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Interesting PoC, but does it solve a real world problem? If I had to reinvent the shell by breaking backward compatibility, I would do a statistical study usin

by antpls 7y ago

Interesting PoC, but does it solve a real world problem? If I had to reinvent the shell by breaking backward compatibility, I would do a statistical study using all the shell scripts publicly available on GitHub, a survey about the critics of the current shells in the literature, and then I would try to optimize a metric such as : words typed to complete a task, reproductivity, time-to-market, communication, mathematical soundness, etc. The result of the study might be that the current shell is enough and the cost of switching to another is too big (I don't know, it's an hypothesis) People shared many thoughts and opinions on this thread, so that's already a win by itself

ab5tract 7y ago
What real word problem does bash solve over sh? Or tcsh over csh? Or ksh? Fish is the newest shell I’ve been using and it’s leaps and bounds better than dealing with posix syntax for the sake of unnecessary compatibility (if I need posix, I can run a posix shell without trouble). That said, fish is explicit about how the features it includes feel more like they should have evolved in th 90s, not the 2010s. Asking forgiveness is better than asking permission. Innovation rarely looks like a sure bet prior to it unfolding.
coldtea 7y ago
>Interesting PoC, but does it solve a real world problem? Yes, the real world problem of making it combining shell commands easier and more interactive. A solution doesn't need to solve a whole new problem. It's enough that it solves an existing, already solved problem, better. The same way the travel luggage with 4 wheels doesn't solve anything the travel luggage with 2 wheels or no wheels solves, just makes so much more easy and awesome.
- tgtweak 7y ago
  It also opens up a compelling use case for having a nice web interface for working with the shell (where you can button sort and export to Json on output) since the structure is common.

by antpls 7y ago

ab5tract 7y ago

What real word problem does bash solve over sh? Or tcsh over csh? Or ksh? Fish is the newest shell I’ve been using and it’s leaps and bounds better than dealing with posix syntax for the sake of unnecessary compatibility (if I need posix, I can run a posix shell without trouble). That said, fish is explicit about how the features it includes feel more like they should have evolved in th 90s, not the 2010s. Asking forgiveness is better than asking permission. Innovation rarely looks like a sure bet prior to it unfolding.

coldtea 7y ago

>Interesting PoC, but does it solve a real world problem? Yes, the real world problem of making it combining shell commands easier and more interactive. A solution doesn't need to solve a whole new problem. It's enough that it solves an existing, already solved problem, better. The same way the travel luggage with 4 wheels doesn't solve anything the travel luggage with 2 wheels or no wheels solves, just makes so much more easy and awesome.

tgtweak 7y ago
It also opens up a compelling use case for having a nice web interface for working with the shell (where you can button sort and export to Json on output) since the structure is common.