The author completely misses the point that the term "systems programming" is an abbreviation for "operating systems programming". His entire argument seems based on this misunderstanding. Time for a re-write.
I seem to recall that "systems programming" was initially penned meant what we now call "application development" [1]. I realize that these days, the two tasks are considered very different, but as far as I understand, that's "just" because we now have access to high-level APIs, the likes of which didn't exist when the name was invented.
In my book, it's "system programming" when you are writing an application and you need to reach to lower-levels than what your language/stdlib/framework typically allows. So the authors of the DeepSeek training mechanism were doing system programming when optimizing communication between cores, but also anybody who sets out to optimize a Python-based app by writing a Rust module, or a Rust developer when they're calling directly into libc, or a C developer when they're writing assembly or performing syscalls, etc. Of course, by this definition, there's no such thing as a "systems programming language", but there are languages that can serve for system programming of other languages.
[1] Which seems to be confirmed by the article, in fact.
> "systems programming" is an abbreviation for "operating systems programming"
I don't think this is right. Systems programming is a broader term that can include embedded systems, compilers, virtual machines, game engines, etc. At least that's my perception based on how it's commonly used.
"Maybe I’ll go old-school and write more blog posts. Like back in the early 2000s, when you actually had to think before sharing your thoughts with the world. Sounds quaint, doesn’t it?"
I use croissant to cross post on social media accounts but I never use the services themselves to read any content. I’m screaming into the void and I’m fine with it.
It is quaint but if my friends and family each had their own blog that they wanted me to look at, I wouldn't. There's a reason these social media places caught on, because they act as aggregators.
I get it, it's different types of content, one requires more effort than the other, and the argument is that, if you don't have anything of substance to say, don't say it, but it still requires extra effort to read that I probably don't feel inclined to give.
>It is quaint but if my friends and family each had their own blog that they wanted me to look at, I wouldn't.
Great! What's the problem?
Genuinely curious, because I see this tossed around everywhere as I quit social media, too. Why is there this massive pressure that everything everyone does has to be seen and I have to see it all? Nobody needs to see every blog that everyone they know (does every person on your friends list actually qualify as a "friend", or are they acquaintances?) puts out.
I genuinely don't care about this friend's political opinion or that friend's gardening adventures. I also genuinely hope they enjoy their pursuits and that they keep after what makes them happy. IF I get curious about Jan's gardening exploits, the blog is there if I want to read it for some tips, but I certainly don't owe it routine visits.
I guess my problem is for people like my grandmother. It's nice to see comments and interactions from her, but she's certainly not going to set up a blog. There's a whole gamut of toxic social media stuff, hustle culture and people trying to make a name for themselves as influencers, but before that, it was a way to passively keep in touch with people you may not normally get in touch with.
Speaking just for me, because I know everyone's different, I had the same thought. I hardly ever called her, if ever, and vice versa. I started calling her maybe every 2-3 weeks just to say hey.
Sometimes she chats, other times she says she's good, we tell each other to have a nice day and that's that, it only lasts seconds.
But for some reason, to me, those short calls have felt far better than a like or a comment on FB or whatever. They feel more meaningful and I definitely feel more connected to her these days than I had for years.
reply