The UNIX-HATERS Handbook
Encyclopedia
The UNIX-HATERS Handbook is a semi-humorous edited compilation of messages to the UNIX-HATERS mailing list
. The book was edited by Simson Garfinkel
, Daniel Weise and Steven Strassmann and published in 1994.
The book was made available to download for free in electronic format in 2003.
operating system
. Many users had come from systems that they felt were far more sophisticated in computer science
terms, and were tremendously frustrated by the worse is better
design philosophy that they felt Unix and much of its software encapsulated.
This book was printed as a trade paperback. Its front cover was designed to be similar to The Scream
. An air sickness bag, printed with the phrase "UNIX barf bag", was inserted into the inside back cover of every copy, by the publisher.
The front-matter page's dedication
says: "To Ken
and Dennis
, without whom this book would not have been possible."
Dennis Ritchie
, one of the creators of Unix, provided an "anti-foreword" or epilogue which the authors placed in the back of the book. It ended:
Mailing list
A mailing list is a collection of names and addresses used by an individual or an organization to send material to multiple recipients. The term is often extended to include the people subscribed to such a list, so the group of subscribers is referred to as "the mailing list", or simply "the...
. The book was edited by Simson Garfinkel
Simson Garfinkel
Simson L. Garfinkel is an Associate Professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Garfinkel is regarded as a leader in the fields of Digital forensics and Usable Security...
, Daniel Weise and Steven Strassmann and published in 1994.
The book was made available to download for free in electronic format in 2003.
Contents
The book concerns the frustrations of users of the UnixUnix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
. Many users had come from systems that they felt were far more sophisticated in computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
terms, and were tremendously frustrated by the worse is better
Worse is better
Worse is better, also called the New Jersey style, was conceived by Richard P. Gabriel to describe the dynamics of software acceptance, but it has broader application. The idea is that quality does not necessarily increase with functionality. There is a point where less functionality is a...
design philosophy that they felt Unix and much of its software encapsulated.
This book was printed as a trade paperback. Its front cover was designed to be similar to The Scream
The Scream
Scream is the title of Expressionist paintings and prints in a series by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, showing an agonized figure against a blood red sky...
. An air sickness bag, printed with the phrase "UNIX barf bag", was inserted into the inside back cover of every copy, by the publisher.
The front-matter page's dedication
Dedication
Dedication is the act of consecrating an altar, temple, church or other sacred building. It also refers to the inscription of books or other artifacts when these are specifically addressed or presented to a particular person. This practice, which once was used to gain the patronage and support of...
says: "To Ken
Ken Thompson
Kenneth Lane Thompson , commonly referred to as ken in hacker circles, is an American pioneer of computer science...
and Dennis
Dennis Ritchie
Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie , was an American computer scientist who "helped shape the digital era." He created the C programming language and, with long-time colleague Ken Thompson, the UNIX operating system...
, without whom this book would not have been possible."
Dennis Ritchie
Dennis Ritchie
Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie , was an American computer scientist who "helped shape the digital era." He created the C programming language and, with long-time colleague Ken Thompson, the UNIX operating system...
, one of the creators of Unix, provided an "anti-foreword" or epilogue which the authors placed in the back of the book. It ended:
Here is my metaphor: your book is a pudding stuffed with apposite observations, many well-conceived. Like excrement, it contains enough undigested nuggets of nutrition to sustain life for some. But it is not a tasty pie: it reeks too much of contempt and of envy.
Bon appetit!