From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.0 required=5.0 tests=MAILING_LIST_MULTI, RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 25528 invoked from network); 21 Nov 2020 18:54:00 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (45.79.103.53) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 21 Nov 2020 18:54:00 -0000 Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 7B9EE9CC38; Sun, 22 Nov 2020 04:53:53 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id D6C429B95E; Sun, 22 Nov 2020 04:53:05 +1000 (AEST) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id BE53E93F9F; Sun, 22 Nov 2020 04:53:01 +1000 (AEST) X-Greylist: delayed 3729 seconds by postgrey-1.36 at minnie.tuhs.org; Sun, 22 Nov 2020 04:53:00 AEST Received: from freefriends.org (freefriends.org [96.88.95.60]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 7560A93DAD for ; Sun, 22 Nov 2020 04:53:00 +1000 (AEST) X-Envelope-From: arnold@skeeve.com Received: from freefriends.org (freefriends.org [96.88.95.60]) by freefriends.org (8.14.7/8.14.7) with ESMTP id 0ALHom1F011815 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 bits=256 verify=NOT); Sat, 21 Nov 2020 10:50:48 -0700 Received: (from arnold@localhost) by freefriends.org (8.14.7/8.14.7/Submit) id 0ALHolUI011814; Sat, 21 Nov 2020 10:50:47 -0700 From: arnold@skeeve.com Message-Id: <202011211750.0ALHolUI011814@freefriends.org> X-Authentication-Warning: frenzy.freefriends.org: arnold set sender to arnold@skeeve.com using -f Date: Sat, 21 Nov 2020 10:50:47 -0700 To: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org, henry.r.bent@gmail.com References: In-Reply-To: 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] Package Management 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" Things were pretty much ad hoc. Commercial software likely came as tar/cpio tapes to install however the vendor wanted. Free software was from USENET in source code, so again, however people wanted. The AT&T Unix PC (7300 / 3B1) in the late 80s had a file format for installing software from floppy and tracked what was installed, but that was unique to it. Package managers as we know them today really became a big thing with Linux. Redhat's RPM was one of the earliest. My two cents; I'm sure others remember it differently. Arnold Henry Bent wrote: > Hello All, > > I know I have asked this before, but I am curious about any new replies or > insight. How did package management start? Were sites keeping track of > packages installed in a flat file that you could grep (as god intended) > somewhere, or were upgrades and additions simply done without significant > announcement? At what point did someone decide, 'Hey, we need to have a > central way to track additional software"? > > I know of DEC's setld and SGI's inst in the latter half of the '80s. What > was the mechanism before that? > > -Henry