Comment by immibis
7 months ago
FWIW "blob" isn't an acronym. It refers metaphorically to an amorphous ball of goop. In databases only, it has been backronymed to "binary large object".
7 months ago
FWIW "blob" isn't an acronym. It refers metaphorically to an amorphous ball of goop. In databases only, it has been backronymed to "binary large object".
> FWIW "blob" isn't an acronym.
As far as I am aware, BLOB is an acronym for "Binary Large Object" [1], but it is part of the pun that, as you wrote, a blob is (also) an amorphous ball of goop.
[1] At least according to the German Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_Large_Object
The Blob is a movie from 1958 and the blobs in databases were named after the movie. Later, some people felt that blob should be an acronym.
https://web.archive.org/web/20231108173312/https://www.ibpho...
> Later, some people felt that blob should be an acronym.
At least this acronym took on a life of its own: we now also have CLOBs (which correspond to no English word that I am aware of): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_large_object
2 replies →
Or where the LOB types could actually be text ([N]NVARCHAR(MAX) in SQL Server, or the deprecated [N]TEXT in the same), I refer to them as Bloody Large OBject.
Or if you don't like blobs but do like recursive acronyms: Bloody Large Odious BLOB.
Good point, [1] is a handy reference on the word. Also used in the compound word "blobfish", of which [2] is a well-known specimen.
[1]: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blob
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr_Blobby_(fish)
Well, hmmm, the word "blob" way predates the 1958 SF horror film of that name:
https://www.etymonline.com/word/blob
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blob