There is a widespred anecdote that "Plan 9" name comes from the movie "Plan 9 From Outer Space". Since I didn't find anything more than a reference to this anecdote (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_9_from_Bell_Labs for example), I forced myself to watch the movie until the end (what a pain!). Guess what? I couldn't find the link between the film and the beloved OS. I'm sure there are people here who know more. Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge with us. Pierre
> There is a widespred anecdote that "Plan 9" name comes from the
> movie "Plan 9 From Outer Space".
Given that the full name is "Plan 9 from Bell Labs" I don't think
there's much doubt about it.
-- Richard
--
The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in
Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 06:20:18PM +0100, Richard Tobin wrote:
>> There is a widespred anecdote that "Plan 9" name comes from the
>> movie "Plan 9 From Outer Space".
>
>Given that the full name is "Plan 9 from Bell Labs" I don't think
>there's much doubt about it.
>
Yes, but is there anything besides the name?
Pierre
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1599 bytes --] On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 11:24 AM Pierre DAVID <pdagog@gmail.com> wrote: > On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 06:20:18PM +0100, Richard Tobin wrote: > >> There is a widespred anecdote that "Plan 9" name comes from the > >> movie "Plan 9 From Outer Space". > > > >Given that the full name is "Plan 9 from Bell Labs" I don't think > >there's much doubt about it. > > > > Yes, but is there anything besides the name? > Plan 9 is the worst movie ever. And was for many years listed as the worst movie ever, including the formative years of plan 9. A professor(?) at CU once told me, though I don't know if I buy it, that plan 9 was Unix Plan B at first. There was a description that it was the worst system ever (except for all the others) in a knod to Churchill (supposedly based on his comment about Democracy). And from there it was a quick jump to Plan 9 from Bell Labs as all these themes flowed together in a mish-mash of creative naming... With a different name, it could break with Unix in interesting ways... I have no clue if this is true, and I'm no longer in contact with the professor that told me this since it was mid to late 90s, and I'm honestly having trouble recalling his name. It wasn't a 'big name' like Evi, but I think it was someone at CU I had a beer with (which means it could have been a grad student to post-doc as well, it was 25 years ago and beer was involved). It makes a great story, but I don't know if it's anything more than that. I put it out there because I know Rob or Ken is likely to correct something that's this detailed and specific if it's really wrong :) Warner [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 2126 bytes --]
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1793 bytes --] On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 9:45 AM Warner Losh <imp@bsdimp.com> wrote: > > On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 11:24 AM Pierre DAVID <pdagog@gmail.com> wrote: > >> On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 06:20:18PM +0100, Richard Tobin wrote: >> >> There is a widespred anecdote that "Plan 9" name comes from the >> >> movie "Plan 9 From Outer Space". >> > >> >Given that the full name is "Plan 9 from Bell Labs" I don't think >> >there's much doubt about it. >> > >> >> Yes, but is there anything besides the name? >> > > Plan 9 is the worst movie ever. And was for many years listed as the worst > movie ever, including the formative years of plan 9. > > A professor(?) at CU once told me, though I don't know if I buy it, that > plan 9 was Unix Plan B at first. There was a description that it was the > worst system ever (except for all the others) in a knod to Churchill > (supposedly based on his comment about Democracy). And from there it was a > quick jump to Plan 9 from Bell Labs as all these themes flowed together in > a mish-mash of creative naming... With a different name, it could break > with Unix in interesting ways... > > I have no clue if this is true, and I'm no longer in contact with the > professor that told me this since it was mid to late 90s, and I'm honestly > having trouble recalling his name. It wasn't a 'big name' like Evi, but I > think it was someone at CU I had a beer with (which means it could have > been a grad student to post-doc as well, it was 25 years ago and beer was > involved). It makes a great story, but I don't know if it's anything more > than that. I put it out there because I know Rob or Ken is likely to > correct something that's this detailed and specific if it's really wrong :) > See also: http://9p.io/wiki/plan9/lfaq/index.html#GENERAL_INFORMATION Royce [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 2774 bytes --]
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 725 bytes --] On Sat, Apr 18, 2020, 12:58 PM Pierre DAVID <pdagog@gmail.com> wrote: > There is a widespred anecdote that "Plan 9" name comes from the > movie "Plan 9 From Outer Space". > > Since I didn't find anything more than a reference to this > anecdote (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_9_from_Bell_Labs > for example), I forced myself to watch the movie until the end > (what a pain!). > > Guess what? I couldn't find the link between the film and the > beloved OS. > > I'm sure there are people here who know more. Thanks in advance > for sharing your knowledge with us. > > Pierre > Someone posted some pictures of the office area at Murray Hill to this list. I seem to recall A plan 9 from outer space poster hanging. > [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 1450 bytes --]
On Sat, 18 Apr 2020, Pierre DAVID wrote:
> Since I didn't find anything more than a reference to this anecdote (see
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan_9_from_Bell_Labs for example), I
> forced myself to watch the movie until the end (what a pain!).
Trust me, there are even worse movies... The colourised ones, for
example, out of Hollywood (aarrgghh!).
(Follow-ups to COFF, of course)
-- Dave, who thinks that the best films were early B&W ones
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 2498 bytes --] As it says there, *The hermeneutics of naming yields few insights. Things are named usually because the name is nice (sam), or there is some private reference hard to decode (8½), or in honour (perhaps backhanded) of another system (mothra), or an indication of expectation (Plan 9, acme), or just because (acid). None of the names tell you anything helpful.Despite the lack of information, those who guess at reasons for naming generate volumes of apocrypha. The real reason is usually, ``because''.* -rob On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 3:50 AM Royce Williams <royce@techsolvency.com> wrote: > On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 9:45 AM Warner Losh <imp@bsdimp.com> wrote: > >> >> On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 11:24 AM Pierre DAVID <pdagog@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 06:20:18PM +0100, Richard Tobin wrote: >>> >> There is a widespred anecdote that "Plan 9" name comes from the >>> >> movie "Plan 9 From Outer Space". >>> > >>> >Given that the full name is "Plan 9 from Bell Labs" I don't think >>> >there's much doubt about it. >>> > >>> >>> Yes, but is there anything besides the name? >>> >> >> Plan 9 is the worst movie ever. And was for many years listed as the >> worst movie ever, including the formative years of plan 9. >> >> A professor(?) at CU once told me, though I don't know if I buy it, that >> plan 9 was Unix Plan B at first. There was a description that it was the >> worst system ever (except for all the others) in a knod to Churchill >> (supposedly based on his comment about Democracy). And from there it was a >> quick jump to Plan 9 from Bell Labs as all these themes flowed together in >> a mish-mash of creative naming... With a different name, it could break >> with Unix in interesting ways... >> >> I have no clue if this is true, and I'm no longer in contact with the >> professor that told me this since it was mid to late 90s, and I'm honestly >> having trouble recalling his name. It wasn't a 'big name' like Evi, but I >> think it was someone at CU I had a beer with (which means it could have >> been a grad student to post-doc as well, it was 25 years ago and beer was >> involved). It makes a great story, but I don't know if it's anything more >> than that. I put it out there because I know Rob or Ken is likely to >> correct something that's this detailed and specific if it's really wrong :) >> > > See also: > > http://9p.io/wiki/plan9/lfaq/index.html#GENERAL_INFORMATION > > Royce > [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 3685 bytes --]
It wasn't my intention.
-rob
On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 11:12 AM Ken Thompson <ken@google.com> wrote:
>
> rob,
> you shouldn't have shut down this discussion.
>
>
> On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 3:27 PM Rob Pike <robpike@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> As it says there,
>>
>> The hermeneutics of naming yields few insights. Things are named usually because the name is nice (sam), or there is some private reference hard to decode (8½), or in honour (perhaps backhanded) of another system (mothra), or an indication of expectation (Plan 9, acme), or just because (acid). None of the names tell you anything helpful.
>>
>> Despite the lack of information, those who guess at reasons for naming generate volumes of apocrypha. The real reason is usually, ``because''.
>>
>> -rob
>>
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 3:50 AM Royce Williams <royce@techsolvency.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 9:45 AM Warner Losh <imp@bsdimp.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 11:24 AM Pierre DAVID <pdagog@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 06:20:18PM +0100, Richard Tobin wrote:
>>>>> >> There is a widespred anecdote that "Plan 9" name comes from the
>>>>> >> movie "Plan 9 From Outer Space".
>>>>> >
>>>>> >Given that the full name is "Plan 9 from Bell Labs" I don't think
>>>>> >there's much doubt about it.
>>>>> >
>>>>>
>>>>> Yes, but is there anything besides the name?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Plan 9 is the worst movie ever. And was for many years listed as the worst movie ever, including the formative years of plan 9.
>>>>
>>>> A professor(?) at CU once told me, though I don't know if I buy it, that plan 9 was Unix Plan B at first. There was a description that it was the worst system ever (except for all the others) in a knod to Churchill (supposedly based on his comment about Democracy). And from there it was a quick jump to Plan 9 from Bell Labs as all these themes flowed together in a mish-mash of creative naming... With a different name, it could break with Unix in interesting ways...
>>>>
>>>> I have no clue if this is true, and I'm no longer in contact with the professor that told me this since it was mid to late 90s, and I'm honestly having trouble recalling his name. It wasn't a 'big name' like Evi, but I think it was someone at CU I had a beer with (which means it could have been a grad student to post-doc as well, it was 25 years ago and beer was involved). It makes a great story, but I don't know if it's anything more than that. I put it out there because I know Rob or Ken is likely to correct something that's this detailed and specific if it's really wrong :)
>>>
>>>
>>> See also:
>>>
>>> http://9p.io/wiki/plan9/lfaq/index.html#GENERAL_INFORMATION
>>>
>>> Royce
So it could be the lack of televised sports getting to me in these shelter-in-place days, but, I mean, sure, I guess I’ll throw in some bucks for a pay-per-view of a Pike/Thompson cage match. FIGHT!
Followups set.
> On Apr 18, 2020, at 6:28 PM, Rob Pike <robpike@gmail.com> wrote:
> It wasn't my intention.
> On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 11:12 AM Ken Thompson <ken@google.com> wrote:
>>
>> you shouldn't have shut down this discussion.
>> On Sat, Apr 18, 2020 at 3:27 PM Rob Pike <robpike@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> ``because''.
I'll keep it going. rc was a startup script from very early
times in Unix, shortened, as Ken was wont to do, from runcom,
the nearest thing CTSS had to a shell--it could run up to
six prespecified commands in background. The name runcom
came to be applied to the scripts as well as to their
interpreter.
Doug
-------------------------------------
It wasn't my intention.
-rob
On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 11:12 AM Ken Thompson <ken@google.com> wrote:
>
> rob,
> you shouldn't have shut down this discussion.
I asked a friend who was around at the time (I think he and Rob worked together at times). Here's what he recalls: I'll keep it going. rc was a description that it was the worst movie ever. And was for many years listed as the worst system ever (except for all the others) in a mish-mash of creative naming... I have no clue if this is true, and I'm honestly having trouble recalling his name. It wasn't my intention. There was a description that it was a startup script from very early times in Unix, shortened, as Ken was wont to do, from runcom, the nearest thing CTSS had to a shell--it could run up to six prespecified commands in background. It wasn't a 'big name' like Evi, but I don't know if I buy it, that plan 9 from outer space poster hanging. Plan 9 from Bell Labs as all these themes flowed together in a mish-mash of creative naming... With a different name, it could be the lack of information, those who guess at reasons for naming generate volumes of apocrypha. The real reason is usually, ``because''.* Trust me, there are even worse movies... Someone posted some pictures of the names tell you anything helpful. Despite the lack of televised sports getting to me in these shelter-in-place days, but, I mean, sure, I guess I'll throw in some bucks for a pay-per-view of a Pike/Thompson cage match. FIGHT! Followups set. Things are named usually because the name is "Plan 9 from outer space poster hanging. None of the office area at Murray Hill to this list. Plan 9 is the worst system ever (except for all the others) in a knod to Churchill (supposedly based on his comment about Democracy). And from there it was 25 years ago and beer was involved). It makes a great story, but I don't think there's much doubt about it. And was for many years listed as the worst movie ever, including the formative years of plan 9. Yes, but is there anything besides the name? There is a widespred anecdote that "Plan 9" name comes from the movie until the end (what a pain!). _-_-_-_-Mark Norman Wilson Toronto ON
I’m surprised no one mentioned the Brazil movie so far, and rio named from that. I seem to remember that before being called Plan 9 it was called Brazil because of the movie. Did I dream that?
> Em 19 de abr de 2020, à(s) 11:37, Norman Wilson <norman@oclsc.org> escreveu:
>
> I asked a friend who was around at the time (I think he and
> Rob worked together at times). Here's what he recalls:
>
> I'll keep it going. rc was a description that it was the worst movie
> ever. And was for many years listed as the worst system ever (except
> for all the others) in a mish-mash of creative naming... I have no clue
> if this is true, and I'm honestly having trouble recalling his name.
> It wasn't my intention.
>
> There was a description that it was a startup script from very early
> times in Unix, shortened, as Ken was wont to do, from runcom, the nearest
> thing CTSS had to a shell--it could run up to six prespecified commands
> in background. It wasn't a 'big name' like Evi, but I don't know if I buy
> it, that plan 9 from outer space poster hanging. Plan 9 from Bell Labs
> as all these themes flowed together in a mish-mash of creative naming...
> With a different name, it could be the lack of information, those who
> guess at reasons for naming generate volumes of apocrypha.
>
> The real reason is usually, ``because''.* Trust me, there are even
> worse movies... Someone posted some pictures of the names tell you
> anything helpful. Despite the lack of televised sports getting to me
> in these shelter-in-place days, but, I mean, sure, I guess I'll throw
> in some bucks for a pay-per-view of a Pike/Thompson cage match. FIGHT!
> Followups set.
>
> Things are named usually because the name is "Plan 9 from outer space
> poster hanging. None of the office area at Murray Hill to this list.
> Plan 9 is the worst system ever (except for all the others) in a
> knod to Churchill (supposedly based on his comment about Democracy).
> And from there it was 25 years ago and beer was involved). It makes
> a great story, but I don't think there's much doubt about it. And was
> for many years listed as the worst movie ever, including the formative
> years of plan 9. Yes, but is there anything besides the name? There is
> a widespred anecdote that "Plan 9" name comes from the movie until the
> end (what a pain!).
>
> _-_-_-_-Mark
>
> Norman Wilson
> Toronto ON
Rio is a reference to a different movie, not to Brazil. Brazil is a
reference to Brazil. Hope that helps.
-rob
On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 2:07 AM Daniel Camoles <bigato@bus142.net> wrote:
>
> I’m surprised no one mentioned the Brazil movie so far, and rio named from that. I seem to remember that before being called Plan 9 it was called Brazil because of the movie. Did I dream that?
>
> > Em 19 de abr de 2020, à(s) 11:37, Norman Wilson <norman@oclsc.org> escreveu:
> >
> > I asked a friend who was around at the time (I think he and
> > Rob worked together at times). Here's what he recalls:
> >
> > I'll keep it going. rc was a description that it was the worst movie
> > ever. And was for many years listed as the worst system ever (except
> > for all the others) in a mish-mash of creative naming... I have no clue
> > if this is true, and I'm honestly having trouble recalling his name.
> > It wasn't my intention.
> >
> > There was a description that it was a startup script from very early
> > times in Unix, shortened, as Ken was wont to do, from runcom, the nearest
> > thing CTSS had to a shell--it could run up to six prespecified commands
> > in background. It wasn't a 'big name' like Evi, but I don't know if I buy
> > it, that plan 9 from outer space poster hanging. Plan 9 from Bell Labs
> > as all these themes flowed together in a mish-mash of creative naming...
> > With a different name, it could be the lack of information, those who
> > guess at reasons for naming generate volumes of apocrypha.
> >
> > The real reason is usually, ``because''.* Trust me, there are even
> > worse movies... Someone posted some pictures of the names tell you
> > anything helpful. Despite the lack of televised sports getting to me
> > in these shelter-in-place days, but, I mean, sure, I guess I'll throw
> > in some bucks for a pay-per-view of a Pike/Thompson cage match. FIGHT!
> > Followups set.
> >
> > Things are named usually because the name is "Plan 9 from outer space
> > poster hanging. None of the office area at Murray Hill to this list.
> > Plan 9 is the worst system ever (except for all the others) in a
> > knod to Churchill (supposedly based on his comment about Democracy).
> > And from there it was 25 years ago and beer was involved). It makes
> > a great story, but I don't think there's much doubt about it. And was
> > for many years listed as the worst movie ever, including the formative
> > years of plan 9. Yes, but is there anything besides the name? There is
> > a widespred anecdote that "Plan 9" name comes from the movie until the
> > end (what a pain!).
> >
> > _-_-_-_-Mark
> >
> > Norman Wilson
> > Toronto ON
>
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 450 bytes --] On Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 10:37 AM Norman Wilson <norman@oclsc.org> wrote: > I asked a friend who was around at the time (I think he and > Rob worked together at times). Here's what he recalls: > > I'll keep it going. rc was a description that it was the worst movie > ever. And was for many years listed as the worst system ever (except > for all the others) in a mish-mash of creative naming... > <snip> > _-_-_-_-Mark Mark V Chaney! > [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 1182 bytes --]
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 485 bytes --] I think this reflects a very static view of hermeneutics. Just because a term "meant" something at the time of its first use, doesn't mean that one should ignore all of the modification of that meaning subsequently. Language is truly a virus of a type that evolves over time as it is adjusted by its tree of hosts. I think you can separate the initial intent of a label from its current usage. I wonder what mvs would have said to that. Didn't he read sci.philosophy at one point? [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 639 bytes --]
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 117 bytes --] A name that refers to something does not imply some form of metempsychosis. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. -rob [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 177 bytes --]
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, but "ceci, n'est pas un pipe" is
also true: just because you called it a cigar, doesn't mean it can't
be a fish.
The version I heard once, was "hitch the wagon to the engine and see
what entrains" where every one of hitch, wagon, engine, entrain does
not refer in any way to railways, or even "wagons" if its shakespeare.
It is not very useful to try and have a conversation about anything
EXCEPT the mutability of words, if you don't actually agree what the
words mean in context. I think this may be why Haskell draws a
distinction between things of type Integer and the specific intent
behind "int" and I could be drawn to say the whole 8/16/32/64/128
problem inherent in (unsigned (long) ) int is kind-of more of a
problem than not. If we'd selected IPv6 as 64 bit quantities then
because at the time the 32/64 division of intent was mostly ok, we'd
be good. We went to 128: GCC (sorry) doesn't handle unsigned 128 bit
quantities well. A problem ensues.
On Mon, Apr 20, 2020 at 12:50 PM Rob Pike <robpike@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> A name that refers to something does not imply some form of metempsychosis. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
>
> -rob
>
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 357 bytes --] On Sun, Apr 19, 2020, 8:50 PM Rob Pike <robpike@gmail.com> wrote: > A name that refers to something does not imply some form of > metempsychosis. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. > "We named stuff for a combination of movies we were into, inside jokes and occasionally after repurposed historical names for new animals." Don't overthink it. Warner > [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 936 bytes --]
Rob Pike <robpike@gmail.com> wrote:
> Rio is a reference to a different movie, not to Brazil. Brazil is a
> reference to Brazil. Hope that helps.
>
> -rob
What movie is Rio a reference to?
Thanks,
Arnold
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 509 bytes --] On Mon, 20 Apr 2020 at 03:43, <arnold@skeeve.com> wrote: > Rob Pike <robpike@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Rio is a reference to a different movie, not to Brazil. Brazil is a > > reference to Brazil. Hope that helps. > > > > -rob > > What movie is Rio a reference to? > I imagine there's some bad romantic comedy movie starring Michael Caine to Blame It On... Timing seems about right. -- When confronted by a difficult problem, solve it by reducing it to the question, "How would the Lone Ranger handle this?" [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 1033 bytes --]
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 714 bytes --] No, that's not it. You have the wrong actor. The right one appears in the rio source. -rob On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 3:37 AM Christopher Browne <cbbrowne@gmail.com> wrote: > > > On Mon, 20 Apr 2020 at 03:43, <arnold@skeeve.com> wrote: > >> Rob Pike <robpike@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> > Rio is a reference to a different movie, not to Brazil. Brazil is a >> > reference to Brazil. Hope that helps. >> > >> > -rob >> >> What movie is Rio a reference to? >> > > I imagine there's some bad romantic comedy movie starring Michael Caine to > Blame It On... > > Timing seems about right. > -- > When confronted by a difficult problem, solve it by reducing it to the > question, "How would the Lone Ranger handle this?" > [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 1530 bytes --]
[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 1344 bytes --] :-D /* * WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration warned * consumers Wednesday not to use ``Rio'' hair relaxer products * because they may cause severe hair loss or turn hair green.... * The FDA urged consumers who have experienced problems with Rio * to notify their local FDA office, local health department or the * company at 1‑800‑543‑3002. */ sys/src/cmd/rio/rio.c https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Hair_Naturalizer_System On Mon, 20 Apr 2020 at 22:50, Rob Pike <robpike@gmail.com> wrote: > No, that's not it. You have the wrong actor. The right one appears in the > rio source. > > -rob > > > On Tue, Apr 21, 2020 at 3:37 AM Christopher Browne <cbbrowne@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> >> >> On Mon, 20 Apr 2020 at 03:43, <arnold@skeeve.com> wrote: >> >>> Rob Pike <robpike@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> > Rio is a reference to a different movie, not to Brazil. Brazil is a >>> > reference to Brazil. Hope that helps. >>> > >>> > -rob >>> >>> What movie is Rio a reference to? >>> >> >> I imagine there's some bad romantic comedy movie starring Michael Caine >> to Blame It On... >> >> Timing seems about right. >> -- >> When confronted by a difficult problem, solve it by reducing it to the >> question, "How would the Lone Ranger handle this?" >> > -- Álvaro [-- Attachment #2: Type: text/html, Size: 3083 bytes --]
[ Catching up on old email ]
On Sun, 19 Apr 2020, A. P. Garcia wrote:
> Mark V Chaney!
Shaney. I know the culprit(s) behind it...
-- Dave