macOS: rebranding

[DomT4]

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This doesn't change everything, obviously, but I really should be in bed right now so the logical step was apparently to quickly write up a layer to determine whether a release should be referred to as OS X or macOS. Seriously.

But if people don't hate the idea I'll expand it a bit more. And yes, I'm aware I'm a giant, giant, giant, giant, giant, giant, giant pedant.

[ilovezfs]

I think we're probably better off just "backporting" the name and referring to everything as macOS.

[UniqMartin]

This will print hideous things like “OS X Sierra” if triggered on 10.11, as MacOS.os_name would need to be context-aware and print something adjusted to @version in this case (not the static MacOS.version). I'm also missing the companion change in maximum_macos_requirement.rb. 😉

[UniqMartin]

Quite a few omissions if I'm not misgrepping this early in the morning, but maybe that's intentional as this PR in its current state might be just a proof of concept and a basis for discussion.

I'm not too fond of making this dynamic, as this doesn't extend well to things like documentation. (What should out man page be using? Should the output of brew help <command> automatically adjust?)

[MikeMcQuaid]

I think we're probably better off just "backporting" the name and referring to everything as macOS.

I agree with this 👍

[DomT4]

I think we're probably better off just "backporting" the name and referring to everything as macOS.

You can probably guess by the sheer level of pedantry in this PR I wasn't going to be in love with this idea 😉. I agree it's the simplest way, and I can understand simplicity and spend most of my time around here vouching for it, so I don't have strong objections but the pedant in me wanted to draw this up quickly just in case I could swing y'all onboard.

Quite a few omissions if I'm not misgrepping this early in the morning

Yeah, it's just enough of a PoC for people to play with & actively use if they wanted to without me investing significant time into it if everyone turned around and laughed at me 😄.

this doesn't extend well to things like documentation. (What should out man page be using? Should the output of brew help automatically adjust?)

I agree. Had a similar concern the second macOS was confirmed as official, heh. I was plotting to switch to OS X/macOS for documentation, but admit out of the gate that's clunky.

* Edit - Typo fix from for to to.

[ilovezfs]

We just have to convince your inner pedant that backporting the superseding name "macOS" is more correct and anyone who doesn't do that is in some way at least subtly wrong. (If necessary, we could publish some articles making this claim, which you could then use as citations when correcting the wayward users of the deprecated name "OS X.")

[DomT4]

(If necessary, we could publish some articles making this claim, which you could then use as citations when correcting the wayward users of the deprecated name "OS X.")

I'd very much appreciate this. I think the "gold standard" here would be several long academic think pieces widely accepted by the developer community as thoughtful & persuasive. I think that'd cut it here as a cure for my rabid pedantry.

[ilovezfs]

I'm sure someone is already planning a Semiotics thesis on this very subject. We should beat them to the punch.

[MikeMcQuaid]

@DomT4 In that case a middle ground: when 10.12 gets released we use macOS in all documentation/caveats (as Apple will on their website, no doubt) and anything that does #{MacOS.os_name} #{MacOS.version} we replace with #{MacOS.os_with_version} which picks between OS X and macOS.

[ilovezfs]

I see no need to use "OS X" anywhere in the code or the docs. It's like using outdated terms for various racial groups. You don't do it just a little bit. You just don't do it. :)

[MikeMcQuaid]

Technically it's not macOS until 10.12 is released, though 😉

[DomT4]

😆 I'm not sure you can tie racist terms & Mac operating system series names together. The latter isn't likely to reinforce socioeconomic disparities between the external users of such terms & those groups the terms are designed to apply to 🙈.

In that case a middle ground: when 10.12 gets released we use macOS in all documentation/caveats (as Apple will on their website, no doubt) and anything that does #{MacOS.os_name} #{MacOS.version} we replace with #{MacOS.os_with_version} which picks between OS X and macOS.

I'd be happy enough with that. Agree it can wait until macOS is golden master or something though. If everyone else is content with the suggestion willing to close this & note the idea down somewhere for that later date.

[MikeMcQuaid]

everyone else is content with the suggestion willing to close this & note the idea down somewhere for that later date.

@DomT4 I think, if you wanted, you could still implement the MacOS.os_with_version pretty easily now.

[ilovezfs]

There are people who own machines that will not be upgradable to 10.12 and who cannot afford new machines at this time. You wouldn't want to marginalize them just for that reason, would you?

[MikeMcQuaid]

@ilovezfs 👏

[DomT4]

You wouldn't want to marginalize them just for that reason, would you?

Peak trolling, I applaud you.

I think, if you wanted, you could still implement the MacOS.os_with_version pretty easily now.

Alright, will throw together 10 minutes later for a rewrite and testing.

Edit - I snipped my sentence, it didn't make much sense, it's not even 9am, give me a break 😄.

[UniqMartin]

Nice discussion here. 😂 If Xcode 8 beta release notes have any meaning, they are referencing 10.11 as “macOS 10.11”, which may indicate a complete rebranding irrespective of the version.

[DomT4]

FWIW, based on watching other FOSS projects my temptation is increasingly to swallow the boat & go for a wholesale rename to macOS.

[MikeMcQuaid]

FWIW, based on watching other FOSS projects my temptation is increasingly to swallow the boat & go for a wholesale rename to macOS.

I'm 👍 on that as long as we don't 🚢 until Apple calls it that on their website headers.

[DomT4]

Let's explore this again once Sierra is closer & it's more obvious where Apple is going IRT renaming the whole "brand".

[zmwangx]

Ping @DomT4. You want to resume work on this? Ref #961.

[DomT4]

Just to keep the history trail complete, my reply from the other thread: #961 (comment).

[ilovezfs]

can we please just s/os x/macos/ ... hard-coding pedantry is a waste of CPU cycles and everyone's time

[MikeMcQuaid]

everyone's time

then you are entitled to do no work to support it 😉

[ilovezfs]

that was a foregone conclusion.

[DomT4]

As usual (Sorry, couldn't resist, have agreed with you far too much over the last few days 😉)

[ilovezfs]

#359 (comment)

I guess that went out the window

[DomT4]

I guess that went out the window

It evolved. We agreed to just call everything macOS in documentation, but there were objections to calling everything in code macOS and I didn't agree/disagree strongly enough to die on a hill over it either way.

[DomT4]

As I noted, others disagreed with calling everything macOS in code & I wasn't about to raise hell over it. I thought me not overruling the entire team was pretty much precisely what you've been dreaming of 😕.

[ilovezfs]

I thought me not overruling the entire team was pretty much precisely what you've been dreaming of 😕.

That's never been my opinion of you or your behavior.

[JLHwung]

can we please just s/os x/macos/ ... hard-coding pedantry is a waste of CPU cycles and everyone's time

Like @DomT4 said, "within two years there will be no OS X version Homebrew formally supports", so in the long term we will do s/OS X/macOS to save CPU cycles. But there will be at least couple years during which people still use OS X/macOS interchangeably, so currently, extra CPU cycles for transitional stage is not a bad idea.