Ancient UNIX Systems
Encyclopedia
Ancient UNIX is a term coined by Santa Cruz Operation, to describe early releases of the Unix
code base released prior to Unix System III, particularly the Research Unix
releases prior to and including Version 7 (the base for UNIX/32V
as well as later developments of AT&T Unix).
After the publication of the Lions' book
, work was undertaken to release the earlier versions of the codebase. SCO first released the code under a limited educational license.
Later, in January 2002, Caldera International (now SCO Group
) relicensed (but has not made available) several versions under the four-clause BSD license, namely:
So far there has been no widespread use of the code, but it can be used on emulator systems, and Version 5 Unix has been made to run on the Nintendo
Game Boy Advance
using the SIMH
PDP-11
emulator
.
As an example of how relicensing the old Unix code bases has affected the modern computing community, the BSD vi
text editor
was based on code from the ed line editor in those early Unixes. Therefore, "traditional" vi could not be distributed freely, and various work-alikes (such as nvi
) were created. Now that this code is no longer encumbered, the "traditional" vi has been adapted for modern Unix-like
operating systems.
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
code base released prior to Unix System III, particularly the Research Unix
Research Unix
Research Unix is a term used to refer to versions of the Unix operating system for DEC PDP-7, PDP-11, VAX and Interdata 7/32 and 8/32 computers, developed in the Bell Labs Computing Science Research Center ....
releases prior to and including Version 7 (the base for UNIX/32V
UNIX/32V
UNIX/32V was an early version of the Unix operating system from Bell Laboratories, released in June 1979. 32V was a direct port of the PDP-11 Seventh Edition Unix to the DEC VAX architecture....
as well as later developments of AT&T Unix).
After the publication of the Lions' book
Lions' Commentary on UNIX 6th Edition, with Source Code
Lions' Commentary on UNIX 6th Edition, with Source Code by John Lions contains the complete source code of the 6th Edition Unix kernel plus a commentary. It is commonly referred to as the Lions book...
, work was undertaken to release the earlier versions of the codebase. SCO first released the code under a limited educational license.
Later, in January 2002, Caldera International (now SCO Group
SCO Group
TSG Group, Inc. is a software company formerly called The SCO Group, Caldera Systems, and Caldera International. After acquiring the Santa Cruz Operation's Server Software and Services divisions, as well as UnixWare and OpenServer technologies, the company changed its focus to UNIX...
) relicensed (but has not made available) several versions under the four-clause BSD license, namely:
- UNIX/32VUNIX/32VUNIX/32V was an early version of the Unix operating system from Bell Laboratories, released in June 1979. 32V was a direct port of the PDP-11 Seventh Edition Unix to the DEC VAX architecture....
- Research UnixResearch UnixResearch Unix is a term used to refer to versions of the Unix operating system for DEC PDP-7, PDP-11, VAX and Interdata 7/32 and 8/32 computers, developed in the Bell Labs Computing Science Research Center ....
: (early versions only)- Version 1 Unix
- Version 2 Unix
- Version 3 Unix
- Version 4 Unix
- Version 5 Unix
- Version 6 UnixVersion 6 UnixSixth Edition Unix, also called Version 6 Unix or just V6, was the first version of the Unix operating system to see wide release outside Bell Labs. It was released in May 1975 and, like its direct predecessor, targeted the DEC PDP-11 family of minicomputers...
- Version 7 UnixVersion 7 UnixSeventh Edition Unix, also called Version 7 Unix, Version 7 or just V7, was an important early release of the Unix operating system. V7, released in 1979, was the last Bell Laboratories release to see widespread distribution before the commercialization of Unix by AT&T in the early 1980s...
So far there has been no widespread use of the code, but it can be used on emulator systems, and Version 5 Unix has been made to run on the Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
using the SIMH
SIMH
SIMH is a highly portable, multi-system emulator which runs on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, OpenVMS, and other operating systems...
PDP-11
PDP-11
The PDP-11 was a series of 16-bit minicomputers sold by Digital Equipment Corporation from 1970 into the 1990s, one of a succession of products in the PDP series. The PDP-11 replaced the PDP-8 in many real-time applications, although both product lines lived in parallel for more than 10 years...
emulator
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
.
As an example of how relicensing the old Unix code bases has affected the modern computing community, the BSD vi
Vi
vi is a screen-oriented text editor originally created for the Unix operating system. The portable subset of the behavior of vi and programs based on it, and the ex editor language supported within these programs, is described by the Single Unix Specification and POSIX.The original code for vi...
text editor
Text editor
A text editor is a type of program used for editing plain text files.Text editors are often provided with operating systems or software development packages, and can be used to change configuration files and programming language source code....
was based on code from the ed line editor in those early Unixes. Therefore, "traditional" vi could not be distributed freely, and various work-alikes (such as nvi
Nvi
nvi is a re-implementation of the classic Berkeley text editor, ex/vi, traditionally distributed with BSD, and later, Unix systems. It was originally distributed as part of the Fourth Berkeley Software Distribution ....
) were created. Now that this code is no longer encumbered, the "traditional" vi has been adapted for modern Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
operating systems.
External links
- The Unix Heritage Society, (TUHS) a website dedicated to the preservation and maintenance of historical UNIX systems
- code, disk images, and related at TUHS
- Unix First Edition Manual Pages