this post was submitted on 15 Feb 2026
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Programming

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I'm talking about programs that can't be improved no matter what. They do exactly what they're supposed to and will never be changed.

It'll probably have to be something small, like cd or pwd, but does such a program exist?

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[–] bleistift2@sopuli.xyz 27 points 1 day ago (2 children)

No; since every user defines the perfect program differently. Which should be the default behaviour(s)?

[–] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)

You cannot criticize a good knife by asking why it's not a hammer.

[–] bleistift2@sopuli.xyz 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

But I can critisize it for having only one sharp edge instead of 2. Or for being too short or too long. Or for having a handle that’s not shaped well for my hand. (That last metaphor is probably the correct one for the sentiment I’m going for.)

[–] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

The answer remains, this tool is not flawed, it's just not the one you want.

Vim could be feature-complete and formally verified and I'm still using Xed.

[–] FishFace@piefed.social 4 points 1 day ago

A hammer is a completely different tool, but different defaults in a single program are not.

Point is there's no objective standard for "perfect"

[–] treadful@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 day ago

Software is always an ongoing conversation.