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 21709 invoked from network); 4 Jan 2021 09:09:31 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (45.79.103.53) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 4 Jan 2021 09:09:31 -0000 Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id ABC639C834; Mon, 4 Jan 2021 19:09:21 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id BC7A09C802; Mon, 4 Jan 2021 19:08:24 +1000 (AEST) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 86FDF9C81D; Mon, 4 Jan 2021 19:08:19 +1000 (AEST) Received: from freefriends.org (freefriends.org [96.88.95.60]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 9517A9C7F8 for ; Mon, 4 Jan 2021 19:08:15 +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 10498ACH022831 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 bits=256 verify=NOT); Mon, 4 Jan 2021 02:08:10 -0700 Received: (from arnold@localhost) by freefriends.org (8.14.7/8.14.7/Submit) id 104989TF022830; Mon, 4 Jan 2021 02:08:09 -0700 From: arnold@skeeve.com Message-Id: <202101040908.104989TF022830@freefriends.org> X-Authentication-Warning: frenzy.freefriends.org: arnold set sender to arnold@skeeve.com using -f Date: Mon, 04 Jan 2021 02:08:09 -0700 To: m.douglas.mcilroy@dartmouth.edu, egbegb2@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] Question 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" The spelling corrector in the shell rings vague bell. I think it's in the 8th or 9th edition Bourne shell. You should be able to find those in the archives. Geoff Collyer has a modern port of the V9 shell at http://www.collyer.net/who/geoff/v9sh.tar. HTH, Arnold Ed Bradford wrote: > Thank you for responding. My recollection is that one of your > folks put the spelling corrector into the shell so when I typed > the wrong letters for a directory or file, the spelling correct > would help. It was particularly noticible in the "chdir - cd" shell > command. Do you recall any such person and if so, did he (and it > was a he) use Peter's work? > > There was a distance algorithm that was far better than anything I've seen > since. Yes, please send me Peter's contact information. > > I am > > Ed Bradford, Ph.D. Physics, retired from IBM > Pflugerville,TX > egbegb2@gmail.com > > PS: We chatted sometime in 1980 or so about > adding database capabilities to the interactive > environment. I was interested in adding it to > the Bourne Shell at the time. > > On Sun, Jan 3, 2021 at 2:23 PM M Douglas McIlroy < > m.douglas.mcilroy@dartmouth.edu> wrote: > > > > I was a BTL person for 8 years between 1976 and 1984. During > > > that time there was a spelling corrector that was better than > > > anything I see today. There was a concept of "spelling distance" > > > that corrected a whole bunch of stuff that even today cannot be > > > corrected. > > > > > Who in that era worked on spelling correction at BTL. I was at > > > Columbus BTL (1976-1979) and Whippany BTL (1979-1984). > > > > Peter Nelson made an interface to spell(1) that showed putative errors in > > context. I believe it could suggest corrections. I remember the project; I > > installed hooks for it in spell(1). I don't remember the date, but it would > > probably not have been early enough for you to have used it in Columbus. > > > > If there's a chance that Peter's program is the one you remember > > and you'd like to get in touch with him, I can give you his > > email address. > > > > Doug > > > > > -- > Advice is judged by results, not by intentions. > Cicero