4 ms·

Just think about the networking changes that have happened in the last 50 years. This guy is insane to have lived through, and engineered against soo many chang

Just think about the networking changes that have happened in the last 50 years. This guy is insane to have lived through, and engineered against soo many changes in computer networking. I mean... If you are looking back at this guy's career, you need to realize, to this guy, Linux is a young whipper snapper of an OS. Megabit-speed networks werent even really a thing until this guy was like in his late forties or something. I hope that I am able to have a fraction of longevity and impact as this guy did on the computing industry.

sadris 8y ago
It's just a wrapper around iptables...
- kiallmacinnes 8y ago
  Wrapper or not, building a wrapper that works for as many use cases for as long a time as Shorewall has is something. Frankly, it sounds like your suggesting that because he didn't invent the underlying network stack, or network protocols, that makes it a quick and dirty half day or so project. 99.9% of development work in recent years hasn't been inventing new stuff, it's been building wrappers. Wrappers that compose other well though out tech (which are hard choices to make), while maintaining the flexibility to actually be useful for more than a single project and a short period of time. I know you said none of those things, however, that's what I read between the lines of a putdown comment like "It's just a wrapper...".
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - dmix 8y ago
    All software is built on abstractions. I’m sure IPTablss is a giant “wrapper” around the Linux OS networking stack. Nothing wrong with a wrapper of the underlying system has had the real world field testing, longetivity, and adoption that IPTablws has.
    - kiallmacinnes 8y ago
      Exactly :)
    - dmix 8y ago
      wrote this last night when I was half asleep. I do know how to type "IPTables" :p
- pferde 8y ago
  Yes, and penicillin is just a pill that kills some bacteria.
- KaiserPro 8y ago
  C is just a wrapper around assembly.
- craftyguy 8y ago
  And a computer is just a thing that allows assholes to broadcast their opinions.

sadris 8y ago

It's just a wrapper around iptables...

kiallmacinnes 8y ago
Wrapper or not, building a wrapper that works for as many use cases for as long a time as Shorewall has is something. Frankly, it sounds like your suggesting that because he didn't invent the underlying network stack, or network protocols, that makes it a quick and dirty half day or so project. 99.9% of development work in recent years hasn't been inventing new stuff, it's been building wrappers. Wrappers that compose other well though out tech (which are hard choices to make), while maintaining the flexibility to actually be useful for more than a single project and a short period of time. I know you said none of those things, however, that's what I read between the lines of a putdown comment like "It's just a wrapper...".
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- dmix 8y ago
  All software is built on abstractions. I’m sure IPTablss is a giant “wrapper” around the Linux OS networking stack. Nothing wrong with a wrapper of the underlying system has had the real world field testing, longetivity, and adoption that IPTablws has.
  - kiallmacinnes 8y ago
    Exactly :)
  - dmix 8y ago
    wrote this last night when I was half asleep. I do know how to type "IPTables" :p
pferde 8y ago
Yes, and penicillin is just a pill that kills some bacteria.
KaiserPro 8y ago
C is just a wrapper around assembly.
craftyguy 8y ago
And a computer is just a thing that allows assholes to broadcast their opinions.