UNIX Family Tree?

[Alan S. Watt]

This was written in early 1981 as an appendix of a document to assist
users in the transition from INteractive Systems Corporation IS/1 VAX
Workbench(tm) to Berkley 4BSD.  It is somewhat out of date, and never
intended to be accurate as much as amusing.  Enjoy.

	- Alan S. Watt

Copyright (c) 1981, All rights reserved, and all that.





			   Appendix B - UNIX Geneology


	These are the generations of UNIX and all their progeny.

	The first generations of UNIX  lived  in  the  darkness  of  Bell
	Laboratories  and  did  not see the light of Commercial Exploita-
	tion, for the yoke of a Consent Decree lay heavily on the Labora-
	tories,  and  they  feared the might of the Department of Justice
	whose Division of Antitrusts  wielded  the  awesome  Taft-Hartley
	Act.

	Later when their fear  had  subsided,  Ken  Thompson  and  Dennis
	Ritchie  of  the  brotherhood  of Bell Laboratories brought forth
	V6/UNIX, and V6/UNIX lived in the land of PDP-11.  While not per-
	fect  in  the  eyes of all, it was a lot better than anything DEC
	could offer.  Though V6/UNIX  prospered  among  Universities  and
	other  Freebies,  it  was  shunned by Commercial Users for it was
	Unsupported, Nonstandard, cost Alottabread, and ran not BASIC.

	Then  V6/UNIX  begat  PWB  (Programmer's  Workbench)  UNIX,   and
	PWB/UNIX also lived in the land of PDP-11.  And although PWB/UNIX
	also prospered many still shunned it for it also was Unsupported,
	Nonstandard, cost Alottabread, and ran not BASIC.

	Then V6/UNIX begat V7/UNIX and V7/UNIX travelled  away  from  the
	land  of  PDP-11,  visiting  the  lands of Z8000, Interdata 8/32,
	M68000, and others, even the distant and  forbidding  kingdom  of
	IBM.   For these travels, V7/UNIX was awarded the Order of Porta-
	bility.

	These were the progeny of V6/UNIX.  And with the  advent  of  V7,
	V6/UNIX  passed  from  the  sight of Bell Laboratories, though it
	lives on in many sites in the land of PDP-11.  In all,  its  days
	numbered 5 years.

	Then Interactive Systems  Corporation  clove  unto  PWB/UNIX  and
	brought  forth  IS1  Workbench,  which  also lived in the land of
	PDP-11.  IS1 Workbench later visited the land of  VAX  and  lived
	there  as  a  neighbor of VMS, but the two were always jealous of
	each other and there was no harmony between them.   In  spite  of
	this  Commercial  Users  began to desire UNIX for now it was Sup-
	ported, though it was still Nonstandard, cost Evenmorebread,  and
	ran not BASIC.

	These were the progeny of PWB/UNIX.

	When V7/UNIX appeared, Vendors of Microcomputers began to say  to
	themselves:  "Wherefore  should  we  roll our own?  The tariff we
	must pay to the Systems Programmers Guild is  higher  each  year.
	And  when  they are done, they leave us a heavy Burden of Support
	and the Gripes of Users fill our days with  vexation  instead  of
	the  Easy  Profits  we  desire.   Let  us  therefore go unto Bell
	Laboratories and make obesiance that we  might  have  UNIX."  And
	this  they  did  in great number, bringing forth ONIX, and XENIX,
	and Uni-FLEX, and Look-Alikes beyond counting.



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			   Appendix B - UNIX Geneology


	And came forth many Software Houses who said:  "We  will  support
	UNIX  and  we will train your users and we will rid the system of
	Bugs.  And we will enter into covenants  with  you  to  guarantee
	this  and  thereby will you be relieved of worry and we will rake
	in Lotsabucks."

	And thus did V7/UNIX prosper even with Commercial  Users  for  it
	was now Supported and Standard, though it still cost Alottabread,
	and ran not BASIC.

	And V7/UNIX came at last to the land of VAX  and  cast  out  VMS,
	which  had  been  put  there  by  the Lords of DEC.  And with the
	posession of the land of VAX, V7/UNIX became V32/UNIX.

	And lo, unto V32/UNIX in the land of VAX came the lords of Berke-
	ley  bearing  many  fine gifts.  They brought a paging algorithm,
	that the Plague of Swapping might be overcome.  They brought  new
	Compilers,  and  V32/UNIX began to speak in the toungues of LISP,
	PASCAL, and APL.  And many other fine gifts did they bestow.   In
	honor  of  the  Lords  of Berkeley, V32/UNIX thenceforth took the
	name VM/UNIX.

	And these are the progeny of V7/UNIX whose days so far  number  2
	years.
































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