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+#+TITLE: Unix history
+#+AUTHOR: Michał Sapka
+#+URL: https://michal.sapka.me/unix-history/
+#+STARTUP: show2levels indent logdone
+
+#+HUGO_BASE_DIR: ~/ghq/vcs.sapka.me/michal-sapka-me/
+#+HUGO_WEIGHT: auto
+#+HUGO_SECTION: unix-history
+
+* DONE Unix history                                                    :@bsd:
+CLOSED: [2024-03-09 Sat 21:03]
+:PROPERTIES:
+:EXPORT_HUGO_MENU: :menu bsd
+:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: _index
+:EXPORT_HUGO_PAIRED_SHORTCODES: img-c
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER: :primary_menu bsd
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(/bsd/history//)
+:END:
+
+
+** Part 1: Multics
+
+*** Origins of time-sharing
+
+Let's start our journey back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, engineers wore ties, and Barbie was first gaining popularity - the 60s.
+Nowadays, we have grown accustom to companies selling devices at lower profit margins - with most profit coming from software subscriptions.
+But 70 years ago it was the complete opposite.
+Companies bought expensive computers, huge machines, and what was running on them was of lesser value. 
+And I really mean /expensive/.
+An IBM System/360 Model 20, presented in 1964, could have been bought starting from USD 62,710 (USD 622,626 adjusted for inflation) or rented for USD 1280 (USD 12,708 adjusted)[fn:IBM360].
+Sellers earned a lot from the devices.
+But, naturally, companies making all those investments wanted a nice return.
+This led to the creation of /time-sharing/.
+
+#+attr_shortcode: "ibm-360.jpg" "https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/gadgets/5-reasons-love-mad-mens-new-star-ibm-360-n101716" 
+#+begin_img-c
+IBM 360 in an official photoshoot.
+#+end_img-c
+
+This concept seems natural now: multiple processes were able to share computer resources, so multiple applications could run at the same time. 
+Applications could even run for different users. 
+Ergo, time-sharing allowed for multi-user multitask processing.
+This is in stark contrast to batch-processing, where only a single program would be able to compute at any particular time.
+An example of such processing would be EDSAC, the first electronic computer[fn:root].
+I won't go into detail of time-sharing, but you can read more in "Time sharing in large computers", C. Strachey, 1959. 
+But what is important here is how it was used.
+All computation happened on a single, large server.
+End users would use /computer terminals/ which were /multiplexed/ into that server, called a /mainframe/. 
+What is multiplexing you ask?
+Simply said, it's a way to combine different signals into a shared medium.
+It was used extensively for land-line telephony, where all signals were transferred over shared wires.
+
+#+attr_shortcode: "edsac.jpg" "https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/analysis/rebuilding-edsac-the-first-real-computer/" 
+#+begin_img-c
+EDSAC, the "first computer".
+#+end_img-c
+
+*** Multics
+
+Let's jump to 1969. 
+
+/Multics (MULTiplexed Information and Computing)/ was an early time-sharing operating system developed by /MIT/, /General Electrics/ and /Bell Labs/. 
+It pioneered many of innovations which are still widely used in the computing systems of today: hierarchical file system, redirection as interprocess communication, or the existence of a shell[fn:wiki], as well as memory pages, memory protection, or the ability for a single machine to use multiple CPUs and memory[fn:allen].
+It was however also huge, both in terms of memory usage (the resident kernel could occupy a huge part of memory living not enough for applications) and code size (it consisted of about 1,5k source modules)[fn:wiki].
+/Multics/ was experimental and therefore ambitious, complex - designed by trial and error.
+It was delivered late, early on had performance problems, and in 1969 /Bell Labs/ withrew from the project[fn:earlylin].
+
+#+attr_shortcode: "multics-login.png" "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multics#/media/File:Multics-Login.png" 
+#+begin_img-c
+Multics login screen.
+#+end_img-c
+
+#+attr_shortcode: "thompson-ritchie.jpg" "https://computerhistory.org/blog/discovering-dennis-ritchies-lost-dissertation/" 
+#+begin_img-c
+Ken Thompson and Denis Ritchie.
+#+end_img-c
+
+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.
+Their work will become one of the most beloved computer products of all time - /UNIX/.
+The team armed with previous experience set up to create simple, manageable OS that would still fulfill all the requirements /Multics/ was to fulfill.
+
+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.
+
+** Part II: Unix
+
+*** Bell Labs
+
+Let's pause here and discuss a few things.
+
+/Bell Labs/ was a research institute founded by no other, but the famous Alexander Graham Bell in 1876.
+It is known as one of the most innovative places ever conceived.
+It was the birthplace of radio astronomy, the transistor, the laser, the photovoltaic cell, the charge-coupled device (CCD), information theory, and the programming languages B, C, C++, S, SNOBOL, AWK, AMPL, and the UNIX operating system.
+The work completed there was awarded 10 times with a Nobel Prize[fn:wikibell].
+
+But it wasn't all pretty.
+AT&T (owner of the lab) was /the/ telephone company in the USA.
+It had the /de facto/ monopoly for most of the 20th century.
+This led to a consent decree with US Government under which AT&T was forbidden to branch out to other markets.
+This agreement happened in 1956 and will be very important for our story[fn:hiddenunix].
+
+Another cool tidbit: back then computer screens as we know them now were yet to be invented. 
+There were ways for computer to present information on a screen, but it was not feasable to present information back to the user in real time.
+The monitor was a separate machine and an /assembly/ code to light up individual pixels would need to be sent every time to it.
+If the user wanted to see what the edited document looked like, the only way to achieve that was via a printer.
+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.
+
+*** Getting a computer
+
+After this short intermission, let's return to /UNIX/.
+
+The popular history of /UNIX/ goes as follows:
+Ken Thompson finds a PDP-7 microcomputer, starts playing with it and suddenly realizes that he has created a new operating system.
+
+What he actually wanted to do, was to play a damn game. 
+A completely reasonable reason to revolutionize the industry if you ask me.
+
+Ken was a huge fan of /Space Travel/, but it was only available on mainframes.
+And since those costed an arm and a leg, end users were paying for time they used.
+A single game of /Space Travel/ could cost Ken USD 50-75[fn:uvlist].
+Luckily, he was able to find a discarded PDP-7 from another department[fn:hiddenunix].
+
+#+attr_shortcode: "space-travel.png" "https://www.uvlist.net/game-164857-Space+Travel" 
+#+begin_img-c
+Space Travel
+#+end_img-c
+
+What the PDP-7 was, was a refrigerator size 18bit monstrosity[fn:hiddenunix]. 
+It was at the time a 5-year-old and obsolete[fn:earlylin] leftover from an ended research into audio-psychology.
+No one cared what would happen to this particular machine.
+Have I mentioned just how stinky rich the /Bell Lab/ was?
+So, Ken started rewriting the game for that PDP-7 as /GECOS Space Travel/.
+
+Porting the game proved challenging and difficult to debug, so they developed a system for PDP-7 to make developing  the game easier.
+This was how /PDP UNIX/ was born[fn:lcm].
+A guy wanted to play a god-damn game and now bankrupt in the process[fn:hiddenunix]
+
+Labs management was very happy with this turn of events as /UNIX/ was something to show after the /Multics/ fiasco.
+They allowed Ken to get himself a /PDP-11/ and port /UNIX/ to it. 
+It was a cheaper machine compared to /PDP-7/, but it was also 16bit - which was a nice change.
+Officially, the new system would allow for document preparation for patent applications[fn:earlylin].
+The biggest benefit however was the popularity of this machine - over the next decades it could be seen everywhere across enterprise America.
+You can buy a working one from /eBay/ today.
+It won't be easy nor cheap, but definitely possible.
+
+#+attr_shortcode: "pdp-7.jpeg" "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDP-7#/media/File:Pdp7-oslo-2005.jpeg" 
+#+begin_img-c
+PDP-7
+#+end_img-c
+
+#+attr_shortcode: "thompson-ritchie-pdp11.jpg" "https://www.bell-labs.com/institute/blog/invention-unix/" 
+#+begin_img-c
+Ken Thompson and Denis Ritchie working on the legendary PDP-11.
+#+end_img-c
+
+**** Unix 1
+
+So here we are, November 1971, and /UNIX 1/ for /PDP-11/ is released[fn:50]
+
+A year later Ken notes:
+#+begin_quote
+
+[...]the number of UNIX installations has grown to 10, with
+more expected. None of these has exactly the same complement of
+hardware or software. Therefore, at any particular installation,
+it is quite possible that this manual will give inappropriate
+information. [...] Also, not all installations have the latest versions of all the software.''
+
+-- Unix Programmers Manual, Second Edition. Thompson Ken, Ritchie Denis, 1972
+#+end_quote
+
+Note, that this is 10 mainframes across /Bell Labs/, so user count was significantly higher.
+
+It's also worth to talk about release cycle. 
+UNIX was in constant development, and each installation would use current snapshot at the moment of installation.
+This is why Ken notes that each part of /UNIX/ could differ between installations.
+What is also important is that due to licensing of /UNIX/ (or rather lack of thereof), each installation would be accompanied by full source code. 
+Administrators were able to modify the system.
+Crazy times.
+
+Still, in June 1972 the 2nd Edition of /UNIX/ was released and every 7–8 months a new release was out.
+
+In November 1973, a 4th Edition was released, and it was the first one released to Universities.
+It made quite the buzz, and first user groups started forming under the /USENIX/ name[fn:hiddenunix].
+It's worth to mention that this version was rewritten in C, as  previous versions which were created in Assembly
+This made it the first portable /UNIX/, as it could be recompiled to any compared, as long as it also had a C compiler[fn:earlylin].
+
+The system was presented by Ken and Denis during the /4th Symposium on Operating System Principles/ the same year,
+and a year later Ken and Dennis publish the first paper on /UNIX/ - "The UNIX Time-Sharing System" in the /Communications/ journal of ACM.
+
+#+attr_shortcode: "unix-tech-journal.jpg" "https://leancrew.com/all-this/2011/10/dennis-ritchie-unix-and-clarity/" 
+#+begin_img-c
+Bell System Technical Journal cover.
+#+end_img-c
+
+The word was out and /UNIX/ became known outside of /Bell Labs/.
+
+In the next episode of History of BSD: the scariest creature of them all.
+Lawyers.
+
+[fn:wikibell] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_Labs][Bell Labs  --- {W}ikipedia{,} The Free Encyclopedia]]
+[fn:hiddenunix] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuzeagzqwrs][The hidden early history of unix the forgotten history of early unix]]
+[fn:earlylin] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECCr_KFl41E][The early days of Unix at Bell Labs - Brian Kernighan (LCA 2022 Online)]]
+[fn:uvlist] [[https://www.uvlist.net/game-164857-Space+Travel][UVL]]
+[fn:50] The 50th anniversary of this event was very big for a small group of fans.
+[fn:lcm] [[https://livingcomputers.org/Blog/Restoring-UNIX-v0-on-a-PDP-7-A-look-behind-the-sce.aspx][Living Computer Museum]] has a real PDP-7 running /PDP Unix/ if want to chek it.
+# 
+
+
+[fn:IBM360] [[https://ibms360.co.uk/?p=902][IBM 360 Model 20 Rescue and Restoration: Machine Overview]]
+[fn:root] [[http://blog.wovenmemories.net/2023/10/30/First.Operating.System_Part.1.html][First Operating System -- Part One]]
+[fn:wiki] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multics][Multics  --- {W}ikipedia{,} The Free Encyclopedia]]
+[fn:allen] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYb6WqWBTE0][Mark Allen - Before Unix: An Early History of Timesharing Systems]]
+[fn:earlylin] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECCr_KFl41E][The early days of Unix at Bell Labs - Brian Kernighan (LCA 2022 Online)]]
+
+
+
+* DONE History of BSD part I: Multics                         :@unix_history:
+CLOSED: [2024-03-09 Sat 21:03]
+:PROPERTIES:
+:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: 01_multics
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract BSD history starts with Multics
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :shortname Part I: Multics
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :link part-ii-multics
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(/bsd/history/01_multics/)
+:EXPORT_HUGO_MENU: :menu bsd-history :name "Multics"
+:EXPORT_HUGO_PAIRED_SHORTCODES: img-c
+:END:
+
+I have published new chapter of the Unix History
+
+* DONE History of BSD part II: Unix                           :@unix_history:
+CLOSED: [2024-03-16 Sat 21:00]
+:PROPERTIES:
+:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: 02_unix
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract How Unix came to be? 
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :shortname Part II: Unix
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :link part-ii-unix
+:EXPORT_HUGO_MENU: :menu bsd-history :name "Unix"
+:EXPORT_HUGO_PAIRED_SHORTCODES: img-c
+:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(/bsd/history/02_unix/)
+:END:
+
+I have published new chapter of the Unix History