Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 10:54:45 +0200 From: Sheldon Hearn <sheldonh@uunet.co.za> To: Marius Bendiksen <mbendiks@eunet.no> Cc: Peter Pentchev <roam@orbitel.bg>, arch@freebsd.org Subject: Re: add -I ignoremask option to du(1) Message-ID: <73255.976870485@axl.fw.uunet.co.za> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Fri, 15 Dec 2000 01:48:20 %2B0100." <Pine.BSF.4.05.10012150146500.48194-100000@login-1.eunet.no>
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On Fri, 15 Dec 2000 01:48:20 +0100, Marius Bendiksen wrote:
> > So the only question is whether we shrug and continue down this road, or
> > limit ourselves to only those silly enhancements that we deem necessary
> > for compatibility with other platforms.
>
> You are ignoring the option of standardizing all the utilities to do these
> things through a shared library.
First, let me make clear that I have read Peter's rebuttal and I can
see where he's coming from. I don't like it, but I have no technical
objections that I can level against his argument.
So what I say now is in your response to your mail and is not an attempt
to drag Peter's proposal down.
Now...
I'm not ignoring the option of using shared libraries for implementation
of common functions. However, we're talking about user interface here,
which has nothing to do with implementation.
The point is that we're gradually brewing a toolbox of spanners with saw
edges and hammers with screwdriver attachments. And you activate the
screwdriver on your hammer differently from the way you activate it on
your spirit level. Not to mention that FreeBSD's hammer screwdriver isn't
activated the way ${some_other}NIX's hammer screwdriver is.
:-)
Unless the UNIX philosophy of "each tool does one job well" has changed,
let's not flog this one too much. Let's just leave it at this:
When considering extensions to existing utilities, make sure
that you have good reason beyond an aversion to a few extra
keystrokes or ignorance of other utilities.
Ciao,
Sheldon.
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