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[Nils Reuße]

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 <hhpackrat at gmail.com>:
> 
> 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
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm