Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If Linux tried to be an entire computing system all in one code base, (sed, vim, grep, top, etc., etc.) what do you think that would look like code base/maintainability wise? You mean like BSD?
Same with BSD; the userspace programs are not part of the kernel, and developed separately by the same entity. Busybox is a slightly better example (even though it’s also a userspace program).
they're part of the same repo and built at the same time than the kernel. Run a big "make universe" here : https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd and see for yourself. That they are different binaries does not matter a lot, it's just a question of user interface. See for instance busybox where all the userspace is in a single binary.