From 2024, but still accurate and interesting:
Plan 9 is unique in this sense that everything the system needs is covered by the base install. This includes the compilers, graphical environment, window manager, text editors, ssh client, torrent client, web server, and the list goes on. Nearly everything a user can do with the system is available right from the get go.
↫ moody
This is definitely something that sets Plan 9 apart from everything else, but as moody – 9front developer – notes, this also has a downside in that development isn’t as fast, and Plan 9 variants of tools lack features upstream has for a long time. He further adds that he think this is why Plan 9 has remained mostly a hobbyist curiosity, but I’m not entirely sure that’s the main reason. The cold and harsh truth is that Plan 9 is really weird, and while that weirdness is a huge part of its appeal and I hope it never loses it, it also means learning Plan 9 is really hard.
I firmly believe Plan 9 has the potential to attract more users, but to get there, it’s going to need an onboarding process that’s more approachable than reading 9front’s frequently questioned answers, excellent though they are. After installing 9front and loading it up for the first time, you basically hit a brick wall that’s going to be rough to climb. It would be amazing if 9front could somehow add some climbing tools for first-time users, without actually giving up on its uniqueness. Sometimes, Plan 9 feels more like an experimental art project instead of the capable operating system that it is, and I feel like that chases people away.
Which is a real shame.
I am trying to get the threshold to be a bit lower. My project [APExp](https://github.com/staalmannen/APExp). It is basically the ANSI/POSIX compatibility layer, but with many improvements (experimental patches to compiler for C99+ compatibility, many library components from musl libc, many utilities from 3rd party sources).
My aim with the project is to make it easy for a casual user to basically run a configure/make on a 3rd party source and build native Plan9 binaries. The last couple of weeks, I have “tainted” my code with vibe coding, which has accelerated the project significantly, but it probably also means that improvements in APExp (especially the compiler patches) won’t be able to get upstream. They can however serve as inspiration for someone that wants to implement similar patches in the upstream compilers.
The have increased the counter. Last time I checked was 3, I think.
But I remember the time it was no remote security holes in the default install. Unfortunately all good things come to an end.
I’m pretty sure that’s just a joke referencing OpenBSD’s actual claim of “two remote holes in the default install, in a heck of a long time”. 9front is nothing if not absurdist humor (which is a good thing). They keep increasing the number of “holes” with each release. Also see “the front fell off/the plan fell off” and other nonsensical but funny gags.
There is a nice Plan 9 guide here:
https://pspodcasting.net/dan/blog/2019/plan9_desktop.html#intro
This site also has some nice resources:
https://9lab.org/blog/plan9/
Plan 9 needs a challenge to solve. Then it will be king.
It looks like a great option for collecting data from seas of sensors or so.
There are great videos on youtube about it. I wish I had the time.
“The cold and harsh truth is that Plan 9 is really weird…”
Except that “weird” depends on your own expectations. Is it the graphical environment that’s unexpected, the lack of visual cues from 1990s desktops? Is it something more fundamental about the architecture?
“…learning Plan 9 is really hard.”
But what does it mean to “learn” it? You need to know what you are trying to achieve with it before you can really know what you need to learn.
Maybe https://sdf.org/plan9/ is something to take a look at.
I think SerenityOS also has more or less complete set of applications usable by default. The only downside is that (unless something have changed) it mostly runs only in virtual machines.