The meaning of "In the gooey"

October 21, 2009 3:59 PM

What does the phrase "in the gooey" mean?

A person was introducing me to MySQL and referred to the ability to edit data fields as "working in the gooey." The phrase immediately appealed to me, but before I start using it I want a better understanding of what it means. Are there any tech folk out there who use the phrase that can provide me with some insight?

posted by ergibson to computers & internet (28 comments total)

lol - It's in the GUI (Graphical User Interface). A "windows" app as opposed to the command line.
posted by bitdamaged at 4:00 PM on October 21

Working in the GUI, or "Graphical User Interface." In other words, pointing and clicking on buttons and stuff on the screen.
posted by infinitywaltz at 4:00 PM on October 21

The MySQL tools are here

http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/gui-tools/5.0.html
posted by bitdamaged at 4:01 PM on October 21

I'm not familiar with MySQL, specifically, but the person may have been referring to the GUI, or graphical user interface, as opposed to manipulating lines of code.
posted by Madamina at 4:01 PM on October 21

Sorry... I should have said that the ability to edit data files, not fields, was referred to as working in the gooey.
posted by ergibson at 4:03 PM on October 21

"wuhzeewig" is another good one.
posted by bitterkitten at 4:03 PM on October 21

*wizzy-wig ;)
posted by june made him a gemini at 4:05 PM on October 21

It's "wissywig" which is "WYSIWYG" which stands for "What You See Is What You Get". And yeah, "gooey" is GUI "Graphical User Interface".
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:06 PM on October 21

I also like scuzzy or SCSI :)
posted by ergibson at 4:08 PM on October 21

Sorry Chocolate Pickle, this is such a silly, trivial thing but --

WYSIWYG (pronounced /ˈwɪziˌwɪg/[1]), is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. The term is used in computing to describe a system in which content displayed during editing appears very similar to the final output,[2] which might be a printed document, web page, slide presentation or even the lighting for a theatrical event.

As far as gooey is concerned, watch out for those kids on Reddit.
posted by june made him a gemini at 4:12 PM on October 21

Of course there's always whether its MySequel or MyEss-Q-El. I always called it Sequel and thought it was weird when I started hearing MyEss-Q-El at a new job.
posted by bitdamaged at 4:18 PM on October 21

I like to pronounce SQL like I have a lisp and am trying to say "squirrel."
posted by clorox at 4:32 PM on October 21

By the by, for a pretty decent rant on several subjects (including CLIs and GUIs), take a look at this essay by Neal Stephenson.
posted by jquinby at 4:38 PM on October 21 [1 favorite]

What a fun read! Thank you jquinby!
posted by ergibson at 4:53 PM on October 21

I like to pronounce SQL as "Ess Que Ell"
posted by delmoi at 5:09 PM on October 21

I like to pronounce SQL as "Ess Que Ell"

SKL?
posted by The Tensor at 5:38 PM on October 21

I like to pronounce SQL as "Ess Que Ell"

SKL?

I'm assuming he meant Ess Cue Ell.
posted by InsanePenguin at 5:52 PM on October 21

I think he means ess kwi ell
posted by ergibson at 6:42 PM on October 21

not to threadjack, but...

Of course there's always whether its MySequel or MyEss-Q-El.

It's "My S.Q.L." Sequel was a predecessor database language by IBM and as such is a different animal. Sure, you can and a lot of people do pronounce it "My Sequel," but it's heard by experienced people as a noob pronunciation. I know, argumentum ad populum, but that's my experience.
posted by rhizome at 6:43 PM on October 21 [1 favorite]

SKL?

I think "Que" could easily be pronounced like "Queue"
posted by delmoi at 7:09 PM on October 21

back to the threadjack. Rhizome I respectfully disagree with your argument. SEQUEL (the IBM version - Actually Structured English Query Language) is the same animal as SQL. The vowels were dropped for copyright issues. I'd argue that S.Q.L is the noob version.
posted by bitdamaged at 8:22 PM on October 21

I started learning MySQL by reading various tutorials on the internet and so had no idea what "My Sequel" was the first time I heard it pronounced that way. So, people who say it "Sequel" can at least be counted on to have discussed it with other people in person or over the phone at some point. Whether that means they're more experienced or more social is not mine to say (ok, they're probably more experienced, but I still can't bring myself to pronounce it like that, any more than I can say "earl" for URL.)

On the other hand, I don't think I've ever heard anybody pronounce "GUI" by spelling out the letters.
posted by contraption at 8:42 PM on October 21

You know, I've never heard people pronounce "GUI" by spelling, but they do drop the G and spell out "UI" all the time.
posted by pwnguin at 12:01 AM on October 22

According to the Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publications:

When referring to Structured Query Language, SQL is pronounced "es-cue-el" and takes the article an--for example, "an SQL database." As part of the name Microsoft SQL Server, SQL is pronounced "sequel."

I always found that interesting.

GUID -- "goo-id" -- is also fun.
posted by transporter accident amy at 12:34 AM on October 22

You know, I've never heard people pronounce "GUI" by spelling, but they do drop the G and spell out "UI" all the time.

That is because UI is a more general term that doesn't necessarily require graphics. For example the arrangement of buttons and LEDs on an appliance is called the UI.
posted by JackFlash at 12:40 AM on October 22

I always pronounce GUID as "gwid" - one syllable. Am I saying it incorrectly?
posted by matildaben at 8:34 AM on October 22

JackFlash: "
That is because UI is a more general term that doesn't necessarily require graphics."

Yes, but what I mean is that they call it U-I and not "ooey" in those situations.
posted by pwnguin at 10:35 AM on October 22

Huh. Learn something new every day. I've always treated SQL as initials in speech, but I suppose if I tried to pronounce it as a word it would be 'skwil'.
posted by MarchHare at 9:47 PM on October 22