[9fans] Re: everything is a directory

[jsnx <jason.dusek@gmail.com>]

On Aug 22, 2:54 am, app <porttik...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Aug 22, 11:47 am, jsnx <jason.du...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > On Aug 21, 1:48 am, app <porttik...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > I would just like to remind, that directories with union mounts do
> > > present "inheritance"...Exactly like in SmallTalk or C++ or
> > > Java.
>
> > Well, it's not exactly like in Java, since you are composing *two*
> > bases to make a child -- that's multiple inheritance, which is not
> > permitted in Java.
>
> In OO you are _always_ composing stuff from at least two sets of
> data...

The reason I'm calling it 'multiple inheritance' is because there are
two distinct bases which you are extending to create a child. In
single inheritance, there is one base that you extend to create a
childhood.

The only reason I bring it up is to point out the loose coupling of OO
languages and the notion you are talking about. It is much more like
mixins, a feature in Ruby, than it is like inheritance in Java.

Why do I stress this point? Because of my Jihad against object-
oriented programming in particular, and my distress at the general
willingness of folks in the computing community to compare good
features in any system to bad features in object-oriented programming.

By noting the connection between inheritance and unions, you have not
seen into inheritance but rather through it -- out the other side to a
rich world of architectural approaches.

> Benefits in Plan 9 approach are numerous: language independence, free
> serialization, optional persistence, networking, object naming and
> object permissions provided automatically by the system, not by
> programmers.

Indeed, I agree -- using the filesystem is the "way of the future"^tm
for module composition, document structure, laying out web sites,
managing users...

We can only hope for the day when people realize that text streams are
the real Common Language Runtime!