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> it looks like Plan 9 failed simply because it fell short of being a compelling enough improvement on Unix to displace its ancestor. I really don't think so.
by Isamu 11y ago
> it looks like Plan 9 failed simply because it fell short of being a compelling enough improvement on Unix to displace its ancestor.
I really don't think so. Unix caught on because it was (initially) available for free with source code. It was freely available at the time because the Bell System, as a regulated monopoly, was prohibited from getting into the software business. Universities loved it as an object of study, and it spawned many derivatives, also freely available. After the breakup of Bell, they started marketing Unix.
Plan 9 in contrast was not released for free, had restrictive licensing, because Bell Labs was now under AT&T. I think it is hard to overstate the impact of this difference.
Linux became popular first because it was free, and because it invited hacking, and then because the combination of these caused a snowball effect.
I would like to add that Plan 9 is in fact very compelling, but the advantages are maybe hard to appreciate. A big issue was also that it initially supported a limited set of hardware because they didn't use the hardware BIOS.
- Isamu 11y agoAnd I'm going to go further and claim: Plan 9 is contentious. It continues where Unix left off and pushes the idea of radical simplicity of design. The "Worse Is Better" essay[1] illustrates a bit of the controversy over radically simple design, which Gabriel contrasts with "doing the right thing." The philosophy that led to Plan 9 is articulated in "cat -v considered harmful" : "One thing that UNIX does not need is more features. It is successful in part because it has a small number of good ideas that work well together."[2] I am firmly convinced that this is an unpopular position. People really do want more features, and are not really concerned about how well they work together ... until they don't, in which case they have a reason to post an incredulous condemnation. [1] https://www.dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html https://www.dreamsongs.com/WorseIsBetter.html [2] http://harmful.cat-v.org/cat-v/unix_prog_design.pdf http://harmful.cat-v.org/cat-v/unix_prog_design.pdf
- donatj 11y agoPeople also wanted a faster horse.
- Chris2048 11y agoThose people got motorbikes.
- Avshalom 11y agoEh, "the right thing" is in large part about simplicity and uniformity of interface, not just punting on corner cases to save 100 lines of implementation. That Plan 9 managed to keep it's LoC down is credit to the Pike et al but (in part) because Plan 9 actually pushed everything is a file far enough to be useful Plan 9 is -at least compared to Unix- waywayway closer to the right thing than it is worse is better.