[TUHS] Re: Original print of V7 manual? / My own version of troff

[segaloco via TUHS <tuhs@tuhs.org>]

On Tuesday, January 9th, 2024 at 8:27 AM, Al Kossow <aek@bitsavers.org> wrote:


> Tracing the origins of the typefaces used on the GSI/Wang typesetter is a fun rathole
> going back to Singer Graphic Systems and to Singer-Friden (ie Flexowriter) before that
> 

On the subject of troff origins, in a world where troff didn't exist, and one purchases a C/A/T, what was the general approach to actually using the thing?  Was there some sort of datasheet the vendor supplied that the end user would have to program a driver around, or was there any sort of example code or other materials provided to give folks a leg up on using their new, expensive instrument?  Did they have any "packaged bundles" for users of prominent systems such as 360/370 OSs or say one of the DEC OSs?

Similarly, were any vendor-or-locally-provided solutions used prior to the maturation of troff to the point it was used for the Fourth Edition manual typesetting?  Or was the C/A/T from day one of "production" use being driven pretty much exclusively by troff?  I admit my knowledge of this stuff is fuzzy, such as whether troff+C/A/T was the plan from the outset of acquiring the C/A/T or if there was ever a time where folks at research may have been cooking on a different approach to using the thing.

- Matt G.