*BSD News Article 95352


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From: Tony Walton <tony.walton@UK.Sun.COM.PLEASE.REMOVE.THIS.TO.REPLY>
Newsgroups: comp.unix.shell,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.linux.x,alt.os.linux,comp.unix.bsd.misc,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc,gnu.misc.discuss,comp.unix.solaris
Subject: Re: unix acronyms -collecting a list?
Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 11:42:35 +0100
Organization: SunService UK
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Wayne Cochran - CS wrote:
> 
> tla = three letter acronymn

Three Letter Abbreviation (it's not necessarily an acronym)

> awk  = Aho, Weinberger, Kernighan

ISTR that awk was originally named "awk" after a phrase that often
appeared on the screen during the "Batman" TV series (when Batman and
Robin were duffing up the Bad Guys things like "POW!", "OOF!", "CRACK!"
and of course "AWK!" would appear on the screen with each punch). Why? 
Why not!

Only later, when the Big Bosses asked what "awk" stood for did someone
think quickly and claim that it stood for "Aho, Weinberger and
Kernighan".

An FLA:

yacc == yet another compiler compiler

-- 
Tony