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kae3g 9560: Text Files - The Universal Format That Survives

Phase 1: Foundations & Philosophy | Week 3 | Reading Time: 14 minutes

What You'll Learn

Prerequisites

The Universal Format

Text files are:

This is why configuration files, source code, documentation, logs, and data formats all default to text.

Example:

Text file (.txt, .md, .json, .xml):

You can read this!
Open it with any program.
It will still be readable in 2075.

Binary file (.docx, .pdf, .xlsx, .psd):

ÐÏࡱá>þÿ þÿÿÿ ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ...
(Requires specific software to decode)
(Might not be readable in 2075)

Text vs Binary

When Text Wins

Use text for:

Why:

When Binary Wins

Use binary for:

Why:

Trade-off: Binary is efficient, text is durable.

The Longevity Argument

Question: Will your files be readable in 50 years?

Text Files: High Probability

ASCII (1963) is still readable today (62 years later).

UTF-8 (1993) is backward-compatible with ASCII (32 years and counting).

Markdown (2004) is still the dominant lightweight markup (21 years).

Prediction: Plain text in UTF-8 will be readable in 2075 (50 years from now).

Why: Text is simple (just character sequences). No complex spec to change.

Binary Files: Low Probability

Microsoft Word .doc format (1983-2003):

Adobe Photoshop .psd (1990):

PDF (1993):

Plant lens: "Seeds (text) survive centuries in the seed bank. Fruit (binary) rots quickly."

Markup Languages: Text with Structure

Plain text is great, but sometimes you need structure (headings, lists, links).

Markup languages add structure while remaining text.

Markdown (2004, John Gruber)

Designed for: Human-readable documents that convert to HTML.

(defn example [] "Code block")

<h1>Heading</h1>
<p>This is a <strong>paragraph</strong> with <em>emphasis</em>.</p>
<ul>
  <li>List item</li>
</ul>

More verbose than Markdown, but more powerful (CSS, JavaScript, semantic tags).
Still text! (Can edit with any editor.)
LaTeX (1984, Leslie Lamport)
For academic papers, mathematics:
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}

\section{Introduction}
Einstein's equation: $E = mc^2$

\begin{equation}
\int_{0}^{\infty} e^{-x^2} dx = \frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{2}
\end{equation}

\end{document}

Complex, but produces beautiful PDFs (especially for math).
Still text (version-controllable, diff-able).
EDN (Extensible Data Notation, Clojure)
For data (not documents):
{:user {:name "Alice"
        :age 30
        :roles #{:admin :developer}}
 :timestamp #inst "2025-10-10T23:00:00Z"
 :config {:theme :dark
          :font-size 14}}

Human-readable Clojure data.
Why EDN (vs JSON):
  • Richer types (sets, keywords, instants, symbols)
  • Comments (JSON doesn't allow!)
  • Code is data (homoiconicity—can eval if needed)
We use EDN in our build pipeline (see scripts/writings_build.clj).
Configuration as Text: The Unix Way
Bad (binary config):
  • Windows Registry (binary database, opaque, hard to edit/backup)
  • Some apps: SQLite for config (overkill, not human-editable)
Good (text config):
  • Unix: /etc/ full of text files (/etc/hosts, /etc/ssh/sshd_config)
  • Apps: .json, .yaml, .toml in ~/.config/
Why text config wins:
1. Version Control
# Track config changes
git init ~/.config/my-app
cd ~/.config/my-app
git add config.yaml
git commit -m "Initial config"

# Change something
vim config.yaml
git diff  # See EXACTLY what changed

git commit -m "Increase font size"

# Broke something? Revert!
git revert HEAD

Can't do this with binary config (Registry, binary plists).
2. Human Editable
# config.yaml - I can READ this!
theme: dark
font-size: 14
keybindings:
  save: Ctrl-S
  quit: Ctrl-Q

No special tool needed. Any editor works.
3. Portable
Text config (copy file → works on new machine):
scp ~/.config/app/config.yaml newmachine:~/.config/app/
# Done! Config transferred.

Binary config: Export, import, hope formats match, pray nothing breaks.
The Preservation Argument
House of Wisdom scholars (Essay 9505) preserved Greek knowledge by copying manuscripts (text).
We preserve computational knowledge through text files:
Example: Source Code
1970s: Unix source code (text files, C language)
 2025: Still readable! (You can compile 1970s Unix today.)
1980s: Lisp source code (MIT AI Lab)
 2025: Still readable! (You can run 1980s Lisp today.)
Contrast:
1990s: Visual Basic .frm files (binary forms)
 2025: Mostly unreadable (tools gone, formats forgotten).
2000s: Flash .fla files (proprietary)
 2025: Dead (Adobe killed Flash, files orphaned).
Text survives. Binary rots.
Plant lens: "Text is the seed (preserves genetic information). Binary is the fruit (delicious now, rots quickly)."
Practical Text Mastery
Format Recommendations
For documentation: Markdown (.md)
  • Simple, readable, convertible
  • GitHub renders it automatically
  • This entire valley uses it!
For configuration: YAML or TOML or EDN
  • YAML: Human-friendly (Python, Ruby communities)
  • TOML: Simple, explicit (Rust community - Cargo.toml)
  • EDN: Clojure data (our choice - homoiconic!)
For data exchange: JSON or EDN or CSV
  • JSON: Universal (every language parses it)
  • EDN: Richer (if Clojure is your ecosystem)
  • CSV: Simple (spreadsheets, data analysis)
For academic writing: LaTeX or Markdown → PDF
  • LaTeX: Maximum control (beautiful math)
  • Markdown + Pandoc: Simpler (good enough for most)
For code: Whatever your language uses (.clj, .py, .rs, etc.)
  • Always text!
  • Even "compiled" languages start with text source
Try This
Exercise 1: Text File Archaeology
Find old text files on your computer:
# Find .txt files modified > 5 years ago
find ~ -name "*.txt" -mtime +1825

# Can you still read them? (Probably yes!)

Now find old Word docs:
find ~ -name "*.doc"  # Old Word format

# Can you still open them? (Maybe, with Word or converter)
# Will you be able to in 2050? (Uncertain)

Text wins for longevity.
Exercise 2: Convert to Text
Take a binary format you use (Word doc, Pages, Google Doc).
Convert to Markdown:
  1. Copy text
  2. Paste into plain text editor
  3. Add Markdown formatting (# for headings, ** for bold)
  4. Save as .md
Now:
  • Version control it (git add essay.md)
  • Edit with any tool (Vim, VS Code, Notepad)
  • Convert to HTML (pandoc essay.md -o essay.html)
  • Future-proof (still readable in 50 years)
Exercise 3: Explore Markup
Write the same content in three formats:
Plain text:
My Essay Title

This is the introduction.

Section 1
---------
Content here.

Markdown:
# My Essay Title

This is the introduction.

## Section 1
Content here.

HTML:
<h1>My Essay Title</h1>
<p>This is the introduction.</p>
<h2>Section 1</h2>
<p>Content here.</p>

Observe: All three are text (human-readable). Markdown is the sweet spot (simple + structured).
Going Deeper
Related Essays
External Resources
  • "The Art of Unix Programming" - Eric Raymond on text file philosophy
  • Markdown Guide - Comprehensive Markdown reference
  • Pandoc - Universal document converter (Markdown → everything)
  • Plain Text Project - Advocacy for text-based workflows
Reflection Questions
  1. Why do apps keep reinventing proprietary formats? (Lock-in? Performance? Ignorance of text?)
  2. Is there ANYTHING that shouldn't be text? (Images, video, audio—but metadata could be!)
  3. Will UTF-8 still be readable in 2100? (Probably—it's simple enough to be eternal)
  4. How much of your important data is in proprietary formats? (Photos? Documents? Should you convert some to open formats?)
  5. What's the oldest text file you've successfully opened? (Mine: 1990s .txt files, perfectly readable)
Summary
Text files are:
  • Human-readable (open with any editor)
  • Platform-independent (work everywhere)
  • Tool-agnostic (any program can process text)
  • Future-proof (will outlast proprietary formats)
  • Version-controllable (Git works perfectly with text)
  • Composable (Unix philosophy in action)
Key Insights:
  • Text survives (50+ year old text files still readable)
  • Binary rots (proprietary formats become unreadable)
  • Markup adds structure (Markdown, HTML, LaTeX - still text!)
  • Configuration as text enables version control, portability
  • Simple formats last (ASCII, UTF-8 vs complex binary specs)
Markup Languages:
  • Markdown: Documents (simple, readable)
  • HTML: Web pages (powerful, verbose)
  • LaTeX: Academic papers (beautiful math)
  • EDN: Data (Clojure homoiconic format)
In the Valley:
  • Everything is text (essays in Markdown, config in EDN, code in Clojure)
  • Future-proofing (plain text survives format churn)
  • Git for everything (version control requires text)
  • Following Unix (text as universal interface)
Plant lens: "Text is the seed—preserves the genetic code through winters. Binary is the fruit—nourishes now, but doesn't preserve long-term."
Next: We'll explore processes—programs in motion, the living manifestation of your text source code!
Navigation:
 ← Previous: 9550 (command line your primary interface) | Phase 1 Index | Next: 9570 (processes programs in motion)
Metadata:
  • Phase: 1 (Foundations)
  • Week: 3
  • Prerequisites: 9510, 9550
  • Concepts: Text files, plain text, markup languages, binary vs text, longevity, version control
  • Next Concepts: Processes, programs, execution, memory, CPU
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