Log & Bug

I love digging into the origins of words from time to time. For example, "log" comes from maritime terminology and literally means a log: a wooden float attached to a rope, which was thrown overboard from a ship. The rope had knots tied at regular intervals, and by counting how many knots unwound in a certain amount of time, sailors could determine the speed of the ship.

These measurements were recorded in the ship's journal, which was also called a log. Over time, the term started being used for any kind of record or journal of events, and in IT, the word got a second life :)

Or take "bug" — well, you’ve probably heard about this one. A moth, which messed with a computer’s operation over seventy years ago, was documented in the log as "the first actual case of a bug being found". The insect gained a kind of digital immortality: now any mistake, especially in a program, is called a bug.

(It’s just a pity that it wasn’t a prettier insect — like a butterfly, for instance? That would’ve added a touch of romance to our work)

(Though, if you think about it... maybe "bug" isn’t such a bad option after all. "Butterfly" is a bit too long. Besides, someone would’ve shortened it to "butt," and right now, we’d be fixing butts instead of bugs)

12 October 2024 English