Why UNIX commands are so abbreviated

created by tftv256
(idea) by everyone (4.7 mon) (print)   (I like it!) Mon Nov 13 2000 at 20:33:46
Here's one theory I read somewhere:

Teletype '33's could only transfer at 110 baud. That's about 10 chars per second.

Then again, even on today's smart terminals, it's nice to be able to type things extremely quickly. We still have benefits to highly abbreviated commands, as any UNIX user knows. This was probably pointed out by some DOS-type person.
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