Every program written since the dawn of computing is a filter. Computers convert data from one form to another. Ten Lesser Tenets Allow the User to tailor the environment. Make operating system kernels small and lightweight. Use lower case and keep it short.
Silence is golden.
The sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Look for the 90 percent solution. Worse is better. Unix owes much of its success to the fact that its developers saw no particular need to retain strong control of its source code.