[Info-vax] OT: Elephants Can't Dance

[Bill Gunshannon]

In article <6ed5f540-cad5-43cf-a9e3-1dde85c7590e at p20g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>,
	DaveG <david.gudewicz at abbott.com> writes:
> On Mar 23, 7:58 am, billg... at cs.uofs.edu (Bill Gunshannon) wrote:
>> In article <49c6e55f$0$90276$14726... at news.sunsite.dk>,
>>         Arne Vajhøj <a... at vajhoej.dk> writes:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> > Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>> >> In article <49b71a37$0$90263$14726... at news.sunsite.dk>,
>> >>        Arne Vajhøj <a... at vajhoej.dk> writes:
>> >>> Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>> >>>> In article <49b5d07b$0$90267$14726... at news.sunsite.dk>,
>> >>>>        Arne Vajhøj <a... at vajhoej.dk> writes:
>> >>>>>                                     - there are plenty
>> >>>>> of open source operating systems out there,    
>> >>>> Name one serious OS that is open source that is not just another flavor
>> >>>> of Unix.
>> >>> I can not think of any.
>>
>> >> So then, there really aren't "plenty of open source operating systems
>> >> out there", are there.  Just one really.
>>
>> > No.
>>
>> > Unix and Unix-like operating systems is not one operating system.
>>
>> For all intents and purposes, yes, they are.  All of them but two trace
>> their origins back to real Unix (but not being willing to pony up the
>> money for certification can not claim that name)  the other two had as
>> one of their primary driving elements to be as close to Unix as possible
>> without invoking the wrath of AT&T.  Any major differences in functionality
>> can be traced to accident or the implementors lack of ability.
>>
>>
>>
>> >>> But what so. Unix roots does not seem to scare away users.
>>
>> >> Why should it?  Contrary to the warped vision of the IT industry found
>> >> here, there really is nothing wrong with Unix.  It has survived and moved
>> >> forward quite nicely over the last 3 decades while many of its competitors
>> >> fell by the wayside.
>>
>> > Surprisingly - yes.
>>
>> Why "Surprisingly"?  Or are you one of those people who think there was no
>> design in Unix and it was just something a couple of hackers thrrew together
>> in a back room?  People (especially here) seem to forget that Unix had real
>> users from the very beginning.  Ritchie & Co. had to share the original
>> PDP-11 they developed Unix on with people doing real work while they were
>> doing that development.
>>
>> bill
>>
>> --
>> Bill Gunshannon          |  de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n.  Three wolves
>> billg... at cs.scranton.edu |  and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
>> University of Scranton   |
>> Scranton, Pennsylvania   |         #include <std.disclaimer.h>  - Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
> I've read that K&R (mostly R) threw together what were the origins of
> UNIX as a lab experiment used as a game loader at first.  Many other
> things happened later, but its roots are, to say the least,
> interesting.
> I don 't know how much fact there is in the above, I wasn't there when
> it was happening.  I suspect no one else here was either.  Nor am I
> suggesting the mine's bigger than your's OS battles, that seem endless
> here and elsewhere.

Try: http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/hist.html

While there was a game involved, it was not the primary driving force
behind Unix.  There were a lot of very bright people and a lot of real
research involved.  And, as stated, one of the primary driving forces
was the, obvious to them, impending failure of Multics to deliver on
its promises of a decent Time-Sharing System.

bill

-- 
Bill Gunshannon          |  de-moc-ra-cy (di mok' ra see) n.  Three wolves
billg999 at cs.scranton.edu |  and a sheep voting on what's for dinner.
University of Scranton   |
Scranton, Pennsylvania   |         #include <std.disclaimer.h>