- what matters is composability (ie programs, possibly running from different computers, being able to use each other's output)
- simplicity is required for composability. Thus the structure less file system and the "everything is a file" design concepts.
The same merits as HTTP in the realm of protocols.
The appeal for a stricter and more principled approach are understandable, and the road one end up favouring largely depends on one's early experience I believe.
I, for one, grew up in a world where I could use either a resilient Linux system that could run a treasure trove of programs written long ago for different machines, or a more modern and principled OS (windows) where a small glitch in some non essential video driver would frequently bring down the whole thing. I went for linux, it won maybe for its merits, maybe by chance, and now I'm concerned that a whole encompassing systemd will eventually bring us back where an unrelated glitch, or backdoor, in an unrelated non essential part will bring down the whole system.
- what matters is composability (ie programs, possibly running from different computers, being able to use each other's output)
- simplicity is required for composability. Thus the structure less file system and the "everything is a file" design concepts.
The same merits as HTTP in the realm of protocols.
The appeal for a stricter and more principled approach are understandable, and the road one end up favouring largely depends on one's early experience I believe.
I, for one, grew up in a world where I could use either a resilient Linux system that could run a treasure trove of programs written long ago for different machines, or a more modern and principled OS (windows) where a small glitch in some non essential video driver would frequently bring down the whole thing. I went for linux, it won maybe for its merits, maybe by chance, and now I'm concerned that a whole encompassing systemd will eventually bring us back where an unrelated glitch, or backdoor, in an unrelated non essential part will bring down the whole system.