[TUHS] Unix Circuit Design System

[wkt@tuhs.org (Warren Toomey)]

Ah, it's in the archive at http://www.tuhs.org/Archive/Applications/Circuit_Design/

Cheers, Warren

On 1 January 2016 8:52:34 am AEST, Clem Cole <clemc at ccc.com> wrote:
>Funny you should ask....
>
>I had the last known virgin copy of that UCDS a few years ago, which we
>managed to save.  Dennis declared it part of V7 (just a little late
>being
>distributed), which we promptly sent to Warren, who has the source in
>his
>archives.    Note it uses a tektronix 40xx terminal as the native
>screen.
>It's been years since I used it, but I may be able to answer a few
>questions.  I suspect the biggest issue with trying to use with xterm
>emulation is that lack of the two wheels that the tek terminals had.
>
>Good luck,
>Clem
>
>On Thu, Dec 31, 2015 at 1:20 PM, Michele Ghisolfo
><ghisolfo.m at gmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>> Hello all!
>>
>> While I was reading the article "A Research UNIX Reader:  Annotated
>> Excerpts
>> from the Programmer's Manual" from Douglas McIlroy, I learnt of a set
>of
>> utilities for designing electronic circuits.  Here is a brief quote
>of this
>> article:
>>
>> "CDL (v7 pages 60-63)
>>
>> Although most users do not encounter the UNIX Circuit Design System,
>it
>> has long
>> stood as an important application in the lab.  Originated by Sandy
>Fraser
>> and
>> extended by Steve Bourne, Joe Condon, and Andrew Hume, UCDS handles
>> circuits
>> expressed in a common design language, cdl.  It includes programs to
>create
>> descriptions using interactive graphics, to lay out boards
>automatically,
>> to
>> check circuits for consistency, to guide wire-wrap machines, to
>specify
>> combinational circuits and optimize them for programmed logic arrays
>> (Chesson
>> and Thompson).  Without UCDS, significant inventions like Datakit,
>the
>> 5620 Blit
>> terminal, or the Belle chess machine would never have been built. 
>UCDS
>> appeared
>> in only one manual, v7."
>>
>>
>> I looked it up on the 7th Edition's Manual and I haven't found
>references
>> of
>> this system.  I also searched a v7 system image downloaded from TUHS
>and
>> got no
>> results.  However I got some references of this system in USENET
>> archives.  In
>> particular, two hierarchies, net.draw and after net.ucds were
>dedicated to
>> it.
>> Apparently two of the binaries of the system were called "draw" and
>> "wrap".  I
>> also found a manual of a similar system which I suppose is the UCDS
>> descendant
>> in the 1st Edition of Plan 9.  This is the link of the document:
>>
>> http://doc.cat-v.org/plan_9/1st_edition/cda/
>>
>> However that edition of Plan 9 is not publicly released and I could
>not
>> find
>> it in following editions.  But since v7 Unix is available, I hope it
>may
>> be possible to get hold of an older release at least.
>>
>> Does anyone have any information?
>>
>> Thank you in advance!
>>
>>     --- Michele
>>

-- 
Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
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