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From: es@sinix.UUCP (Dr. Sanio)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: drawtree for Unix/Sun/curses?
Message-ID: <893@athen.sinix.UUCP>
Date: 8 Dec 89 12:10:40 GMT
References: <5250@abaa.UUCP> <11976@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Reply-To: es@athen.UUCP (Dr. Sanio)
Organization: Siemens AG, K D ST SP4, Munich
Lines: 33

In article <11976@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> subbarao@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Kartik Saligrama Subbarao) writes:
>
>    Here is a question I have been wanting to ask for a long time but
> always forgot to. WHY doesn't someone make a whole NORTON UTILITES
> for UNIX? I mean, it is SO easy to unerase files in MS-DOS. If UNIX
> is a superior operating system, why hasn't someone come up with a 
> qu command to unerase files, an ncd to change directories and some of
> the other goodies we get with the Norton Utilities 4.5 Advanced
> Edition?
>				-Is UNIX really superior ???
>				 Kartik Subbarao
Guess you get a lot of unfriendly replies on your questions. First, to your
question why there are no Norton utilities in unix: Actually, unix standard
utilities can do nearly everything (down to the hardware level) to the system
and its resources, whereas PC utilities (PCtools, Norton etc) were developed
because the standard MSDOS utilities proved incomplete and ineffective.
Agreed, usage of unix is more complex than that of MSDOS, but so is the system
itself. And there are some (graphical & non-graphical) user interfaces which
highly ease the usage.
In fact, "unerasure" of files is impossible in unix file systems. DOS file
system (derived from CP/M), on the other hand, uses disks very inefficiently
(quickly fragmenting it) and is designed for single-user purposes. The possi-
bility of "unerasure" is more accidential than intended. (Note: if you have
a simple waste disposal, you can pick out something unintentionally thrown
away. Different if you have a waste chute in your flat)
The question which system is "superior" can be answered in different ways.
Considering the abilities to do things such as multi-user login, multi-tasking,
multi-terminal support and the ability to run on a wide variety of hardware,
unix is clearly superior.
But depending on what you want to do, those abilities may sometimes simply be
overkill. And there are numerous well-designed programs under DOS which may
fulfill your demands. So the choice is left to you.
best regards, es