[TUHS] Another Unix Archive addition: KSOS

[Larry McVoy via TUHS]

On Sun, Jun 28, 2026 at 04:24:47PM -0700, Jon Forrest via TUHS wrote:
> 
> 
> On 6/28/26 9:00 AM, Cameron M????e??l Tyre via TUHS wrote:
> >Hello everyone,
> >
> >I found this document, from 1978 which, from a quick scan read of the first couple of pages, is an interesting read.
> >
> >SECURE MINICOMPUTER OPERATING SYSTEM (KSOS)
> >EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
> >PHASE 1: Design of the
> >Department of Defense Kernelized Secure Operating System
> >
> >http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/history/ford78.pdf
> I was in the group that produced this. Imagine going from being a
> Unix beginner to a group that could produce something like that.

I feel that.  I got to Sun pretty green.  Did POSIX in SunOS, the kernel
slowly came into focus and then I started doing actual kernel work (I
view the POSIX stuff as an education, I fumbled my way through that, it
was the reason the kernel came into focus but it took a year of pretty
intense work to get that focus).

The feeling of looking back at the body of work after that is pretty
amazing.  srk guided me through the extent based performance from UFS
and that was the last time in my career where anyone told me what to
do.  After that, I just looked for the biggest problem I thought I 
could fix and fixed it. 

The whole time I was doing that, I expected someone like my Dad to 
show up and say "what do you think you are doing?  Why do you think
you can do this?" and noone ever said that.  Because I was fixing,
what was to me, pretty hard problems.  The sales guys agreed.

Once you get past the beginner stage, I think you really start to 
shine.

That said, it was a simpler time.  I was still working in uniprocessor
Unix, disable interrupts to make things work, SunOS was a pretty decent
kernel so you could develop a mental model, it took some work but I got
there.

If you threw me into Linux and asked me to do well, even if I were 30
years younger, I think I'd struggle.  Things are a lot more complex
than v7 on a PDP-11.  A lot more.  A very lot more.  I'm impressed 
with anyone who can dive into the Linux kernel and make it better.
I don't think I could.
-- 
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Larry McVoy           Retired to fishing          http://www.mcvoy.com/lm/boat