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, HTML_MESSAGE,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 [50.116.15.146]) by inbox.vuxu.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 8BC7429DC8 for ; Mon, 3 Jun 2024 18:52:59 +0200 (CEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [IPv6:::1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 43AAA427E6; Tue, 4 Jun 2024 02:52:55 +1000 (AEST) Received: from zimbra.anteil.com (mail.anteil.com [198.22.99.76]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 26A774000D for ; Tue, 4 Jun 2024 02:52:50 +1000 (AEST) Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by zimbra.anteil.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id D56AB10070; Mon, 3 Jun 2024 12:52:49 -0400 (EDT) Received: from zimbra.anteil.com ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (zimbra.anteil.com [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with ESMTP id Vp8Bj+9UqJxH; Mon, 3 Jun 2024 12:52:49 -0400 (EDT) Received: from zimbra.anteil.com (zimbra.anteil.com [192.168.1.22]) by zimbra.anteil.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 193311004D; Mon, 3 Jun 2024 12:52:49 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2024 12:52:49 -0400 (EDT) From: Jim Capp To: Will Senn Message-ID: <4305347.562.1717433569021.JavaMail.root@zimbraanteil> In-Reply-To: <7801272.555.1717433279940.JavaMail.root@zimbraanteil> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_Part_561_7069706.1717433569020" X-Originating-IP: [192.168.230.43] X-Mailer: Zimbra 6.0.7_GA_2476.RHEL4 (ZimbraWebClient - SAF3 (Linux)/6.0.7_GA_2473.UBUNTU8) Message-ID-Hash: RFWDR4XN7MLFRBLRZDZDL2QMNIIR7TMV X-Message-ID-Hash: RFWDR4XN7MLFRBLRZDZDL2QMNIIR7TMV X-MailFrom: jcapp@anteil.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 CC: TUHS X-Mailman-Version: 3.3.6b1 Precedence: list Subject: [TUHS] Re: Old documentation - still the best List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Help: List-Owner: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: ------=_Part_561_7069706.1717433569020 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Sorry folks, please ignore that one! From: "Jim Capp" To: "Will Senn" Cc: "TUHS" Sent: Monday, June 3, 2024 12:47:59 PM Subject: Re: [TUHS] Old documentation - still the best Does it happen to Nicole's, or anyone else's extension or just yours? From: "Will Senn" To: "TUHS" Sent: Saturday, June 1, 2024 9:59:42 PM Subject: [TUHS] Old documentation - still the best A small reflection on the marvels of ancient writing... Today, I went to the local Unix user group to see what that was like. I was pleasantly surprised to find it quite rewarding. Learned some new stuff... and won the door prize, a copy of a book entitled "Introducing the UNIX System" by Henry McGilton and Rachel Morgan. I accepted the prize, but said I'd just read it and recycle it for some other deserving unix-phile. As it turns out, I'm not giving it back, I'll contribute another Unix book. I thought it was just some intro unix text and figured I might learn a thing or two and let someone else who needs it more have it after I read it, but it's a V7 book! I haven't seem many of those around and so, I started digging into it and do I ever wish I'd had it when I was first trying to figure stuff out! Great book, never heard of it, or its authors, but hey, I've only read a few thousand tech books. What was really fun, was where I went from there - the authors mentioned some bit about permuted indexes and the programmer's manual... So, I went and grabbed my copy off the shelf and lo and behold, my copy either doesn't have a permuted index or I'm not finding it, I was crushed. But, while I was digging around the manual, I came across Section 9 - Quick UNIX Reference! Are you kidding me?!! How many years has it taken me to gain what knowledge I have? and here, in 20 pages is the most concise reference manual I've ever seen. Just the SH, TROFF and NROFF sections are worth the effort of digging up this 40 year old text. Anyhow, following on the heels of a recent dive into v7 and Ritchie's setting up unix v7 documentation, I was yet again reminded of the golden age of well written technical documents. Oh and I guess my recent perusal of more modern "heavy weight" texts (heavy by weight, not content, and many hundreds of pages long) might have made me more appreciative of concision - I long for the days of 300 page and shorter technical books :). In case you think I overstate - just got through a pair of TCL/TK books together clocking in at 1565 pages. Thank you Henry McGilton, Rachel Morgan, and Dennis Ritchie and Steve Bourne and other folks of the '70s and '80s for keeping it concise. As a late to the party unix enthusiast, I greatly value your work and am really thankful you didn't write like they do now... Later, Will ------=_Part_561_7069706.1717433569020 Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Sorry folks, please ignore that one!

From: "Jim Capp" <jcapp@anteil.com>
To: "Will Senn" <will.senn@gmail.com>
Cc: "TUHS" <tuhs@tuhs.org>
Sent: Monday, June 3, 2024 12:47:59 PM
Subject: Re: [TUHS] Old documentation - still the best

Does it happen to Nicole's, or anyone else's extension or just yours?

From: "Will Senn" <will.senn@gmail.com>
To: "TUHS" <tuhs@tuhs.org>
Sent: Saturday, June 1, 2024 9:59:42 PM
Subject: [TUHS] Old documentation - still the best

A small reflection on the marvels of ancient writing...

Today, I went to the local Unix user group to see what that was like. I was pleasantly surprised to find it quite rewarding. Learned some new stuff... and won the door prize, a copy of a book entitled "Introducing the UNIX System" by Henry McGilton and Rachel Morgan. I accepted the prize, but said I'd just read it and recycle it for some other deserving unix-phile. As it turns out, I'm not giving it back, I'll contribute another Unix book. I thought it was just some intro unix text and figured I might learn a thing or two and let someone else who needs it more have it after I read it, but it's a V7 book! I haven't seem many of those around and so, I started digging into it and do I ever wish I'd had it when I was first trying to figure stuff out! Great book, never heard of it, or its authors, but hey, I've only read a few thousand tech books.

What was really fun, was where I went from there - the authors mentioned some bit about permuted indexes and the programmer's manual... So, I went and grabbed my copy off the shelf and lo and behold, my copy either doesn't have a permuted index or I'm not finding it, I was crushed. But, while I was digging around the manual, I came across Section 9 - Quick UNIX Reference! Are you kidding me?!! How many years has it taken me to gain what knowledge I have? and here, in 20 pages is the most concise reference manual I've ever seen.

Just the SH, TROFF and NROFF sections are worth the effort of digging up this 40 year old text.

Anyhow, following on the heels of a recent dive into v7 and Ritchie's setting up unix v7 documentation, I was yet again reminded of the golden age of well written technical documents. Oh and I guess my recent perusal of more modern "heavy weight" texts (heavy by weight, not content, and many hundreds of pages long) might have made me more appreciative of concision - I long for the days of 300 page and shorter technical books :). In case you think I overstate - just got through a pair of TCL/TK books together clocking in at 1565 pages.

Thank you Henry McGilton, Rachel Morgan, and Dennis Ritchie and Steve Bourne and other folks of the '70s and '80s for keeping it concise. As a late to the party unix enthusiast, I greatly value your work and am really thankful you didn't write like they do now...

Later,

Will
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