Runoff (program)
Encyclopedia
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
. Bob Morris
and Doug McIlroy translated that from MAD assembler to BCPL
; they then moved the BCPL version to Multics when the IBM 7094 on which CTSS ran was being shut down.
A later version of runoff for Multics was written in PL/I
by Dennis Capps, in 1974.
This runoff code was the ancestor of the machine language roff
that was written for the fledgling Unix
.
Other versions of Runoff were developed for various computer systems including Digital Equipment Corporation
's PDP-11
minicomputer
systems running RT-11
, RSTS/E
, RSX
on Digital's PDP-10
and for OpenVMS
on VAX
minicomputers, as well as Sperry Unisys
Univac 90/60
mainframe using the EDT text editor under the VS/9
operating system
. These different releases of Runoff typically had had little or no relationship to each other in terms of how formatting commands and arrangement of text was performed except that they all used the convention of separating presentation text from Runoff commands by indicating a command to Runoff by beginning the line with a period.
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...
on the Multics
Multics
Multics was an influential early time-sharing operating system. The project was started in 1964 in Cambridge, Massachusetts...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
.
It was a descendant of the 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....
type-setting program from CTSS and was originally written by Jerome H. Saltzer
Jerome H. Saltzer
Jerome H. Saltzer is a computer scientist who has made many notable contributions.-Career:He received an Sc. D in Electrical Engineering from MIT in 1966...
. Bob Morris
Robert Morris (cryptographer)
Robert Morris , was an American cryptographer and computer scientist. -Family and Education:Morris was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were Walter W. Morris, a salesman, and Helen Kelly Morris...
and Doug McIlroy translated that from MAD assembler to BCPL
BCPL
BCPL is a procedural, imperative, and structured computer programming language designed by Martin Richards of the University of Cambridge in 1966.- Design :...
; they then moved the BCPL version to Multics when the IBM 7094 on which CTSS ran was being shut down.
A later version of runoff for Multics was written in PL/I
PL/I
PL/I is a procedural, imperative computer programming language designed for scientific, engineering, business and systems programming applications...
by Dennis Capps, in 1974.
This runoff code was the ancestor of the machine language roff
Roff
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....
that was written for the fledgling Unix
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...
.
Other versions of Runoff were developed for various computer systems including Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation
Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s...
's 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...
minicomputer
Minicomputer
A minicomputer is a class of multi-user computers that lies in the middle range of the computing spectrum, in between the largest multi-user systems and the smallest single-user systems...
systems running RT-11
RT-11
RT-11 was a small, single-user real-time operating system for the Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11 family of 16-bit computers...
, RSTS/E
RSTS/E
RSTS is a multi-user time-sharing operating system, developed by Digital Equipment Corporation , for the PDP-11 series of 16-bit minicomputers. The first version of RSTS was implemented in 1970 by DEC software engineers that developed the TSS-8 time-sharing operating system for the PDP-8...
, RSX
RSX-11
RSX-11 is a family of real-time operating systems mainly for PDP-11 computers created by Digital Equipment Corporation , common in the late 1970s and early 1980s. RSX-11D first appeared on the PDP-11/40 in 1972...
on Digital's PDP-10
PDP-10
The PDP-10 was a mainframe computer family manufactured by Digital Equipment Corporation from the late 1960s on; the name stands for "Programmed Data Processor model 10". The first model was delivered in 1966...
and for OpenVMS
OpenVMS
OpenVMS , previously known as VAX-11/VMS, VAX/VMS or VMS, is a computer server operating system that runs on VAX, Alpha and Itanium-based families of computers. Contrary to what its name suggests, OpenVMS is not open source software; however, the source listings are available for purchase...
on VAX
VAX
VAX was an instruction set architecture developed by Digital Equipment Corporation in the mid-1970s. A 32-bit complex instruction set computer ISA, it was designed to extend or replace DEC's various Programmed Data Processor ISAs...
minicomputers, as well as Sperry Unisys
Unisys
Unisys Corporation , headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States, and incorporated in Delaware, is a long established business whose core products now involves computing and networking.-History:...
Univac 90/60
UNIVAC 90/60
The Univac 90/60 series computer was a mainframe class computer manufactured by Sperry Corporation as a competitor to the IBM System 360 series of mainframe computers...
mainframe using the EDT text editor under the VS/9
VS/9
VS/9 was a computer operating system available for the Univac 90/60, 90/70 and 90/80 mainframe during the late 1960s through 1980s. The 90/60 and 90/70 were repackaged Univac 9700 computers...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
. These different releases of Runoff typically had had little or no relationship to each other in terms of how formatting commands and arrangement of text was performed except that they all used the convention of separating presentation text from Runoff commands by indicating a command to Runoff by beginning the line with a period.