4 Oct
2021
4 Oct
'21
12:10 a.m.
I can't speak to the evolution and use of specific
groups; I suspect it was all ad-hoc early on.
Groups appeared surprisingly late (given how familiar
they seem now): they don't show up in the manual
until the Sixth Edition. Before that, chown took
only two arguments (filename and owner), and
permission modes had three bits fewer.
I forget how it came up, but the late Lee McMahon
once told me an amusing story about their origin:
Ken announced that he was adding groups.
Lee asked what they were for.
Ken replied with a shrug and `I dunno.'
Norman Wilson
Toronto ON