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Millie @millie@infosec.exchange
9mo
We need to normalize declaring software as finished. Not everything needs continuous updates to function. In fact, a minority of software needs this. Most software works as it is written. The code does not run out of date. I want more projects that are actually just finished, without the need to be continuously mutated and complexified ad infinitum.
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Bitslingers-R-Us @AnachronistJohn@zia.io
9mo
@millie From fortune:
Those who do not understand Unix are condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
        -- Henry Spencer




It’s fun to see the rewrite-everything-in-Rust bros try to reimplement simple Unix programs that’ve existed for literally decades. Even with decades of books (physical books!) and decades of lessons about good programming, they’re still screwing things up because those programs, apparently, weren’t “done” enough for them:

www.theregister.com/2025/11/13/ubuntu_rust_sudo_hole/

www.phoronix.com/news/Ubuntu-Rust-Coreutils-Perf

itsfoss.com/news/ubuntu-25-10-rust-automatic-upgrade-bug/
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celeste_hearts_lesbianceleste_hearts_transceleste_hearts_demisexual flori_ava_star:~cursor_blinking @star@amazonawaws.com
9mo
@AnachronistJohn @millie the quote is kinda misplaced here, since re-implementing UNIX utilities is not... re-inventing it. I'd also like to point out that Canonical are absolute fucking idiots, basing their shitstro which had one "good" thing—that being stability—on an unfinished, unstable experimental rewrite of the C coreutils. Even if I wanted a bleeding edge system, I wouldn't do that, because of precisely these issues that are now being found. Other than that, I don't really see any issue with rewriting things in Rust. The issue is just a greedy company trying to get GPL'd code out of their distro (or something, idk what other motivations one would have for this) pushing unfinished shit into production, where it will then inevitably explode
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Bitslingers-R-Us @AnachronistJohn@zia.io
9mo
@star @millie You're certainly not wrong, but the quote was more about much of Unix(-like) being, as @millie put it, finished.

Coreutils was an example. Nobody ever said they had to rewrite / reimplement to get away from GPL when the BSD licensed code is right there - but trying to improve, or even match - something that's finished is an excellent example of, I think, the hubris @millie is writing about.
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celeste_hearts_lesbianceleste_hearts_transceleste_hearts_demisexual flori_ava_star:~cursor_blinking @star@amazonawaws.com
9mo
@AnachronistJohn @millie As for the quote part thingy: oooooo okay, sorry neocat_googly_shocked neocat_shy
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