From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.6 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_INVALID,DKIM_SIGNED, HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS,MAILING_LIST_MULTI,T_SCC_BODY_TEXT_LINE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (minnie.tuhs.org [IPv6:2600:3c01:e000:146::1]) by inbox.vuxu.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9C4072B15A for ; Mon, 11 Mar 2024 18:13:26 +0100 (CET) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [IPv6:::1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id C16F842819; Tue, 12 Mar 2024 03:13:19 +1000 (AEST) Received: from ewsoutbound.kpnmail.nl (ewsoutbound.kpnmail.nl [195.121.94.170]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 2272B42815 for ; Tue, 12 Mar 2024 03:13:06 +1000 (AEST) X-KPN-MessageId: 9c29642f-dfca-11ee-bfb6-005056ab378f Received: from smtp.kpnmail.nl (unknown [10.31.155.39]) by ewsoutbound.so.kpn.org (Halon) with ESMTPS id 9c29642f-dfca-11ee-bfb6-005056ab378f; Mon, 11 Mar 2024 18:12:59 +0100 (CET) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=planet.nl; s=planet01; h=to:date:message-id:subject:mime-version:content-type:from; bh=Tj69ApgaQuC72mnHwtLtgzC7w9muWDaeONreIv10mTQ=; b=s9plYlw4Yc+A2qn9V0TocLTTKAwJZ9s93ea5xascSl14Xp3aaACET3Zkg2Oo2NuQH0RSxwff9gEW8 nsaqpJLN9OBLb2Fz5dWScT8GZyhRJRfyxLau2N536FTg+C0gMNcwpn3EuICecACpqCu7aWzSplIX1n G65mOf/3k/A05TfI= X-KPN-MID: 33|J/xf2C5Hrkm04EC6+w8NuDW09nXUz7bbTKEgcqc3WHIW/6ra/fz/LlqLFIGpqdY u/iE+Mbf6CBaTTdnTBM648eAkAT2+m9CzMw0oWEDfmi8= X-KPN-VerifiedSender: Yes X-CMASSUN: 33|v6OwFWP/vmmaVMJB+FBaWrI/TyHeUnh/hB22xE7AZ6Aj1r2TvPT01ByTm0KbFon msfLDx+i/2OtolOBoJ3NhDA== X-Originating-IP: 77.172.38.96 Received: from smtpclient.apple (77-172-38-96.fixed.kpn.net [77.172.38.96]) by smtp.kpnmail.nl (Halon) with ESMTPSA id 9bd51705-dfca-11ee-8d3b-005056ab7447; Mon, 11 Mar 2024 18:12:59 +0100 (CET) From: Paul Ruizendaal Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Mime-Version: 1.0 (Mac OS X Mail 14.0 \(3654.120.0.1.15\)) Message-Id: <12CFE503-ACC8-44B5-BA41-28DB5450E521@planet.nl> Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2024 18:12:58 +0100 To: "tuhs@tuhs.org" X-Mailer: Apple Mail (2.3654.120.0.1.15) Message-ID-Hash: Z6VITNKJTPT4RI6KQGP45UA3VUPMLWIK X-Message-ID-Hash: Z6VITNKJTPT4RI6KQGP45UA3VUPMLWIK X-MailFrom: pnr@planet.nl X-Mailman-Rule-Misses: dmarc-mitigation; no-senders; approved; emergency; loop; banned-address; member-moderation; nonmember-moderation; administrivia; implicit-dest; max-recipients; max-size; news-moderation; no-subject; digests; suspicious-header X-Mailman-Version: 3.3.6b1 Precedence: list Subject: [TUHS] Re: History of non-Bell C compilers? List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Help: List-Owner: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: On Thu, Mar 7, 2024, 4:14=E2=80=AFPM Tom Lyon = wrote: > For no good reason, I've been wondering about the early history of C > compilers that were not derived from Ritchie, Johnson, and Snyder at = Bell. > Especially for x86. Anyone have tales? > Were any of those compilers ever used to port UNIX? An unusual one would be the =E2=80=9Crevenue bomb=E2=80=9D compiler that = Charles Simonyi and Richard Brodie did at Microsoft in 1981. This compiler was intended to provided a uniform environment for the = menagerie of 8 and 16-bit computers of the era. It compiled to a byte = code which executed through a small interpreter. This by itself was = hardly new of course, but it had some unique features. It generated code = in overlays, so that it could run a code base larger than 64KB (but it = defined only one data segment). It also defined a small set of = =E2=80=9Csystem=E2=80=9D commands, that allowed for uniform I/O. I still = have the implementation spec for that interpreter somewhere. This compiler was used for the first versions of Multiplan and Word, and = my understanding is that the byte code engine was later re-used in = Visual Basic. I think the compiler also had a Xenix port, maybe it even = was Xenix native (and at this time, Xenix would still essentially have = been V7). I am not sure to what extent this compiler was independent of the Bell = compilers. It could well be that it was based on PCC, Microsoft was a = Unix licensee after all and at the time busy doing ports. On the other = hand, Charles Simonyi would certainly have been capable of creating his = own from scratch. I do know that this compiler preceded Lattice C, the = latter of which was distributed by Microsoft as Microsoft C 1.0. Maybe others know more about this Simonyi/Brodie compiler? Paul Notes: http://www.memecentral.com/mylife.htm = https://web.archive.org/web/20080905231519/http://www.computerworld.com/so= ftwaretopics/software/appdev/story/0%2C10801%2C76413%2C00.html http://seefigure1.com/images/xenix/xenix-timeline.jpg=