From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS, MAILING_LIST_MULTI,T_SCC_BODY_TEXT_LINE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (minnie.tuhs.org [IPv6:2600:3c01:e000:146::1]) by inbox.vuxu.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 91BE4242AF for ; Sat, 2 Mar 2024 23:14:39 +0100 (CET) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [IPv6:::1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 9A50F4327A; Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:14:33 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mercury.lcs.mit.edu (mercury.lcs.mit.edu [18.26.0.122]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 907F343275 for ; Sun, 3 Mar 2024 08:14:27 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Postfix, from userid 11178) id 6DE6818C083; Sat, 2 Mar 2024 17:14:26 -0500 (EST) To: tuhs@tuhs.org Message-Id: <20240302221426.6DE6818C083@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> Date: Sat, 2 Mar 2024 17:14:26 -0500 (EST) From: jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu (Noel Chiappa) Message-ID-Hash: NLAZMXBTMBPHL2FC5HCDPL73AR7TBCO5 X-Message-ID-Hash: NLAZMXBTMBPHL2FC5HCDPL73AR7TBCO5 X-MailFrom: jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu X-Mailman-Rule-Misses: dmarc-mitigation; no-senders; approved; emergency; loop; banned-address; member-moderation; nonmember-moderation; administrivia; implicit-dest; max-recipients; max-size; news-moderation; no-subject; digests; suspicious-header CC: jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu X-Mailman-Version: 3.3.6b1 Precedence: list Subject: [TUHS] Re: Of flags and keyletters List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Help: List-Owner: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: > 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