I've assembled some notes from old manuals and other sources
on the formats used for on-disk file systems through the
Seventh Edition:
http://www.cita.utoronto.ca/~norman/old-unix/old-fs.html
Additional notes, comments on style, and whatnot are welcome.
(It may be sensible to send anything in the last two categories
directly to me, rather than to the whole list.)
My favorite reduction to absurdity was /bin/true. Someone decided we
needed shell commands for true and false. Easy enough to add a script that
said "exit 0" or exit 1" as its only line.
Then someone realized that the "exit 0" in /bin true was superfluous, the
default return was 0. /bin/true turned into an empty, yet executable, file.
Then the lawyers got involved. We got a version of a packaged UNIX (I
think it was Interactive Systems). Every shell script got twelve lines of
copyright/license boilerplate. Including /bin true.
The file had nothing but useless comment in it.
> From: Ralph Corderoy
> Then the real definition, ending in an execution of the empty `q'.
> qq/4$^Ma2^[@qq
Gah. That reminds me of nothing so much as TECO (may it long Rest in Peace).
Noel
Am I the only one having trouble? I mirror the site, and I'm now seeing:
aneurin# tuhs
+ rsync -avz minnie.tuhs.org::UA_Root .
rsync: failed to connect to minnie.tuhs.org (45.79.103.53): Operation timed out (60)
rsync error: error in socket IO (code 10) at clientserver.c(125) [Receiver=3.1.2]
+ rsync -avz minnie.tuhs.org::UA_Applications Applications
rsync: failed to connect to minnie.tuhs.org (45.79.103.53): Operation timed out (60)
rsync error: error in socket IO (code 10) at clientserver.c(125) [Receiver=3.1.2]
Etc.
--
Dave Horsfall DTM (VK2KFU) "Those who don't understand security will suffer."
I too remember TECO. In my TOPS-10 days I was quite a whiz at it.
Then I encountered UNIX and ed, and never looked back. Cryptic
programmability is fun, but a simple but well-chosen set of
commands including the g/v pair made me more efficient in the end.
it could just be that ed is a better fit for the shape of my brain.
C struck me similarly.
Norman Wilson
Toronto ON
(Actually in the Bay Area for a few days for LISA, in case any
UNIXtorians want to meet up.)
> From: Dave Horsfall
> I'm glad that I'm not the only one who remembers TECO
Urp. I wish I _didn't_ remember TECO!
"TECO Madness: A moment of convenience, a lifetime of regret." - Dave Moon
(For those who didn't catch the reference, here:
https://www.gammalyte.com/tag/reefer-madness/
you go.)
Noel
On Mon, Oct 16, 2017 at 12:39 PM, Jon Steinhart <jon(a)fourwinds.com> wrote:
>
> I have a similar and maybe even more extreme position. When I was a
> manager
> I placed restrictions on the tools and customizations for members of my
> team.
> My goal was to make sure that any team member could go over to any other
> team
> member's desk and get stuff done.
And I think this loops back to what started some of this threat. The idea
of a programmer with 'good taste.'
Rob (and Brian) railed on BSD in cat -v considered harmful
<http://harmful.cat-v.org/cat-v/> and ‘*Program Design in the UNIX
Environment*’ (pdf version
<http://harmful.cat-v.org/cat-v/unix_prog_design.pdf>, ps version
<http://harmful.cat-v.org/cat-v/unix_prog_design.ps>) but the points in it
was then and are still now, fresh: What is it that you need to get the job
done - to me, that is Doug's "Universal Unix" concept.
When I answer questions on quora about learning Linux and other UNIX
derivative, I still point them at their book: *The Unix Programming
Environment
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/013937681X?ie=UTF8&tag=catv-20&linkCode=as…>*
I would say, if the can login into the system and complete the exercises in
UPE without having to make changes, you are pretty close to Doug's
"Universal UNIX" environment. And if you can use the tools, without having
to think about them and they pretty much are what you rely upon everyday,
you are getting close to my ideal of 'good taste.'
Clem
Of interest to the old farts here...
At 22:30 (but which timezone?) on this day in 1969 the first packet got as
far as "LO" ("LOGIN"?) then crashed. More details, anyone?
--
Dave Horsfall DTM (VK2KFU) "Those who don't understand security will suffer."
Chris Torek:
You're not perpendicular to your own surface? :-)
===
I'm not as limber as I used to be.
Besides, I'm left-handed, so what use would I have for
right angles?
Norman Wilson
Toronto ON
(I don't wish to know that)
> From: Steve Nickolas
> I personally believe a lot of code in modern operating systems is larger
> than the task requires.
The "operating" is superfluous.
Noel
