From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.2 (2018-09-13) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.6 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_SIGNED,DKIM_VALID, DKIM_VALID_AU,FREEMAIL_FORGED_FROMDOMAIN,FREEMAIL_FROM, HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS,HTML_MESSAGE,MAILING_LIST_MULTI, RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.2 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (minnie.tuhs.org [45.79.103.53]) by inbox.vuxu.org (OpenSMTPD) with ESMTP id 7a0832ae for ; Thu, 27 Sep 2018 20:16:20 +0000 (UTC) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id C7890A1A79; Fri, 28 Sep 2018 06:16:19 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 10AC8A1A6E; Fri, 28 Sep 2018 06:15:44 +1000 (AEST) Authentication-Results: minnie.tuhs.org; dkim=pass (2048-bit key; unprotected) header.d=gmail.com header.i=@gmail.com header.b=juXmShO6; dkim-atps=neutral Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id 27B8EA1A6E; Fri, 28 Sep 2018 06:15:43 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mail-qt1-f181.google.com (mail-qt1-f181.google.com [209.85.160.181]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 87EF5A1A6D for ; Fri, 28 Sep 2018 06:15:42 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mail-qt1-f181.google.com with SMTP id m15-v6so4217552qtp.8 for ; Thu, 27 Sep 2018 13:15:42 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20161025; h=mime-version:references:in-reply-to:from:date:message-id:subject:to :cc; bh=5pYBIgGlTspbvhY9YQ2Fx9FpGLXW3OVeaV7vBl6kgEE=; b=juXmShO6i91KDEwhNN1donX/rqWaUcKz9RXiwH/YJ/MLLnBnX/t6T2ZR2mosuoNyXt zj4mIVgfbEteQt98sIDE49cg88SAfI8CpyzwjwSiRoYdEBqaxZLSUw1YXH9ls+PghyWk cq1Je2rHlvI1en7Pr1s2lwwkR332r9U96KhR0FhIOZjsMk8v1t1Lm/RmEJD00k9hb6oT BFKfnQk7dwqR/3oo3cpkT8Djf7OlKDQv7NxSinbKTXWeFpI49+O2y9hELsqJICkeoUYv ynEbueQtf2eWBh1X/2WYy472ZvNMU7i91eXNXk205X/taUPFbN3o8i9zEzaE+6m41hW8 YOFA== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20161025; h=x-gm-message-state:mime-version:references:in-reply-to:from:date :message-id:subject:to:cc; bh=5pYBIgGlTspbvhY9YQ2Fx9FpGLXW3OVeaV7vBl6kgEE=; b=dadiG390IHMDfE/q0jI4vNkQzccA7iLh8gXubeJqnMhgq+zfj3uOIk7oQ0JEkFYVMF u/o3ztq9MDu5KDn50ExCr2UncLlWFfS67EYi7dg3ZSuj6oGsE5TU7am2Va5GaXKVvC4b uQ+mm10XUCllmDCqY03RdpwV/9pJUZK3GDPwFowb+cCAa9jGGIGC8Q/XjuuMPERsKBQe DPdBnOaYzvc4V6+IptzbMoj3jfUgW635MPsJJ6dL9nRC1PBorYGnn39rgPy6IK4v/GAr DviYvSZPWPTJq0U90VWo9QSuTDzMbrLJA/hjBHtTA6CZdYm+S6Z5bNMqwAS9GY5oafXq x31Q== X-Gm-Message-State: ABuFfoh2Ui08qOCBNgK0h0jgXqhHAnyXyQd7ZjG3fSG98csTV6v5PWoG JBVeMrM51OD8tTAol+tz5U5rXSAs6wI7rHRi2/BmQQ== X-Google-Smtp-Source: ACcGV63gZKt5AQXGQU9UwK8U8M8SJFZ4VSeL1+ERBRf5EjwR1SewkcJNrUd1UZJ511F2CPbYk5JaW5Ay+L77dbWudlc= X-Received: by 2002:aed:2337:: with SMTP id h52-v6mr10211928qtc.316.1538079341663; Thu, 27 Sep 2018 13:15:41 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: <20180927153353.F354118C08E@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> In-Reply-To: <20180927153353.F354118C08E@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> From: Dan Cross Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2018 16:15:05 -0400 Message-ID: To: Noel Chiappa Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="000000000000cbd97e0576e00011" Subject: Re: [TUHS] The origin of /home X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.20 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Cc: TUHS main list Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" --000000000000cbd97e0576e00011 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" On Thu, Sep 27, 2018 at 11:34 AM Noel Chiappa wrote: > > From: Dan Cross > > > particular in sites with lots of users like universities and > > production-focused corporate groups > > The existence of /usr, /usr/bin, /etc, /lib, etc dates back to the Research > group at Bell, so I don't think we can look to these other environments > for an > explanation. > Sorry, I was (very) unclear in this point. I was referring to two separate things: 1) Why things were spread out across multiple filesystems (space and/or performance considerations dating from the Bell Labs days), and 2) The notion that rigid structures built in at a very low level would naturally give rise to local naming conventions as "large" sites grew beyond the limitations built into the system. E.g., /udd/u1 etc vs /home vs /usr/users vs /net/somehostname vs /var/users vs whatever. As a concrete example is the use of name-dependent hierarchical home directory paths like "/home/c/r/cross" because one tried to put too many directories into /home (I have actually seen the UFS directory entry limit hit in /home on a machine that had >32k users). Anyway, eventually through whatever accident of history "/home" seems to have won as a de facto standard. > "Hmm. Well, we've got space in /usr: create /usr/bin > > I seem to recall reading (don't recall where, OTTOMY) an explanation for > the > creation of /usr/bin, and I think it was performance related; IIRC the > issue > was that they wanted to keep the directory size down (both for disk block > caching, and search time, reasons). Or maybe that was later on, and it was > originally created for 'user-maintained' ancillary programs (another vague > memory)? > I think the latter might be a justification-after-the-fact: /usr as the filesystem containing stuff of interest to the users. > The more intriguing possibility from the antiquarian point of view is > > whether someone coined "/home" and then THAT led to the rise of the > "home > > directory" nomenclature. > > My memory is that the term "home directory" predates /home - perhaps on > other > OS's such as TOPS-20, but I don't have time to research that. (I did look > quickly in the Multics docs, and it has 'working directory', i.e. current > dir > - but it refers to the home dir as 'original WD', i.e. the WD at the time > of > login.) > If I recall correctly, the mappings from "users" on TOPS-20 to directories is an injection, but I don't think they used the "home directory" nomenclature. Certainly the analogy with one's directory as home is clear enough. - Dan C. --000000000000cbd97e0576e00011 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
On Thu, Sep 27= , 2018 at 11:34 AM Noel Chiappa <jnc@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> wrote:
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 > From: Dan Cross

=C2=A0 =C2=A0 > particular in sites with lots of users like universities= and
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 > production-focused corporate groups

The existence of /usr, /usr/bin, /etc, /lib, etc dates back to the Research=
group at Bell, so I don't think we can look to these other environments= for an
explanation.

Sorry, I was (very) unclea= r in this point. I was referring to two separate things:

1) Why things were spread out across multiple filesystems (space and= /or performance considerations dating from the Bell Labs days), and
2) The notion that rigid structures built in at a very low level would n= aturally give rise to local naming conventions as "large" sites g= rew beyond the limitations built into the system. E.g., /udd/u1 etc vs /hom= e vs /usr/users vs /net/somehostname vs /var/users vs whatever. As a concre= te example is the use of name-dependent hierarchical home directory paths l= ike "/home/c/r/cross" because one tried to put too many directori= es into /home (I have actually seen the UFS directory entry limit hit in /h= ome on a machine that had >32k users). Anyway, eventually through whatev= er accident of history "/home" seems to have won as a de facto st= andard.

=C2=A0 =C2=A0 > "Hmm. Well, we've got space in /usr: create /us= r/bin

I seem to recall reading (don't recall where, OTTOMY) an explanation fo= r the
creation of /usr/bin, and I think it was performance related; IIRC the issu= e
was that they wanted to keep the directory size down (both for disk block caching, and search time, reasons). Or maybe that was later on, and it was<= br> originally created for 'user-maintained' ancillary programs (anothe= r vague
memory)?

I think the latter might be a = justification-after-the-fact: /usr as the filesystem containing stuff of in= terest to the users.

=C2= =A0 =C2=A0 > The more intriguing possibility from the antiquarian point = of view is
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 > whether someone coined "/home" and then THAT l= ed to the rise of the "home
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 > directory" nomenclature.

My memory is that the term "home directory" predates /home - perh= aps on other
OS's such as TOPS-20, but I don't have time to research that. (I di= d look
quickly in the Multics docs, and it has 'working directory', i.e. c= urrent dir
- but it refers to the home dir as 'original WD', i.e. the WD at th= e time of
login.)

If I recall correctly, the mapp= ings from "users" on TOPS-20 to directories is an injection, but = I don't think they used the "home directory" nomenclature.

Certainly the analogy with one's directory as ho= me is clear enough.

=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2= =A0 - Dan C.

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