this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2025
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Nix / NixOS

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why is it called nix? unix without u (lemm.ee)
submitted 2 months ago by enemenemu@lemm.ee to c/nix@programming.dev
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[–] InnerScientist@lemmy.world 9 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

I believe that [nix meaning 'nichts' in german] is even intentional, the original author of nix (Eelco Dolstra) is from the Netherlands. The name comes from the fact that by default, nothing is available in build environments in nix.

Which is apparently confirmed by https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5fd8/8f89bd8738816e62808a1b7fb12d3ab14a2f.pdf but I can't access that.

Nix = slang for "nichts" = word for "nothing" in German

[–] haroldfinch@feddit.nl 8 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I have no idea what the actual reason is, I am just responding to the German language aspect.

In Dutch the word "niks" means nothing.

If Mr. Dolstra used a "nothing" reference, wouldn't it make more sense that the Dutch person referenced the Dutch word "niks", which is pronounced exactly the same way as Nix?

As far as conjecture goes this is far more plausible than a Dutch guy picking a German word "nichts" that resembles the pronunciation of the word/name Nix.

And for some reason Hollywood has engrained on society the notion that the Dutch natively speak German. Some of them learn it, but it is not their native language.

[–] chfkch@ruhr.social 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

@haroldfinch
I thought it wad because of the latin word for snow, hence the logo.
@InnerScientist

[–] enemenemu@lemm.ee 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

That makes sense

https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/nix section latin

[–] KurtVonnegut@mander.xyz 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The logo is a circle of lambdas. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambda_calculus

[–] chfkch@ruhr.social 1 points 2 months ago

@KurtVonnegut
Yes, in the shape of a snow flake.

[–] InnerScientist@lemmy.world 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

"Nix" doesn't resemble "nichts", it's slang for the same thing in German so it has the same meaning.

I don't know which language is the source but if someone can access the nix paper to confirm that'd be great.

[–] blackschild@lemmy.world 7 points 2 months ago

Footnote in the paper on page 3: The name Nix is derived from the Dutch word niks, meaning nothing; build actions do not see anything that has not been explicitly declared as an input.

[–] juipeltje@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think nix being slang for nichts is a coincidence, because it actually comes from the dutch word "niks", which also means nothing. I think this is mentioned on the NixOS website somewhere.

[–] beeng@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 2 months ago

OK, its going down to the wire, which language had nix sounding word first?

[–] enemenemu@lemm.ee 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

I addition, https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/nix German, dutch, danish and norwegian share the common ~~west~~ germanic root and all have nix meaning nothing

[–] superkret@feddit.org 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I'm running Linu.
Linux without X.

[–] KindaABigDyl@programming.dev 6 points 2 months ago

I'm running Linus

Linux without X but with S... ystemd

[–] railwhale@lemmy.nz 4 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I'm pretty sure it's because nix is 'nixing' the traditional software deployment and packaging model.

Or was your post a joke that nix is hard, and it doesn't care about 'u'?

[–] enemenemu@lemm.ee 1 points 2 months ago

I'm serious about it but couldn't stand not mentioning it