"I don't know the counts of Unix and Linux servers. I do know that my heart sinks whenever I look under the hood in Linux. It is has been so overfed by loving hands. Over 240 system calls! Gigabytes of source! A C compiler with a 250-page user manual (not counting the language definition)! A simple page turner, 'less,' has over 40 options and 60 commands! It's proof that open-source can breed monsters just like the commercial pros. Miraculously, though, this monster works."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Academics from the United StatesProgrammers from the United StatesSoftware engineers from the United StatesMathematicians from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Doug McIlroy (2013). In their own words: Unix pioneers remember the good times
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Doug_McIlroy
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Doug McIlroy
9 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Doug McIlroy →
Related Quotes
"This is the Unix philosophy: Write programs that do one thing and do it well. Write programs to work together. Write …"
"The notion of "intricate and beautiful complexities" is almost an oxymoron. Unix programmers vie with each other for …"
"Word and Excel and PowerPoint and other Microsoft programs have intimate — one might say promiscuous — knowledge of e…"
"Everything was small... and my heart sinks for Linux when I see the size of it. [...] The manual page, which really u…"
"Ritchie and Thompson made an amazing team; and they played Unix and C like a fine instrument. They sometimes divided …"
"... speaking of Doug, he's the unsung hero of Unix. He was manager of the group that produced it and a huge creative …"
"McIlroy ... is the smartest of all of us and the least remembered or written down of all of us [programmers at Bell L…"
"Doug McIlroy's influence on the development of both C and C++ cannot be overestimated. I cannot remember a single cri…"
"For him delicious flavors dwell In books as in old Muscatel."
"And in the evening, everywhere Along the roadside, up and down, I see the golden torches flare Like lighted street-la…"