[Web Feed] This is not always true, but in my experience, it tends to hold up. We often ...

..build or evaluate tools which aim to replace something kludgy^W



This is not always true, but in my experience, it tends to hold up. We often build or evaluate tools which aim to replace something kludgy^Wvenerable. Common examples include shells, programming languages, system utilities, and so on. Rust, Zig, etc, are taking on C in this manner; so too does zsh, fish, and oil take on bash, which in turn takes on the Bourne shell. There are many examples.

All of these tools are fine in their own respects, but they have all failed to completely supplant the software they’re seeking to improve upon.1 What these projects have in common is that they expand on the ideas of their predecessors, rather than refining them. A truly great alternative finds the nugget of truth at the center of the idea, cuts out the cruft, and solves the same problem with less.




Link 1


A great alternative is rarely fatter than what it aims to replace: https://drewdevault.com/2021/02/21/On-the-traits-of-good-replacements.html