[TUHS] "A New Command Language for UNIX and Related Systems", Sturzenbecker CL (1982)

[Alex Bochannek via TUHS]

Hello!

Last week I got a scan of Bell Labs TM-82-45192-3, M. C. Sturzenbecker,
"A New Command Language for UNIX and Related Systems" from the Bell Labs
archives thanks to Rebecca Nadolny at Nokia. Rich Salz suggested I
should share the information here.

I first noticed a reference to this document in David Korn's
"Introduction to KSH-i" memo from 1986 and because I had not heard about
it before, requested a copy.

Most significantly, this Shell uses typed variables and goes into some
detail explaining the challenges around that. The references to broader
developments in command languages and the desire to make this CL
applicable to Unix and non-Unix systems is quite interesting.

I am curious how well known this memo was at the time given the broad
distribution list it was apparently sent to (which I suspect was common
for TMs). David Korn cites it, but were others aware of it as well? Was
it known outside Bell Labs? Was the implementation of CL used by others?
Was it ever implemented on non-Unix systems? The document mentions that
CL was implemented for Unix Release 4.0, which also made me wonder how
widely that release was used inside the Bell System.

Unfortunately the scan is too large to send here, but I am happy to
share it.

Thanks!

-- 
Alex.