Re: Lintian name
On Fri, Aug 20, 2004 at 12:08:02PM +0200, Jeroen van Wolffelaar wrote:
> On Fri, Aug 20, 2004 at 11:02:43AM +0200, Wouter Koolen-Wijkstra wrote:
> > Just a curious question: what is the origin of the name lintian? I could
> > not find this information in the User Manual.
>
> Don't know for sure, but I suppose it is a samentrekking of 'lint'
> (automated style checker for C programs, see lint(1)) and Debian.
>
> Hence, lint-ian, lintian.
>
> Don't know why lint is called lint though...
The Jargon File says:
lint [from Unix's `lint(1)', named for the bits of fluff it supposedly
picks from programs] 1. vt. To examine a program closely for style,
language usage, and portability problems, esp. if in C, esp. if via use
of automated analysis tools, most esp. if the Unix utility `lint(1)' is
used. This term used to be restricted to use of `lint(1)' itself, but
(judging by references on Usenet) it has become a shorthand for {desk
check} at some non-Unix shops, even in languages other than C. Also as
v. {delint}. 2. n. Excess verbiage in a document, as in "This draft has
too much lint".
--
Colin Watson [cjwatson@flatline.org.uk]
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