Reading Journal: UNIX and Worse is Better

Due

• April 19, 2019 by 2pm

Collaboration

You may discuss the reading with other students in the class, but you should not discuss your responses with anyone until our in-class discussion.

Submitting

Submit your response using gradescope.

Overview

Please answer the following questions after completing the assigned reading on the history of UNIX and Richard Gabriel’s writing about “Worse is Better.”

Question 1: Reflection (3–5 sentences)

Describe a time when you used either the “New Jersey approach” or the “MIT approach”. Were any of Gabriel’s reservations relevant to this experience? Give an example of how your experience matches or contradicts Gabriel’s claims about these two approaches to building software.

Question 2: “Worse is Better” in UNIX (3–5 sentences)

UNIX is one of the primary exmaples of Richard Gabriel’s “New Jersey approach.” While he gives some examples in his short essay, there are many instances of this approach evident in the design of UNIX. Point to one aspect of UNIX—either from the reading or your own experience using a UNIX-like OS—that you believe illustrates the New Jersey approach. Justify your choice.

Question 3: Abstraction (3–5 sentences)

Which approach—either MIT or New Jersey—do you believe is better? Why? Give clear examples to support your case.