20 Dec
2022
20 Dec
'22
3:31 p.m.
Looooots of if(n)defs in userland on "u370" in PDP-11 System V code, zilch on
3.0.1.
Yep, must've been 4.0, because that's in the first document, A.1.1:
https://www.tuhs.org/Archive/Documentation/Manuals/Unix_4.0/Volume_1/A.1.1_…
"Currently, UNIX runs on the Western Electric Co. 3B-20; Digital Equipment
Corporation's (DEC) PDP-11/23, /34, /45, /70, VAX-11/780, and VAX-11/750; and IBM
System/370 and equivalent."
But wait, there's more!
https://archive.org/details/unix-system-release-description-system-v
This is the Release Description released with System V. It contains a couple of
introductory documents explaining the new features and general environmental adjustments
involved, as well as a number of appendices that make up the bulk of the document. Of
particular note in this case is Appendix I, the document I mentioned earlier containing a
list of modification requests resolved between System III and System V.
Then there's the Documentation Guide:
https://bitsavers.org/pdf/att/000-111_ATT_Documentation_Guide_Nov87.pdf
This is where mention is made of many different architectures. There are documents for
3B20(A|S), 3B5, 3B15, 3B2, WE32100, VME/WE321SB, DEC (PDP/VAX), NS32000, M68000, iAPX 286,
and Z8000. This document also mentions docs for UNIX Real-Time-Reliable on the 3B20D. No
doubt a MERT and UNIX/RT descendant. 3B5 section mentions a "Release 5.3" so
before the System V moniker. Farthest I've seen the minor version.
I've skimmed over this listing a couple of times looking for other information but a
few things stood out this time. The WE321SB seems to be a single board computer running a
version called System V/VME. I wonder if any of those still exist, a single board running
SVR2 out of the box! No mention of System/370 though, but of course this is just a
listing of available documentation at the time, it doesn't reflect what is actually
out there. Of the listed architectures, I don't think I've seen anything
floating around for VME/WE321SB, Z8000, or iAPX 286, but I can't say I've looked
very hard.
Needless to say the system really grew legs in the 80s even inside the Bell.
- Matt G.
------- Original Message -------
On Tuesday, December 20th, 2022 at 12:56 AM, arnold(a)skeeve.com <arnold(a)skeeve.com>
wrote:
Phil Budne phil(a)ultimate.com wrote:
Is there any other surviving documentation about
the system?
Any recall of what branch of AT&T UNIX it was based on?
IIRC, in the USG 4.0 doc that I sent to Matt, it says something like
"UNIX is an operating system for the DEC PDP-11, the DEC VAX 11/780,
and the IBM System 370". Matt --- can you confirm? I can't get to my
copy so easily.
That document dates from 1981, and as it came from USG, it would mean
that the AT&T UNIX on 370 was from that world and is what is described
in the 1984 BSTJ.
If anyone has the System III source handy, one could check if there
is a u370 shell script and/or a u370 directory in the kernel source.
(There used to be shell scripts named pdp11, vax, u3b, and u370 for use
in shell 'if' statements, analogous to the C preprocessor defines.)
If so, then UNIX 370 would date back even further.
HTH,
Arnold