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=-0.7 required=5.0 tests=HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS, MAILING_LIST_MULTI,PLING_QUERY,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 c7375aa8 for ; Mon, 14 Oct 2019 15:33:18 +0000 (UTC) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 03E169BD8D; Tue, 15 Oct 2019 01:33:17 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id CA9309BB2A; Tue, 15 Oct 2019 01:32:58 +1000 (AEST) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 1E3109BB00; Tue, 15 Oct 2019 01:32:56 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mail.cs.Dartmouth.EDU (mail.cs.dartmouth.edu [129.170.212.100]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 8EA589BA32 for ; Tue, 15 Oct 2019 01:32:55 +1000 (AEST) Received: from coolidge.cs.Dartmouth.EDU (coolidge.cs.dartmouth.edu [129.170.213.217]) by mail.cs.Dartmouth.EDU (8.15.2/8.15.2) with ESMTPS id x9EFWrdo030380 (version=TLSv1.3 cipher=TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 bits=256 verify=NO) for ; Mon, 14 Oct 2019 11:32:53 -0400 Received: from coolidge.cs.Dartmouth.EDU (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by coolidge.cs.Dartmouth.EDU (8.15.2/8.15.2) with ESMTP id x9EFWr1L001714 for ; Mon, 14 Oct 2019 11:32:53 -0400 Received: (from doug@localhost) by coolidge.cs.Dartmouth.EDU (8.15.2/8.15.2/Submit) id x9EFWrjC001713 for tuhs@tuhs.org; Mon, 14 Oct 2019 11:32:53 -0400 From: Doug McIlroy Message-Id: <201910141532.x9EFWrjC001713@coolidge.cs.Dartmouth.EDU> Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2019 11:32:53 -0400 To: tuhs@tuhs.org User-Agent: Heirloom mailx 12.5 7/5/10 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Subject: Re: [TUHS] What was your "Aha, Unix!" moment? 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" Apropos of Steve Johnson's evocative description of JCL and other pre-Unix OS interfaces, doing legwork for Multics I ran the following experiment on a lot of then-current time-sharing systems. As a model of creating and installing a new compiler, I used a very short Fortran program that simply copied its input to its output, stopping after finding END in column 7 of the input. The drill was compile the program run it, using its own source as input compile the freshly made output file This failed on every system I tried it on, though local experts could intervene with magic to overcome the gratuitous file-type distinctions that typically got in the way. Dartmouth's DTSS came closest, but inexplicably, even to the gurus, it had a special prohibition against a program reading the source from which it was compiled. Incidentally, my favorite manifestation of JCL-like mumbo jumbo was the ironically named FUTIL control card in GECOS. Doug