The notion of "intricate and beautiful complexities" is almost an oxymoron. Unix programmers vie with each other for "simple and beautiful" honors — a point that's implicit in these rules, but is well worth making overt.

— Douglas McIlroy, The Art of Unix Programming (2003)

Source: http://www.catb.org/esr/writings/taoup/html/ch01s06.html

From the "Basics of the Unix Philosophy" chapter (2003).

Topics: simplicity