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authormms <michal@sapka.me>2024-06-10 22:58:55 +0200
committermms <michal@sapka.me>2024-06-10 22:58:55 +0200
commit316cbea18afd0b630c0b8ab7b6c7820a6b41afd0 (patch)
tree383185af8945cb6b8755dbb5fb0d594eb6d12684 /content-org/unix-history.org
parentf48df3b013aebdf6ea5c131f84f7cd8bcac6c4a2 (diff)
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-rw-r--r--content-org/unix-history.org53
1 files changed, 28 insertions, 25 deletions
diff --git a/content-org/unix-history.org b/content-org/unix-history.org
index cd74266..146af5a 100644
--- a/content-org/unix-history.org
+++ b/content-org/unix-history.org
@@ -22,19 +22,16 @@ CLOSED: [2024-05-30 Sat 21:03]
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :shortname History of Unix
:EXPORT_HUGO_MENU: :menu bsd
:EXPORT_HUGO_PAIRED_SHORTCODES: img-r menu menu-info image
+:EXPORT_HUGO_LASTMOD: 2024-06-10
:END:
To say that the history of Unix is long and convoluted would be a huge understatement.
-It started its life as a gaming OS dressed as typesetting one in a forgotten alley in an research center, but soon became the most important idea in modern computing history.
-No other OS had such broad impact on how we work with computers. And despite that, it's mostly a forgotten name.
-It lives in it's ideas and licenses, but very rarely do we think about running Unix.
-
-This site is a fang, and a love letter to computer history.
-To the brilliant minds and sleazy lawyers.
-To the original, the followers, and imitators.
+It started its life as a gaming OS dressed as a typesetting one in a forgotten alley in a research center but soon became the most important idea in modern computing history.
+No other OS had such a broad impact on how we work with computers. And despite that, it's mostly a forgotten name.
+It lives in its ideas and licenses, but very rarely do we think about running Unix.
#+attr_shortcode: :file header-transparent.png
-#+attr_shortcode: :alt A group of characters in the style of Unix Surralism.
+#+attr_shortcode: :alt A group of characters from Unix Surrealism.
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
noop
@@ -53,9 +50,12 @@ Dune
- [[http://wovenmemories.net/][Jeff]], for proofreading Part III
- [[https://www.analognowhere.com/][Tomáš]], for providing artwork on homepage
- [[https://static-dust.klpn.se/][Karl Pettersson]], for pointing date errors about IX/386 and Xenix in Part III
+- [[https://github.com/davemq][Dave Marquardt]], for pointing grammar errors in Part III and informing me about existence of Piramid Technologies
+
*** Changes
+- /2024-06-10/: Added artwork; fixes in Part 3
- /2024-06-09/: Date fixes (IX/386 Xenix) in Part 3
- /2024-06-08/: First release of Part 3
- /2024-05-30/: Extract into self-contained website
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ This led to the creation of /time-sharing/.
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Photo of old computer room full of tape drives. The primary color is red.
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-IBM 360 in an official photoshoot.
+Fig. 1.1. IBM 360 in an official photoshoot.
#+end_image
This concept seems natural now: multiple processes were able to share computer resources, so multiple applications could run at the same time.
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ It was used extensively for land-line telephony, where all signals were transfer
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Black and white photo of a group of man standing next to a mechanical computer
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-EDSAC, the "first computer".
+Fig. 1.2. EDSAC, the "first computer".
#+end_image
**** Multics
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ It was delivered late, early on had performance problems, and in 1969 /Bell Labs
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Screenshot of SSH connection with big Multics written in ASCII
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-Multics login screen.
+Fig. 1.3. Multics login screen.
#+end_image
#+attr_shortcode: :file thompson-ritchie.jpg
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ Multics login screen.
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Photo of two white, bearded men. They are both wearing thick glasses. The person on the left is wearing gray-blue polo shirt. The person on the right is wearing a red tshift with big X and Bell Labs Sensitive text in center
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-Ken Thompson and Denis Ritchie.
+Fig. 1.4. Ken Thompson and Denis Ritchie.
#+end_image
Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna, frustrated with their experiences with /Multics/ Operating System are starting to work on their own alternative.
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ The team armed with previous experience set up to create simple, manageable OS t
Currently, however, they have problems convincing /Bell Labs/ management to get them a new computer.
This has not stopped them from designing the system on black blackboards and paper.
-
+
** DONE History of Unix part II: Birth of Unix
CLOSED: [2024-03-16 Sat 21:00]
:PROPERTIES:
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ If the user wanted to see what the edited document looked like, the only way to
Try to print a page every few lines - let alone every character.
Even the bravest of the brave would not escape the anger of the finance department.
-**** TODO Getting a computer
+**** Getting a computer
After this short intermission, let's return to /UNIX/.
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ Luckily, he was able to find a discarded PDP-7 from another department[fn:hidden
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Photo of black screen with lines representing rudimentay space ship viewscreen
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-Space Travel
+Fig. 2.1. Space Travel
#+end_image
What the PDP-7 was, was a refrigerator size 18bit monstrosity[fn:hiddenunix].
@@ -228,7 +228,7 @@ It won't be easy nor cheap, but definitely possible.
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Photo of a big, old computer the size of a wardrobe. The dominating color is teal.
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-PDP-7
+Fig. 2.2. PDP-7
#+end_image
#+attr_shortcode: :file thompson-ritchie-pdp11.jpg
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ PDP-7
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Photo of two white men. One is standing over and talking the other. The other is sitting in front of a teletype.
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-Ken Thompson and Denis Ritchie working on the legendary PDP-11.
+Fig. 2.3. Ken Thompson and Denis Ritchie working on the legendary PDP-11.
#+end_image
**** Unix 1
@@ -279,7 +279,7 @@ and a year later Ken and Dennis publish the first paper on /UNIX/ - "The UNIX Ti
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Photo of front and back cover of an orange book with The Unix System written in the center; Above it a text states AT&T Bell Laboratories Technical Jurnal
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-Bell System Technical Journal cover.
+Fig. 2.4. Bell System Technical Journal cover.
#+end_image
The word was out and /UNIX/ became known outside of /Bell Labs/.
@@ -309,9 +309,9 @@ CLOSED: [2024-06-08 Sat 14:43]
:EXPORT_HUGO_MENU: :menu unix-history :name "3. Forks and Wars"
:EXPORT_HUGO_PAIRED_SHORTCODES: img-c image
:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :primary_menu "unix-history"
+:EXPORT_HUGO_LASTMOD: 2024-06-10
:END:
-
This resulted in a very particualar situation.
Different organizations came into possesion of a /great/ operating system with which they were able to do whatever they pleased.
The original creators, AT&T were unable to sell the software.
@@ -341,7 +341,7 @@ This version of Unix evolved into /Columbus Unix/ (/CB-Unix/), as the /SCCS Unix
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Two red books containing Volume 1 and 2 of Programmers Manuals for CB Unix
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-Programmers Manuals for CB Unix
+Fig. 3.1. Programmers Manuals for CB Unix
#+end_image
In a completely different part of Bell Labs, another project was starting to use /Unix/.
@@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ We will get back to that, but it is what sounds like: AT&T is earning money from
The work conducted at Universities of Sydney and New South Wales focused on allowing the system to run with huge number of users[fn:ausantuhs].
The changes returned to /Unix V7/, but /AUSAM/ was never upgraded to a full 7th ed[fn:hiddenunix]
-In 1975, Ken Thompson took a sabbatical and took a teaching job at Berkeley University, where he helped install Version 6 of /Unix/.
+In 1975, Ken Thompson took a sabbatical and took a teaching job at the University of California at Berkeley, where he helped install Version 6 of /Unix/.
The OS received quite the attention of students and faculty, resulting in the first version of /BSD Unix/ - /1BSD/.
The lineage of BSD is extensive (not to mention their descendants are what I use) and will be a subject of the next part of our story.
For now, remember that /BSD/ exists.
@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ Nothing of this mattered in the death march of Windows, and the last version was
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Cover of Unix World from 1985 showing Bill Gates with "Bill Gates on the future of Xenix" feature
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-What an issue that was!
+Fig. 3.2. What an issue that was!
#+end_image
*** AT&T Strikes Back
@@ -461,6 +461,8 @@ AT&T had all the money and name to crush anyone but did not support networking.
BSD had a TCP/IP based networking and was popular among st universities.
Vendor were choosing sides - IBM and HP went with /System V/ while others, like Sun choose /BSD/.
+Some were trying to get it both ways - Pyramid's OSx supported syscalls of both, BSD and System V[fn:piramidwiki].
+
On 27th of March, 1984 AT&T officially enters computer market with their own line of computers from desktops PCs to "super-microcomputers" powered by /Unix/[fn:ytchronicle].
#+attr_shortcode: :file att-unix-pc.jpg
@@ -468,7 +470,7 @@ On 27th of March, 1984 AT&T officially enters computer market with their own lin
#+attr_shortcode: :alt An print ad for AT&T Unix PC showing the computer and listing features
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-Introducing the AT&T Unix PC.
+Fig. 3.3. Introducing the AT&T Unix PC.
#+end_image
#+attr_shortcode: :file mt-xinu.png
@@ -476,7 +478,7 @@ Introducing the AT&T Unix PC.
#+attr_shortcode: :alt A drawing of an space ship flying of a planet looking like System V logo. On top text 4.2 > V can be seen.
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-Mt Xinu poster shows the atmosphere of those days .
+Fig. 3.4. Mt Xinu poster shows the atmosphere of those days .
#+end_image
*** BSD on the verge
@@ -580,7 +582,7 @@ The value was lost, the /Unix/ wars saw the rise of Microsoft and a new player -
#+attr_shortcode: :alt Screenshot of an Unix system running Common Desktop Environment
#+attr_shortcode: :class centered
#+begin_image
-One of the great achievements of The Open Group was Common Desktop Environment
+Fig. 3.5. One of the great achievements of The Open Group was Common Desktop Environment
#+end_image
The trademark of /Unix/ resides now with /The Open Group/ which is responsible for certification of products.
@@ -607,6 +609,7 @@ It's quite expensive, so now we have two types of OSes in our lineage: Unix (wit
[fn:virt] Yes, virtualization is not a new idea as it dates back to the 60s when IBM designed the System/360 to emulate other devices, like the 1401.
[fn:386] [[https://winworldpc.com/product/pc-ix/10][IX/386]] on WinWorld
[fn:xenixneowin] [[https://www.neowin.net/news/a-quick-look-back-at-microsofts-first-computer-operating-system-xenix/][Xenix]] on Neowin
+[fn:piramidwiki] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid_Technology][Piramid Technology]] on Wikipedia
* Other
https://minnie.tuhs.org/Seminars/AUUG96/pdppaper.html