ugh.book

3 Documentation?...............................................................

What Documentation?

“One of the advantages of using UNIX to teach an operating systems

course is the sources and documentation will easily fit into a stu-

dent’s briefcase.”

—John Lions, University of New South Wales,

talking about Version 6, circa 1976

For years, there were three simple sources for detailed Unix knowledge:

1. Read the source code.


2. Write your own version.


3. Call up the program’s author on the phone (or inquire over the
   network via e-mail).

Unix was like Homer, handed down as oral wisdom. There simply were no

serious Unix users who were not also kernel hackers—or at least had ker-

nel hackers in easy reach. What documentation was actually written—the

infamous Unix “man pages”—was really nothing more than a collection of

reminders for people who already knew what they were doing. The Unix

documentation was so concise that you could read it all in an afternoon.