Ask HN: Why is the nm tool called nm?

1 points by dbrgn ↗ HN
The "ar" command stands for "archive", the "ld" command for "loader". But why is "nm" (the tool that lists the symbol tables from an object file) called "nm"?

3 comments

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It shows you the names.
Oh, that seems obvious in hindsight :) Thank you!
You're welcome. All the oldest commands (and directory names) have had all their corners rubbed off (but the "n" in "unmount" just fell out at some point; they're still looking for it should you happen know where it went).