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From: Malcolm McLean <malcolm.arthur.mclean@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Running an editor from ANSI C
Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2024 12:31:49 +0100
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On 09/06/2024 16:49, David Brown wrote:
> On 07/06/2024 20:38, Malcolm McLean wrote:
>> On 07/06/2024 15:48, David Brown wrote:
>>> On 07/06/2024 12:46, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>>> On Fri, 7 Jun 2024 11:31:01 +0200, David Brown wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> But many people have lots of use of programming in C without any 
>>>>> kind of
>>>>> POSIX functionality ...
>>>>
>>>> And all those same programs work in the presence of POSIX 
>>>> functionality,
>>>> plus you get access to a whole lot more besides.
>>>
>>> No, they do not.
>>>
>>> And even if POSIX functionality were "present", whatever you mean by 
>>> that, it would be of no help to many C programs.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> The fact that cases keep arising where POSIX functionality would solve
>>>> problems that are discussed in this group belies your point.
>>>
>>> There's no doubt that for some C programming, there are POSIX 
>>> functions that could help.  And no doubt that this is the case for 
>>> Malcolm's project.
>>>
>>> That does not in any way demonstrate that POSIX is required for all C 
>>> programming, or that C is "essentially crippled" if POSIX is not 
>>> available.
>>>
>> Any idiot can write a shell using Posix.
> 
> Only an idiot /would/ write a shell, unless they thought they could 
> create something significantly better in some way than the multitude of 
> existing shells.
> 
>>
>> The whole point is to it in pure C. Without a single call to a 
>> function that isn't in the C standard library.
> 
> That's not a point - that is /pointless/.
> 
> There are two purposes to writing a program.  One is for the fun or 
> educational purposes of writing the program - and then you can pick 
> whatever restrictions you want because it is purely for your own 
> enjoyment, and it is not something that anyone will ever use.  (And I 
> believe fun is always a perfectly good reason for doing anything in this 
> life, as long as it doesn't bother anyone else.)
> 
> The other purpose is to make software that people can use.  Writing 
> something in "pure" long-outdated dialects of a language adds nothing to 
> its use for other people.  Will your shell be faster, use fewer 
> resources, or have more features than bash, or zsh, or PowerShell, or 
> any alternatives people already have?  If not, it is pointless as a 
> program.
> 
>>
>> And make it fully functional. A real shell, that people will want to 
>> really use. That's my hobby project. I'm a free man now. I've got the 
>> time. I don't have to write code that makes money any more.
>>
> 
> You have the choice.  You can write things that you want to write in the 
> way you want to write them, simply for the fun of it.  Or you can write 
> things that people will use.  Both are perfectly good ways to spend your 
> time, and both can be rewarding.  But don't kid yourself that you are 
> writing a shell that people will use, or that it is better for potential 
> users if you impose silly and arbitrary restrictions on the way you 
> write your code.  Be honest about what you are doing - it's a project 
> you are working on for your own fun, and there is absolutely nothing 
> wrong with that.  You don't have to try to delude yourself to justify 
> having a hobby!
> 
>
My shell can mount a FileSystem.xml file as a filing system and use that 
as backing store. No other shell can do that. That's why I need a shell. 
Because a shell is effectively an editor for a filing system.

-- 
Check out my hobby project.
http://malcolmmclean.github.io/babyxrc