UNIX Time-Sharing System: The UNIX Operating System as a Base for Applications

The UNIX Operating System as a Base for Applications By G. W. R. LUDERER, J. F. MARANZANO, and B. A. TAGUE (Manuscript received March 9, 1978) The intent of this paper is twofold: first, to comment on the general properties of the UNIX* operating system as a tool for software product development and as a basis for such products; and second, to introduce the remaining papers of this issue. I. A BRIEF HISTORY Bell Laboratories has employed minicomputers in laboratory work since they first became available. By the early 1970s, several hundred minicomputers were controlling experiments, supporting machine-aided design, providing remote-job-entry facilities for computation centers, and supplying peripheral support for Electronic Switching Systems laboratories. The availability of the C-language version of the U N I X system in 1973 coincided with the emergence of several new factors related to minicomputers at Bell Laboratories: (/') T h e cost, reliability, and capacity of minicomputers-- especially improvements in their peripherals--made applications possible that were previously not economical. (/'/') Minicomputer-based systems were being selected for installation in operating telephone companies to assist in the administration and maintenance of the telephone plant. * UNIX is a t r a d e m a r k of Bell L a b o r a t o r i e s .