4 ms·

Well... CP/M (circa 1974) had a command line prompt like this: "C>" Windows (circa 2014) has a command line prompt like this: "C:>" Basically the same afte

by realo 12y ago

Well... CP/M (circa 1974) had a command line prompt like this: "C>" Windows (circa 2014) has a command line prompt like this: "C:>" Basically the same after 40 years. Forty ... years. Same old totally obsolete "drive letter" file system architecture. Although the comparison is to be obviously taken with a grain of salt, it is clear to old-timers like me that Windows has been ultra-conservative with advanced software technologies (modular filesystems, ZFS, etc...) and this has hurt tremendously the evolution of OS software "for the masses". It does not require a big leap of faith to believe that we could have had a far more advanced <consumer> OS if Windows had not existed. Quite a pity.

pjc50 12y ago
Don't get too hung up on the drive letter. It's a bit like saying UNIX is out of date because everything starts as '/'. Besides, the Windows filesystem is actually modular under the covers. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn641617%28v=vs.85%29.aspx https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn... And Windows CE is (mostly) source-compatible and has no drive letters. You can have filesystem drivers, filesystem filter drivers, and pseudo-filesystems. It's just that the documentation is buried in the DDK. And there isn't a "community" of users for Windows in the way there is for Open Source.
- zaroth 12y ago
  To the extent Microsoft keeps giving us fun things to play with, we will see more and more hackers doing fun things with Microsoft. That's the cool thing, we don't really have a huge attachment or loyalty over any reasonable time frame. We use the best tools for the job. There's plenty of room for Microsoft to start providing incredible value to its developers. I'm looking forward to containers on Windows. I'm looking forward to faster upgrades and better package management. I'm looking forward to seeing the best they can do. There's a lot of talent in there somewhere, I hope they let us see it.
- rhengles 12y ago
  This is my biggest difficulty with * nix. With drive letters, I know for a fact that Windows is installed on C: and I can format all the other volumes. But in what volume is the system installed on a * nix?

by realo 12y ago

pjc50 12y ago

Don't get too hung up on the drive letter. It's a bit like saying UNIX is out of date because everything starts as '/'. Besides, the Windows filesystem is actually modular under the covers. https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn641617%28v=vs.85%29.aspx https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/hardware/dn... And Windows CE is (mostly) source-compatible and has no drive letters. You can have filesystem drivers, filesystem filter drivers, and pseudo-filesystems. It's just that the documentation is buried in the DDK. And there isn't a "community" of users for Windows in the way there is for Open Source.

zaroth 12y ago
To the extent Microsoft keeps giving us fun things to play with, we will see more and more hackers doing fun things with Microsoft. That's the cool thing, we don't really have a huge attachment or loyalty over any reasonable time frame. We use the best tools for the job. There's plenty of room for Microsoft to start providing incredible value to its developers. I'm looking forward to containers on Windows. I'm looking forward to faster upgrades and better package management. I'm looking forward to seeing the best they can do. There's a lot of talent in there somewhere, I hope they let us see it.
rhengles 12y ago
This is my biggest difficulty with * nix. With drive letters, I know for a fact that Windows is installed on C: and I can format all the other volumes. But in what volume is the system installed on a * nix?