*BSD News Article 83055


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From: cjs@cynic.portal.ca (Curt Sampson)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.misc,comp.unix.bsd.misc,alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: On the Naming of UNIX Things
Date: 16 Nov 1996 12:28:48 -0800
Organization: Internet Portal Services, Inc.
Lines: 18
Message-ID: <56l860$ds9@cynic.portal.ca>
References: <55vhpf$q3o@mail1.wg.waii.com> <569rkk$gv0@orac.mon.rnb.com> <1996111212371894551@[192.159.32.153]> <wzzq0kfrg0.fsf@expernet26.expernet.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: cynic.portal.ca
Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.unix.misc:26501 comp.unix.bsd.misc:1539 alt.folklore.computers:124770

In article <wzzq0kfrg0.fsf@expernet26.expernet.com>,
Peter Ludemann  <ludemann@expernet26.expernet.com> wrote:

>I seem to remember 3-letter commands for RT-11, but the only one that
>comes to mind now is "PIP" (Peripheral Interchange Program").  On
>PDP-11s, there was a straightforward method of packing 3 characters
>into a 2-byte word, so file names were 6 characters, with a
>3-character extension (I suppose MS-DOS copied the 3-character
>extension, but without the 3-to-2 packing).

Well, MS-DOS copied it though CP/M. CP/M seems to have taken a lot
from RT-11; it even had a PIP program.

cjs
-- 
Curt Sampson    cjs@portal.ca		Info at http://www.portal.ca/
Internet Portal Services, Inc.	
Vancouver, BC   (604) 257-9400		De gustibus, aut bene aut nihil.