Questions tagged [unix]
For questions about the Unix operating system.
130 questions
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How were large UNIX installs managed in the 80s/90s?
Nowadays, you can use Ansible, Chef, Salt and others, to manage Linux/*BSD systems, keep them updated, install software in a reproducible way etc...
What tools were used to manage large UNIX installs (...
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6
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0
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What happened to the Amoeba operating system?
It's about the distributed Unix-like Amoeba OS developed at the Free University of Amsterdam by Andrew Tanenbaum: Since the late 1990, there seems to have been no measureable progress in development. ...
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8
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0
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Earliest assembler executable supporting the AT&T syntax for the i386
I'm looking for a purchase option or a free download of the earliest assembler executable supporting the AT&T syntax (e.g. movl $42, (%eax)) for the i386.
Most likely this will be the COFF i386 ...
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17
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2
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Did very early Unix ever use the "chd" shell command to change directories?
I've been exploring early Unix systems, particularly Unix V0 on the PDP-7 and its successor, Unix V1 on the PDP-11, using the SIMH emulator.
Interestingly, one of the most common modern shell commands,...
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15
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2
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Where can I find the initial version of the /etc/magic file used by the file(1) command?
I'm researching the early implementation of the file(1) command. Today, we can go all the way back to its first commit from around 40 years ago via its Git repository,
$ git clone "https://github....
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10
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2
answers
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What is the earliest filesystem that is case-sensitive for filenames?
Among operating systems in usage nowadays, filenames in mostly unices (except macOS/iOS APFS, and Android) are case-sensitive, while filenames in Windows is case-insensitive. Unices are influenced by ...
0
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3
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Why did so many OS names end in "x?" [closed]
This was asked by @ilkkachu in comments, but I've always wondered about it myself.
Unix, Posix, AIX, HP-UX, IRIX, Linux, Minix, Ultrix, Xenix... not to mention Active-X and Xbox.
I know it all began ...
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7
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0
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416
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Source code of AT&T Unix System V release 3.2 for i386
I'm looking for the source code of AT&T Unix System V release 3.2 (SVR3) for i386, released in 1988. I wasn't able to find a copy online, and I wasn't able to figure out where I could buy it.
I've ...
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20
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2
answers
1k
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Why doesn't sed have a j command?
It has always bugged me that sed, which is mostly compatible with ed, doesn't have the same j command (to join two lines together) that ed does. Once upon a time I imagined this was because sed works ...
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14
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1
answer
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Historically speaking, why is man-db a separate package that is not part of the GNU project?
As far as I understand, GNU had a goal to create a completely free (libre) operating system, and to that end, created FOSS replacements for many UNIX programs. It puzzles me why they didn't try to ...
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18
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7
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Why did Linux standardise on RTS/CTS flow control for serial ports
I've recently been working out how best to wire up a serial cable for a vintage plotter, and it's thrown me down the rabbit hole of RS-232.
As far as I can tell, many RS-232 devices which act as DTEs (...
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34
votes
4
answers
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Why was MacOS unix certified?
As I understand it most Linux distros adhere to the UNIX specifications while only a few actually get UNIX certified. If plenty of Linux distros can happily adhere to the standard without being ...
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19
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2
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What does 'try again' mean in Unix v6?
I am running a stripped down version of BSD Unix V6, bkunix on my Elektronika BK 0010-01. It has a very limited range of Unix commands. The contents of /bin are:
cal
cat
clock
cp
date
df
echo
ed
halt
...
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21
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0
answers
633
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Is an X Window System older than release 10 available online?
I'm looking for any copy of the X Window System older than release 10.
The oldest on x.org is X10R3.
Bob Scheifler doesn't have anything.
Jim Gettys may have something, but has yet to retrieve it ...
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21
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3
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when did command line applications start using "-h" as a "standard" way to print "help"?
I am interested to hear about the history because I have a prominent command line product that has decided to use -h for something that does not print a help message.
when did command line ...
22
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2
answers
2k
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Origin of UNIX symbolic links?
When I search the web for information about the origin of UNIX symbolic links, I see "Symbolic links were first introduced into Unix with 4.1c-BSD". But when I go to fact check that, it ...
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5
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3
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Circuit design tool mentioned in AT&T Unix promotion
In this video from AT&T about Unix is a circuit design tool displayed that is claimed to be based on YACC (timestamped link).
Does anyone have information about this tool?
Like:
Documentation
...
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9
votes
1
answer
2k
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When did SunOS get a graphical interface?
I understand that the first graphical user interface for SunOS was SunTools (later renamed to SunView), but I cannot find any documentation that states when it was released and for which versions of ...
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7
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How could early UNIX OS comprise so few lines of code?
I start my journey to become a hardware / software specialist with an internship in two weeks time and decided to start studying the C language early.
I came across this video, Learn C Programming ...
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7
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1
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Can you remember the name of a public access Unix system, around 1990/1, Spug or Spud?
Hey I recall accessing a public-access UNIX system in the UK, likely around 1990/91.
I seem to recall it gave you shell access but it might actually have only been Mail or UUCP/usenet client?
I have a ...
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8
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1
answer
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What is the oldest UNIX available for modern systems?
What is the oldest UNIX(-like) system that can be legally downloaded and run in a VM or emulator on a modern PC running Linux?
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What does this image in Space Travel represent?
I was touching up the Space Travel article on the Wiki and realized no one had answered a question I posted some time ago. I suspect someone here knows the answer.
This image is used in the infobox to ...
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Why did Dennis Ritchie write that UNIX was a modern implementation of CTSS? [closed]
At the Tenth Hawaii International Conference on the System Sciences in 1977 Dennis Ritchie presented the paper The Unix Time-sharing System: A retrospective in which he states:
...a good case can be ...
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7
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0
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252
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Small format X terminal with EL screen
I remember an ad for a small-format (about as wide as a 60% keyboard) dark-ish grey colored X terminal that had a 12" (?) yellow electroluminescent screen similar to the Grid laptops but higher ...
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10
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What happened to all those Unix workstations in the '90s?
Around the early to mid '90s it seems there was a trend for high-end workstations running some form of Unix, and running a RISC or at least some kind of non-x86 architecture. For example:
Sun ...
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