Programming Facts
Bite-sized, interesting facts about the programming languages, frameworks, and tools developers use every day.
Go Was Designed in 2007 at Google by Griesemer, Pike, and Thompson
Go was designed in 2007 at Google by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson to solve real-scale build and concurrency problems. See how the origin of the language shaped the way it still compiles and runs today.
Rust Is Named After the Rust Fungus
The Rust programming language is named after the rust fungus, not corroding metal, because creator Graydon Hoare admired its robustness. Discover how that naming choice reflects the language's obsession with safety and endurance.
Vim Was Originally Written for the Amiga and Released in 1991
Bram Moolenaar wrote Vim for the Commodore Amiga starting in 1988 and released the first public version in 1991. See how an editor born on an obscure home computer became a fixture of the modern Unix world.
Why Docker Moved From LXC to Its Own libcontainer
Docker initially ran on LXC before swapping it for its own libcontainer library. See why taking control of the container runtime layer reshaped the whole ecosystem into runc and the OCI spec.
The Rust Compiler Was Originally Written in OCaml
The first Rust compiler was written in OCaml before rustc became self hosting. Discover why Graydon Hoare chose OCaml and what bootstrapping the compiler in Rust meant for the language.
Redis Port 6379 Spells MERZ on a Phone Keypad
Redis listens on port 6379 by default because those digits spell MERZ on a phone keypad, an inside joke by creator antirez. Discover the story behind this memorable Easter egg.
Docker Started as an Internal Project at the PaaS Company dotCloud
Docker began in 2013 as an internal tool inside the PaaS startup dotCloud. See how that humble origin grew into the container platform that reshaped software deployment.
Redis Was Created by antirez in 2009
Redis began as a small side project in 2009, written by Salvatore Sanfilippo, known as antirez. Learn how its origin shaped the design choices that make it a uniquely fast in memory data store.
Vim Is Charityware That Donates to Help Children in Uganda
Vim is charityware, asking users to donate to a charity supporting children in Uganda. Discover how this unusual license works and what it reveals about open source values.