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=-0.8 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 f66aa35d for ; Sat, 14 Sep 2019 02:03:05 +0000 (UTC) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 367739B920; Sat, 14 Sep 2019 12:03:04 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id AF88394790; Sat, 14 Sep 2019 12:02:43 +1000 (AEST) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 49B3794790; Sat, 14 Sep 2019 12:02:41 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mcvoy.com (mcvoy.com [192.169.23.250]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 089E69478E; Sat, 14 Sep 2019 12:02:41 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mcvoy.com (Postfix, from userid 3546) id B1D5E35E11A; Fri, 13 Sep 2019 19:02:40 -0700 (PDT) Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2019 19:02:40 -0700 From: Larry McVoy To: Clem Cole Message-ID: <20190914020240.GO2046@mcvoy.com> References: <201909132024.x8DKObEP013266@darkstar.fourwinds.com> <463d5cc4-9bef-9ac3-a680-a5161d664dc1@aueb.gr> <20190913221345.GA16129@minnie.tuhs.org> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.24 (2015-08-30) Subject: Re: [TUHS] 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: , Cc: tuhs@tuhs.org Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" > > slightest interest in scrapping Unix. Therefore, we transliterated > > the roff text formatter into PDP-11 assembler language, starting from > > the PDP-7 version that had been transliterated from McIlroy???s BCPL > > version on Multics, which had in turn been inspired by J. Saltzer???s > > runoff program on CTSS. As a *roff guy to the core, to this day, I'd love to see any docs on the Multics version and/or the CTSS version. Roff has some pretty sophisticated stuff (environments come to mind) that I think 99.9% of the CS world doesn't understand (sort of like my rant on SCCS, most people didn't look hard enough to get it. I'm not sure that I get roff environments to this day but I kinda do). I'd love to see the docs on that early stuff and see if Joe Ossanna added in his own magic or was he carrying forward earlier magic. --lm P.S. I love this list for this stuff, I'm an old retired guy that wishes he could have helped birth Unix. Hanging out with the people who were there is super fun.