From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.2 (2018-09-13) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.0 required=5.0 tests=HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS, MAILING_LIST_MULTI,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.2 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (minnie.tuhs.org [45.79.103.53]) by inbox.vuxu.org (OpenSMTPD) with ESMTP id 85ae1401 for ; Thu, 19 Sep 2019 18:50:54 +0000 (UTC) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 5D4599BC0D; Fri, 20 Sep 2019 04:50:53 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id DCE149B906; Fri, 20 Sep 2019 04:50:42 +1000 (AEST) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 5EE4F947D6; Fri, 20 Sep 2019 04:50:41 +1000 (AEST) Received: from oclsc.com (oclsc.com [206.248.137.164]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 4D413947B9 for ; Fri, 20 Sep 2019 04:50:39 +1000 (AEST) From: Norman Wilson To: tuhs@tuhs.org Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2019 14:50:26 -0400 Message-ID: <1568919029.18595.for-standards-violators@oclsc.org> Subject: Re: [TUHS] [OT] Re: earliest Unix roff X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.26 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" KatolaZ: > We can discuss whether the split was necessary or "right" in the first > instance, as we could discuss whether it was good or not for cat(1) to > leave Murray Hill in 1979 with no options and come back from Berkley > with a source code doubled in size and 9 options in 1982. We needn't discuss that (though of course there are opinions and mine are the correct ones), but in the interest of historic accuracy, I should point out by 1979 (V7) cat had developed a single option -u to turn off stdio buffering. Sometime before 1984 or so, that option was removed, and cat was simplified to just while ((n = read(fd, buf, sizeof(buf))) > 0) write(1, buf, n) (error checking elided for clarity) which worked just fine for the rest of the life of the Research system. So it's true that BSD added needless (in my humble but correct opinion) options, but not that it had none before they touched it. Unless all those other programs were stuffed into cat in an earlier Berkeley system, but I don't think they were. Norman Wilson Toronto ON (Three cats, no options)