The Unix philosophy in a nutshell

To understand anyone (or anything), one must strive to first understand their (or its) underlying philosophy; to begin to understand Linux is to begin to understand the Unix philosophy. Here, we shall not attempt to delve into every minute detail; rather, an overall understanding of the essentials of the Unix philosophy is our goal. Also, when we use the term Unix, we very much also mean Linux!

The way that software (particularly, tools) is designed, built, and maintained on Unix slowly evolved into what might even be called a pattern that stuck: the Unix design philosophy. At its heart, here are the pillars of the Unix philosophy, design, and architecture:

  • Everything is a process; if it's not a process, ...

Get Hands-On System Programming with Linux now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.