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=-0.5 required=5.0 tests=MAILING_LIST_MULTI, RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE,SUBJ_ALL_CAPS autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 18509 invoked from network); 17 Jan 2021 20:54:49 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (45.79.103.53) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 17 Jan 2021 20:54:49 -0000 Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id EA9179C723; Mon, 18 Jan 2021 06:54:44 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 50A279C654; Mon, 18 Jan 2021 06:54:13 +1000 (AEST) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id BE37F9C63F; Mon, 18 Jan 2021 06:54:08 +1000 (AEST) Received: from oclsc.com (oclsc.com [206.248.137.164]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 5ACA49C63D for ; Mon, 18 Jan 2021 06:54:07 +1000 (AEST) Received: by lignose.oclsc.org (Postfix, from userid 1000) id 739CB43F88; Sun, 17 Jan 2021 15:52:43 -0500 (EST) To: tuhs@tuhs.org Message-Id: <20210117205243.739CB43F88@lignose.oclsc.org> Date: Sun, 17 Jan 2021 15:52:43 -0500 (EST) From: norman@oclsc.org (Norman Wilson) Subject: [TUHS] EGREG 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" Andrew Hume (dammit andrew): i have probed recently about the origins of the bEGREGb (its all greg cession's fault) error in Research Unix. alas, i recall nothing about this, and can't recall ever getting the message. === Your memory fails you, which is not unreasonable for stuff you probably haven't thought about in more than 30 years: /* SCSI Pass-Thru driver for the TD Systems UD? -- Andrew Hume Ninth Edition Unix */ [...] scsiwrite(dev) dev_t dev; { register count; register struct scsi *p = &scsi[minor(dev)]; register struct mscmd *cmd = &p->junk->cmd.msg; unsigned char flag, bus_id; if(p->flag&NEXTWR) p->flag &= ~NEXTWR; else { u.u_error = EGREG; return; } As I remember it, EGREG went into errno.h and libc out of a desire to have some never-normally-used error to be returned when debugging. I forget just who was in the UNIX Room conversation that created it; almost certainly I was. I thought andrew was as well; very likely one or more of andrew td presotto. I do remember being a bit annoyed at Andrew for putting it in permanent use in the raw-SCSI driver (which was at the time of interest mainly to Andrew for controlling an early optical-disc jukebox, used by the original File Motel backup system). As to the origin of `It's all Greg's fault' as a meme, that was already around and established when I arrived at the Labs in mid-1984, though Greg himself had already moved west. Maybe Doug or Ken remembers how that started. Andrew himself was responsible for or blamed by more than one meme of the days. The scsi driver spawned one, in fact: the first attempt used a SCSI interface from Emulex, which never worked quite right, and despite repeated phone calls to Emulex Andrew could never get it figured out. He tried and tried, though, and his attempts spawned the catch phrase `Time to call Emulex again!' Norman Wilson Toronto ON