[TUHS] Large USG Library Archive (And Some Extras)

[Tom Lyon via TUHS]

Awesome stuff.
I see my own minor contribution gained Dennis as a co-author, but I've
never seen that version, nor is it in the new stuff. SIgh.

(1203) Inter-UNIX Portability
    T.L. Lyon + D.M. Ritchie
    TM 77-1273-13 September 16, 1977

On Sun, Jan 11, 2026 at 12:23 PM segaloco via TUHS <tuhs at tuhs.org> wrote:

> Hello once again everyone, I am proud to announce the publication of a
> number of documents scanned by Stephen Searle from his large collection
> of UNIX Support Group (USG) library documents from the 70s and 80s.
> Stephen worked under Ted Kowalski at Murray Hill and and then later at
> Piscataway, becoming friends with the technical librarian who then
> provided these and other documents.
>
> https://www.tuhs.org/Archive/Documentation/TechReports/USG_Library/
>
> Among these documents is #1100, the UNIX Bibliography as maintained by
> USG. This lists out references to the other documents in this
> collection as well as the USG library numbers for other known and
> unknown documents. Even better, two revisions of the bibliography are
> present, as well as a number of other papers detailing the documentation
> efforts of systems such as Program Generic Issues 1 and 2, UNIX/TS, and
> PWB 2.0. All in all, much light is shed on early USG UNIX prior to
> System III. In addition, there are documents concerning BTLs
> microprocessor efforts, including use of Intellec MDS units, a MAC-8
> software simulator, and the application of the IS25 assembly language
> to the MAC-80/BellMAC-32 project.
>
> Most interesting to me are some directory listings of the source files
> that make up USG Program Generic Issue 1 and 2. Unfortunately the full
> sources are not available, but the directory listings at least give an
> idea of what source files were present, making it possible to then
> identify what pages were added/altered in the manuals between Issue 1
> and the preserved Issue 2 manual. Similarly, a list of MRs addressed in
> PWB 2.0 could be helpful in tandem with extant CB-UNIX literature to
> reconstruct a bit more fully what PWB 2.0 looked like.
>
> Anywho, exciting stuff, I'll probably start some separate threads on
> Program Generic, UNIX/TS, and PWB 2.0 findings derived from the new
> information here sometime in the coming weeks, I'm still pouring over
> the Program Generic source file descriptions heavily.
>
> -----
>
> As mentioned, there are some extras. These are not from the same
> archival effort, rather, a few things I plucked from a box of misc
> documents I'm still sorting through.
>
> First is Bob Fabry's initial BSD proposal, describing the proposed
> additions and changes Berkeley intends to make to 32V:
>
>
> https://archive.org/details/proposal-to-provide-vax-unix-system-support-at-berkeley
>
> Second is the earliest C Reference Manual I've seen. I base this on
> the fact that the introduction states the IBM compiler is in the works.
> The earliest C Reference Manual I've seen before this stated that the
> IBM compiler was already in use. I think this makes this the earliest
> C Reference Manual now scanned:
>
> https://archive.org/details/c-reference-manual-1973
>
> Discussion on these two can spin off separately, just figured I'd
> announce the next batch of documents together rather than a bunch of
> little threads.
>
> Enjoy!
>
> - Matt G.
>