[COFF] [TUHS] On Bloat and the Idea of Small Specialized Tools
Grant Taylor via COFF
coff at tuhs.org
Sun May 12 01:45:40 AEST 2024
On 5/11/24 08:12, Dan Cross wrote:
> `pr` is an interesting case in point. I would guess that the name comes
> from Multics, where `print` (short name `pr`) is sort of the equivalent
> of `cat`, but contains a lot of extra functionality to control output,
> read archives, etc. But if one has never used Multics (and let's be
> honest: the total number of people in the world who have done so is a
> tiny, tiny fraction of the number of computer users), one would never
> guess that. When I started using Unix, I thought that "pr" was how
> you sent a file to the printer; "lpr" was highly non-intuitive, but
> I'd never seen a line printer at that point (our first home computer
> was a Mac with an imagewriter); the idea of `cat`ing a file into the
> printer device wasn't something I'd ever even considered (besides,
> I think the device was owned and writable only as root).
It wasn't until this thread that I became aware of `pr` as I've been an
`nl` user for years.
It wasn't until the message that I'm replying to that I realized the
naming relation between `pr` and `lpr`.
I also wonder if `pr` makes more sense in the context of teletypes
wherein when you `pr`(int) a file, you end up with a printout on the
teletype that you're using. Conversely `lpr` would send something to
the line printer elsewhere.
It makes sense in my head.
I have no idea if it's accurate or not.
--
Grant. . . .
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