15 Jun
2020
15 Jun
'20
8:25 p.m.
Rob Pike:
Yeah, p is all we need. I think it originated with td at UofT. I might have
brought it with me to Bell Labs, or recreated it. Probably the former.
====
The former, I think. The source code in V10 is very similar
to that you left behind at Caltech (where I first encountered
p). Most differences have to do with using opendir and readdir
rather than reading raw directories in the SPname code.
A further clue is that, even in V10, p.c begins
/*%cc p.c pad.o spname.o
*/
The tool that looked for such lines to tell it how to compile
things (I forget its name; was it comp?) doesn't seem to have
survived in the archival backup I have from Caltech HEP, but
I'm quite sure it came from U of T as well.
Norman Wilson
Toronto ON
15 Jun
15 Jun
9:36 p.m.
New subject: Origins and life of the pg pager
I had forgotten about that tool, along with many others. "Comp" sounds
plausible but as I said, I forget. (Not a sign of age; my memory for
details is no match for Clem's; to me stage actors are superheroes).
I do remember the tool existing, though, and now see it as related to a
long list of similar things, including "go generate". I wonder if my
subconscious held on to it.
This history stuff is fun because of the reminder of a time when tools were
simple and you could create a whole new one in an afternoon.
-rob
On Tue, Jun 16, 2020 at 6:26 AM Norman Wilson <norman(a)oclsc.org> wrote:
Rob Pike:
Yeah, p is all we need. I think it originated with td at UofT. I might
have
brought it with me to Bell Labs, or recreated it. Probably the former.
====
The former, I think. The source code in V10 is very similar
to that you left behind at Caltech (where I first encountered
p). Most differences have to do with using opendir and readdir
rather than reading raw directories in the SPname code.
A further clue is that, even in V10, p.c begins
/*%cc p.c pad.o spname.o
*/
The tool that looked for such lines to tell it how to compile
things (I forget its name; was it comp?) doesn't seem to have
survived in the archival backup I have from Caltech HEP, but
I'm quite sure it came from U of T as well.
Norman Wilson
Toronto ON
10:55 p.m.
New subject: Origins and life of the pg pager
On Mon, 15 Jun 2020 at 17:37, Rob Pike <robpike(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I had forgotten about that tool, along with many
others. "Comp" sounds
plausible but as I said, I forget. (Not a sign of age; my memory for
details is no match for Clem's; to me stage actors are superheroes).
Remembering the blocking and the actor's names for a play you saw thirty
years ago would be an impressive feat, but I would argue that it is much
more beneficial in the long run to remember the basic plot and the message
that the production was attempting to convey.
This history stuff is fun because of the reminder of a
time when tools
were simple and you could create a whole new one in an afternoon.
Indeed, that's a nearly impossible task now. We have transitioned to a
world where you can say, "here's my sketch for a program that I think would
be useful," and that sketch is either a basic chapter outline or you've
only finished writing chapter one. You put it up on Github, try to give it
a little publicity, and hope that others can share your vision or at least
provide constructive criticism.
-Henry
1410
days inactive
1410
days old
2 comments
3 participants
participants (3)
-
Henry Bent -
Norman Wilson -
Rob Pike