id: 1154,1A
title: Rules of the UNIX philosophy.
date: 2024-03-24

Rules of the UNIX philosophy.

As follows:rR9

  1. Rule of modularity: Simple units connected by good interfaces.
  2. Rule of clarity: Clear over clever.
  3. Rule of composition: Programs are design to interact with each other.
  4. Rule of separation: Separate interface and rules from how it works.
  5. Rule of simplicity: Add complexity only when absolutely required.
  6. Rule of parsimony: Write big software as a matter of last resort.
  7. Rule of transparency: Design to accommodate troubleshooting.
  8. Rule of robustness: Comes from transparency and simplicity.
  9. Rule of representation: Express knowledge as data, keep logic simple.
  10. Rule of least surprise: Design interfaces to minimize surprise.

Continuation

  1. ↩

    Eric Steven Raymond, “Basics of the Unix Philosophy,” 2003, http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/taoup/html/ch01s06.html. (See notes.)