10 Oct
2019
10 Oct
'19
1:18 p.m.
From: Tony Travis
It's always puzzled me when everyone talks about
[the] PDP11 when, in
fact, is says "pdp11" on the system itself:
DEC documentation mostly used uppercase in the text; e.g. the "pdp11
peripherals handbook" (to transcribe the cover exactly) uses "PDP-11"
several times on pg 1-1.
Noel
11 Oct
11 Oct
2:46 a.m.
New subject: Welcome to new TUHS subscribers
On Thu, 10 Oct 2019, Noel Chiappa wrote:
DEC documentation mostly used uppercase in the text;
e.g. the "pdp11
peripherals handbook" (to transcribe the cover exactly) uses "PDP-11"
several times on pg 1-1.
And being an acronym it is of course upper-case...
-- Dave
12:55 p.m.
New subject: Welcome to new TUHS subscribers
On 11/10/2019 03:46, Dave Horsfall wrote:
On Thu, 10 Oct 2019, Noel Chiappa wrote:
Hi, Dave.
On the _machine_ itself, DEC wrote "pdp11"...
An acronym doesn't have to be upper-case!
Many Unix commands are lower case acronyms:
cd = (c)ange (d)irectory
pwd (p)rint (w)orking (directory)
ls = (l)ist file(s)
I guess that my introduction to Seventh Edition Unix running on a
"pdp11/34" made me think it was obviously designed to run Unix ;-)
Bye,
Tony.
--
Minke Informatics Limited, Registered in Scotland - Company No. SC419028
Registered Office: 3 Donview, Bridge of Alford, AB33 8QJ, Scotland (UK)
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DEC documentation mostly used uppercase in the
text; e.g. the "pdp11
peripherals handbook" (to transcribe the cover exactly) uses "PDP-11"
several times on pg 1-1.
And being an acronym it is of course upper-case... 
1:11 p.m.
New subject: Welcome to new TUHS subscribers
On 2019-10-11 07:55, Tony Travis wrote:
On 11/10/2019 03:46, Dave Horsfall wrote:
Well, that's also in-line with their using all lower-case on their logo.
On Thu, 10 Oct 2019, Noel Chiappa wrote:
Hi, Dave.
On the _machine_ itself, DEC wrote "pdp11"... DEC documentation mostly used uppercase in the
text; e.g. the "pdp11
peripherals handbook" (to transcribe the cover exactly) uses "PDP-11"
several times on pg 1-1.
And being an acronym it is of course upper-case... An acronym doesn't have to be upper-case!
Many Unix commands are lower case acronyms:
cd = (c)ange (d)irectory
pwd (p)rint (w)orking (directory)
ls = (l)ist file(s)
I always thought of it as (l)i(s)t files.
I guess that my introduction to Seventh Edition Unix
running on a
"pdp11/34" made me think it was obviously designed to run Unix ;-)
Bye,
Tony.
--
Michael Parson
Pflugerville, TX
KF5LGQ
12 Oct
12 Oct
7:39 p.m.
New subject: Welcome to new TUHS subscribers
On 10/10/19 22:46, Dave Horsfall wrote:
On Thu, 10 Oct 2019, Noel Chiappa wrote:
At the risk of being labelled a pedant. from the OED:
acronym orig. U.S. (ˈækrənɪm) [f. acr(o- + -onym after homonym.]
A word formed from the initial letters of other words. Hence as v.
trans., to convert into an acronym (chiefly pass. and as pa. pple.).
Also acroˈnymic a.; acroˈnymically adv.; ˈacronyming vbl. n.;
ˈacronymize v. trans.
vs.
initialism (ɪnˈɪʃəlɪzm) [f. initial n. + -ism.]
The use of initials; a significative group of initial letters. Now spec.
a group of initial letters used as an abbreviation for a name or
expression, each letter or part being pronounced separately (contrasted
with acronym).
N.
DEC documentation mostly used uppercase in the
text; e.g. the "pdp11
peripherals handbook" (to transcribe the cover exactly) uses "PDP-11"
several times on pg 1-1.
And being an acronym it is of course upper-case... -- Dave
8:42 p.m.
New subject: Welcome to new TUHS subscribers
On 12/10/2019 20:39, Nemo Nusquam wrote:
On 10/10/19 22:46, Dave Horsfall wrote:
Hi, Nemo.
It takes one to know one!
What is interesting about this definition is that an 'acronym' is
pronounced as a word (i.e. not spelled out as letters). So, from that
point of view PDP-11 is an 'initialism' and not an acronym :-)
Which opens up a whole area of controversy about how to pronounce:
vi
In my experience, research users and hackers spell it out as "vee eye"
as originally described by Bill Joy, but business/enterprise users tend
to pronounce it as "vye" instead.
Well, I'm a research *nix user so I spell "vi" out, but my dark secret
is that I do pronounce "vim" as a full word and don't spell it out...
I suppose this is just about recognition of a suitable peer group that
agree, but it really sets my teeth on edge when people pronounce "vi"!
Anyone else got pet hates about how people pronounce *nix commands?
There are many pointless discussions about this already on the Internet,
so please only post comments here of historical interest like mine :-)
Bye,
Tony.
--
Minke Informatics Limited, Registered in Scotland - Company No. SC419028
Registered Office: 3 Donview, Bridge of Alford, AB33 8QJ, Scotland (UK)
tel. +44(0)19755 63548 http://minke-informatics.co.uk
mob. +44(0)7985 078324 mailto:tony.travis@minke-informatics.co.uk
On Thu, 10 Oct 2019, Noel Chiappa wrote:
At the risk of being labelled a pedant. from the OED: DEC documentation mostly used uppercase in the
text; e.g. the "pdp11
peripherals handbook" (to transcribe the cover exactly) uses "PDP-11"
several times on pg 1-1.
And being an acronym it is of course upper-case...
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Dave Horsfall -
jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu -
Michael Parson -
Nemo Nusquam -
Tony Travis