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Code names

February 22nd, 2010 Niels No comments

Code names

Code names can be used for many things from military operations to software projects.

I bet the military chose their code names with huge precision and with the help of communication staff. But as a software developer I’m always involved in 5 to 10 projects at the same time. Then it’s damn nice to have a cool code name generator to make some creative and  funny code names for your projects.

Code name generators

At the time there’s only a couple of good code name generators out there. Let’s check them out

Codenamegenerator.com

Let’s first take a look at the codenamegenerator. com.

The codenamegenerator.com has a clean and easy to grasp interface.  The code names are highly adjustable. You can choose the prefix (the first name),  dictionary(the second name) and suffix(the last name) from different categories to meet your own opinion about what should be in a good project name. The backside is of course that you need to make a lot of choices your self.

The codenamegenerator.com is programmed  in PHP or another server side language. It makes the page reload each time you press the button. It takes time to make a new http-request and the server resend the whole page every time. It means waiting and blinking while the page reload.

But overall a very cool codename generator . Check it out .

Code names from the online-generator.com

Another place to find cool  ideas for code names is the code names from online-generator.com.

The interface is clean and the visual hierarchy is easy to grasp. The generate code names button stands out and so does the generated code names.

You can’t adjust the code names, but instead it’s  very easy to generate new code names. No choices to be made, just a click and then you got a new code name. Nice and easy. And since the code name generator makes all the code names for you, you can be surprised. Some times the code name consist of 2 code names, some times 3. A random algorithm decide the configuration of the code names.

As a bonus this code name generator also makes a personal list of all the code names you have generated during your visit.

This code name generator is programmed in  JavaScript. It makes code name generation very fast and smooth as all the generation is done in the browser.

Looking for cool code names. Try the code names from online-generator.com.

List of famous code names

When we’re taslking about code names I also gotta mention Wikipedia list of code names. A very good list with many cool code names.

Hjælp til RPG og rollespil

February 19th, 2010 Niels No comments

Hvis du er gået i stå med dine spil kan du altid finde hjælp på snyd.dk. Snyd.dk er  fyldt med tips, tricks og snydekoder til alle de populære spil. Snyd.dk dækker alt fra PC spil over PS 2 0g 3 til Xbox og Nintendos Wii konsol.

Snyd.dk er overskuelig og let at finde rundt ud i. Sitet er delt op i  katagorier. Man kan f.eks. vælge om man skal have hjælp til et PC spil eller et konsol spil.  Derefter kan man vælge genre for spillet. F.eks. kan man under genren  RPG (role playing games)  eller Rollespil på snyd.dk finde hjælp til rigtig mange fantasy og rpg spil. F.ek.s kan du finde  hjælp og snydekoder til:

  • Dragon Age
  • AdventureQuest
  • Heroes Of Might And Magic
  • Quest for Glory
  • Warhammer

og mange mange flere…

Udover kategorierne har snyd.dk en god og brugervenlig søgefunktion. Søgefeltet er let at finde og søgningen er præcis. En søgning på  runescape ledte mig effektivt hen til:  Snydekoder til Runescape

Hvis du ikke kan finde den hjælp du leder efter kan du besøge forummet. Her er det snyds brugere, der kan hjælpe dig. Forummet virker aktivt og har mange brugere, og det er let (og gratis) at registrere sig, så man kan være med i debatten, og få masser af hjælp til sine role playing games.

Japanese name generators

February 17th, 2010 Niels No comments

Friday I went out to dine with my colleagues on a Japanese restaurant. On the menu was sushi and Iki beers. Superb! Just need a Japanese name now.

Name generators

The Japanese name generator from the rumandmonkey.com was my first choice. The interface of name generator is simple and easy to overview, but it is a huge pain though, that the generator only generates one name at the time. And you need to use the browsers back button to come back to the name generator. Also you need to type in different names and to select boy name/girl name each time you want make a new name

The female Japanese name generator and the male Japanese name generator is much more user friendly. The user interface is extremely simple and easy to overview. Here you can generate as many names you want. Just a click the  button each time you need a new name, and the select box will remember how many names you want to generate.

Japanese names

Japanese names in modern times usually consist of a family name (surname), followed by a given name.  Japanese names are usually written in kanji, which are characters of usually Chinese origin in Japanese pronunciation.

Read more about how Japanese names are constructed at the Wikipediea

There are more Japanese generators out there, but most of them are covered with commercials and are a real pain to use. But if you know any good ones just throw a comment. :)

Random numbers and random names

February 14th, 2010 Niels No comments

One of the basic things in making  good name generators is random numbers. But how to create random numbers, random names and how is true randomness defined?

True randomness

At Princeton University radomness is defined as:  randomnessthe quality of lacking any predictable order or plan.

100% unpredictability and true randomness can only be generated from genuine chaotic systems.  A chaotic system is defined by it’s unpredictability lack of plan. Therefore you need a chaotic system  to guarantee true randomness.

In nature we find chaotic systems in the atmosphere or in the universe. True randomness can be generated or ‘extracted’ from these systems in form of atmospheric noise of the atmosphere or the background radiation  from the universe.

In scientific work and research  true randomness is of course crucial to avoid wrong conclusions.  Also when it come to gaming for money true randomness is very important to guarantee random results and credibility to the owner of the game.

To generate true random  numbers visit the random.org random number generator, which generate random numbers from the randomness of atmospheric noise.

Read much more about Random number generation at the Wikipedia.

Pseudo randomness

Randomness and random numbers generated from computers are not truly random, but are referred to as pseudo random numbers.
Computers are predictable by design, and mathematical  formulas and algorithms on which computers base their random calculations are both predictable and logical by nature.

The consequence  is that random numbers generated by computer in theory is predictable and therefore only pseudo random. In practical use though, it  takes  many resources and computer power to predict computer created pseudo random numbers.

Read more about pseudo randomness and pseudo random algoritms at  pseudo random number generation at the Wikipedia. Or this article about  pseudo random numbers and determinism in computer languages and software.

Pseudo-random Numbers and Determinism

In practical use the random numbers from a computer random generator in sufficient for most purposes. So random name generators is  usually based on pseudo random numbers from a programming language. I for example use JavaScripts build in random functions to create my random numbers.

From random numbers to random names

The random number generator is the motor in all name generators.  The random number generator gives surprising and unpredictable names, when used correct.

As an example look at the random name generator, which generates random American names. 1000 boy names, 1000 girls names and 1000 surnames are combined with random algorithms and forms over4 billion random names:

The math behind the random name generator:

1000 girl names x 1000 surnames  = 1,000,000 unique girl names

1000 boy names x 1000 surnames  = 1,000,000 unique boy names

And by sometimes adding a middle name:

1000 girl name x 1000 boy middle names x 1000 surnames  = 1,000,000,000 unique girl names

1000 girl name x 1000 girl middle names x 1000 surnames  = 1,000,000,000 unique girl names

1000 boy name 1000 boy middle names x 1000 surnames  = 1,000,000,000 unique boy names

1000 boy name 1000 boy middle names x 1000 surnames  = 1,000,000,000 unique boy names

In total 4.2 billion unique and random names

Name generators blog

February 13th, 2010 Niels No comments

My name is Niels Gamborg. I’m a web devoloper working at the State and University library of Denmark.

Here at  the name generators blog I’m going to write about name generators and cool names. Focus will be on usability, programming, user interface and of course the art of making cool names.

I run the Name Generators at online-generator.com. The name generators is a hobby project, that gives me opportunity to play and experiment with user interface design, application design and application programming.

Working with the many aspects of name generation has given me a lot of fun and experiences I will share with you on the name generators blog.

I will deal with subjects like:

  • User friendly interfaces for name generators
  • Randomness
  • Random algorithms and how to use the in a creative way
  • How to program a name generator
  • What programming language should you program you name generators in
  • Can you make money on name generators

Furthermore I will share a lot of tips and links to different interesting name generators and articles and list of cool names.

In the mean time visit the Name Generators!

Stay tuned for more. :)

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