Roff
Encyclopedia
roff was the first Unix
text-formatting computer program
, the most important application run on the first machine specifically purchased to run UNIX, and a predecessor of the nroff
and troff
document processing systems.
It was a Unix version of the runoff
text-formatting program from Multics
, which was a descendant of RUNOFF
for CTSS (the first computerized text-formatting application).
The first UNIX version was a transliteration of the BCPL
version of runoff into PDP-7
assembly, for the prototype UNIX on the PDP-7, circa 1970. When the first PDP-11
was acquired for UNIX in late 1970 (a PDP-11/20), the justification cited to management for the funding required was that it was to be used as a word processing
system, and so roff was quickly transliterated again, into PDP-11 assembly, in 1971.
Dennis Ritchie
notes that the ability to rapidly modify roff (because it was locally written software) to provide special features needed by the Bell Labs
Patent
department was an important factor in leading to the adoption of UNIX by the Patent department to fill their word processing needs. This in turn gave UNIX enough credibility inside Bell Labs to secure the funding to purchase one of the first PDP-11/45s produced; it was on that machine that UNIX evolved into the system that later took the computer science
world by storm.
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...
text-formatting computer program
Computer program
A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...
, the most important application run on the first machine specifically purchased to run UNIX, and a predecessor of the nroff
Nroff
nroff is a Unix text-formatting program; it produces output suitable for simple fixed-width printers and terminal windows...
and troff
Troff
troff is a document processing system developed by AT&T for the Unix operating system.-History:troff can trace its origins back to a text formatting program called RUNOFF, written by Jerome H. Saltzer for MIT's CTSS operating system in the mid-1960s...
document processing systems.
It was a Unix version of the runoff
Runoff (program)
runoff was the text formatting program on the Multics operating system.It was a descendant of the RUNOFF type-setting program from CTSS and was originally written by Jerome H. Saltzer...
text-formatting program from Multics
Multics
Multics was an influential early time-sharing operating system. The project was started in 1964 in Cambridge, Massachusetts...
, which was a descendant of RUNOFF
RUNOFF
RUNOFF was the first computer text formatting program to see significant use. It was written in 1964 for the CTSS operating system by Jerome H. Saltzer in MAD assembler....
for CTSS (the first computerized text-formatting application).
The first UNIX version was a transliteration of the BCPL
BCPL
BCPL is a procedural, imperative, and structured computer programming language designed by Martin Richards of the University of Cambridge in 1966.- Design :...
version of runoff into PDP-7
PDP-7
The DEC PDP-7 is a minicomputer produced by Digital Equipment Corporation. Introduced in 1965, it was the first to use their Flip-Chip technology. With a cost of only $72,000 USD, it was cheap but powerful by the standards of the time. The PDP-7 was the third of Digital's 18-bit machines, with...
assembly, for the prototype UNIX on the PDP-7, circa 1970. When the first 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...
was acquired for UNIX in late 1970 (a PDP-11/20), the justification cited to management for the funding required was that it was to be used as a word processing
Word processing
Word processing is the creation of documents using a word processor. It can also refer to advanced shorthand techniques, sometimes used in specialized contexts with a specially modified typewriter.-External links:...
system, and so roff was quickly transliterated again, into PDP-11 assembly, in 1971.
Dennis Ritchie
Dennis Ritchie
Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie , was an American computer scientist who "helped shape the digital era." He created the C programming language and, with long-time colleague Ken Thompson, the UNIX operating system...
notes that the ability to rapidly modify roff (because it was locally written software) to provide special features needed by the Bell Labs
Bell Labs
Bell Laboratories is the research and development subsidiary of the French-owned Alcatel-Lucent and previously of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company , half-owned through its Western Electric manufacturing subsidiary.Bell Laboratories operates its...
Patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
department was an important factor in leading to the adoption of UNIX by the Patent department to fill their word processing needs. This in turn gave UNIX enough credibility inside Bell Labs to secure the funding to purchase one of the first PDP-11/45s produced; it was on that machine that UNIX evolved into the system that later took the computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
world by storm.
Sources
- D. M. Ritchie, The Evolution of the UNIX Time-sharing System (AT&T Bell Laboratories Technical Journal, Vol. 63, No. 8, October 1984)