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Careful observers will notice that the Milwaukee Tool Company also sells other tools. I don't think anybody in the drill department of the company thinks that y

Careful observers will notice that the Milwaukee Tool Company also sells other tools. I don't think anybody in the drill department of the company thinks that you should use a drill to cut a tree or trim a hedge.

code_duck 5y ago
If an OS is a drill, what is the equivalent type of software for those construction tools?
- WJW 5y ago
  Off the top of my head: - ACID compliant data storage is not something that operating systems excel at, databases are much better. (I've seen some monstrosities where somebody tried to use the filesystem as a database and eventually they always got horrible race conditions and data corruption). This is a table saw; extremely good at one specific thing (rip cuts), can do other types of things in a pinch (cross cuts for table saws, db-as-a-job-queue for databases) and is absolutely rubbish for other things like drilling holes. - Going up in complexity: Most operating systems I've seen are relatively self-contained on a single box. The OS controls everything on the box and no other OS-es exist on the same server. If you have a large multi-server system the OS typically does not provide too many capabilities except a low level networking stack, something like Erlangs BEAM VM or Kubernetes fills up the gaps to make all the operating systems work together properly. This would be like a CNC machine; large, complex and expensive but very worth it from a certain scale onward. - Going down in complexity: Embedded systems are often too small for a proper operating system and implement everything they need themselves. Realtime operating systems exist but are often not a good solution for the constraints. This might be something like an impact wrench, super specialized for a specific type of small job.
bombcar 5y ago
More precisely the Hole Hawg is for a particular kind of hole - large pipe-size holes in framing lumber. No contractor would use a Hole Hawg to drill 1/4” holes in something - maybe quarter feet. The amount of adapters you’d need to even get it able to reliably hold a 1/4” bit precludes it. The point of the analogy remains - both tools can do things others can’t and both can easily “get away” from you. But the real lesson is learning that the normal drill (and operating system) can also get away from you, and you may be less braced for it when it happens.

code_duck 5y ago

If an OS is a drill, what is the equivalent type of software for those construction tools?

WJW 5y ago
Off the top of my head: - ACID compliant data storage is not something that operating systems excel at, databases are much better. (I've seen some monstrosities where somebody tried to use the filesystem as a database and eventually they always got horrible race conditions and data corruption). This is a table saw; extremely good at one specific thing (rip cuts), can do other types of things in a pinch (cross cuts for table saws, db-as-a-job-queue for databases) and is absolutely rubbish for other things like drilling holes. - Going up in complexity: Most operating systems I've seen are relatively self-contained on a single box. The OS controls everything on the box and no other OS-es exist on the same server. If you have a large multi-server system the OS typically does not provide too many capabilities except a low level networking stack, something like Erlangs BEAM VM or Kubernetes fills up the gaps to make all the operating systems work together properly. This would be like a CNC machine; large, complex and expensive but very worth it from a certain scale onward. - Going down in complexity: Embedded systems are often too small for a proper operating system and implement everything they need themselves. Realtime operating systems exist but are often not a good solution for the constraints. This might be something like an impact wrench, super specialized for a specific type of small job.

bombcar 5y ago

More precisely the Hole Hawg is for a particular kind of hole - large pipe-size holes in framing lumber. No contractor would use a Hole Hawg to drill 1/4” holes in something - maybe quarter feet. The amount of adapters you’d need to even get it able to reliably hold a 1/4” bit precludes it. The point of the analogy remains - both tools can do things others can’t and both can easily “get away” from you. But the real lesson is learning that the normal drill (and operating system) can also get away from you, and you may be less braced for it when it happens.