UNIX history made easy

[Bennett Todd]

(Re: a fresh young CS major hadn't heard of Ken Thompson)

It should be remembered that different schools have different approaches
to undergraduate instruction. Some places emphasize teaching a
foundation of theory, and never mention current practice as part of the
formal curriculum, though students might accidentally pick up odd
tidbits. I can't say I am entirely unsympathetic to this trend; where do
you draw the line between giving a healthy understanding of current
events in the profession and giving an unhealthy emphasis on how-to? You
have *got* to cover a lot of the boring *why* unless you are a trade
school trying to crank out piecework programmers. Unfortunately this
concern can be taken too far.  In some places I have the feeling someone
like Ken Thompson would be looked down upon as a mere technician with
dirt under his fingernails, figuratively speaking. A lot depends on the
political makeup of the university as a whole and the CS department in
particular.  Given the stresses universities have always enjoyed on the
budget side, who can tell where they are going to attempt to find
financial security?

-Bennett
bet at orion.mc.duke.edu