From: jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Noel Chiappa)
To: tuhs@tuhs.org
Cc: jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu
Subject: [TUHS] Re: Of flags and keyletters
Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2024 17:14:26 -0500 (EST) [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20240302221426.6DE6818C083@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> (raw)
> From: Bakul Shah
> Use of "flag" for this purpose seems strange. "option" makes more sense.
People on this list seem to forget that there were computers before UNIX.
The _syntax_ of "-f" probably predates any UNIX; Multics used it extensively.
See the "Introduction to Multics", MAC-TR-123, January 1974 (a little after
UNIX V1, but I expect I could probably track it back further in time, if I
cared to put in the effort); pg. 3-24.
Interestingly, I looked though the CTSS manual, and CTSS did not seem to use
this syntax for flag arguments: see, e.g., the SAVE command (section AH.3.03).
The _name_ "flag" came in early on UNIX. (Multics called them "arguments";
see above, pg. 3-27, top line.) We can see this happen - see:
http://squoze.net/UNIX/v1man/man1/du
which calls the "-a" and "-s" "arguments"; but in:
http://squoze.net/UNIX/v1man/man1/ld
"-s", "-u", etc are called "flag arguments".
Long enough ago that certainty about the etymology/rationale is probably now
lost.
Noel
next reply other threads:[~2024-03-02 22:14 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 16+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2024-03-02 22:14 Noel Chiappa [this message]
2024-03-03 17:38 ` Aaron
2024-03-03 17:52 ` Larry McVoy
2024-03-03 19:28 ` Aaron
2024-03-03 18:44 ` [TUHS] Re: getopt Phil Budne
2024-03-03 21:24 ` [TUHS] Re: Of flags and keyletters Rich Salz
-- strict thread matches above, loose matches on Subject: below --
2024-03-01 15:49 [TUHS] " Douglas McIlroy
2024-03-01 16:23 ` [TUHS] " Steve Nickolas
2024-03-01 19:44 ` Paul Winalski
2024-03-01 16:56 ` Bakul Shah via TUHS
2024-03-02 0:33 ` silas poulson via TUHS
2024-03-02 18:53 ` Lars Brinkhoff
2024-03-02 18:24 ` Paul Winalski
2024-03-02 18:35 ` Warner Losh
2024-02-29 17:21 [TUHS] " Dave Horsfall
2024-02-29 17:59 ` [TUHS] " segaloco via TUHS
2024-03-01 5:30 ` Dave Horsfall
2024-03-01 5:44 ` G. Branden Robinson
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