[TUHS] 101 fixes for unix V6?

[will.senn@gmail.com (Will Senn)]

On 11/22/15 1:32 PM, Warren Toomey wrote:
> Hi all, I just receivd this e-mail from Will Senn who has just joined
> the TUHS mailing list:
>
> ----- Forwarded message from Will Senn -----
> Hi,
> I am conducting research on older UNIX operating systems and came
> across a letter from Richard Wolf to Ian Johnstone, dated Feb 5, 1979.
> On p. 29 of the AUUGN, Volume 1 number 3, Mr. Wolf refers to a set of
> 101 fixes for research version 6. In my research, I am currently using
> v6 and wondered if you knew where I might find the fixes or if the
> bits are known to exist?
>
> Kind Regards,
> Will
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>
> Will, there was a "50 bugs" tape for 6th Edition Unix that was "released"
> to Unix owners in a very interesting distribution method: see
> http://www.groklaw.net/articlebasic.php?story=20060616172103795
>
> You can find it in the Unix Archive. Look in Applications/Spencer_Tapes/unsw3.tar.gz. It is the file usr/sys/v6unix/unix_changes.
>
> Does anybody know of something which could be described as "101 fixes for
> research version 6"? The phototypesetter version of Unix was V7.
>
> Cheers all and welcome to the list Will.
>
> 	Warren
> _______________________________________________
>
Warren,

In looking at the Spencer tape, I can see how this might be considered 
the 101 fixes (Wolff's comment that he had only "heard about" the 
changes, might indicate a quantity mismatch). The 52 fixes in 
usr/sys/v6unix/unix_changes represent "the differences between level 6 
unix and bell unix". On top of those changes, there are 31 additional 
fixes called "CORRECTIONS to level 6 code" and a whopping 57 "programs 
written specifically for or heavily modified for, AUSAM" which I suppose 
are what are referred to as "ENHANCEMENTS to level 6 UNIX". The tape 
contains "The Second Australian Sixth Edition" and has #ifdef's to 
determine if the system is an AUSAM system. The 52 v6 fixes are 
straightforward to see because the tape has the original source in one 
directory tree and the changes in another. Whereas the other 
enhancements and fixes are a bit more challenging because they are 
related to AUSAM's mods.

Thanks for the warm welcome, the direction, and for posting my question.

One more question, how did you zero in on 
Applications/Spencer_Tapes/unsw3.tar.gz as containing the fixes, the 
notes in the archive, from Spencer, are pretty bare:

    unsw3.tar is yet another anthology, this one Australian. I can't find a
    README file, but some quick experimental grepping doesn't find any dates
    later than 1977, so this one may be really early.

Regards,

Will


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