How are OCaml Programmers Called?
Ruby programmers are commonly called Rubyists. Python programmers are often called Pythonistas. Lisp programmers are widely known as Lispers. Clojure programmers are sometimes called Clojurians.
Of course, in a lot more programming language communities such nicknames never became common - e.g. Java, .NET, PHP and JavaScript.1 I wonder if those playful nicknames are also a reflection of the spirit of a community or they are just a side-effect of how easy it’s to derive something from the name a programming language.
But what about OCaml programmers? (O)Camlers? (O)Camlists? (O)Camlians? (O)Camlurians? Caml Riders?
I’ve been wondering about this in the background of my mind ever since I got interested in OCaml last year. I finally decided to do a bit of digging around and I’ve discovered that there’s no popular/common term for OCaml programmers. The members of the community did have some cool ideas, though.
Since we stealthy move between pure and impure environments, Cameleons seems appropriate.
Indeed! I like this one a lot, as I think it captures perfectly OCaml’s creed. So, let them be know as Cameleons going forward! Or Camleons? Naming is hard!
Oh, Camleons, that’s all I have for you today. Keep hacking and may your code always compile from the first try! And occasionally even do the thing you intended it to!
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At least in English. In Bulgaria we have nicknames for pretty much every type of programmer. E.g. if you’re Java programmer you’d often by called Javar or Javajiya. PHP programmers are PHPars. C programmers are See-ee-ji-ee. Not super original, but very versatile. ↩