Hi Warner, I don't see why not!
Best, .ike > On May 13, 2026, at 1:14 PM, Warner Losh <[email protected]> wrote: > > Oh! Can we share this usrnews.txt file with TUHS? Or is it already in their > archive? > > Warner > > On Tue, May 12, 2026 at 7:32 PM Isaac (.ike) Levy <[email protected]> > wrote: > Hi All, > > It's rare for any presenter, in any technical talk, to even have their slides > done the day before their presentation. > > However, ahead of the NYC*BUG meeting tomorrow night, Steve Bourne forwarded > something he prepared for us in 1978. > > Attached, /usr/news updates June 1976 through July 1978. A snapshot of the > shell being built at Bell Labs. It shows the actual design decisions as they > were happening (spoiler alert): > > - $pid -> $$, $r -> $?, $n -> $#, $pcs -> $! (variable names compressing from > words to symbols) > - read introduced as a builtin (replacing set -r name) > - export introduced, variables not transmitted to environment by default > (this shocked me!) > - PATH replacing the old lowercase $p > - IFS word splitting on read > - The line: "Those who read certain children's magazines will readily > recognize these." > > > Also a reminder, worth a look before tomorrow's fireside chat, where we can > discuss more with SRB: > > BSTJ 57: 6. July-August 1978: UNIX Time-Sharing System: The UNIX Shell. > (Bourne, S.R.) > https://archive.org/details/bstj57-6-1971 > > Best, > .ike > >
