[TUHS] Re: pseudo tty history

[Bakul Shah via TUHS <tuhs@tuhs.org>]

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From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoterminal

Pseudoterminals were present in the DEC <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Equipment_Corporation> PDP-6 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDP-6> Timesharing Monitor at least as early as 1967, and were used to implement batch processing. They are described in the documentation for the succeeding TOPS-10 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOPS-10> on the PDP-10 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDP-10>.[6] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoterminal#cite_note-6> Other DEC operating systems also had PTYs, including RSTS/E <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSTS/E> for the PDP-11 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDP-11>, as did the third-party TENEX <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TENEX_(operating_system)> operating system for the PDP-10.

Implementations of Unix pseudo terminals date back to the modifications that RAND and BBN made to a 6th Edition in the late 1970s to support remote access over a network.[7] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoterminal#cite_note-7> Modern Unix pseudoterminals originated in 1983 during the development of Eighth Edition Unix <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Version_8_Unix> and were based on a similar feature in TENEX.[8] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoterminal#cite_note-8> They were part of the 4.3BSD-Reno <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4.3BSD-Reno>, with a rather cumbersome openpty() interface defined for use.[9] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoterminal#cite_note-9>

[In absence of a more authoritative source]

> On Aug 15, 2025, at 3:28 PM, ron minnich <rminnich@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> so the question of pseudo tty came up today. 
> 
> My memory is that it started with TOPS-10, though I doubt I know enough. Vague memory says there was a PTY: device.
> 
> Further, I believe pty came in from UCB ca 1977 or so? 
> 
> I'm wondering if people who were Present at the Creation can fill in the gaps.
> 
> Thanks


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