What should go in standards

[Dave Turner]

In article <7230 at brl-smoke.ARPA> gwyn at brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn>) writes:
>In article <263 at csed-47.csed-1.UUCP> roskos at csed-1.UUCP (Eric Roskos) writes:
>-I agree with you that windowing is essential; but I don't think it's time
>-to standardize it yet.
>
>Hear, hear!
>
>-It's easy to design a system that does everything anybody wants, although
>-getting it to work may be a problem, and keeping it working an even bigger
>-problem; but it's hard to design a system that does useful things well, and
>-succeeds in providing something better than what people first wanted, the
>-sort of thing they end up wanting in the end, but without carrying along all
>-the intermediate features indefinitely in the process.
>
>I wish we heard more like this in the so-called "Unix wizards" newsgroup.
>

I think that Ken Thompson said it best in an article on "UNIX Implementation":

	"... The kernel is the only UNIX code that cannot be substituted by a user
	to his own liking.  For this reason, the kernel should make as few real
	decisions as possible.  Rather, it means to allow only one way to do
	one thing, but have that way be the least-common divisor of all the
	options that might have been provided.

	"What is or is not implemented in the kernel represents both a great
	responsibility and a great power.  It is a soap-box platform on "the
	way things should be done."  Even so, if "the way" is too radical,
	no one will follow it.  Every important decision was weighed carefully.
	Throughout, simplicity has been substituted for efficiency.  Complex
	algorithms are used only if their complexity can be localized."


Add to this a quote by Dennis Ritchie from "A Stream Input-Output System":

	"... In spite of these limitations, the stream I/O system works well.
	Its aim was to improve design rather than to add features, in the
	belief that with proper design, the features come cheaply.  This
	approach is arduous, but continues to succeed."




-- 
Dave Turner	415/542-1299	{ihnp4,lll-crg,qantel,pyramid}!ptsfa!dmt