3 ms·

Another classic case of "if everyone does something differently than you do, it might be worth investigating why". The hubris to think that basic C time functio

Another classic case of "if everyone does something differently than you do, it might be worth investigating why". The hubris to think that basic C time functions have been "broken" all this time, and that nobody noticed or cared. What a joke.

oliverkwebb 2y ago
For a definition of "nobody" that includes Eric S Raymond, one of the most prominent figures in the linux world who's article (https://www.catb.org/esr/time-programming/index.html https://www.catb.org/esr/time-programming/index.html) I reference multiple times. [plonk](https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/P/plonk.html https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/P/plonk.html)
- 1718627440 2y ago
  > Eric S Raymond [...] prominent figure[...] in the linux world Doesn't he work for Microsoft?
  - oliverkwebb 2y ago
    He was the publisher of the Halloween documents (from my understanding leaked by a whistleblower to him) and has always been a firm opponent to Windows in all his works. Are you thinking of Poettering?
    - 1718627440 2y ago
      <del> Isn't this his blog: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/ https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/ ? It is hosted by Microsoft and talks about implementation details of Windows. So I always assumed, that he works there.</del> My bad, that's Raymond Chen.
- asveikau 2y ago
  That looks like a decent article, but for the general case, ESR is not credible on name alone. Go look up criticism of that guy.
  - MortyWaves 2y ago
    Is this really the type of discourse on HN now?
    - asveikau 2y ago
      I don't have time to get into it every time that guy's name comes up. Basically he's best known for: * Jargon file * Parading himself around as "Mr open source" in the late 90s * Working on what by all accounts was a not very good mail client a long time ago That's the "good" side that's supposed to give him credibility as an expert, and it's not very much. The negative stuff is pretty bad.
      - RickHull 2y ago
        The Art of Unix Programming
        asveikau 2y ago
        Already a has-been at that point.
forrestthewoods 2y ago
Many functions in the C API are quite badly designed. The hidden global state in locale for example. HN regularly has articles about nasty bugs that boil down to “C API has several major deficiencies that cause great pain and suffering.

oliverkwebb 2y ago

For a definition of "nobody" that includes Eric S Raymond, one of the most prominent figures in the linux world who's article (https://www.catb.org/esr/time-programming/index.html https://www.catb.org/esr/time-programming/index.html) I reference multiple times. [plonk](https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/P/plonk.html https://www.catb.org/jargon/html/P/plonk.html)

1718627440 2y ago
> Eric S Raymond [...] prominent figure[...] in the linux world Doesn't he work for Microsoft?
- oliverkwebb 2y ago
  He was the publisher of the Halloween documents (from my understanding leaked by a whistleblower to him) and has always been a firm opponent to Windows in all his works. Are you thinking of Poettering?
  - 1718627440 2y ago
    <del> Isn't this his blog: https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/ https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/ ? It is hosted by Microsoft and talks about implementation details of Windows. So I always assumed, that he works there.</del> My bad, that's Raymond Chen.
asveikau 2y ago
That looks like a decent article, but for the general case, ESR is not credible on name alone. Go look up criticism of that guy.
- MortyWaves 2y ago
  Is this really the type of discourse on HN now?
  - asveikau 2y ago
    I don't have time to get into it every time that guy's name comes up. Basically he's best known for: * Jargon file * Parading himself around as "Mr open source" in the late 90s * Working on what by all accounts was a not very good mail client a long time ago That's the "good" side that's supposed to give him credibility as an expert, and it's not very much. The negative stuff is pretty bad.
    - RickHull 2y ago
      The Art of Unix Programming
      - asveikau 2y ago
        Already a has-been at that point.

forrestthewoods 2y ago

Many functions in the C API are quite badly designed. The hidden global state in locale for example. HN regularly has articles about nasty bugs that boil down to “C API has several major deficiencies that cause great pain and suffering.