Ghosts of Unix Past: a historical search for design patterns (2010)
2 days ago
- #Operating Systems
- #Design Patterns
- #Unix
- The article explores historical Unix design patterns, focusing on 'full exploitation' of ideas like file descriptors and hierarchical namespaces.
- File descriptors in Unix unify access to files, devices, and inter-process I/O, though not everything is a file, the descriptor abstraction allows common behaviors to be exploited.
- The hierarchical file system in Unix was innovative for its time, allowing arbitrarily deep directory structures and integrating demountable volumes into a single namespace.
- Early Unix design decisions, such as the device namespace, were not fully exploited, leading to later complications and separate namespaces for network devices.
- The article suggests that recognizing patterns like 'full exploitation' can help avoid past mistakes and leverage successes in future designs.
- Exercises are provided to encourage readers to think about how different kernel-managed objects and namespaces could benefit from fuller exploitation of Unix design patterns.