{"id":11350,"date":"2022-02-09T12:34:14","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T12:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/09\/why-you-should-read-section-8-of-the-unix-users-manual-the-register\/"},"modified":"2022-02-09T12:34:14","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T12:34:14","slug":"why-you-should-read-section-8-of-the-unix-users-manual-the-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/09\/why-you-should-read-section-8-of-the-unix-users-manual-the-register\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you should read Section 8 of the Unix User’s Manual \u2022 The Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Systems Approach<\/span> If, like me, you were a computer-science graduate student who cut your teeth on Berkeley Unix \u2013 complete with the first open-source implementation of TCP\/IP \u2013 you know Section 8 as the cryptic System Maintenance Commands section of the Unix User’s Manual.<\/p>\n

It was obvious, to me, that this concluding section warranted a closer look because the introduction warned: “Information in this section is not of great interest to most users.” Judging by my taste in research problems over the years, reading Section 8 turned out to be a pretty good investment.<\/p>\n

But before getting to Section 8<\/a>, you first learned about the rest of Unix<\/a>, where you discovered how empowering it is to be able to build new internet applications. Anyone interested in how targeted investments in open-source software, coupled with affordable hardware, can spur innovation should study the role of the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) in the success of the internet.<\/p>\n

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