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A comment on Introduction to OS Abstractions Using Plan 9 from Bell Labs (2007) [pdf]. Parent comment

Re:Introduction to OS Abstractions Using Plan 9 from Bell La... by __s on Sunday January 28, 2018 @05:13PM (#16253894)
Most operating systems are more evolved than designed
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Re:Introduction to OS Abstractions Using Plan 9 from Bell La... by Koshkin on Sunday January 28, 2018 @06:43PM (#16254307)
Software is usually a product of both intelligent design and evolution, in varying proportions.
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Re:Introduction to OS Abstractions Using Plan 9 from Bell La... by Qwertious on Monday January 29, 2018 @07:08AM (#16256995)
Most operating systems, or the most popular operating systems?

The most important distinction between evolution and design, IMO, is that evolution bars forethought, and any refactoring that trips local optima (which in this case, would be breaking backwards-compatibility).

Popular OSes are popular mainly because of their backwards-compatibility and momentum, and are therefore typically unable to be redesigned in any non-evolution fashion.

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Re:Introduction to OS Abstractions Using Plan 9 from Bell La... by kzrdude on Sunday January 28, 2018 @06:30PM (#16254256)
Isn't that true for most complex systems overall, (software or otherwise)?
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