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=-1.0 required=5.0 tests=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 9F5C423F4B for ; Wed, 19 Jun 2024 08:56:17 +0200 (CEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [IPv6:::1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6D06B436B4; Wed, 19 Jun 2024 16:56:13 +1000 (AEST) Received: from freefriends.org (frenzy.freefriends.org [198.99.81.75]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 0E385436AC for ; Wed, 19 Jun 2024 16:56:09 +1000 (AEST) X-Envelope-From: arnold@skeeve.com Received: from freefriends.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by freefriends.org (8.16.1/8.16.1) with ESMTPS id 45J6tkAS902385 (version=TLSv1.3 cipher=TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 bits=256 verify=NOT); Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:55:46 -0600 Received: (from arnold@localhost) by freefriends.org (8.16.1/8.14.7/Submit) id 45J6tkVP902384; Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:55:46 -0600 From: arnold@skeeve.com Message-Id: <202406190655.45J6tkVP902384@freefriends.org> X-Authentication-Warning: frenzy.freefriends.org: arnold set sender to arnold@skeeve.com using -f Date: Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:55:46 -0600 To: tuhs@tuhs.org, dave@horsfall.org 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 Message-ID-Hash: LQVVCGFY7E5DEPI7AEL6APVIWWH6JBXE X-Message-ID-Hash: LQVVCGFY7E5DEPI7AEL6APVIWWH6JBXE X-MailFrom: arnold@skeeve.com 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 X-Mailman-Version: 3.3.6b1 Precedence: list Subject: [TUHS] Re: ACM Software System Award to Andrew S. Tanenbaum for MINIX List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Help: List-Owner: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: Dave Horsfall wrote: > On Tue, 18 Jun 2024, segaloco via TUHS wrote: > > [...] > > > The story I've gotten is AT&T policy was to release odd-numbered > > versions, so PWB 1.0, System III, and System V made it out into the > > world, PWB 2.0 and Release 4.0 stayed in the labs. In the most > > technical sense, System IV never existed, what could've become it > > remained a Bell System-only issue. > > Thanks; I'd forgotten about AT&T's "odd-only" policy. > > -- Dave In 1982 I did some contract C programming on Unix 4.0 on a PDP 11/70 at Southern Bell. At the time, C programmers were not so common. The "odd only" policy may be true, but it's not what I was told; I was told that the policy was to release externally one version behind what was being run internally. With the consent decree done and Divestiture in the works, AT&T was going to be allowed get into the computer business. So at some point, someone decided that for System V, the current system would be released externally. I doubt we'll ever know the exact truth. Interestingly, there was no printed reference manual for Unix 4.0; I was given a 3.0 manual. The documents for Unix were for 4.0, these were the equivalent of the Volume 2 doc in the research releases. It seems that the major changes in 4.0 were kernel improvements. Arnold