why Unix?

[Andrei Alexandrescu]

Saaa wrote:
> "Andrei Alexandrescu" <SeeWebsiteForEmail at erdani.org> wrote in message 
> news:grduhp$1rk0$1 at digitalmars.com...
>> Saaa wrote:
>>>> When you'd be writing computer programs.
>>> But that would go like this: install eclipse, check how to compile under 
>>> Linux and start programming.
>> Nope :o). When you'll figure why not, that's where the fun starts. I'm 
>> sure you know about the phenomenon "writing Fortran in C" etc. Installing 
>> eclipse and starting programming as you would under windows would be a 
>> moral equivalent. (Not that I would advise against using eclipse, which I 
>> also like.)
>>
>> Andrei
> 
> Then, how should I start, or: where do I learn how I should start? :D 

I intently stayed vague because there's no simple advice that can be 
given on a complex phenomenon. The question is about as general and 
complicated as "how do I get a date", and the problem with short answers 
is that they can never be meaningful because, well, they are too short 
and the problem is too large. Think of the "just be yourself" advice, 
which is completely moronic, but on the surface it does make sense to 
some extent and with the due qualifications.

I'll try my "just be yourself" advice by just telling how it worked for 
me. I had a real large project to implement on Unix and that's that. 
Initially Unix ripped my leg and beat me to death with it. Then I've 
been through a number of exaggerated stages (e.g. writing big shell 
scripts - there's something to be said about the joy of seeing .bat 
files done right). Then I got to the point where I was reasonably 
productive, and finally got to a point where I could occasionally look 
amused over the shoulder of someone trying to get work done in Windows. 
It's like watching an accident, and in slow motion.


Andrei