[mixdup]

Setting aside all of the technical aspects of this, the history of this in the world of UNIX, I just love the process and bureaucracy that generated this specific paper document. The very formal cover sheet (and the fact that it had an accompanying, separate, numbered instruction document), the pre-determined layout and format of a Technical Memorandum, and the fact that this was published as such a memorandum with filing and control numbers that will be researched and looked up in a library instead of just a blog or post on Medium

We used to be a real society

[somytomy]

Depends where you work. Judging from reading HN, 95% of all devs here are writing webshitapps for companies that don't give a flying eff about development, just profits. I develop embedded hardware for tier 1 automotive manufacturers, and we have to adhere to several ISO standards, and a number of tools for managing documentation and code hygiene. Traceability of requirements, security, functional safety, and risk assessments are associated with every single decision and every single code commit. It is a lot of documentation, but I'm a pedant and I love it. It is a design process for adults, by adults.

[mixdup]

Yeah, this kind of memo and process probably still exists at places like NASA as well