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From: kimcm@olamb.UUCP (Kim Chr. Madsen)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.wanted
Subject: Re: C shell for System V
Message-ID: <299@olamb.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 16-Jul-87 06:12:38 EDT
Article-I.D.: olamb.299
Posted: Thu Jul 16 06:12:38 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 18-Jul-87 11:31:42 EDT
References: <9904@duke.cs.duke.edu> <242@wrs.UUCP>
Organization: AmbraSoft A/S (Denmark)
Lines: 45
Summary: csh was before job-control

In article <242@wrs.UUCP>, dg@wrs.UUCP (David Goodenough) writes:
> Could be a problem - as far as I know only BSD UNIX supports job control
> which was one of the main reasons for the C shell. AT&T Unix variations
> simply don't have it. You'll still be able to get history working (for
> that matter I've added a history mechanism to the bourne shell - took
> about three evenings if I remember)
> 

Seems like you got the story all wrong...

The csh(1) was invented loooong before job control in the BSD systems,
job control was first introduced with 4.1BSD (as far as I remember), but
csh was around even in the days of v7 UNIX (and I suspect even in v6 - though
I'd never used that version).

The main reasons for the csh (or why many people considered csh superior to
the Bourne Shell (sh(1))) is that it had such nice features as:

	a) Command history (with execution of earlier commands)
	b) Editing utilities in earlier commands.
	c) A C-like syntax - which made it easier for some to make
	   shell scripts - instead of using the Algol-68 based /bin/sh.
	d) More build-in commands to speed up performance.
	e) The alias concept - for personalizing the interface to the
	   shell.

As for the availability of csh on SYSV machines:

	1) No csh(1) is not standard SYSV, an unconfirmed rumor says
	   that when AT&T bought the rights to BSD systems the csh was
	   considered a separate product which the folks behind Berkerly
	   was willing to sell at the same price as for the whole BSD system,
	   which AT&T refused...

	2) Some vendors supply their SYSV machines with Berkerly enhancements
	   such as the csh, strings, more, sockets etc.

	3) SCO Xenix V comes with a csh as well as other ucb utilities -
	   partly due to the bonds to v7 UNIX it still has.

	4) Some time ago a PD csh emulator (actually a bourne shell script)
	   was posted to the net it was called bsh. I don't have it but I
	   suspect it is still around on many pure SYSV machines.

					Kim Chr. Madsen.