[TUHS] Origins of the SGS (System Generation Software) and COFF (Common Object File Format)

[Dave Horsfall]

On Thu, 23 Feb 2023, Paul Winalski wrote:

> a.out was, as object file formats go, a throwback to the stone age from 
> the get-go.  Even the most primitive of IBM's link editors for 
> System/360 supported arbitrary naming of object file sections and the 
> ability for the programmer to arrange them in whatever order they 
> wished.  a.out's restriction to three sections (.text, .data, .bss) did 
> manage to get the job done, and even (with ZMAGIC) could support 
> demand-paged virtual memory, but only just.

That may be so, but those guys didn't exactly have the resources of
IBM behind them...

And I wonder how many people here know the significance of the "407" magic 
number?

-- Dave