severy days ago i find some koans about MIT AI koans ,today ,when i read The Art Of Unix Programming ,i also find some koans ,then i share it with you ..
The discovery of the collection of koans known as the Rootless Root, apparently preserved for decades in the dry upper air of the Western Mountains, has ignited great controversy in scholarly circles. Are these authentic documents shedding new light on the teaching of the early Unix patriarchs? Or are they clever pastiches from a later age, commanding the authority of semi-mythical figures such as the Patriarchs Thompson, Ritchie and McIlroy for doctrines which evolved closer to our own era?
It is impossible to say for certain. All sides in the dispute have made much of an alleged similarity to that venerable classic, The Tao of Programming.[165] But Rootless Root is quite different in tone and style from the loose, poetic anecdotes of the James translation, focused as it is on the remarkable and enigmatic figure of Master Foo.
It would be more apposite to seek parallels in the AI Koans;[166] indeed, there are textual clues that the author of the Rootless Root may have redacted certain versions of the AI Koans. We are also on much firmer ground in seeking connections with the Loginataka;[167] indeed, it is quite possible that the unknown authors of Rootless Root and of Loginataka were one and the same person, possibly a student of Master Foo himself.
Mention should also be made of the Tales of Zen Master Greg,[168] though the Nine Inch Nails references have cast some doubt on their antiquity and it is thus unlikely that they influenced Rootless Root.
That the title of the work was intended as a reference to the Zen classic Gateless Gate[169] of Mumon, we can say with fair confidence. There are echoes of Mumon in several of the koans.
There is considerable dispute over whether Master Foo should be assigned to the Eastern (New Jersey) School, or the Western School that grew out of the Patriarch Thompson's epochal early journey to Berkeley. If this question has not been settled, it is perhaps because we cannot even establish that Master Foo ever existed! He might merely be a composite of a group of teachers, or of an entire dharma lineage.
Even supposing the legend of Master Foo accreted around the teaching of some a single person, what of his favored student Nubi? Nubi has all the earmarks of a stock figure, the perfect disciple. One is reminded of the tales surrounding the Buddha's favorite follower Ananda. It seems likely that there was a historical Ananda, but no trace of his actual personality has survived the euhemerizing process by which the life of the Buddha was polished into timeless myth.
In the end, all we can do is take these teaching stories on their own terms, and extract what kernels of wisdom may be found there.
The redaction of the Rootless Root is a work in progress, as the source materials present many difficulties in reconstruction and interpretation. Future versions may include more stories as these difficulties are overcome.
[165] The Tao of Programming is available on the Web.
[166] The AI Koans are available on the Web.
[167] The Loginataka is available on the Web.
[168] The Tales of Zen Master Greg are available on the Web.
[169] The Gateless Gate is available on the Web.
Master Foo once said to a visiting programmer: “There is more Unix-nature in one line of shell script than there is in ten thousand lines of C”.
The programmer, who was very proud of his mastery of C, said: “How can this be? C is the language in which the very kernel of Unix is implemented!”
Master Foo replied: “That is so. Nevertheless, there is more Unix-nature in one line of shell script than there is in ten thousand lines of C”.
The programmer grew distressed. “But through the C language we experience the enlightenment of the Patriarch Ritchie! We become as one with the operating system and the machine, reaping matchless performance!”
Master Foo replied: “All that you say is true. But there is still more Unix-nature in one line of shell script than there is in ten thousand lines of C”.
The programmer scoffed at Master Foo and rose to depart. But Master Foo nodded to his student Nubi, who wrote a line of shell script on a nearby whiteboard, and said: “Master programmer, consider this pipeline. Implemented in pure C, would it not span ten thousand lines?”
The programmer muttered through his beard, contemplating what Nubi had written. Finally he agreed that it was so.
“And how many hours would you require to implement and debug that C program?” asked Nubi.
“Many”, admitted the visiting programmer. “But only a fool would spend the time to do that when so many more worthy tasks await him”.
“And who better understands the Unix-nature?” Master Foo asked. “Is it he who writes the ten thousand lines, or he who, perceiving the emptiness of the task, gains merit by not coding?”
Upon hearing this, the programmer was enlightened.
A stranger from the land of Woot came to Master Foo as he was eating the morning meal with his students.
“I hear y00 are very l33t”, he said. “Pl33z teach m3 all y00 know”.
Master Foo's students looked at each other, confused by the stranger's barbarous language. Master Foo just smiled and replied: “You wish to learn the Way of Unix?”
“I want to b3 a wizard hax0r”, the stranger replied, “and 0wn ever3one's b0xen”.
“I do not teach that Way”, replied Master Foo.
The stranger grew agitated. “D00d, y00 r nothing but a p0ser”, he said. “If y00 n00 anything, y00 wud t33ch m3”.
“There is a path”, said Master Foo, “that might bring you to wisdom”. The master scribbled an IP address on a piece of paper. “Cracking this box should pose you little difficulty, as its guardians are incompetent. Return and tell me what you find”.
The stranger bowed and left. Master Foo finished his meal.
Days passed, then months. The stranger was forgotten.
Years later, the stranger from the land of Woot returned.
“Damn you!” he said, “I cracked that box, and it was easy like you said. But I got busted by the FBI and thrown in jail”.
“Good”, said Master Foo. “You are ready for the next lesson”. He scribbled an IP address on another piece of paper and handed it to the stranger.
“Are you crazy?” the stranger yelled. “After what I've been through, I'm never going to break into a computer again!”
Master Foo smiled. “Here”, he said, “is the beginning of wisdom”.
On hearing this, the stranger was enlightened.
referenced by http://www.faqs.org/docs/artu/introduction.html
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