Re: [TUHS] Unix quix

[Jon Steinhart <jon@fourwinds.com>]

Clem Cole writes:
>
> On Thu, Jan 23, 2020 at 9:45 PM Warner Losh <imp@bsdimp.com> wrote:
>
> > MERT absolutely predates PWB 1.2. MERT has papers starting in 1975 while
> > pwb 1.2  is 1978 or 1979.
> >
> I can not say, I have any knowledge so I would trust Rob's sources, but ...
> I also what I would have thought MERT predates PWB.  Heinz, are you able to
> illuminate any of these details?
>
> > MERT was V4 while releases of PWB were V6 based.
> >
> I can verify and agree with the later of PWB 1.x being 6th edition, but the
> MERT tidbit is interesting/thought-provoking. I frankly would have
> expected the MERT folks to have started with something closer to 5th and
> then tracked any significant differences as possible.

My very fuzzy memory would put MERT at v4 or v5.  I think that the department
had an 11/40 running v3 back when it was in building 2.  I recall a much bigger
machine, I think an 11/70, after the move to building 6.  I think that Heinz's
office was across the hall from the room that had the 516 and the SS1, the 11/70
was across the hall and left a couple of doors from Heinz's office.  I'm pretty
sure that I used that machine to do the docs for the IC test system since the
department that I was in then didn't have a UNIX system.  I do have a v6 manual
from back then so that's where things were at the end of my time there.  Anyway,
from a timing thing I'm guessing that MERT was v4 or v5.

Jon