Don_Lewine@dgc.ceo.dg.com (05/03/90)
In article <649@longway.TIC.COM> From: Al Gaspar <gaspar@STL-08SIMA.ARMY.MIL>: > >Could someone please tell me what POSIX stand for? >From the Rationale and Note section of IEEE Std 1003.1-1988 section B.1: "Since the interface enables application writers to write portable applications -- it was developed with that goal in mind -- it has been dubbed POSIX, an acronym for Portable Operations System Interface. The name POSIX, suggested by Richard Stallman, was adopted during the printing of the Trial Use Standard." "... The term POSIX is expected to be pronounced pahz-icks, as in positive, not poh-six, or other variations." Hope that helps. --Don Lewine Volume-Number: Volume 19, Number 94
jsq@longway.tic.com (John S. Quarterman) (05/03/90)
From: John S. Quarterman <jsq@longway.tic.com> In article <659@longway.TIC.COM> From: Don_Lewine@dgc.ceo.dg.com: >From the Rationale and Note section of IEEE Std 1003.1-1988 section B.1: > >"Since the interface enables application writers to write portable >applications -- it was developed with that goal in mind -- it has been >dubbed POSIX, an acronym for Portable Operations System Interface. The >name POSIX, suggested by Richard Stallman, was adopted during the printing >of the Trial Use Standard." At the time, the official name of the proposed standard was IEEE Standard Portable Operating System Environment, or POSE. Thus POSIX was a fairly obvious pun to produce something that sounded and looked similar to UNIX. The official name of the standard has changed several times since then (it was at one point Standard Portable Operating System for Computer Environments, or SPOSCE, and the name on the cover of the Full Use Standard is IEEE Standard Portable Operating System Interface for Computer Environments, or SPOSICE), but the name POSIX has stuck. Could have been worse: there exist bound draft copies of the Trial Use Standard that say IEEEIX on the cover.... >"... The term POSIX is expected to be pronounced pahz-icks, as in positive, >not poh-six, or other variations." Note that this assertion appears only in the rationale and the foreword, not in the body of the standard. This is because the committee could not standardize a pronunciation, and in fact had no consensus on what it might be. Nonetheless, there is a small clique that considers it their duty to enforce what they regard as the correct pronunciation, even though they don't all pronounce it the same way themselves. Volume-Number: Volume 19, Number 98
hlj@posix.COM (Hal Jespersen) (05/04/90)
From: hlj@posix.COM (Hal Jespersen) In article <663@longway.TIC.COM> you write: > >>"... The term POSIX is expected to be pronounced pahz-icks, as in positive, >>not poh-six, or other variations." > >Note that this assertion appears only in the rationale and the foreword, >not in the body of the standard. This is because the committee could not >standardize a pronunciation, and in fact had no consensus on what it might be. >Nonetheless, there is a small clique that considers it their duty to enforce >what they regard as the correct pronunciation, even though they don't all >pronounce it the same way themselves. As the author of that footnote, I can say I know of only one person involved in the development of the POSIX standards who disagrees with the "Positive about POSIX" pronunciation. Since that person is also in the clique referred to above, I guess you can say that last sentence is actually correct, John. :-) I would be interested to see your reaction if people started pronouncing UNIX or USENIX differently than their originators intended. Hal Jespersen ========================================================================== The opinions expressed in this message are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of the POSIX Working Groups or the IEEE. To receive an official interpretation concerning an approved IEEE standard, contact the Secretary, IEEE Standards Board, P.O. Box 1331, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, NJ 08855-1331. Volume-Number: Volume 19, Number 103
richard@aiai.ed.ac.uk (Richard Tobin) (05/04/90)
From: Richard Tobin <richard@aiai.ed.ac.uk> >>"... The term POSIX is expected to be pronounced pahz-icks, as in positive, >>not poh-six, or other variations." >Note that this assertion appears only in the rationale and the foreword, >not in the body of the standard. This is because the committee could not >standardize a pronunciation Just as well, especially considering that in much of the English-speaking world "positive" certainly does not begin with "pah". -- Richard -- Richard Tobin, JANET: R.Tobin@uk.ac.ed AI Applications Institute, ARPA: R.Tobin%uk.ac.ed@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk Edinburgh University. UUCP: ...!ukc!ed.ac.uk!R.Tobin Volume-Number: Volume 19, Number 104
jsq@longway.tic.com (John S. Quarterman) (05/09/90)
From: jsq@longway.tic.com (John S. Quarterman) In article <663@longway.TIC.COM> From: hlj@posix.COM (Hal Jespersen) >> >>>"... The term POSIX is expected to be pronounced pahz-icks, as in positive, >>>not poh-six, or other variations." >> >>Note that this assertion appears only in the rationale and the foreword, >>not in the body of the standard. This is because the committee could not >>standardize a pronunciation, and in fact had no consensus on what it might be. >>Nonetheless, there is a small clique that considers it their duty to enforce >>what they regard as the correct pronunciation, even though they don't all >>pronounce it the same way themselves. >As the author of that footnote, I can say I know of only one person >involved in the development of the POSIX standards who disagrees with >the "Positive about POSIX" pronunciation. Since that person is also >in the clique referred to above, I guess you can say that last sentence >is actually correct, John. :-) Well, I guess there must be at least two such people, since I don't agree with the pronunciation the footnote attempts (inaccurately) to render, and I'm not a member of the clique: I find attempts to standardize pronunciations silly and a waste of time. I note that you don't attempt to claim that there was a consensus of the committee about your pronunciation. This is because there never was any such consensus. > I would be interested to see your reaction if people started > pronouncing UNIX or USENIX differently than their originators intended. Started? Evidently you haven't been listening.... >Hal Jespersen >========================================================================== >The opinions expressed in this message are my own and do not necessarily >reflect those of the POSIX Working Groups or the IEEE. To receive an >official interpretation concerning an approved IEEE standard, contact the >Secretary, IEEE Standards Board, P.O. Box 1331, 445 Hoes Lane, Piscataway, >NJ 08855-1331. Too bad you didn't put that disclaimer on your footnote. John Quarterman Volume-Number: Volume 19, Number 113