Today’s software tools have weird names. We call a “library” some collection of functions that you can use in your program.
I think that software repositories (where apt downloads your programs from) should be the actual libraries, since that’s where you go to get your information; Meanwhile individual packages of information should be called books because they are one solid object containing a bundle of information.
The term library in the context of software predates software repositories.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_(computing)
It’s basically as old as the computer itself.
what are sections, chapters, indices? Who’s the librarian?
we don’t need to go all the way into a metaphor
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A repository is where something is stored, and if it is usable it is a library.
- A repository of books that can be read is a book library.
- A repository of code that can be imported is a code library.
- A repository of music that can be played is a music library.
books is a specific type. library is just a different word for collection. So calling them books would be wrong. Because library does not imply a book. In example you can have a library of videos or a library of images.
You are right, but I do want to point at that “library” is based on the Latin word librarium which literally translates to “a place for books”.
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Agree with you on what we should represent as a software library. People tend to search and query for pockets of information in a library. Libraries tend to index and organise to make this easier. Libraries also tend to manage versions (aka editions) of this information. Where as individual packages manage isolated pieces of information; there can be a version set on them but they are unaware of other versions much like a book
However, in terms of calling individual bundle of information, books, might be a hard sell for everyone accustomed to what a book represents. Term which is rarely used in the context of a software system (maybe in accounting ledger-like systems). Book is a series of information bound by the context, a story, its trying to convey. Which is exactly what an individual package represents. Book is a package and that makes sense, going back in time, throwing weight on calling a package/bundle a book might have held well.
As you’ve mentioned, two other common terms are package and a bundle. So one way I could see myself looking at this is: a library, such as NPM/apt, contains packages, and a package is a book or a collection of associated books.
