From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: smiley@zenzebra.mv.com To: Fans of the OS Plan 9 from Bell Labs <9fans@9fans.net> References: <86ipx4s36p.fsf@cmarib.ramside> <86ei7ry76s.fsf@cmarib.ramside> Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2011 00:28:16 +0000 In-Reply-To: (ron minnich's message of "Tue, 1 Feb 2011 10:33:40 -0800") Message-ID: <86zkqf46vz.fsf@cmarib.ramside> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Subject: Re: [9fans] RESOLVED: recoving important header file rudely Topicbox-Message-UUID: a7112ef8-ead6-11e9-9d60-3106f5b1d025 ron minnich writes: >>However, the Plan 9 code (at last that under /sys/src/cmd) >> doesn't seem to make use of iterators, string objects (or even >> object-orientation), modern string parsing routines, etc. > > There's a reason it does not use that stuff, and it may not be what > you think. OK, come on already, quit teasing me! :) What's the secret reason? > That said, why are you thinking in terms of writing in C anyway? Because Plan 9 only has a C compiler? > I don't see how macro foo is going to make things all that much > better. You're still stuck with C. Yes, but C macros can be used to approximate higher-level language constructs such as objects, iterators (Java style or Ruby style, though I'm focusing only on the latter), throw/catch clauses, and so on. > Actually, Plan 9 kernel is palpably object-oriented in a very real > sense, if you consider the whole. The plan 9 devices and servers are I'll first repeat a previous comment of mine for purposes of disclaimer: I haven't even LOOKED at ANY of the Plan 9 kernel code, yet... Architecturally, the Plan 9 operating system appears to be leading-edge, modern, elegant, and generally kick-ass. How that architecture is IMPLEMENTED, however, is an entirely different story. The wonderfully modern architecture of the OS looks like it's been implemented using wonderfully ancient methods. BTW, I should mention how I impressed I am by the quality of the discussion on this list. There are obviously a lot of smart people on this OS. :) -- +---------------------------------------------------------------+ |E-Mail: smiley@zenzebra.mv.com PGP key ID: BC549F8B| |Fingerprint: 9329 DB4A 30F5 6EDA D2BA 3489 DAB7 555A BC54 9F8B| +---------------------------------------------------------------+