nm program - why such name?

Question

Where does the name of nm come from? The IEEE standard defines nm as:

nm - write the name list of an object file

Is nm an abbreviated form of word name/names? Or does it have a completely different origin?

As you noted, it is the short form of *name list*. – unxnut Jul 01 '15 at 13:13 — unxnut, Jul 01 '15 at 13:13

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:40

2

It's an abbreviation for "names" or "name list".

Nm prints the name list (symbol table) of each object file in the argument list.

(V7 Unix manual, 1979)

edited May 23 '17 at 12:40

Community

answered Jul 01 '15 at 13:14

Jakuje

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Jul 01 '15 at 13:19

2

early unix commands get a two letter code, often with wowel removed.

In this case, search for object name, this yield nm.

edited Jul 01 '15 at 13:19

X Tian

answered Jul 01 '15 at 13:15

Archemar

2 Answers2