I think this comes from the different development model. Passing machine-readable stuff instead of parsing strings is convenient, but requires cooperation betw

I think this comes from the different development model. Passing machine-readable stuff instead of parsing strings is convenient, but requires cooperation between parties, usually the kernel and the userspace. In FreeBSD it's trivial: I can change the kernel, userspace, and documentation all in a single commit. In Linux it's much more involved - you never know which userspace version is going to interface with whatever you've tinkered with; people who put together distributions are separate from actual developers of various parts etc.