Names are bindings to objects, however, to find an object given a name, the relation must be looked up in a naming context.

A problem with using strings as names is that it is very easy to lose track of the correct naming context. This is one of the problem with passive translators: a passive translator is a string. When the node is accessed on which the passive translator is set and there is no active translator, then an active translator is started using the passive translator setting. The active translator is started by the file system, not the program instance that set the passive translator. The passive translator settings are therefore resolved in the file system's naming context, which may be different from that of the program instance that set the passive translator setting.