Writing a Book with Unix

I could use a git repo to keep a backup of the book and track changes, using Unix tools like , , (basically a faster ) and others to accomplish everything I needed to – in a workflow I was already comfortable with. Using this workflow I get all the advantages a programmer does with code – a robust version history, a repo back up system (through strategic use of ), easy collaboration (add your editor as a github collaborator), and I don’t get locked into any proprietary formats, or rely on some third-party online editor where I fundamentally don’t control what I’m writing. When all long-form writing projects (documentation, books, blog posts) can use the same system, you get a beautiful convergence of tools that lets you just write, without getting hung up on which particular solution (Word, Google Docs, flat file) fits what particular content.

Source: joecmarshall.com