mike@turing.UUCP (06/16/87)
In article <15765@gatech.gatech.edu> usenet@gatech.edu writes: >Original-from: jerry@eagle.UUCP (Jerry Schwarz) >[Most recent change: 31 May 1987 by spaf@gatech.edu & weemba@brahms.berkeley.edu] > > 1. What does UNIX stand for? > > It is not an acronym, but is a pun on "MULTICS". MULTICS is a > large operating system that was being developed shortly before > UNIX was created. > I, for the first time, saw this post on news.announce.newusers. Unfortunately, it is false. Gleaned from the MINIX manual and text (1) I quote "...MULTICS (MULTIplexed Information and Computing Service)...." And then, in reference to UNIX, "...Brian Kernighan somewhat jokingly dubbed this system "UNICS" (UNiplexed Information and Computing Service), but the spelling was later changed to UNIX (2)." So it appears that, though "UNIX" is a pun, it is also an acronym. I DO hope that the net.gods, in their infinite (cough, cough) wisdom :-) will see fit to fix this slight oversight. (1) Tanenbaum, Andrew S. _Operating_Systems__Design_and_Implementation. (2) UNIX is a trademark of AT&T. Michael I. Bushnell a/k/a Bach II mike@turing.UNM.EDU --- Is it clean in other dimensions? -- Zippy the Pinhead
wunder@hpcea.UUCP (06/17/87)
Awww, c'mon. Everyone know that MULTICS stands for "Many Unbelievably Large Tables In Core Simultaneously". wunder
spaf@gatech.UUCP (06/18/87)
Specifically, UNICS is an acronym, UNIX is a sort-of pun.
--
Gene Spafford
Software Engineering Research Center (SERC), Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332
Internet: spaf@gatech.gatech.edu
uucp: ...!{decvax,hplabs,ihnp4,linus,rutgers,seismo}!gatech!spafbarnett@vdsvax.steinmetz.UUCP (Bruce G Barnett) (06/18/87)
In article <15929@gatech.gatech.edu> spaf@gatech.UUCP (Gene Spafford) writes: >Specifically, UNICS is an acronym, UNIX is a sort-of pun. In Sun's technical report on UNIX, they say The name "UNIX" is not an acronym but a play on the phrase "castrated MULTICS". -- Bruce G. Barnett (barnett@ge-crd.ARPA) (barnett@steinmetz.UUCP) -- "The difference between a Buddha and an ordinary man is that one knows the difference and the other does not."
jack@swlabs.UUCP (Jack Bonn) (06/19/87)
In article <1180001@hpcea.HP.COM>, wunder@hpcea.HP.COM (Walter Underwood) writes: > Awww, c'mon. Everyone know that MULTICS stands for "Many Unbelievably > Large Tables In Core Simultaneously". I always thought it was "Many Useless Levels of Tables Interfering with the Computer System". -- Jack Bonn, <> Software Labs, Ltd, Box 451, Easton CT 06612 seismo!uunet!swlabs!jack
benson@alcatraz.ksr.com (Benson Margulies) (06/19/87)
First of all, the spelling is Multics, not MULTICS. Us alumni of the system get nasty in a hurry when people make that mistake. As as for large tables in core, the real Multics system that a few lucky people still have in spite of Honeywell's having killed it (after 15 years of trying) know that its a damned sight better at some things, including making large amounts of memory available to user programs, than Unix. How would you like a 2**36 bit segmented process address space, with dynamic linking, a robust file system (no fchk on every boot), and direct mapping of files into the address space? I could go on, but I'm in the wrong newsgroup. Benson I. Margulies Kendall Square Research Corp. harvard!ksr!benson All comments the responsibility ksr!benson@harvard.harvard.edu of the author, if anyone.