Re: Not a typewriter

H. Peter Anvin
2001-05-11T00:11:52Z

Wayne.Brown@altec.com wrote:
>
> On 05/10/2001 at 05:38:32 PM hpa@transmeta.com (H. Peter Anvin) wrote:
>
> >Sounds like someone has just clarified what the heck it means. "tty"
> >and "typewriter" aren't exactly the same thing (even though "tty"
> >stands for "teletypewriter" it has come to mean something completely
> >different in a Unix context)... "not a typewriter" is just a
> >completely confusing error message for the uninitiated.
>
> I disagree. "Not a typewriter" is part of Unix tradition, and ought to be
> retained as a historical reference. It's also an opportunity for "the
> uninitiated" to learn a little more and move a little closer to becoming "the
> initiated."
>

Nowhere else in Unix is a "tty" referred to as a "typewriter". "Not a
tty" is one thing; "Not a typewriter" is just plain misleading.

--
<hpa@transmeta.com> at work, <hpa@zytor.com> in private!
"Unix gives you enough rope to shoot yourself in the foot."