Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!portal!cup.portal.com!doug-merritt
From: doug-merritt@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Why UNIX?
Message-ID: <5039@cup.portal.com>
Date: 2 May 88 21:31:15 GMT
References: <908@sandino.quintus.UUCP> <1902@sugar.UUCP>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 36
XPortal-User-Id: 1.1001.4407


Peter da Silva claims that the Version 6 Unix shell is superior to
the CLI and all of the various Amiga shells, and asks if we remember
it.

Yes, I remember it quite clearly (I learned C by making various
enhancements to it...arghhhh...), and I'd have to disagree. It supported
pipes, IO redirection, wildcarding via the external program "glob"
run as a separate process, and background processes. Not much else.
Not even a way to change the prompt. ("%" if anyone cares).

A friend (Ross Harvey) and I did a 100% reimplementation of it in a single
night of hacking around 1978 or so. There just wasn't much to it.

Peter, I'm pretty sure you're thinking of experimental versions of
Bill's C-shell, or possibly even an enhanced V6 shell as done by either
me, Ross Harvey, or Bob Toxen. If memory serves me correctly, you arrived
at Berkely just before v7 was introduced, right? (Heh, heh...bet you didn't
know some of us remember you from way back when! "The Shadow Knows".  I ran
into you at a Con once and was amused that you hadn't the slightest idea who
I was nor how I knew who you were. Hint: remember Ken Arnold? Yes, I thought
you would.)

Anyway, what feature of the v6 shell are you claiming was so wonderful?
Maybe I'm just forgetting something. *My* v6 shell was cool of course ;-)
it supported full interactive "open-mode" command line editing. Bill declined
to borrow those features for C shell because it would've had to run in raw
mode, with severe impact on the 11/70, already bogged down with up to 60 (!)
users. Ah well. [ See my article "Fear and Loathing on the Unix Trail '76"
in Jan 85 Unix Review for details. Commercial plug, oh no! ]

I agree with you in general about the desirability of Unix, of course.
At least for those of us who have gotten addicted to it.

      Doug Merritt        ucbvax!sun.com!cup.portal.com!doug-merritt
                      or  ucbvax!eris!doug (doug@eris.berkeley.edu)
                      or  ucbvax!unisoft!certes!doug