Re: why crypt in ed?

[Kathe <kathe%sdf.org@localhost>]

	From gdt%lexort.com@localhost Sat Oct  6 01:44:14 2018
	From: Greg Troxel <gdt%lexort.com@localhost>
	To: Kathe <kathe%sdf.org@localhost>
	Cc: netbsd-users%netbsd.org@localhost
	Subject: Re: why crypt in ed?
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	Date: Fri, 05 Oct 2018 21:38:54 -0400

	Kathe <kathe%sdf.org@localhost> writes:

	> just noticed, there is a crypt function in /bin/ed
	> and consequently /bin/ed is linked to the crypt lib.
	> may i know why? this somehow goes against the unix
	> philosophy of one small tool doing a small task but
	> doing it well. why do we need a swiss army knife? :)

	A question that immediately comes to mind is how long it has been there.

	Often, features date from Seventh Edition, Sixth, or even earlier.  The
	ed(1) man page says it appeared in First Edition; I can only say it was
	there in Sixth.

	Man page archaeology says that the -x feature was added in Seventh
	Edition:

	http://man.cat-v.org/unix_6th/1/ed
	http://man.cat-v.org/unix_7th/1/ed

	The BSD way is to respect tradition, absent a compelling reason.



isn't having a tightly built ed a compelling reason enough?
btw, why is /bin/ed dynamically linked?
wouldn't it need to be usable even under extreme conditions?
just my inexperience showing! ;)