Comments on: Of daemons, evolution and intolerance http://www.blogistan.co.uk/blog/mt.php/2005/02/09/of_daemons_evolution_and_intolerance Politics, tech and media issues from a Muslim perspective Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:32:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Yusuf Smith http://www.blogistan.co.uk/blog/mt.php/2005/02/09/of_daemons_evolution_and_intolerance#comment-4717 Yusuf Smith Fri, 17 Jun 2005 21:06:41 +0000 http://www.blogistan.co.uk/ijwp/mt.php/2005/02/09/of_daemons_evolution_and_intolerance#comment-4717 You may be right - there is an acronym explanation for daemon (disk and executive monitor), but it is a "backronym" (see <a href="http://www.takeourword.com/TOW146/page4.html" rel="nofollow">here</a>). I personally suspect that the explanation you offer is a retrospective one also - let's face it, demon and devil terminology is often applied to useful things (as in the cutlery brand Kitchen Devils). I suspect that they were called that because they hang in the background and are invisible to the common user. You may be right - there is an acronym explanation for daemon (disk and executive monitor), but it is a “backronym” (see here).

I personally suspect that the explanation you offer is a retrospective one also - let’s face it, demon and devil terminology is often applied to useful things (as in the cutlery brand Kitchen Devils). I suspect that they were called that because they hang in the background and are invisible to the common user.

]]> By: Russell http://www.blogistan.co.uk/blog/mt.php/2005/02/09/of_daemons_evolution_and_intolerance#comment-4716 Russell Fri, 17 Jun 2005 19:06:11 +0000 http://www.blogistan.co.uk/ijwp/mt.php/2005/02/09/of_daemons_evolution_and_intolerance#comment-4716 "Daemon is in fact an acronym, and refers to the processes known in Windows as services..." From the Unix System Administration Handbook, coming to me by way of the FreeBSD website: "'Daemon' is actually a much older form of 'demon'; daemons have no particular bias towards good or evil, but rather serve to help define a person's character or personality." My understanding is that this older form (complete with archaic spelling) is a whimsical-yet-convenient term used to describe programs designed to run as background processes on a UNIX system, because it implies that these processes are the "animating spirits" of the system. This is the first I've heard of "DAEMON" being an acronym. What does it stand for? “Daemon is in fact an acronym, and refers to the processes known in Windows as services…”

From the Unix System Administration Handbook, coming to me by way of the FreeBSD website:

“‘Daemon’ is actually a much older form of ‘demon’; daemons have no particular bias towards good or evil, but rather serve to help define a person’s character or personality.”

My understanding is that this older form (complete with archaic spelling) is a whimsical-yet-convenient term used to describe programs designed to run as background processes on a UNIX system, because it implies that these processes are the “animating spirits” of the system.

This is the first I’ve heard of “DAEMON” being an acronym. What does it stand for?

]]> By: Konrad http://www.blogistan.co.uk/blog/mt.php/2005/02/09/of_daemons_evolution_and_intolerance#comment-4715 Konrad Sat, 19 Feb 2005 12:02:24 +0000 http://www.blogistan.co.uk/ijwp/mt.php/2005/02/09/of_daemons_evolution_and_intolerance#comment-4715 You are an absolute idiot. Salaam alaykum. You are an absolute idiot. Salaam alaykum.

]]>