Nine signs of a tough Unix admin

I, unfortunately, did not find the Russian translation of this text, although it seemed to me extremely ... enlightening, or something.

Symptom 1: we do not use sudo

Like CAPS LOCK is a “cruise control for cool steeples,” and sudo is a “crutch for doubters.” If we need to do something as root, we use su, not garbage like sudo. If one of the Unix-like operating systems forces us to use sudo, then the first thing we do is sudo su and set the password for the root user in order to comfortably use su in the future. Constant use of sudo can be compared with swimming with an inflatable circle in the stomach - this is safer, yes, but it makes it unnecessary to think about actions.

Symptom 2: we use vi, not emacs, and certainly not pico or nano

Despite the fact that emacs is close to any hearts of many Unix administrators, in fact it is the equivalent of Microsoft Word for Unix. Vi - and vim in particular - is a real tool for the harsh Unix guru who needs to quickly do what he needs without the nonsense that emacs carries with him. Emacs has a damn tetris built in to have something to do, yes.

I reluctantly admit that all these whistles and perfection in vim, such as code folding and syntax highlighting, are perceived as perfect garbage, but when the brain is already weak, the concept of modal editing in vi helps a lot. And the small size and existence for all platforms ultimately creates the One True Editor. Thank you, Bill, thank you, Bram.

Symptom 3: Regular Expressions - Our Weapon

For the uninitiated, even an innocuous regular expression looks like their keyboard is sick. For us, this is pure, true poetry. The strength in pcre is not comparable with any other tool. If you need to replace every third character in order in a file of 100 thousand lines (except when the fourth character is a quadruple), regular expressions are not just a great tool, they are the only tool for this task. And those who shy away from regular expressions just do a disservice not only to themselves, but also to their colleagues. In any harsh Unix administrators reserve, there are a couple of regular expression connoisseurs - these guys are constantly sent tons of messages to e-mail with examples of regular expressions and tearful requests to decipher, then you should usually never fulfill the promise of drinking.

Symptom 4: we are essentially lazy

When solving a problem requires a lot of repetitive routine actions from us, then we always prefer to write the code that does it. It usually takes less time than the melee method, but not always. Anyway, we’ll rather start creating what we can reuse later, rather than solve the problem here and now. This usually comes in handy later, after a few years, when we encounter a similar problem and can pull a few hundred lines of Perl code from our sleeves in our home directory, solve the problem in a few minutes and return to improving our code. Or to the unfinished three-star level in Angry Birds.
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Symptom 5: we prefer elegant solutions

If there are several ways to solve a problem or achieve a goal, we would prefer to spend more time on a fundamental solution that not only solves the problem now, but also its possible consequences in the future, rather than quickly building a support strung with a plaster. This is due to the fact that we hate to re-deal with the problem that we have already marked in my head, as "decided." We realized that if we solve future problems now by making a few additional gestures, then tomorrow we will have more free time. And usually we are right.

Symptom 6: we are sure that the answer to the question depends on the questioner

Achieving a certain level of Unix enlightenment lies in absolute confidence in your fundamental knowledge. It also means that we never believe in a problem until we see it ourselves. Tell the stern Unix administrator that the file has "disappeared" - and get a scornful jibe in return. Prove that it really happened - and he will plunge into solving the problem without looking back, digging until he finds a suitable meaningful explanation of the reason and a suitable solution. Many believe that this is a sign of arrogance or arrogance. So it is, but accept it, we deserve it.

Symptom 7: We are closer to the pathologist than to the doctors

Faced with a big problem, we will spend much more time analyzing what happened, rather than solving the problem right now. As long as we have at least a minute of time, we should know every reason that caused the problem. There is no magic in the work of the stern Unix admin; each event must grow from a certain logical point that can be traced. In short, everything has a reason and we will work out all the options for the development of events in order to find it.

It's easy for us to restart the process or issue 777 permissions to a file or directory. But this is only half the solution. Why does this process need a restart? Normal processes do not need to be restarted, and we need to know why this rule is not executed.

Symptom 8: we know more about Windows than we show

Even though our machines do not have Windows installed and we don’t worry a bit about Windows servers, we usually know how to diagnose and fix Windows problems well. This is because we faced these problems when they seeped into our area of ​​responsibility. However, we don’t like to admit it, because in most cases Windows doesn’t share the deeply logical Unix principles, and we don’t like it. See also signs 5 and 6 above.

Symptom 9: reboot is not our method

Unix computers do not need to be rebooted. As long as we have at least the slightest chance to fix the problem without rebooting, we will try to do it. We are sure that the reboot is needed only in case of changes in the kernel or hardware, and the solution to the problem with the reboot is temporary. If a problem occurs once and was “solved” by a reboot, it will appear again. We'd rather find a solution to the problem than reboot and expect it to repeat.

If some of these principles seem to be asocial or difficult to understand from the position of a mere mortal, then this is precisely because it is so. Where others see vague, overly complex methods, we see enlightenment born of years of study, experience, and, most importantly, logic.