Cube Antics

Here’s my take on the Google Go programming language Issue 9 fiasco.

The Background

You know that awesome new programming language Google is coming out with called Go? It turns out that Francis McCabe has already created a programming language called Go! almost 5 years ago. In fact, he even wrote a book about it that was published in February of 2007 (in addition to several articles).

Enter Issue 9

So, like any responsible member of the programming community, Francis opened up an issue in the Go issue tracking system which has already generated a pretty large number of hits.

This brings up an interesting ethical dilemma -one that Google has actually faced before – what should Google do?

Should they plow forward with Go knowing full well someone else came up with the name first, or should they concede and rename Go in the name of “fairness”

My $0.02

Let me preface this section by saying that there are three things in my life I proudly subscribe to fanboy status on and will defend from trolls until I breathe my last breath.

• Google
• Xbox
• Doctor Who

That being said I really have to hope that Google changes the name of Go. And, I’ll give you three reasons why I wholeheartedly believe this.

Reason One – Name Clash Exception!

Somebody already beat you to the name, and for a programming language no-less. I could understand if Toyota came out with a Go hybrid car earlier this year that’s all the rage among people in France and Spain. But, the fact that the Go! programming language has already been around for a few years and has had several publications written about it (books/papers) means that you’ve simply been beat to the market for that name.

Reason Two – The name isn’t search-friendly

I can’t imagine how hard it will be to search for help and forum posts on the Go programming language. I mean, googling “Go” yields 2,940,000,000 results (in 0.23 seconds… man that’s sexy)! The signal to noise ratio for finding useful articles on Go will be too crappy and likely frustrate many Go greenhorns.

Reason Three – It’s the right thing to do

This reason pretty much sums up the other two but I feel it warrants it’s own explanation. Somebody already made claim to this name and is investing his time and effort to something that betters the programming community and I think his hard work should be respected.

What should the new name be?

There’s always the question about what to name Go if Google does actually decide to change the name. Several people on the Go Issue 9 thread are in favor of renaming Go to Issue9. Personally, I think it would make for a good programming language name. And, it would serve as a nod to Francis and the original Go! programming language.

What now?

Now we get to sit back and wait while the drama of Go vs. Go! unfolds. Like I mentioned earlier, I really hope Google changes the name of Go. I think it would be a small gesture that would speak volumes about the company’s stance on fairness and supporting the development community.

After all, how you handle the little things in life shows how you handle the bigger things in life. Don’t let me down Google!

But, no matter what happens, I’ll always love you Google. I don’t even use Bing… I swear.

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