Unix/Linux Philosophy

Core Principles

1. Do one thing well - Each program/function should have a single purpose
2. Compose with others - Design for pipelines and composition
3. Text streams - Use text as universal interface
4. Small, sharp tools - Prefer focused tools over monolithic solutions
5. Fail fast, fail loudly - Exit on error with clear messages

Design Guidelines

• Prefer explicit over implicit behavior
• Make default behavior safe; require flags for dangerous operations
• Support stdin/stdout for composition
• Use exit codes meaningfully (0=success, non-zero=error)
• Write to stderr for diagnostics, stdout for output

Checklist

• Single responsibility per module/function
• Composable via standard I/O
• Clear error messages to stderr
• Meaningful exit codes
• No hidden side effects