[TUHS] cat -v and other complaints

[Kevin Bowling]

AIX takes a lot of shit but there were (and still are) some areas it
was quite a bit ahead of its time.

I haven't used the ROMP 2.0 version that would have been on the IBM
RT.. on my search and todo list.  This is interesting because it ran
under a hypervisor.

The 1.x version for x86 PS/2s is basically Locus.  I don't like it.  I
think it was also used as a common port base for AIX/370  You can run
1.x in VirtualBox with some careful instructions.  I'm the canonical
source for all this at http://ps-2.kev009.com/aixps2/

But the 3.x version released with POWER/RS6000 in 1990 had a fully
pagable kernel, loadable kernel modules[1], logical volume management
and disk mirroring, an object oriented thing called the ODM which is
probably extremely controversial but a pretty nice for providing
KPI/KBI/API compatibility for drivers and subsystems and configuration
thereof.  It's a good mix of BSD and interesting to see how that was
accomplished https://technologists.com/sauer/Convergence_of_AIX_and_4.3BSD.pdf

[1] http://bitsavers.org/pdf/ibm/rs6000/aix_3.0/SC23-2207-0_Kernel_Extensions_and_Device_Support_Programming_Concepts_Mar90.pdf
See for instance page 6-10

Regards,
Kevin

On Wed, Aug 29, 2018 at 6:14 PM, Clem cole <clemc at ccc.com> wrote:
> Truth is I think IBM beat Sun on getting loadable modules for the kernel out first.  But I was counting the versions that people really looked at which is why I give Linux credit.
>
> It makes sense they modeled on SunOS btw but the fact is the Linux version is what folks like *BSD and macOS modeled after later.
>
> Btw you are 100% right - As for launchd I agree/no doubt -  but I’d already given up on MacOS being able to be admin’ed like a Unix box.  I can pretty much use it via iterm2 as a user like one and if mostly works as I expect (which I do appreciate).
>
> Linux is seductive enough to make think I should be able to admin it like I have for the last 40 years and it then bites me when I least expect it.
>
> Sent from my PDP-7 Running UNIX V0 expect things to be almost but not quite.
>
>> On Aug 29, 2018, at 7:36 PM, Larry McVoy <lm at mcvoy.com> wrote:
>>
>>> On Thu, Aug 30, 2018 at 08:34:05AM +1000, Dave Horsfall wrote:
>>>> On Wed, 29 Aug 2018, Clem Cole wrote:
>>>> That said, I give the Linux folks great credit for the addition of modules
>>>> was huge and it took BSD and the other UNIX systems a few years really
>>>> pick up that idea in the same way (yes Solaris, Tru64 and eventually HPUX
>>>> etc.. had something too but again - my comment about being generally
>>>> available applies).
>>>
>>> Wasn't SunOS first with dynamic kernel modules, or is my memory worse than I
>>> thought?  Linux may have been around at the time, but we never used in the
>>> shop until much later (Red Hat, nicknamed Dead Rat).
>>
>> Yep.  And Linux has loadable modules because I posted the SunOS 4.x man
>> pages for the SunOS loadable modules to the kernel list.  Proving once
>> again that the open source guys aren't always the greatest at coming up
>> with the ideas but once you show them that it can be done, it gets done
>> quickly.  I think they had a prototype working in a week.
>>
>>> Never mind "systemd"; I'm having enough trouble coming to grips with
>>> "launchd" on the Mac...  Gimme /etc/inetd.conf any time.
>>
>> Amen, brother.