USG + BSD = NFG; run v7!

[Geoffrey Collyer]

This article doesn't seem to have made it very far the first time.
Sorry if you are seeing this for the second time.

	From: dave at utcsrgv.UUCP (Dave Sherman)
	
	~|  From: gwyn at brl-vgr.ARPA (Doug Gwyn )
	~|  ...  is completely correct for the following UNIX variants:
	~|  	4.2BSD
	~|  	4.2BSD with BRL UNIX System V emulation
	~|  	UNIX System III
	~|  	UNIX System V
	~|  If you have some other UNIX system, the interesting question is "why?".
	
	Because v7 is simple, standard, portable, and runs on my 11/23.
	
	Dave Sherman
	The Law Society of Upper Canada
	Toronto

I'll probably regret this, but you asked for it, Doug.

Well-designed.
v7 (or Research UNIX more generally) was written by a few exceptional,
professional programmers, not hundreds of unexceptional programmers
following the dictates of their anonymous controlling committee, as in
the case of UGLIX (USG UNIX*), nor undisciplined students, as in the
case of Berklix (Berkeley UNIX).  I trust Ken, Dennis, Brian and their
collegues at Research; I don't have much faith in the USG or Berkeley's
CSRG.

Simple and reliable.
v7 has conceptual integrity.  v7 is conceptually simple.  Vanilla v7
(*not* 2BSD!) does contain bugs and can be sped up.  However, I can
understand the v7 kernel and am reasonably confident that I can
maintain it.  I don't understand the 4.2BSD kernel and don't expect
to.

Standard.
AT&T claims AT&T is the standard UNIX and it really wants you to
believe that.  However, Berklix is based on v7 (32v) and UGLIX is based
on a Research UNIX just before v7 (UGLIX lacks random libraries,
dbm(3), refer and a few other late additions).

Portable.
v7 was the result of evolving v6 and porting it to the Interdata (now
Perkin-Elmer).  Its developers took lint output seriously and v7 source
in general has few dependcies on word length, unlike 4BSD source.
Working on a VAX means never having to pay attention to lint; 4BSD code
often assumes that ints are longs.

Runs on Dave's 11/23, my 11/70, Henry's 11/44, ...
v7 prefers a split I/D machine, but doesn't have the assumption that it
is running on a large machine built in fundamentally.

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* UNIX is a trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories, the home of *real* UNIX. 

Geoff Collyer, U. of Toronto