The story, if I recall correctly, is that the programmer Edwin Brady had a previous project that was a proof engine, and lacking a suitable name for it, named after an older British children's cartoon called Ivor the Engine.[^1] When it came time to name a newer project, he decided to name it after another character from the same show: Idris, the little red Welsh dragon. This, incidentally, is why the Idris language's logo is a stylized red wing.
but could not infer why a dragon from Ivor the engine had been chosen. That the author had previously written a proof engine makes all the sense now. :)
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Is Idris related to Idris Elba, the British actor, by any chance?
The story, if I recall correctly, is that the programmer Edwin Brady had a previous project that was a proof engine, and lacking a suitable name for it, named after an older British children's cartoon called Ivor the Engine.[^1] When it came time to name a newer project, he decided to name it after another character from the same show: Idris, the little red Welsh dragon. This, incidentally, is why the Idris language's logo is a stylized red wing.
[^1]: Ivor the Proof Engine is here, although apparently not actively updated any more: https://github.com/edwinb/Ivor
Thank you, I had read the FAQ:
http://docs.idris-lang.org/en/latest/faq/faq.html
but could not infer why a dragon from Ivor the engine had been chosen. That the author had previously written a proof engine makes all the sense now. :)
Because an existing name (from all various of the world) wasn't around before some bloke on the telly?