Learning Unix on the Mac

[bsamcash]

Who the Hell even knows what Unix is these days? Everyone's just sitting around Googling, mincing their words trying to look smart, but this stuff is like trying to decipher pixellated hieroglyphics from a foregone era of purity in computing that no longer exists. People largely don't even care about the same things that O.G. computer scientists once did. Why everyone's trying to be one is beyond me.

Who the hell even knows how to drive stick? Who the hell even knows how to use a manual camera? Who the hell . . .

Oh yeah, professionals and hobbyists.

 

[TiggrToo]

Who the Hell even knows what Unix is these days? Everyone's just sitting around Googling, mincing their words trying to look smart, but this stuff is like trying to decipher pixellated hieroglyphics from a foregone era of purity in computing that no longer exists. People largely don't even care about the same things that O.G. computer scientists once did. Why everyone's trying to be one is beyond me.

That’s not entirely fair. My mum was an early programmer, so much so that her exercise books can be found in the British Computer Museum. When she wrote programs she did them in exercise books and used flow charts to design them. They were then handed off to the next level staff to type the instructions in.

Christmas time was a period of fun and jollity where they’d write programs that would “play tunes” with the vacuum tubes that were the early transistors of the day.

Who the hell knows what that entailed these days?

I spent my early years playing around with 6502 and later on Z80 assembler. Most developers wouldn’t be seen dead writing low level code these days as they all into wanting to write high level code and reuse libraries.

Time’s change and computers have gone from being a commercial professional tool, then to a hobbyists device and now they’re just consumables that can be brought and sold for next to nothing.

 

[Analog Kid]

Quite a few people care. Some of us still even code in Fortran occasionally.... Shock, horror! Unix - and Unix-like OSes like Gnu userland Linux (for the pedantics who state that "Linux" refers only to the kernel) are everywhere. Now, whether something is actually a certified UNIX(tm) is another matter and largely not relevant.

Who the hell even knows how to drive stick? Who the hell even knows how to use a manual camera? Who the hell . . .

Oh yeah, professionals and hobbyists.

That’s not entirely fair. My mum was an early programmer, so much so that her exercise books can be found in the British Computer Museum. When she wrote programs she did them in exercise books and used flow charts to design them. They were then handed off to the next level staff to type the instructions in.

Christmas time was a period of fun and jollity where they’d write programs that would “play tunes” with the vacuum tubes that were the early transistors of the day.

Who the hell knows what that entailed these days?

I spent my early years playing around with 6502 and later on Z80 assembler. Most developers wouldn’t be seen dead writing low level code these days as they all into wanting to write high level code and reuse libraries.

Time’s change and computers have gone from being a commercial professional tool, then to a hobbyists device and now they’re just consumables that can be brought and sold for next to nothing.

I don't mean to speak for @TrapDoorSpider, but I don't think their point was to disrespect the ancients. I think their point was that it's silly to answer a question about "learning Unix on a Mac" with an argument over whether any modern operating system is sufficiently pure to be called "Unix".

The original Unix developers would be thrilled to have the modern resources we have now. They didn't want to start a cult, they wanted to build something useful and what we have today is much more useful.

 

[jjcs]

I don't mean to speak for @TrapDoorSpider, but I don't think their point was to disrespect the ancients. I think their point was that it's silly to answer a question about "learning Unix on a Mac" with an argument over whether any modern operating system is sufficiently pure to be called "Unix".

The original Unix developers would be thrilled to have the modern resources we have now. They didn't want to start a cult, they wanted to build something useful and what we have today is much more useful.

The original user was almost certainly referring to the typical shell userland, not an operating system.

 

[Analog Kid]

The original user was almost certainly referring to the typical shell userland, not an operating system.

The original user was almost certainly not clear on the difference and I doubt much of the conversation since has helped clear it up.

 

[jjcs]

The original user was almost certainly not clear on the difference and I doubt any of the conversation since has helped clear it up.

Probably not, however claiming that we're all just googling things to appear smart on the subject didn't endear trapdoorspider's argument.

 

[Analog Kid]

Probably not, however claiming that we're all just googling things to appear smart on the subject didn't endear trapdoorspider's argument.

Maybe we can all prove tds wrong by making even more esoteric distinctions between functionally equivalent concepts-- stuff that kids today would never be able to know just by using the Google. Not sure that changes the point though.

Trivia isn't an indication of understanding. Being able to explain concepts in a way that's understandable to others is a better way to show you truly understand something. Arguing about which shell to use when someone just wants to start using a command line isn't teaching, it's just people looking for alpha status among their tribes.

There have been a few efforts to actually explain the concepts but mostly it's been a combination of pedantic bickering and attempts to convince the OP to issue commands that they probably shouldn't.

 

[Freeangel1]

just buy this book. Copy-write 2002 but it will give you what you need to know.

Learning Unix for Mac OS X by Dave Taylor and Jerry Peek (2002, Trade Paperback) for sale online | eBay

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[bsamcash]

The original user was almost certainly not clear on the difference and I doubt much of the conversation since has helped clear it up.

My first question and his answer cleared it up.