And what format would that have been? It would have predated XML and JSON, so it must've been a bespoke format created for this purpose.
Whatever it were, it would need updating, which means all tools would need to be updated to support the changes, while maintaining backwards compatibility. This is a mess in practice, and probably only acceptable to a single project or organization that maintains all tools, but it's not something that allows an open ecosystem to grow.
It's naive to think that a modern solution can "fix" this apparent problem. New shells and environments can be created that try to address it, but their future is uncertain. Meanwhile, the fact that Unix still exists today in many variations is a testament that those early decisions were largely correct.
The downsides you cite are even worse for the unstructured data, it's an even bigger mess in practice with poor "current compatibility"
And the fallacy of alive=right is also worse than "naivety" since it prolongs the pain for a few more decades longer than necessary (it's a big part of the reason why all those much better tools face uncertain future)
Whatever it were, it would need updating, which means all tools would need to be updated to support the changes, while maintaining backwards compatibility. This is a mess in practice, and probably only acceptable to a single project or organization that maintains all tools, but it's not something that allows an open ecosystem to grow.
It's naive to think that a modern solution can "fix" this apparent problem. New shells and environments can be created that try to address it, but their future is uncertain. Meanwhile, the fact that Unix still exists today in many variations is a testament that those early decisions were largely correct.