Messages in this thread |  | | From | Wayne.Brown@altec ... | Date | Fri, 11 May 2001 11:07:45 -0500 | Subject | Re: Not a typewriter |
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On 05/10/2001 at 06:20:34 PM Hacksaw <hacksaw@hacksaw.org> wrote:
>Heaven help us when tradition is more important than clarity. >
If clarity is the most important consideration, then other things should be changed as well. For instance, the command we use to search for text strings in files should be called "textsearch." That's a lot more clear than "grep."
>Typewriter has always been wrong. I'd agree that "Not a teletypewriter" would >suffice. >
But the original message said "typewriter." (The "wrongness" is part of its charm.) If the wording is going to be changed, then it's better to abandon the tradition altogether and use one of the more descriptive and "correct" messages you and others have proposed.
>On the other hand "Inappropriate ioctl for device" is also not very clear. > >I'd like to see "Not a serial or character device" or "Not a serial device" if >that's more appropriate. Something like that...
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.
Wayne
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