The UNIX-Haters Handbook
From Free net encyclopedia
ISBN 1-56884-203-1.png">Image:UNIX-HATERS Handbook cover ISBN 1-56884-203-1.png
The UNIX-Haters Handbook is an 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 (IDG, ISBN 1-56884-203-1). A chapter on the X Window System is written by Don Hopkins, and an appendix of Richard Gabriel's worse is better essay. It includes an Anti-Foreword by Dennis Ritchie, which denigrates the book's concept.
The book concerns the frustrations of users to the Unix operating system. Many users had come from systems which 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.
Some paper editions of this book come with a waxed paper facsimile of an airline sick bag labelled "UNIX barf bag", inserted into the inside back cover.
External links
- Download page (links to complete PDF, 3.5 megabytes)