Xref: utzoo alt.folklore.computers:7917 comp.unix.internals:1421 comp.misc:10889 Path: utzoo!utgpu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!lll-winken!uunet!mcsun!ukc!icdoc!inmos!inmos-is!isodonovan From: isodonovan@brb.isnet.inmos.co.uk Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,comp.unix.internals,comp.misc Subject: Re: Multics bloat??? Are you sure??? Message-ID: <336.2766381a@brb.isnet.inmos.co.uk> Date: 12 Dec 90 14:00:57 GMT References: <1YbxGQ#2fbT353y6xKD8DT83C4bFDpV=eric@snark.thyrsus.com> <1990Nov30.172512.5282@sctc.com> <1Ydnzg#6fNyr23fxBD30ZbOTr9Txc6Z=eric@snark.thyrsus.com> <1990Dec9.194753.436@odi.com> Organization: Inmos Limited Lines: 52 Hi! In article <1990Dec9.194753.436@odi.com>, benson@odi.com (Benson I. Margulies) writes: > I'll regret this, but: maybe, but not on my account! I used a Multics system (running on a Honeywell DPS 870) for about 2 years when I worked at the Compuing Centre at University College Cardiff (Wales, UK). I only have a user's appreciation for it - I know nothing of the internal workings. All I can say is that I found it easy to use - very intuitive. Being able to access the abilities of the OS as commands or as subroutines was great. Simple things like hijacking the prompt routine at any time to make it do almost anything... Access control lists were easy, as were removing a file from a directory and replacing it with a pointer to somewhere else... Above all it was friendly and easy to understand. I had this idea that as time went on computer systems should get simpler to use, more friendly, easier to understand. Multics did all of those things like no other system I've worked with. It's been good to see some of these functions creeping into VMS (which I use most of the time) but it still does not have the same 'feeling' that Multics did. Unix, by contrast seems to be quite alien and hostile (MS-DOS ditto). All in all, I would have preferred a future of Multics+Algol68 to one of Unix+C! Cheers, Brian > > > -- > Benson I. Margulies -- o---------------o-------------------------------------------------------------o : # # # # : Brian O'Donovan - I.T., Inmos, Newport, Wales, UK, NP9 1YJ. : : # # # # # # : Tel : (+44 or 0)-633-810121-X383 o-----------------------: :# # # # # # # #: Fax : (+44 or 0)-633-810820 :(o)-(o) NISC: The NO : :# # # # # # # #: Telex: 497053 : | Instruction-Set: :# # # # # # # #: eMail: Isodonovan@Isnet.Inmos.Co.Uk : v Computer. : :# # # # # # # #:-------------------------------------o-----------------------: : # # # # # # : "When the chips are down we play our aces, : : # # # # : hiding them in our broken places." -- The Roches. : o---------------o-------------------------------------------------------------o