Re: Not a typewriter

John Alvord
2001-05-12T04:19:15Z

On Fri, 11 May 2001 11:07:45 -0500, Wayne.Brown@altec.com wrote:

>
>
>On 05/10/2001 at 06:20:34 PM Hacksaw <hacksaw@hacksaw.org> 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