UNIX Time-Sharing System: Forward

Foreword by M. D. MclLROY, E. N. PINSON, and B. A. TAGUE (Manuscript received March 17, 1978) Intelligence ... to make tools. is the faculty of making artificial objects, -- Bergson especially tools UNIX is a t r a d e m a r k for a family of c o m p u t e r operating s y s t e m s d e v e l o p e d at Bell Laboratories. O v e r 300 of t h e s e s y s t e m s , which r u n on small to large m i n i c o m p u t e r s , are used in the Bell System for program d e v e l o p m e n t , for s u p p o r t of t e l e p h o n e o p e r a t i o n s , for text processing, and for g e n e r a l - p u r p o s e c o m p u t i n g ; e v e n m o r e h a v e b e e n licensed to outside users. T h e papers in this issue describe highlights of t h e UNIX family, s o m e i m p o r t a n t uses, and s o m e UNIX s o f t w a r e tools. T h e y also a t t e m p t to convey a feeling for t h e particular style or outlook on program design that is both m a n i f e s t in UNIX s o f t w a r e and p r o m o t e d by it. T h e UNIX story begins with K e n T h o m p s o n ' s work on a cast-off PDP-7 m i n i c o m p u t e r in 1969. He and the o t h e r s w h o soon j o i n e d him had o n e overriding objective: to create a c o m p u t i n g e n v i r o n m e n t w h e r e they t h e m s e l v e s could c o m f o r t a b l y and effectively purs u e their own work -- p r o g r a m m i n g research. T h e result is an operating system of u n u s u a l simplicity, generality, a n d , a b o v e all, intelligibility.