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TIL that "nginx" is pronounced "engine-x", and not "n-jinx" (self.programmer_humor)

submitted 1 day ago by Kalcifer to c/[email protected]

277 comments fedilink hide all child comments

nginx ("engine x") is an HTTP web server, reverse proxy, content cache, load balancer, TCP/UDP proxy server, and mail proxy server. […] [1]

I still pronounce it as "n-jinx" in my head.

References

Title (website): "nginx". Publisher: NGINX. Accessed: 2025-02-26T23:25Z. URI: https://nginx.org/en/.
- §"nginx". ¶1.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

No, it's pronounced Jason. Douglas Crockford was just too laissez-faire to correct anyone on it probably because he didn't give a fuck.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If you really just say Jason instead of jaysawn/J-sohn you're nuts and probably drive everyone crazy with that

[–] [email protected] 3 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

You & your buddies can keep pronouncing it jaysawn & sounding like complete dorks if it makes you feel better. However, it was clearly intended to be pronounced naturally as Jason like its inventor pronounces it.

Believing otherwise is almost as bad as the plebs who think the symbol ∅ is inspired by Greek letter φ instead of Scandinavian letter Ø.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Didn't realize I was buddies with 99% of everyone that's interacted with JSON!

Also didn't know people used the term 'plebs' unironically, you sound like an absolute joy to be around

[–] [email protected] 2 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago) (1 children)

You seem in irrational need for validation of your pronunciation despite clear justification against it. Cool ad populum. Fly that insecurity flag high.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Buddy. The inventor's intention is not clear justification. Language becomes what is most colloquially used. You'll be dying on this hill 20 years from now. You argue like a redditor, insufferable

[–] [email protected] 0 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

There's the original pronunciation, the suggestive spelling, the common phenomenon of punning in programming, and the natural way people pronounce it as a familiar name when they first see it. Then there's your camp with a mythical, dorky pronunciation they pull out of nowhere and reinforce because.

I think people are fine to call it Jason & drive you irrationally mad.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 20 hours ago

it must be a bunch of dorks that pronounce it wrong just because, right?

Yep: I often see people try to "correct" learners at bootcamps pronouncing it Jason. The fact people pronounce it Jason until told otherwise tells us which is more natural. The "correction", in contrast, is a myth that must be learned.

Acknowledging something happens doesn't endorse it, and Crawford never endorsed your pronunciation as natural. As I suggested earlier, he said "I strictly don't care". Jason is a completely reasonable & natural pronunciation.