Version 8 Unix
Encyclopedia
Eighth Edition Unix, also known as Version 8 Unix or V8, was a version of the Research Unix
operating system
developed and used internally at Bell Labs
and a select number of universities. It was "released" in February 1985, ran on VAX
hardware, and was a variant of 4.1cBSD
with some System V.1 (SVR2) features (notably the shell
). V8 was the successor to V7
and the predecessor to V9
.
V8 is perhaps best remembered for its regular expression
(RE) matching library, which established a de facto
standard for RE syntax until a POSIX
standard was developed. It also introduced the STREAMS
I/O mechanism, the /proc
filesystem, kernel support for interpreter directive
s, and several other features later incorporated into System V.2 (SVR3) and subsequent versions of Unix.
V8 also featured a network file system
, which permitted access to other machines' entire filesystem trees. For example, the file /etc/passwd on server
foovax would be accessible to client
machines as /n/foovax/etc/passwd.
The Unix Programming Environment
was prepared on a VAX-11/750 running a preliminary version of V8 Unix. http://minnie.tuhs.org/pipermail/tuhs/2003-June/000628.html
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 ....
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...
developed and used internally at 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...
and a select number of universities. It was "released" in February 1985, ran 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...
hardware, and was a variant of 4.1cBSD
Berkeley Software Distribution
Berkeley Software Distribution is a Unix operating system derivative developed and distributed by the Computer Systems Research Group of the University of California, Berkeley, from 1977 to 1995...
with some System V.1 (SVR2) features (notably the shell
Shell (computing)
A shell is a piece of software that provides an interface for users of an operating system which provides access to the services of a kernel. However, the term is also applied very loosely to applications and may include any software that is "built around" a particular component, such as web...
). V8 was the successor to V7
Version 7 Unix
Seventh 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...
and the predecessor to V9
Version 9 Unix
Ninth Edition Unix, also known as Version 9 Unix or V9, was a version of the Research Unix operating system developed and used internally at the Bell Labs Information Sciences Research Division, "released" in September 1986. V9 was the successor to V8, and the predecessor to the last Research Unix...
.
V8 is perhaps best remembered for its regular expression
Regular expression
In computing, a regular expression provides a concise and flexible means for "matching" strings of text, such as particular characters, words, or patterns of characters. Abbreviations for "regular expression" include "regex" and "regexp"...
(RE) matching library, which established a de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
standard for RE syntax until a POSIX
POSIX
POSIX , an acronym for "Portable Operating System Interface", is a family of standards specified by the IEEE for maintaining compatibility between operating systems...
standard was developed. It also introduced the STREAMS
STREAMS
In computer networking, STREAMS is the native framework in Unix System V for implementing character devices.STREAMS was designed as a modular architecture for implementing full-duplex I/O between kernel or user space processes and device drivers. Its most frequent uses have been in developing...
I/O mechanism, the /proc
Procfs
procfs is a special filesystem in UNIX-like operating systems that presents information about processes and other system information in a hierarchical file-like structure, providing a more convenient and standardized method for dynamically accessing process data held in the kernel than traditional...
filesystem, kernel support for interpreter directive
Interpreter directive
An interpreter directive is a computer language construct that is used to control which interpreter parses and interprets the instructions in a computer program.- See also :* Shebang * Bourne-Again Shell* C Shell...
s, and several other features later incorporated into System V.2 (SVR3) and subsequent versions of Unix.
V8 also featured a network file system
Distributed file system
Network file system may refer to:* A distributed file system, which is accessed over a computer network* Network File System , a specific brand of distributed file system...
, which permitted access to other machines' entire filesystem trees. For example, the file /etc/passwd on server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
foovax would be accessible to client
Client (computing)
A client is an application or system that accesses a service made available by a server. The server is often on another computer system, in which case the client accesses the service by way of a network....
machines as /n/foovax/etc/passwd.
The Unix Programming Environment
The Unix Programming Environment
The Unix Programming Environment, first published in 1984 by Prentice Hall, is a book written by Brian W. Kernighan and Rob Pike, both of Bell Labs and considered an important and early document of the Unix operating system....
was prepared on a VAX-11/750 running a preliminary version of V8 Unix. http://minnie.tuhs.org/pipermail/tuhs/2003-June/000628.html