FCKGW-RHQQ2-YXRKT-8TG6W-2B7Q8 – If this string – a well-known volume license key for Windows XP – means anything to you, chances are pretty good that you’ve been doing computer work for a while. You probably know why moving cables doesn’t help and why the older generation of IT warhorses were already serverless. If you have any experience with Linux, you probably also understand that good system administration is not a complicated matter of complex technology and resources that are valuable.
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However, it seems that the younger generation of developers, in particular, in their individual Sturm und Drang phase, are increasingly intoxicated by what is technically possible and have a tendency to build more complex solutions whose practical benefits are extremely low. Are clear. While rewriting GNU coreutils in Rust is still respectable due to the performance gains, the approach of replacing Bash across the board with TypeScript seems like an idea straight out of Absurdistan for experienced administrators. And this idea shows that there is an urgent need for rethinking, especially when it comes to training.
I don’t belong to the first generation of nerds with my own Amiga or Atari, but I still experienced the time when people started downloading the new OpenBSD version (then: 2.7) in the evening so that it would be the next Get ready in the morning. This is why my ears are regularly flapping in today’s everyday IT life: careful use of resources, be it network, power or available storage space, is no longer an issue, especially for the younger generation. Instead, the principle applies: do whatever works – and more often than not this results in code that merely emulates existing functions, but is absurdly bloated and contains some esoteric software components. Also join.
Particularly annoying: proponents of such concoctions behave as if their product was the greatest coup since the invention of fire. Especially in the open source world, where diversity and expertise are truly key virtues, proponents of individual solutions have recently become increasingly aggressive in championing their priorities with almost missionary zeal.
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TypeScript as Bash Killer? – Hahaha
A great example of this is TypeScript. The project, for which Microsoft is largely responsible, may have a right to exist in some application scenarios. It was developed as a type-safe alternative to JavaScript, with which it is also fully compatible. Complex applications can be built easily and intelligently on the server and client sides. Rather than use the tool for this purpose, its proponents indulge in fantasies of omnipotence: TypeScript, one reads, is essential to having a Bash killer. After all, it is more convenient for developers to write infrastructure-as-code (IaC) code in an application-like language. Also, Bash is not even available for Windows, but TypeScript is. Overall, according to twisted logic, this could be nothing but the end of all Bash.
If this doesn’t make you cry you’ll have to laugh: If you believe current surveys, TypeScript ranks 8th among the most popular programming languages, behind Python, C/C++, PHP, R, Java, and even That it is far behind even its ancestor JavaScript. And that’s not all: the idea that an experienced Linux administrator would first install Node.js to perform simple administrative tasks on their system is absurd. A major advantage of Bash is that its syntax is relatively easy to learn and is available on practically every contemporary Linux system.
On top of that, Bash knowledge is extensive. Scripts from other administrators are usually easy to crack. Application developers also benefit from it if they encounter problems during DevOps work that they cannot solve on their own. Anyone who glues IaC to their application in TypeScript is on their own, rather than relying on established tools like Terraform or Ansible, if a problem arises. If you then change companies, you leave behind a mess that is difficult to sift through. “Deluge after me” is absolutely taboo in a professional IT environment.
a major problem
Replacing Bash with TypeScript seems so absurd, not least because over the last 25 years we have seen many solutions come out of a miracle bag and then disappear again after a short time. When experienced system administrators turn against such suggestions, it is not primarily because of hostility to innovation. But above all because administrators, from painful experience, feel an uneasy suspicion in the pit of their stomach about who will be allowed to clean up the mess if the promotion bubble bursts. Technologically savvy innovation has proven to prevail over the long term, as demonstrated by Linux containers and ever-increasing automation.
The responsibility for the debacle doesn’t fall primarily on young developers, who begin their careers with the aim of leaving their mark on the universe. Instead, institutions that train young IT professionals should be pilloried: Driven by a constant desire to produce the next unicorn, the industry has in recent decades sought primarily the training of developers. Training institutions have succumbed to this desire and have tailored their courses and training to such an extent that there is hardly any room left for theoretical foundations, especially for the administration of IT infrastructure.
This also explains why, on the one hand, unemployed full-stack developers are piling up, while on the other hand, the entire industry is looking for infrastructure experts. The problem goes much deeper: you can easily get a computer science bachelor’s degree at various technical colleges without even seeing a Linux system closely, let alone installing one. Basic basic knowledge of current systems, networks and storage as well as careful use of resources is simply not available. It is understandable that some graduates lose their horses because of this.
There is an urgent need for rethinking, especially when it comes to training: concepts like DevOps can only be implemented if everyone involved has a basic and common understanding of the topic. This goes far beyond the ability to use programming and scripting languages. Anyone who does not know how complex the provisioning of CPU, RAM, storage, networks, etc. is, thinks that IT infrastructure is a renewable resource and treats it very carelessly. Ultimately, it has neither meaning nor novelty. However, young savages should be reminded: not everything that is theoretically possible makes practical sense. “Keep it simple, silly” is a core virtue within the F/Los community. for a good cause.
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