Why the Project Is Called XKV

XKV stands for explainable key-value. KV is the usual shorthand for a key-value store, the simplest kind of database there is: you put a value under a key and get it back later. The X is the part this project adds.

An X marks the spot on a map, and it’s the letter that stands for an unknown in algebra. Both fit. Every value in a store has a story behind it, and in most stores that story is the unknown. XKV keeps it next to the value, so the question every value should be able to answer, why, has an answer.

The name is short on purpose. It’s what you type: xkv why, xkv put, xkv log. The Go package is xkv as well, so the code reads the way the command does: xkv.Open, xkv.Reason, xkv.Cause.

The project’s home is xkv.org, and the code lives at github.com/explainable-kv/xkv, where the organisation’s name spells out the X.