April 17, 2007 6:19 AM
What is a MAILER-DAEMON anyway?
Loved this answer to my question about the mailer-daemon who sends email back to us
From usr-bin-mom Michelle, our resident keeper of knowledge of all things cybertech:
Barbara, you can't ask an obscure computer related question and not expect me to find the answer, I hope you know. :)From Wikipedia:
In Unix and other computer multitasking operating systems, a daemon (IPA pronunciation: /'deɪmən/ or /'dimən/[1]) is a computer program that runs in the background, rather than under the direct control of a user; they are usually initiated as processes...The term was coined by the programmers of MIT's Project MAC. They took the name from Maxwell's daemon, an imaginary being from a famous thought experiment that constantly works in the background, sorting molecules.[2] Unix systems inherited this terminology. Daemons are also characters in Greek mythology, some of whom handled tasks that the gods couldn't be bothered with, much like computer daemons often handle tasks in the background that the user can't be bothered with. BSD and some of its derivatives have adopted a daemon as its mascot, although this mascot is actually a cute stereotypical depiction of a demon from Christianity. (The alternative expansion of "daemon" as "disk and execution monitor" is also sometimes used, but is a backronym.)
Daemons are also characters in Greek mythology, some of whom handled tasks that the gods couldn't be bothered with, much like computer daemons often handle tasks in the background that the user can't be bothered with.
That is just so cool. Now I will smile whenever I see that in my inbox :)
Posted in Blogging | Permalink
Comments
Glad you liked it, Barbara! :) Lots of computer-stuff names are cool when you know what they mean because they are thought up by geeks. One definition of geek is "an enthusiast or expert especially in a technological field or activity." (Webster) In my mind, geeks are always passionate about their work, so they don't just come up with names, they come up with interesting and amusing names. Even when they think they can't -- one technology, used in image scanning, is named TWAIN - Technology Without An Interesting Name. :D
Posted by: Michelle Potter | April 18, 2007 2:28 PM
