Date: Fri, 02 Mar 2001 12:41:55 -0800 From: richard childers <fscked@pacbell.net> To: Power JeSsIe! <jessie@power-jessie.net> Cc: questions@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: bsd logo Message-ID: <3AA00593.C6554D76@pacbell.net> References: <NEBBJJKPMLNMNBFHAAFIOEKDCDAA.jessie@power-jessie.net>
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Geez, Louis !! It's a visual representation of an otherwise invisible phenomenon. A 'daemon' is a term for a UNIX process that runs in the background, detached from direct control; it is an independent entity, of little intellectual capacity, whose responsibilities are limited. It's not good; it's not evil. It just is. It does work. 'Fork' can be regarded similarly; it is a visual pun referring to the UNIX low level system call fork(), whereby a process copies itself and passes control to the child process. Much of the power of the UNIX paradigm is inherited directly from the potential for rich interactions between parent and child processes ... and the rest of the power comes from the potential to have small, independent programs running in the background, enriching the computing environment. (Gee, I ought to write a book. :-) I suspect some of the initiative for attempting to illustrate these strictly metaphorical concepts came from Larry Niven's dabbling with swords and sorcery as a mileau for writing; Larry Niven is of course very popular amongst engineering students inclined towards science fiction, and Larry's comments on the eternal war between wizards and heroes may have struck a chord of sympathy amongst a group of people whom tend to be lacking in musculature, historically speaking. There is one short story where Maxwell's daemon is introduced, in a magical rather than in a 'thought experiment' context, and that may have provided a seed. Also, at that time, 'Tron' was just coming out, and a lot of UNIX people were deeply immersed in graphics work ... most of the big graphics labs in Marin County were just starting up ... and a lot of people were straining their brains for a better way to illustrate what went on inside a computer ... how to illustrate the contents of a bitstream or a packet or a socket or a port to a clueless member of the family, significant other, or ... later ... clueless manager ... /-: It may be suggested that much of what later came to be known as 'cyberpunk' fiction got its start during this period, also, although it took perhaps another decade to become comprehensible and attractive to the buying public. It has *nothing* to do with religion ... unless, of course, you are a RSM worshipper. <smirk> -- richard "Power JeSsIe!" wrote: > i'm just wondering why is it that the > bsd logo is a little red devil? > > http://www.freebsd.org/copyright/daemon.html > said : > > "Many people equate the word ``daemon'' with the word ``demon,'' implying > some kind of Satanic connection between UNIX and the underworld. This is an > egregious misunderstanding. ``Daemon'' is actually a much older form of > ``demon''; daemons have no particular bias towards good or evil, but rather > serve to help define a person's character or personality. The ancient > Greeks' concept of a ``personal daemon'' was similar to the modern concept > of a ``guardian angel'' --- ``eudaemonia'' is the state of being helped or > protected by a kindly spirit. As a rule, UNIX systems seem to be infested > with both daemons and demons." (p403) > > but if daemon doesn't mean a demon, > why is it that the logo is like that? > a little red fellow with horns,tail and a fork... > > can someone enlighten me pls... > i've heard that the fork in the logo > symbolizes UNIX... > > don't get mad at me ...just curious .. > thanks > > jessie > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message -- Richard A. Childers Senor UNIX Administrator fscked@pacbell.net (email) 203.556.8471 (voice/msgs) # Providing administrative expertise (not 'damage control') since 1986. # PGP fingerprint: 7EFF 164A E878 7B04 8E9F 32B6 72C2 D8A2 582C 4AFA To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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