[TUHS] Early supported UNIX manual

Jonathan Gray jsg at jsg.id.au
Sun Jan 7 17:03:34 AEST 2024


On Thu, Dec 22, 2022 at 01:52:22PM -0500, Phil Budne wrote:
> Rather than increase subject drift on a thread I started
> "UNIX on (not quite bare) System/370", here's a new thread.
> 
> Since the TUHS archive seems to now include documentation,
> I decided to take a look and see if the earliest UNIX manual I have
> is in the archive:
> 
> It was given to me by a friend at Stevens Tech in Hoboken NJ (c. 1980)
> who had graduated, and worked for AT&T.
> 
> It's hole punched for a four ring binder
> (I found an unused Bell System Project Telstar binder to put it in).
> 
> The cover page has:
> 
> Upper left corner:
> Bell Telephone Laboratories Incorperated
> PROGRAM APPLICATION INSTRUCTION
> 
> Upper right corner:
> PA-1C300-01
> Section 1
> Issue 1, January 1976
> AT&TCo SPCS
> 
> Center:
> UNIX PROGRAMMER'S MANUAL
> Program Generic PG-1C300 Issue 2
> Published by the UNIX Support Group
> January, 1976

now available on bitsavers thanks to Al Kossow:
https://bitsavers.org/pdf/att/unix/6th_Edition/

> 
> The preface starts with:
> 
> This document is published as part of the UNIX Operating System Program Generic,
> PG-1C300 Issue 2.  The development of the Program Generic is the result of the
> efforts of the members of the UNIX Support Group, supervised by J.F. Maranzano
> and composed of: R. B. Brant, J. Feder, C. D. Perez. T. M. Raleigh, R. E. Swift,
> G. C. Vogel and I. A. Winheim.
> 
> and ends with
> 
> For corrections and comments please contact C. D. Perez, MH 2C-423, Extension
> 6041.
> 
> Not knowing who else I could ask, I brought it to a Boston Usenix (in
> the 90's or oughts), and asked DMR if he could identify it.  He said
> it was an early supported UNIX, and he signed the preface page for me.
> 
> The manual has sections I through VIII; all manual pages start with page -1-
> 
> I found https://www.tuhs.org/Archive/Distributions/USDL/unix_program_description_jan_1976.pdf
> 
> with cover page:
> 	UNIX PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
> 	Program Generic PG-1C300 Issue 2
> 	Published by the UNIX Support Group
> 	January 1976
> 
> contents:
> 	NUMBER		ISSUE	TITLE
> 	PD-1C301-01	1	Operating System
> 	PD-1C302-01	1	Device Drivers Section 1
> 	PD-1C303-01	1	Device Drivers Section 2
> 
> And consists of descriptions of kernel functions.
> 
> So it seems likely that my manual is a companion to that.
> 
> I have a Brother printer/scanner, but the paper is fragile, so unless
> it's of immediate and burning value to someone, it's unlikely to rise
> to the top of my ever-static list of documents to scan....
> 
> But if someone has specific questions I can look up, let me know....


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