From sentto-2719433-3-980472971-gtoal=vt.com@returns.onelist.com Thu Jan 25 19:03:32 2001 Received: from ei.egroups.com (ei.egroups.com [64.211.240.237]) by admin.vt.com (8.8.5/8.7.3) with SMTP id TAA25275 for ; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 19:03:31 -0600 (CST) X-eGroups-Return: sentto-2719433-3-980472971-gtoal=vt.com@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.4.53] by ei.egroups.com with NNFMP; 26 Jan 2001 01:36:29 -0000 X-Sender: gtoal@admin.vt.com X-Apparently-To: edinburgh-computer-history@egroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-7_0_2); 26 Jan 2001 01:36:10 -0000 Received: (qmail 36193 invoked from network); 26 Jan 2001 01:10:17 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.26) by l7.egroups.com with QMQP; 26 Jan 2001 01:10:17 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO admin.vt.com) (204.117.188.10) by mta1 with SMTP; 26 Jan 2001 01:10:17 -0000 Received: (from root@localhost) by admin.vt.com (8.8.5/8.7.3) id SAA24440 for edinburgh-computer-history@egroups.com; Thu, 25 Jan 2001 18:37:17 -0600 (CST) Message-Id: <200101260037.SAA24440@admin.vt.com> To: edinburgh-computer-history@egroups.com From: Graham Toal MIME-Version: 1.0 Mailing-List: list edinburgh-computer-history@egroups.com; contact edinburgh-computer-history-owner@egroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list edinburgh-computer-history@egroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 18:37:17 -0600 (CST) Reply-To: edinburgh-computer-history@egroups.com Subject: Re: [ed-comp-hist] Some Input from JGH Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Status: RO > > EDWIN > > task: Contact JGH. Who apparently is the world's last IMP user. > > See what else he has... > > I am sure that I am not the last, possibly the last to admit it! > > I think that I have the full sources of the latest version of > EDWIN somewhere. Great. I'll contact you when our ftp archive is online. Or if you have somewhere on your own system to put them (public ftp or http) then I can pick them up myself when ready. > Other programs which I still use/have: > > ECCE - RWT's port to Unix, only as SunOS binary. > VECCE - PMcL and ADC after HMD, VMS source and binary. > NLINES - NR's VMS command > FILES - GDMR VMS command > CLEAN - GDMR VMS command > > imp - 3L SunOS binary version (this is commercial and owned by CGI) > IMP - 3L VMS binary version (this is commercial and owned by CGI) > Shapesmith - ES2/LL binary version (commercial and owned by CGI) OK, we'd better set some ground rules so that we're not misinterpreted by anyone: I do *not* want to archive any commercial sources of anything that can still be considered a product. Firstly, it's illegal; secondly, it implies the owners still have the sources and maintain them themselves - meaning it must be pretty recent software, and not in danger of being lost. (Caveat: if you know the copyright holders and they give permission to release sources, that's a different issue) Rather than looking for something like a current Sparc or Vax Imp compiler, what we need to preserve are old ones for machines that are no longer in use, such as a PDP8 or an Interdata, or the EMAS compilers. (If this project is still in existence many years from now, we'll get those ancient Sparc and Vax programs after the machines no longer exist ;-) ) Also, unless anyone is planning to do a hardware emulation, I don't really see a point in preserving old binaries at this point. That may change in the future, but if so it will be a different project. (If anyone does take on any hardware emulations, some bootstrap binaries may be essential. Which reminds me, it would be nice to have a historical record of things like the bootstrap switch sequences for the Interdatas and the PDP9/15! I think we may find that in an old copy of 'Noddy goes to the Machine Halls'...) [Does anyone remember a student project from Dave who hacked the EMAS Imp compiler to embed source in the binaries, with the intention that code would never 'go stiff' again? That was innovative. It didn't catch on, but it was a good idea.] The other things you mentioned such as your Edwin and VECCE are ideal candidates for the archive and I'll be calling on you in a few days to arrange pickup! Thanks. Graham To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: edinburgh-computer-history-unsubscribe@egroups.com