'm sure there's a kernel of truth to that joke, but both git and mercurial were clearly inspired by the BitKeeper fiasco. They describe an unpleasant and ill-tempered person, respectively.

There's a lot of different ways that you could interpret the name Linus chose. That's part of what made it clever.

replies(1): >>22735983 #
6. chrismorgan ◴[31 Mar 20 09:12 UTC] No.22735983{3}[source]▶
“Mercurial” doesn’t mean ill-tempered. It typically means fickle, changing. That can be related to moods (regularly pleasant, but inclined to fly off the handle with little provocation) but that is by no means its only application. It can also mean sprightly (connecting with the “changing” meaning), which is quite the opposite of ill-tempered.
replies(2): >>22736010 #>>22736611 #
7. DoreenMichele ◴[31 Mar 20 09:17 UTC] No.22736010{4}[source]▶
Mercurial also means quick witted.
8. slavik81 ◴[31 Mar 20 11:42 UTC] No.22736611{4}[source]▶
Interesting. I don't think I've heard it used in a positive way before. If I knew anything at all about Mercury in Roman mythology, perhaps the other possible interpretations would have been more obvious.