From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.com) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id ; Sat, 12 May 2001 00:19:15 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.com) by vger.kernel.org id ; Sat, 12 May 2001 00:19:06 -0400 Received: from otter.mbay.net ([206.40.79.2]:64773 "EHLO otter.mbay.net") by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id convert rfc822-to-8bit; Sat, 12 May 2001 00:18:48 -0400 From: jalvo@mbay.net (John Alvord) To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: Not a typewriter Date: Sat, 12 May 2001 04:18:45 GMT Message-ID: <3b03b94c.77856647@mail.mbay.net> In-Reply-To: <86256A49.00589003.00@smtpnotes.altec.com> In-Reply-To: <86256A49.00589003.00@smtpnotes.altec.com> X-Mailer: Forte Agent 1.5/32.451 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8BIT Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org On Fri, 11 May 2001 11:07:45 -0500, Wayne.Brown@altec.com wrote: > > >On 05/10/2001 at 06:20:34 PM Hacksaw wrote: > >My point is that someone who sees the "typewriter" message and doesn't >understand it will have to dig a bit to find out what it means. Finding it >almost certainly will involve uncovering some of the history and folklore of >Unix. In the "Intro to Unix" classes I've taught over the years, I've always >made a point of explaining the background of things like this -- such as the >relation of grep to the g/re/p expression of ed, ex and vi; where biff got its >name; what the letters stand for in awk; why creat doesn't end in an "e;" and so >forth. I tell the class that Unix has quirky, eccentric, whimsical elements >because many of the things in it were written by quirky, eccentric, or whimsical >people. The comment at the bottom of some versions of the tunefs man page (such >as the HP-UX version) is an example I like to use: "You can tune a file system, >but you can't tune a fish." I tell them they'll understand the Unix way of >thinking faster if they approach it with an inquisitive, playful spirit rather >than as a stuffy business system. It's supposed to be correct; it's supposed to >be efficient; but it's also supposed to be fun, and sometimes the fun is worth >sacrificing a little of the other qualities in trivial areas. > >I guess what I'm trying to say is that "Life With Unix" should be required >reading for anyone who goes near a Unix (or Linux) system. David N. Smith, an IBM researcher, wrote that we should preserve the past for the criticism of the future. john alvord