Ubuntu finally gets to the end of the alphabet with Zesty Zapus release
Wiley Werewolf. Hardy Heron. Saucy Salamander. There’s
no doubt about it: Ubuntu has the best release names in the business.
(Sorry, Android.)
Ever since 2004, each new version of the Linux-based OS has come with
an alliterative code name, comprised of one adjective and one animal.
Now, 12 years after the fun started, Canonical has finally reached the
end of the alphabet, releasing Ubuntu version 17.04 Zesty Zapus.
The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that 17
versions isn’t enough to cover every letter of the alphabet, but the
first three releases weren’t in alphabetical order. The first, version
4.10, was named Warty Warthog, followed by versions 5.04 (Hoary
Hedgehog) and 5.10 (Breezy Badger). It wasn’t until Ubuntu 6.06 Dapper
Drake that the pattern was properly established.
As Canonical explains,
this convention started life as a joke between a pair of developers
worried that the software’s first release was going to be pretty
unpolished — thus Warty Warthog. Coders working on Ubuntu
became known as “hogs” after this, and they tried to keep the tradition
going with the next “Hedgehog” release. There’s only so many ‘hogs in
the world, though, and they soon moved onto other animals.
The question is, what will the next release of Ubuntu be named? Some think Canonical will swing back around to the beginning of the alphabet,
perhaps doubling up each letter to differentiate it from the first run,
e.g. “Aalenian Aardvark.” Others have suggested moving onto flowers and
plants, like Apologetic Anemone; or rocks and minerals — Anomalous
Alexandrite, for example. Either way, the fun will continue.
The article was published on : theverge
Post a Comment