Reply to post: Re: No POSIX

Re: No POSIX

@Sandtitz

Why should Linux be Windows compliant? POSIX is an open set of industry standards, designed to improve interoperability. Windows is a closed Microsoft 'standard'. It would be easier for Microsoft to fully implement POSIX compliance than Linux implement Windows compliance. In any case, taken as a whole and including the tablet / phone ecosystem, servers and so forth, Windows is haemorrhaging market share - so, in many ways, it's more important for Windows to comply with the industry standard (POSIX) than for Linux to comply with the ersatz industry standard (Windows)

There are other shells available for Windows True. They aren't commonly used though - and it's even less common for Windows to have a halfway acceptable terminal app installed. Doubtless you're wondering why this matters - after all, you could just download and install your own alternative. In a secure server environment though, systems are locked down - and it isn't possible to just install the shell / terminal app / text editor of choice. *nix systems typically come with a vast selection of options preinstalled, thereby overcoming this problem. Furthermore, it doesn't matter what shell or terminal you install, Windows still can't be 100% configured / controlled from the command line and it's inherited CP/M's idiotic confusion over / and \. As to choice of shells, the same applies to *nix. On *nix masochists can even opt to have a Windows cmd shell, complete with confused slashes.

your friends would accuse Windows of "bloat" In my view, bloat isn't about providing a plethora of functions (which is a good thing, provided that said options can be hidden from the noobs). Bloat is about software which is far larger than it needs to be to fulfil its functions. For example, if a fizz buzz program takes more than a few hundred bytes to implement then it is (in my view) bloated - and there'll be many people here who would consider my code bloated, overblown and baroque. As stated previously, it isn't possible to 'just download' in a secure environment (although I have, of course, done so on my Windows box at home).