Re: [9fans] Non-stack-based calling conventions

[Bill Gunshannon <billg999@cs.uofs.edu>]

In article <4b3dfa84b440e0780f7cf1472ed6f93b@terzarima.net>,
	forsyth@terzarima.net (Charles Forsyth) writes:
>> an edu may have also had it.  Ever heard of The Software Tools
>> Virtual Operating System?  Any chance you have a 9-track with this
>> on it still hanging around?  I would love to get my hands on a copy
>> again.
>
> the Software Tools (begun by Kernighan and Plauger's book of the same name) can be found in:
>
> http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/9247/lang/stugbasic.tgz
> http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lab/9247/lang/stugtoys.tgz
>
> the latter includes a LISP written in Ratfor
>

Slight (and quite common) misunderstanding.  This is not the K&P Software
Tools.   This was a graduate project that built on the ideas of K&P to
create an API that at its peak ran on at least 50 different systems.
It was covered in Communications of the ACM September 80.
   http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/~joe/auxiliary/ papers/Personal/VirtualOS.pdf

After its release it took on a life of its own for many years.  There was
even a Users Group talking about it and building on it.  Georgia Tech did
the version for Pr1me computers.  U Wisconsin - Madison did the Univac-1100
version.  Etc.  It was pretty slick but unfortunately, like too many parts
of our industry, is seems to have all but disappeared.  It is one of the
things I am trying to salvage not only for posterity, but also because I
think it might have some utility as technology has eliminated its worst
shortcomings with its natural advancements.  Think of this as what later
went on to be called POSIX.  The big difference being STVOS actually worked.
:-)

bill

--
Bill Gunshannon          |  de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n.  Three wolves
billg999@cs.scranton.edu |  and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
University of Scranton   |
Scranton, Pennsylvania   |         #include <std.disclaimer.h>