3 ms·
there’s a cliff of unknown unknowns that is basically bottomless and is known only to people who grew up with the incremental changes. Don't give this stuff an
by gjvc 4y ago
there’s a cliff of unknown unknowns that is basically bottomless and is known only to people who grew up with the incremental changes.
Don't give this stuff any more reverence than it deserves (which is none). Bob Barton [1] once said "Systems programmers are high priests of a low art."
You don't need to know all the incremental changes, unless the allure of becoming a historian and being able to recount all the developments in the space appeals to you. (Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.)
There is no mystery except the one you make for yourself.
Read books. https://man7.org/tlpi/ https://man7.org/tlpi/ is a good place to start. Good luck!
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Barton https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_S._Barton
- giraffe_lady 4y agoAre you also going to do this for the network stack? Graphics? Kernel & syscalls? File systems? DATABASES?? Is there any time left to do work in is there any time left to love your family? There is also humility in just accepting that my curiosity is greater than my capacity and I'll never know much of anything about anything. I can pick a few things to go deep in but so far it hasn't needed to be terminals and that's not a moral failing.
- gjvc 4y agoBeing an expert in anything is demanding.