2min chapter

Future of Coding cover image

Worse is Better by Richard P. Gabriel

Future of Coding

CHAPTER

The Worst Is Better Approach

System calls can just return an error code rather than system calls are guaranteed to succeed. If there's an interrupt in the middle of the system call the operating system needs to do a Herculean task of figuring out exactly how to resolve that. This is kind of this like simplicity trade-off, right? Do we make the interface simple meaning you write your program assuming system calls just work or do we complicate it and then have to deal with all these complicated things? Who owns the complexity ? The Underlying system or is it pushed up to the users of that system?

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