Ahmed Tabish

I build developer tools, internal systems, and small open-source projects. I write about the craft — the decisions, the trade-offs, and the quiet parts of software engineering that don't make it into the README.

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Why Does Every Program Return a Number When It Dies?

Why does a dead program leave behind a number? The answer starts in early Unix, travels through processes, shells, signals, and surprisingly elegant design decisions - and eventually lands in the software we run today.

Aug 25, 2026·8 min read