The Zero one infinity (ZOI) rule is a rule of thumb in software design proposed by early computing pioneer Willem van der Poel.
[1] It argues that arbitrary limits on the number of instances of a particular type of data or structure should not be allowed.
Examples of this rule may be found in the structure of many file systems' directories (also known as folders): Van der Poel confirmed that he was the originator of the rule, but Bruce MacLennan has also claimed authorship (in the form "The only reasonable numbers are zero, one and infinity.
I don't think I used it in print before I wrote my 1983 PL book [Principles of Programming Languages: Design, Evaluation, and Implementation].
(FWIW, the name “Zero-One-Infinity Principle” was inspired by George Gamow’s book, “One, Two, Three… Infinity,” which I read in grade school.