Developer builds Linux file utilities in C by hand without AI in 52-minute video
A programming video showing manual implementation of standard Unix tools sparks discussion on software engineering complexity and the role of AI in coding.
What to know
- A video showing manual C implementation of Linux utilities without AI gained traction across tech platforms, sparking discussion about software complexity.
- Viewers noted a wide gap between simplified demo implementations and production-grade utilities, which handle years of accumulated edge cases.
- Discussion revealed mixed reactions: some appreciated the artisanal approach to coding, while others criticized the presentation style and questioned implementation correctness.
- The conversation highlighted that simpler implementations exist in alternatives like Busybox and Plan 9, and that GNU coreutils are notably complex by design.
The dispute Whether simplified implementations demonstrated without handling edge cases represent meaningful coding skill or understanding versus production-grade software engineering. · positions read across 12 posts and comments
Production software requires substantial complexity for edge cases that a 52-minute demo necessarily skips.
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“most of these utilities have a lot of scar tissue handling years of various edge cases and conditions. Something to be said for software engineering.”
firesteelrain · Hacker News ↗
Coding done by hand has value as an artisanal craft and learning exercise, separate from production utility.
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“Coding will become an "artisanal craft" - much like woodworking for example. Sure for most of your furniture you can just go to ikea but every now and then you might get joy from making something with your own hands.”
jcfrei · Hacker News ↗
The video's presentation and methodology are flawed and don't provide genuine insight.
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“We mostly saw the guy typing. The clicking sound is very distracting. Using vim didn't do him any favour. I would be much more impressed if we could get more insight into to the thinking and problem solving process.”
gozzoo · Hacker News ↗
Video creator (unnamed) Programmer/content creator
How it unfolded 6 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump postscomments
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6
Commenter contextualizes complexity across implementations
A viewer points out that GNU utilities are especially complex and notes simpler alternatives exist in Busybox and Plan 9 implementations.
“GNU utils are very maximalist though. Busybox touch is much simpler, especially if you cut out the optional ifdeffed susv3 features…”
— zokier, Hacker News commenter · source -
GNU utils are very maximalist though. Busybox touch is much simpler, especially if you cut out the optional ifdeffed susv3 features: https://github.com/mirror/busybox/blob/master/coreutils/touc...plan9 touch is also pretty clean:
2 more of the top 3 · 4 posts in this stretch
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if it only needs to work on his PC then its not tok bad. these utils are often full of crap because they need to work on everyones pc with wacky locales and filesystems and all sortsof crap this guy wont run into.its always the case if ud implmenet everything just for your case you can skip most edge cases and software can be much more…
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This reminds of the CoderPad-style interview. Kinda triggering, but might be a good way to practice the muscle! Anyone else agree?
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Commenter highlights gap between demo and production code
A viewer notes that production utilities like GNU coreutils contain "a lot of scar tissue handling years of various edge cases and conditions," contrasting with the simplified implementations shown.
“most of these utilities have a lot of scar tissue handling years of various edge cases and conditions. Something to be said for software engineering.”
— firesteelrain -
I only watched the first few minutes and thought no way touch is that simple! It isn’t. Because most of these utilities have a lot of scar tissue handling years of various edge cases and conditions. Something to be said for software engineering. If you try to build for all the edge conditions then getting a somewhat working example out would take…
1 more of the top 2 · 3 posts in this stretch
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No splits timer. No frame perfect tricks. Uses "exploits" (touch truncates file). Terrible strats.Swapping to printf("Usage: %s ...\n",argv[0]); could easily save 60 key presses.Let us know when somebody creates a No-ABE category.
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4
Critique of presentation and methodology
Viewers criticize the video's presentation style, including keyboard clicking sounds and use of vim, while questioning whether it provides genuine insight into problem-solving.
“We mostly saw the guy typing. The clicking sound is very distracting. Using vim didn't do him any favour.”
— gozzoo, Hacker News commenter · source -
We mostly saw the guy typing. The clicking sound is very distracting. Using vim didn't do him any favour. I would be much more impressed if we could get more insight into to the thinking and problem solving process. Also smoking is not commonly accepted productivity booster. He could have watched porn instead.
2 more of the top 3 · 3 posts in this stretch
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I discovered his videos a few days ago. I imagine the "algorithm" pushed those into a lot of HN users' feeds.Just this morning, I was wondering if it would make sense to share it on HN. And here it it on the front page. What a small world.
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Finally a video where creator's face overlaid on top of the content actually contributes value.
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Commenters question implementation correctness
Viewers raise technical concerns about whether the implementations handle edge cases properly, such as whether the touch utility correctly updates modification dates on existing files.
“I just looked at the first example / utility he implemented; which was 'touch'. Will this actually update the 'last modified' date for an already existing file?”
— ReDress, Hacker News commenter · source -
I just looked at the first example / utility he implemented; which was 'touch'Will this actually update the 'last modified' date for an already existing file?Also, there's a standard way of processing command line arguments on Linux/Unix, which is not being followed here.
1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
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I kind of expected this to happen: Coding will become an "artisanal craft" - much like woodworking for example. Sure for most of your furniture you can just go to ikea but every now and then you might get joy from making something with your own hands.
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Video circulates across tech platforms
The video spreads to Mastodon and Lobsters, with multiple accounts sharing links and discussion threads from November 1 onwards.
- 2 days quiet
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Video posted to Hacker News
A video titled "No AI, 52 min. Build all Linux Files utils in C by Hand" is posted to Hacker News, showing a developer building standard Unix utilities in C without AI assistance.
What people are saying 1 voices from 1 site · best of 12 · verbatim
- Nov 1
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- waiting for no AI, no game engine, pure c++ modern warfare 4 game from scratch