[Info-vax] CLI editing, was: Re: VMS - Virtual Terminals - A security risk way back yonder OR was that an Old Wives Tale ?

[lists at openmailbox.org]

On 14 Feb 2016 12:07:25 -0500
Scott Dorsey via Info-vax <info-vax at rbnsn.com> wrote:

> Stephen Hoffman  <seaohveh at hoffmanlabs.invalid> wrote:
> >On 2016-02-14 06:08:45 +0000, lists at openmailbox.org said:
> >
> >> There is a definition for what UNIX is and just because an OS supports 
> >> POSIX or is similar to UNIX doesn't make it UNIX.
> >
> >Apropos of standards and specifications, might want to look up OpenVMS 
> >and DII COE support with the V7.2-6C1 and V7.2-6C2 releases, and 
> >subsequent releases.
> 
> Two additional definitions:
> 
> 1. If it contains AT&T Unix source code, it is Unix, otherwise it is not.
> 
> 2. If it has every command and system call that v7 had, it is Unix,
> otherwise it is not.

Yeah this is part what I meant by "there is a definition." I agree with
what you wrote. But "contains" could be a little iffy. What if Linux did
ripoff some of the UNIX code? From some of the legal exhibits it looks to
me like they did at some point. Structs with the same names, values, etc.
Too coincidental. But Linux is still not UNIX.

Of course there is also certified UNIX or whatever they call that, but if
you're saying it's silly and wrong that several versions of BSD UNIX
shouldn't be considered real UNIX because they're not certified then yeah,
I agree with that too.

I know Johnny loves to argue so here's an example of UNIX with a statically
linked shell. Read it and weep, babe.

user at work:/tmp$ file $SHELL
/bin/ksh: ELF 64-bit LSB executable, MIPS, MIPS-III version 1, for OpenBSD,
statically linked, stripped

See also: http://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq10.html#rootshell

OpenBSD is not alone:  http://www.in-ulm.de/~mascheck/various/shells/ and
search for "statically linked".

There are indeed UNIX implementations with statically-linked shells. Run
one today!

Furthermore, I didn't say the shell had to be statically linked. What I
said was there could be a problem if you have to run in single-user mode
and the shell is either not in the root filesystem or is not
statically-linked and needs a shared library not in the root filesystem.