Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84 SMI; site sun.uucp Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!decwrl!sun!guy From: guy@sun.uucp (Guy Harris) Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards Subject: Re: Accusing Bell of NIH (formerly Re: useless digest reference) Message-ID: <2612@sun.uucp> Date: Sun, 11-Aug-85 17:43:59 EDT Article-I.D.: sun.2612 Posted: Sun Aug 11 17:43:59 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 14-Aug-85 00:35:53 EDT References: <64@brl-tgr.ARPA> <311@baylor.UUCP> <120@desint.UUCP> <277@kitty.UUCP> Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc. Lines: 39 > It has? News to me. The current usage seems to be: > > BSD USG > > mail mailx > binmail mail > > And what's so terrible about "nmail", whuch has the advantage of being > reasonable mnemonic for New MAIL? I agree "mailx" is kind of a gross name. However, a quick look at the 4.2BSD distribution indicates there is *no* such program as "binmail". There is "/bin/mail", which is the old "mail", and "/usr/ucb/mail" and "/usr/ucb/Mail", which are two links to the new "mail". You can get the new "mail" by putting "/usr/ucb" first in your path (which is OK) or by typing "Mail" (which is kind of gross). > Overloading EOF and QUIT as MIN and TIME was a bad mistake, since it makes > the intuitive transform between V7 and relatives and SIII and relatives a > total loss... and adds extra stuff you have to save and restore when > changing modes. Agreed (there are proposals presented by AT&T people to the /usr/group standards committee to fix this, so even they realize it was a botch). I usually save and restore *everything* when changing modes, so that part isn't a problem, however. > You're right. I was using a Unisoft SIII and Xenix 3.0 when I said this. > Both were V7 with some cosmetic changes. Considering how similar the V7 and S3 kernels (PDP-11 kernels, anyway) were, modulo the TTY driver, that part of the V7 vs. S3 debate is somewhat irrelevant. CCI and, I believe, Microsoft set up their "V7 kernel made into an S3 kernel" with an S3 TTY driver with a "compatibility aide" (*sic* - that's how it's spelled in the comment, but considering how many kern*e*l hackers spell it "kernal" I shouldn't be too upset) for V7 rather than UNIX/TS 1.0 and PWB/UNIX 2.0. Guy Harris