2003.01.22 ~10 Random thought: shell as "action-oriented programming" Stumbled across this thought while pondering config/rc files. Object-oriented programming, as in C++, usually has a form of: OBJECT METHOD ARGUMENT1 ARGUMENT2 (object first, a method in that object, arguments to pass to the method) e.g. foo->bar(0), bonk.oif(quux, quuux, quuuux), $fred->yabba(dabba, doo) Shell programming, when typed out, usually has a form of: COMMAND OBJECT1 OBJECT2 ... (command first, then objects to operate upon) e.g. rm -rf /, mv foo bar, touch this that private pubic lockfile Of course, shell programming can get much hairier. But if shelling can be considered "action-oriented programming", that'd be some kind of fit-the-slot counterpart to OOP. Just a random thought.