[OT?] Best Practices for Scientific Computing

[Jakob Østergaard]

On Tue, Aug 14, 2001 at 09:51:53PM +0300, Eray Ozkural wrote:
...
>   5. Network software is better in UNIX. Tell them why setting up UNIX 
> servers and windows clients (for absolutely non-technical people) may be a 
> good idea. Show them that there are great desktop environments on UNIX, 
> demonstrate KDE and that in client terms windows won't be bringing any 
> advantage. Also mention that UNIX provides better security: show that UNIX 
> systems have never been affected by net worms/virii in the way windows boxes 
> were recently.

Ok, I suppose you don't know about the first worm that took down a considerable
portion of the Internet - the Morris worm.

It was Sendmail, it was UNIX, and it was such a big disaster that it spawned
the foundation of CERT.

But UN*X has some traditions that *tend* to produce good software. Those traditions
are, however unlikely that may seem to someone who hasn't coded for these systems,
just not present in the non-UN*X world.

There is bad software for UN*X.  In fact, there's really really horrible messy
ugly putrid code out there, and maybe you're running some of it.  But in
*general* the design of software on UN*X tends to good - I suppose because the
systems makes it easy to write robust code.  UN*X is very forgiving, and to an
application developer it's about the friendliest thing out there.  This
reflects on the software.  This is why I'm writing this e-mail to you from a
system that is built on 32 year old ideas.

-- 
................................................................
:   jakob at unthought.net   : And I see the elder races,         :
:.........................: putrid forms of man                :
:   Jakob Østergaard      : See him rise and claim the earth,  :
:        OZ9ABN           : his downfall is at hand.           :
:.........................:............{Konkhra}...............: