Comment by MisterTea
1 year ago
> 7 Backpressure > Was that the intention of the artist? You decide—is the wheel in the pipes a clever reference to UNIX back pressure, or is that a stretch?
Maybe? That wheel is a valve handle BTW. A closed valve in a fluid system would cause back-pressure upstream as no flow will allow the pressure to build to what ever maximum the source can provide. Valves which control flow (globe valve) can also act as a crude pressure controller if partly open allowing only a small amount of flow causing back pressure to build. In the case of Unix pipes, back pressure occurs when the writer fills the pipe's buffer before the reader consumes it causing the writer to hang. Now both procs are doing nothing bringing your data assembly line to a grinding halt. Not good for production.
Thank you! I’ve updated the content from "wheel" to "valve handle".
Please feel free to contribute—there’s still so much to uncover! I can easily think of 50 more references, and I’ll be adding them gradually over time.
This project is an invitation to dig deep into the meaning behind each reference—to explore their significance and understand how they fit into the historical context of Unix’s early days. I tried to capture that in the README (https://github.com/drio/unixmagic):
"When contributing, remember that this is an opportunity to dig deep into the history behind what you’re describing. Feel free to share what this particular component means to you personally, but also aim to frame the explanation within the context of Unix’s early days. How did this functionality compare to other operating systems at the time? What made it special or innovative? This project is not just about explaining what things are, but understanding why they mattered—both technically and culturally—in the evolution of Unix."
I’d love to see a PR from you—I bet your take on one of these references would be fascinating.