== Pointer: The Unix-Haters Handbook

In the spirit of yesterday's entry on a [[Unix annoyance|UnixAnnoyance]]:

If you're fond of Unix, and especially if you're uncritically fond of
Unix, it's good to read the
[[Unix-Haters Handbook|http://research.microsoft.com/~daniel/unix-haters.html]]
(originally published in dead trees format, but now available online);
another website on it is Don Hopkins'
[[here|http://www.art.net/~hopkins/Don/unix-haters/handbook.html]],
which has bonus bits and pieces.

I don't agree with the Handbook; my position is probably closest to
Dennis Ritchie's marvelous anti-forward, which really summarizes
things quite nicely. But it's good for Unix enthusiasts to admit that
Unix does have clay on its feet.

(Besides, the Unix-Haters Handbook has lots of funny quotes, decent
rants, and well done vituperation. How can you go wrong?)

I find the Handbook interesting partly because it's a lingering
artifact of the clash of computing cultures in the 1980s, where
Unix was ultimately victorious. Another artifact of this clash is
[[Richard Gabriel|http://www.dreamsongs.com/]]'s often-quoted
[[The Rise of "Worse is Better"|http://www.jwz.org/doc/worse-is-better.html]],
which is also well worth your time to read.

Note that "Worse is Better" was just part of
Gabriel's
[[Lisp: Good News, Bad News, How to Win Big|http://www.dreamsongs.com/WIB.html]],
which is another of those seminal papers, although less interesting
for non-Lisp people. Gabriel has a history of the spread of "Worse is
Better" [[here|http://www.dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html]] for the
interested, along with a lot of other writings on his web site.