1983 UBC PDP-11 Unix tools distribution

[Brent Hilpert]

On 2019-Mar-05, at 8:36 PM, Warner Losh via cctalk wrote:
> On Tue, Mar 5, 2019 at 5:17 PM Al Kossow via cctalk <cctalk at classiccmp.org>
> wrote:
>> On 3/5/19 5:16 PM, Al Kossow via cctalk wrote:
>>> Today's tape recovery gem. UBC's PDP-11 UNIX tools distribution ca. 1983
>> 
>> oh.. and Bill Webb's name is all over this stuff
>> 
>> Bill went to IBM, and worked on AOS for the PC-RT
> 
> UBC is what? University of British Columbia?


That was my first question too.
Having worked at the University of British Columbia through that era, a "UNIX tools distribution" kind of surprised me,
and was wondering if it was some other meaning of "UBC".

The Computing Centre (at that time) had nothing to do with UNIX, revolving entirely around MTS.
They used /11s as front-end terminal muxes for the MTS mainframe, but those were running their own
internal system software written in their own language (PLUS, IIRC).

The Computer Science Dept. (my home base) ignored ATT Unix and had no /11s running UNIX, instead running BSD on vax(en).

There was a small facility in biosci or genetics running UNIX on /11s or (later) a vax (IIRC), serving the bio community.
I had some minor association with them, saw the machine room once and recall the fellow who managed it,
but was unaware of them doing general system tools development, or being known for such outside the university/bio dept.

TRIUMF was using /11s for cyclotron control I believe, that's not where you anticipate UNIX showing up.

But . . . buried in ubc/fcdoc/fclet is:

	)m Biology Data Center 
	)l 2204 Main Mall
	)l The University of British Columbia
	)l Vancouver, B.C., Canada ~~V6T 1W5 )ml2e
	go
	)t2 August 24, 1979.
	)l2 Dear Fortran 77 user:
	!p there is now available a new version of the UBC Fortran 77 compiler. 
	. . .
	. . . 
	)l6t2 Sincerly )l4t2 W. E. Webb 

Learn somethin' new every day.