Unix Power Classic
Unix Power Classic #17 
The greatest project leaders hardly make their presence known. Next best are those who are loved and honored. Next come those who are feared. Next the PHBs, who are despised. The demand to be trusted is not enough; indeed, it finds no trust. The true leader shuts up and shows us the code. Then when the tasks are accomplished, and the project is complete, all the contributors say, "We did it ourselves." Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
The greatest project leaders hardly make their presence known. Next best are those who are loved and honored. Next come those who are feared. Next the PHBs, who are despised. The demand to be trusted is not enough; indeed, it finds no trust. The true leader shuts up and shows us the code. Then when the tasks are accomplished, and the project is complete, all the contributors say, "We did it ourselves." Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Unix Power Classic #41
Thoughtful hackers hear about Unix and try to use it. Ordinary hackers hear about Unix and mess about with it a little. Thoughtless hackers hear about Unix and crack wise about it. It wouldn't be Unix if there weren't wisecracks about it. So we establish the following rules: The most brilliant Unix seems the most obscure. Advanced Unix seems like retrocomputing. The most powerful code seems like just loops and conditionals. The clearest code seems to be opaque. The sharpest tools seem inadequate. Solid code seems flaky. Stable code seems to change. Great methodologies don't have boundaries. Great talent doesn't code fast. Great music makes no sound. The ideal elephant has no shape. The Unix Way has no name. Yet for just this reason it brings things to perfection. Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Thoughtful hackers hear about Unix and try to use it. Ordinary hackers hear about Unix and mess about with it a little. Thoughtless hackers hear about Unix and crack wise about it. It wouldn't be Unix if there weren't wisecracks about it. So we establish the following rules: The most brilliant Unix seems the most obscure. Advanced Unix seems like retrocomputing. The most powerful code seems like just loops and conditionals. The clearest code seems to be opaque. The sharpest tools seem inadequate. Solid code seems flaky. Stable code seems to change. Great methodologies don't have boundaries. Great talent doesn't code fast. Great music makes no sound. The ideal elephant has no shape. The Unix Way has no name. Yet for just this reason it brings things to perfection. Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Unix Power Classic #04
Unix is a cauldron, yet when it's in use, it's somehow never exhausted. Deep, indeed; it seems to be the source of the ten thousand apps. Rounding off its sharpness, resolving its confusions, tempering its brilliance, it becomes one with the mundane. Deep, indeed; it seems likely to endure. I do not know whose child it is; in imagination, it existed before its creators. Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Unix is a cauldron, yet when it's in use, it's somehow never exhausted. Deep, indeed; it seems to be the source of the ten thousand apps. Rounding off its sharpness, resolving its confusions, tempering its brilliance, it becomes one with the mundane. Deep, indeed; it seems likely to endure. I do not know whose child it is; in imagination, it existed before its creators. Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Unix Power Classic #34
Unix is pervasive! It runs on any platform. The ten thousand apps rely on it; it gives them life, but doesn't dominate them. When the job is done, Unix doesn't take credit for it. It supports the ten thousand apps, but doesn't claim to own them. Free of imposed paradigms, it can be called "the flexible". The ten thousand apps run on it, but don't control it, so it can be named "the powerful". Because it never dominates, it can achieve dominance. Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Unix is pervasive! It runs on any platform. The ten thousand apps rely on it; it gives them life, but doesn't dominate them. When the job is done, Unix doesn't take credit for it. It supports the ten thousand apps, but doesn't claim to own them. Free of imposed paradigms, it can be called "the flexible". The ten thousand apps run on it, but don't control it, so it can be named "the powerful". Because it never dominates, it can achieve dominance. Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Unix Power Classic #28
Knowing its rigor, holding on to its flexibility, the system becomes a river. When the system becomes a river, stable power will not be lost when looping back to the design stage. Knowing its clarity, holding on to its profundity, the system becomes a pattern. Stable power will not go astray when jumping forward to the extreme. Knowing its pride, holding on to its humility, the system becomes a valley. When the system becomes a valley, stable power will return to the unwritten code. When the unwritten code is shattered, it becomes the utilities. When the hacker makes use of them, then the team leaders last long. Thus the great carving does not divide. Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Knowing its rigor, holding on to its flexibility, the system becomes a river. When the system becomes a river, stable power will not be lost when looping back to the design stage. Knowing its clarity, holding on to its profundity, the system becomes a pattern. Stable power will not go astray when jumping forward to the extreme. Knowing its pride, holding on to its humility, the system becomes a valley. When the system becomes a valley, stable power will return to the unwritten code. When the unwritten code is shattered, it becomes the utilities. When the hacker makes use of them, then the team leaders last long. Thus the great carving does not divide. Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Unix Power Classic #09
Packing in more features, you're not likely to finish in time. Pound on sharp tools, they won't last long. Code full of chrome and glitz, nobody can secure that. Money, power, and ego: what follows is disaster. Finish the job and move on, that's the way of Unix. Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Packing in more features, you're not likely to finish in time. Pound on sharp tools, they won't last long. Code full of chrome and glitz, nobody can secure that. Money, power, and ego: what follows is disaster. Finish the job and move on, that's the way of Unix. Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Unix Power Classic #15
The hackers of the Elder Days cultivated mastery: the subtle essence, deep, penetrating, profound, hairy. And so we cannot understand them. As a best effort, therefore, I wil describe their appearance: They were cautious as the elephant, like one making global changes to a codebase. They were vigilant as the monkey, yes, like a rogue(6) player fearing danger from all quarters. They were courteous, like ITS turists. They were egoless, yes, like ice which is just about to crack. They were solid, yes, like GNU utilities. They were open, yes, like a newly formatted disk. They were opaque, like spaghetti code. Who can make spaghetti code straightforward? It gradually clarifies itself. Who can make dead code useful again? It gradually rejuvenates itself. Holding to the Unix Way, one doesn't long for more and more features. Truly, therefore, one is compact, and can remain stable without gratuitous changes. [Credit: sbp suggested some improvements] Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
The hackers of the Elder Days cultivated mastery: the subtle essence, deep, penetrating, profound, hairy. And so we cannot understand them. As a best effort, therefore, I wil describe their appearance: They were cautious as the elephant, like one making global changes to a codebase. They were vigilant as the monkey, yes, like a rogue(6) player fearing danger from all quarters. They were courteous, like ITS turists. They were egoless, yes, like ice which is just about to crack. They were solid, yes, like GNU utilities. They were open, yes, like a newly formatted disk. They were opaque, like spaghetti code. Who can make spaghetti code straightforward? It gradually clarifies itself. Who can make dead code useful again? It gradually rejuvenates itself. Holding to the Unix Way, one doesn't long for more and more features. Truly, therefore, one is compact, and can remain stable without gratuitous changes. [Credit: sbp suggested some improvements] Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Unix Power Classic #18
When the way of Unix is forgotten, "team players" and "professionalism" appear. When ego and cleverness dominate, the codebase becomes a pile of cruft. When the team has not jelled, "vision statements" and "objective-setting" are all we hear of. When the startup is heading for the rocks, the talk is of "company loyalty" and "management by exception". [Credit: esr provided an early version.] Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
When the way of Unix is forgotten, "team players" and "professionalism" appear. When ego and cleverness dominate, the codebase becomes a pile of cruft. When the team has not jelled, "vision statements" and "objective-setting" are all we hear of. When the startup is heading for the rocks, the talk is of "company loyalty" and "management by exception". [Credit: esr provided an early version.] Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Unix Power Classic #21
Power's nature is to be great iff it follows the Way. The Way is the real thing iff it is waxing, iff it is waning. Waxing, oh! Waning, oh! Its kernel holds the classes. Waning, oh! Waxing, oh! Its kernel holds the objects. Profound, oh! Obscure, oh! Its kernel holds the essence. This essence is very real; its kernel holds the truth. From now back to the Elder Days, its name has never been lost. Thus it tracks the common source. How do I grok the common source? By this. [Credit: sbp pointed out the lunar imagery.] Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Power's nature is to be great iff it follows the Way. The Way is the real thing iff it is waxing, iff it is waning. Waxing, oh! Waning, oh! Its kernel holds the classes. Waning, oh! Waxing, oh! Its kernel holds the objects. Profound, oh! Obscure, oh! Its kernel holds the essence. This essence is very real; its kernel holds the truth. From now back to the Elder Days, its name has never been lost. Thus it tracks the common source. How do I grok the common source? By this. [Credit: sbp pointed out the lunar imagery.] Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
Unix Power Classic #39
The oneness of the Old Hackers' power: Design power was one, thus clear. Coding power was one, thus calm. Testing power was one, thus energized. Refactoring power was one, thus fulfilled. Contributor power was one, thus alive. Leader power was one, thus world-dominating. What made it so? Without design, the clear would be afraid and split open. Without coding, the calm would be afraid and shake to pieces. Without testing, the energized would be afraid and wither away. Without refactoring, the fulfilled would be afraid and be exhausted. Without contributors, life would be afraid and perish. Without leaders, trust and merit would be afraid and stumble. For trust, humility is the root. For merit, humility is the base class. The Old Hackers called themselves nerds dweebs geeks because humility is the root. Having the most bells and whistles doesn't make a project the best. Not "clink clink" like jewels, but "WHAM WHAM" like boulders. Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20
The oneness of the Old Hackers' power: Design power was one, thus clear. Coding power was one, thus calm. Testing power was one, thus energized. Refactoring power was one, thus fulfilled. Contributor power was one, thus alive. Leader power was one, thus world-dominating. What made it so? Without design, the clear would be afraid and split open. Without coding, the calm would be afraid and shake to pieces. Without testing, the energized would be afraid and wither away. Without refactoring, the fulfilled would be afraid and be exhausted. Without contributors, life would be afraid and perish. Without leaders, trust and merit would be afraid and stumble. For trust, humility is the root. For merit, humility is the base class. The Old Hackers called themselves nerds dweebs geeks because humility is the root. Having the most bells and whistles doesn't make a project the best. Not "clink clink" like jewels, but "WHAM WHAM" like boulders. Unix Power Classic, 2006-12-04 04:33:20