Re: emacs changed file's own user and file permission

[Xah Lee]

In this thread, a moron mentioned how Apple switched to Unix, implying
that unix is good and Apple chose it. I quote: 「... even Apple had the
good sense to move to Unix. 」

i like to briefly address this because it is a ignorance rampant in
the linux/OpenSource type of computing communties.

This kind of statement is kinda after-the-fact ascription.

Apple didn't seek out a unix or unix-like OS when it went looking to
buy a modern OS to replace their out-of-date Mac OS (Classic). Apple,
as a business decision, happened to have bought a OS that happens to
be unix-like. Once Apple got NeXT, it is a inevitability for marketing
to stamp and broadcast how it is Unix based and OpenSource based,
riding the 2 fashions at their height (largely from Linux, Apache,
Perl). Apple computer, thru out its history of innovation and
elegance, wouldn't have touched unix with a 9 meters pole.

Similar after-the-fact ascription happens a lot in unix communities.
For example, there's the "Unix Philosophy", which ascribes a
philosophy of design to the patch-wise hacked-up software that has
little to none design or pre-thought.

Similar is Larry Wall's peddling of his creation the Perl language.
When it opportunistically swelled during the dot com web boom, Larry
wall ascribed his "design" by likening it to natural languages.

Further readings:

* Is Mac OS X Unix?
http://xahlee.org/UnixResource_dir/writ/macosx.html

* The Nature of the "Unix Philosophy"
http://xahlee.org/UnixResource_dir/writ/unix_phil.html

* Perl: Theory vs Practice
http://xahlee.org/UnixResource_dir/writ/theory_practice.html

For a reasonable account of the history of how Apple purchased NeXT
(the basis of Mac OS X), check wikip. You can start search by Apple
History.

  Xah
  xah@xahlee.org
\xAD\xF4 http://xahlee.org/