One of the many programmer memes is something along the lines of "naming is difficult." Yet programmers, individuals who are often obsessed with numbers, insist on trying to do it anyway. The results speak for themselves. This extends beyond programs. The so-called "tech" industry has produced some of the most absurd, non-descriptive business names in the history of the world.
I decided to try numbering the programs I write instead of naming them. I often use a prefix that can provide a hint.^1 For example, the yy prefix indicates it was created with flex and the nc in nc0 indicates it is a "wrapper script" for nc. If the program is one I use frequently, then I have no trouble remembering its number. In the event I forget a program number, I have a small text file that lists each yy program along with a short description of less than 35 chars.
1. But not always. I have some scripts that I use daily that are just a number. I also have a series of scripts that begin with "[", where the script [000 outputs a descriptive list of the scripts, [001, [002, etc. I am constantly experimenting, looking for easier, more pleasing short strings to type.
Each source file for a yy program is just a single .l file with a 3-char filename like 025.l, so searching through source code can be as simple as
grep whatever dir/???.l
If I put descriptions in C comments at top of each .l file I can do something like
head -5 dir/???.l
Aesthetically, I like have a directory full of files with filenames that follow a consistent pattern and are of equal length. Look at the source code for k, ngn-k or kerf. When it comes to programming, IMO, smaller is better.
I decided to try numbering the programs I write instead of naming them. I often use a prefix that can provide a hint.^1 For example, the yy prefix indicates it was created with flex and the nc in nc0 indicates it is a "wrapper script" for nc. If the program is one I use frequently, then I have no trouble remembering its number. In the event I forget a program number, I have a small text file that lists each yy program along with a short description of less than 35 chars.
1. But not always. I have some scripts that I use daily that are just a number. I also have a series of scripts that begin with "[", where the script [000 outputs a descriptive list of the scripts, [001, [002, etc. I am constantly experimenting, looking for easier, more pleasing short strings to type.
Each source file for a yy program is just a single .l file with a 3-char filename like 025.l, so searching through source code can be as simple as
If I put descriptions in C comments at top of each .l file I can do something like Aesthetically, I like have a directory full of files with filenames that follow a consistent pattern and are of equal length. Look at the source code for k, ngn-k or kerf. When it comes to programming, IMO, smaller is better.