Simplicity is better than complexity. [LWN.net]

Simplicity is better than complexity.

Posted Mar 26, 2009 2:39 UTC (Thu) by foom (subscriber, #14868)
In reply to: Simplicity is better than complexity. by k8to
Parent article: Wheeler: Fixing Unix/Linux/POSIX Filenames

> needed to create

I find it very hard to believe that your software *needed* to create unintelligible filenames. And if it
did, I'd claim it needs to be fixed.

to post comments

Simplicity is better than complexity.

Posted Mar 26, 2009 2:48 UTC (Thu) by k8to (guest, #15413) [Link] (2 responses)

If someone else cares about the design constraints that led to this necessity, let me know. Foom: i've watched you refuse to converse in a reasonable way across many threads. you have no clue about my software or the project but you claim to know what is correct and incorrect. Shut up.

Simplicity is better than complexity.

Posted Mar 26, 2009 3:40 UTC (Thu) by foom (subscriber, #14868) [Link]

I claim that I'd find software that creates filenames like that on my disk to be irritating. So I'd certainly prefer if no software actually did so, and probably wouldn't mind if it was impossible to do so.

If, in some alternative universe, it was already impossible to create those filenames, I have little doubt you could still have created working software which didn't require the impossible.

Sorry I come off as unreasonable to you. *hugs*

Do you know difference between two words: "need" and "want"?

Posted Mar 26, 2009 8:41 UTC (Thu) by khim (subscriber, #9252) [Link]

you have no clue about my software or the project but you claim to know what is correct and incorrect.

I don't have a clue. And I don't need it to know anything about your project to know you are lying. Any project can be implemented with exactly two filenames: "0" and "1". You'll need infinite depth of directory structure to do so, true, but thankfully there are no practical limitations in Linux. Is it feasible? Probably no. Is it possible? Of course. And if we'll start with the position that your software does not need these filenames but you current design needs these suddenly you have much weaker argument: you are reducing complexity of your software by increasing complexity of everyone's else's software. Is it good trade-off? May be yes, may be no. But it's weak argument at best - no matter what your project is and what it needs to be done.