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From: FANN...@SRI-KL.ARPA
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Subject: IBM UNIX (for what it's worth...)
Message-ID: <15483@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 14-Jan-84 17:04:28 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.15483
Posted: Sat Jan 14 17:04:28 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 16-Jan-84 01:02:09 EST
Lines: 299
From: Tony Fanning <FANN...@SRI-KL.ARPA>
THE IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER INTERACTIVE EXECUTIVE (PC/IX) IS A
new operating environment derived from the UNIX(1). Time Sharing
System. It includes several enhancements designed specifically for
the IBM Personal Computer. PC/IX was developed for IBM by INTERACTIVE
Systems Corporation of Santa Monica, California. PC/IX is based on
INTERACTIVE's IS/3, which is based, in turn, on UNIX System III, as
licensed by AT&T Technologies, Inc., formerly the Western Electric
Company.
PC/IX is a single-user multitasking system. It allows a single
user to run several tasks at the same time, e.g., printing one file
while editing another. Several users may also utilize the IBM
Personal Computer at different times, with full control to prevent
unauthorized access to or usage of files by one user that belong to
another user. PC/IX provides a flexible working environment and a
uniform set of tools for program development, document preparation,
and text processing.
6428163
(1) UNIX is a trademark of Bell Laboratories.
HIGHLIGHTS
o Hierarchical file system.
o Flexible command language.
o Execution of sequential, asynchronous, and background processes.
o A powerful full-screen editor.
o Flexible document formatting system.
o System to control and track changes in programs and documents.
o Co-residence with PC-DOS on fixed disk partitions.
o High-level programming language (C language) conducive to
structured programming.
o Utilities for file transfer to and from PC DOS Version 2.
o 8087 Math Co-Processor support or emulation.
DESCRIPTION
THE KERNEL
The kernel is the basic resident operating system that
executes system calls, maintains the file system, and manages system
resources. It contains device drivers, input/output (I/O) buffers,
processor and memory scheduling components, and gathers accounting
and device error information. All I/O is logically synchronous.
Automatic buffering by the operating system makes physical records
invisible and exploits the hardware's ability to do overlapped I/O.
Unbuffered I/O is also available.
The file system consists of directories and files arranged in
a hierarchical structure. It possesses the following features:
o Directories, which may contain files and/or other directories.
o Simple, consistent naming conventions. Names may be fully
qualified, or relative to a directory in the file system
hierarchy.
o Mountable and demountable file systems and volumes.
o File linking across and within directories.
o A flexible set of directory and file protection modes.
o Facilities for creating, accessing, moving, and processing files
and directories simply and uniformly.
o Each physical I/O device, from the display and the keyboard to
main memory, is treated like a file, allowing uniform file and
device I/O.
USER ACCESS CONTROL
Access to PC/IX is protected by passwords. The system
administrator can:
o Allow users to change their passwords at will.
o Force them to change their passwords at specified intervals.
o Prevent them from changing assigned passwords.
INED EDITOR
The INed Editor is a full-screen text editor which features:
o Function keys that may be used in place of having to type
commands.
o Multiple "windows" that display one or more files, with both
window and cursor positioning.
o Corrections, insertions, and deletions made by cursor positioning
and typing. Text is accepted in overwrite or insert mode. Insert
mode automatically moves existing text to the right as characters
are typed.
o Cut-and-paste operations that allow picking up text from a file
and placing it elsewhere in the same file or in a different file.
o Scrolling one line or a number of lines at a time. Vertical
scrolling may also be done as a fraction or multiple of the
number of lines in the window. The text may be scrolled left or
right to display lines whose length exceeds the width of the
window.
o Automatic scrolling on input. After text is entered on the bottom
line of the window, the editor automatically scrolls upward,
allowing entry of additional text in the window. Preceding text
remains on the screen to maintain the context of the entry.
o Ability to use UNIX System "filter" programs while in the editor.
These programs can manipulate and process the text being edited,
e.g., sorting, or global replacement can be performed in this
manner.
o Several backup levels that help prevent the inadvertent
destruction of files, while keeping file proliferation to a
minimum.
COMMAND LANGUAGE
The flexible and powerful PC/IX SHELL serves as an interactive
command interpreter with high-level programming language constructs.
SHELL procedures (command files) are easily written to perform
tedious or repetitive sequences of commands and to tailor the general
PC/IX environment to specific requirements. Features of the SHELL
include:
o Use of programs as commands, with dynamic character-string
arguments. File name arguments may be generated by a
pattern-matching operation on the names of files in specified
directories.
o Redirection of standard input and output, permitting a program to
run with a file, display, keyboard, or other device, as input
and/or output.
o Sequential command execution.
o Concurrent parallel command execution with the output of one
command connected to the input of another. This command chaining,
called "pipelining," permits the construction of complex
operations from sequences of simple programs.
o Program and command execution in the "background" mode.
o Iteration (repetition) of commands for explicit lists of items,
file names, or command-file arguments.
o Conditional execution: IF, THEN, ELSE, FOR, CASE, and WHILE
constructions.
o Case selection based on pattern matching.
o String variables including string and integer operations on those
variables.
FILE MANAGEMENT UTILITIES
PC/IX includes a full range of utilities for copying,
renaming, deleting, and archiving files. Other commands give the user
flexible access to the directory hierarchy. Users may create and
remove files and directories that they own, list various information
about files and directories, or search a directory hierarchy for
files having particular characteristics. There are commands for
locating particular strings or combinations of strings in files,
finding line-by-line differences or common lines among files,
performing character translations, and sorting and/or merging files
based on selected fields.
STATUS INQUIRY UTILITIES
Status inquiry commands allow the user to determine what
processes are active and to obtain various system usage statistics.
The user can also request a disk usage summary by directory or for
the entire file system.
DOCUMENT PREPARATION
The text processing facilities of PC/IX include a powerful
full-screen editor (see INed Editor above), spelling error detection
facilities, and text formatting capabilities. The text formatting
facilities provide control of formatting features such as pagination,
paragraph style, heading and subheading numbers, line justification,
hyphenation, multi-column pages, footnote placement, and generation
of tables of contents. These capabilities help automate the
production of documents such as letters, memoranda, legal briefs, and
books.
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT TOOLS
The principal programming language for PC/IX is the C
language, a general-purpose language designed for structured
programming.
PC/IX provides:
o Compiler for the C language.
o Assembler and relocating loader for the IBM Personal Computer.
o Comprehensive run time library.
o Program for checking C source programs for stylistic and
portability deviations (LINT).
The system allows the profiling of the execution of C
programs, giving procedure-call frequencies and timing information.
Other support tools include a C cross-referencer, a debugger, a
symbol-table lister, and programs for organizing and maintaining
object-module libraries.
The MAKE program mechanizes program creation and maintenance,
ensuring that all constituents of a set of programs are current. A
graph of dependencies specified in a MAKEFILE controls re-creation of
the target programs. If some constituents are modified, only the
modules affected by the dependencies are recompiled.
SOURCE CODE CONTROL SYSTEM
The Source Code Control System (SCCS) is a collection of
programs that manage changes to files. It provides facilities for
storing, updating, and retrieving any version of a controlled file.
It controls updating privileges to a file and records who made each
change, and when and why it was made. SCCS solves many of the source
code and document control problems that software development projects
encounter when customer support, system testing, and development are
all proceeding simultaneously. SCCS includes the following features:
o Re-creation of source files as they existed at previous stages of
development or maintenance.
o Storage of the original file and changes made to it, so that
common code or text is stored only once. This permits compact
storage of all releases and/or versions of source code modules or
text.
o Protection from unauthorized changes to releases in production or
system test status.
o The ability to cause automatic insertion of identifying
information into source code modules that enables identification
of the exact version and release of any module, given only the
corresponding load module.
QUEUING SYSTEM
The PC/IX Queuing System provides queued access to devices
such as printers and communications controllers. It supports
first-come/first-served, shortest-job-next, and priority-based
scheduling, multi-copy printing, and job status inquiry.
SYSTEM MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS
PC/IX system management tools include facilities for:
o Adding, deleting, and changing user accounts.
o Creating, mounting, and unmounting file systems.
o Performing consistency checks on file systems and automatically
or interactively repairing damaged file systems.
o Dumping and restoring file systems (both full and incremental
dumps are supported).
o System start up and shut down.
o Enabling and disabling system access via selected ports.
o Performance monitoring, accounting, and error logging.
COMMANDS
The UNIX System commands supported by PC/IX are listed and
described in the PC/IX User's Manual (SH20-6365).
PUBLICATIONS
The publications for PC/IX, except for the General Information
Manual (GH20-6247), are provided in loose-leaf binders.
Publication Binder
General Information Manual GH20-6247
User's Manual SH20-6365 SH20-6364
Programmer's Guide SH20-6367 SH20-6366
System Manager's Guide SH20-6369 SH20-6368
Text Processing Guide SH20-6371 SH20-6370
The General Information Manual is available now. The other
documents and binders listed above may be ordered separately from
Mechanicsburg by IBM representatives at general availability.
SCHEDULE
The planned availability date is April 1984.
TECHNICAL INFORMATION
SPECIFIED OPERATING ENVIRONMENT
HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS: The PC/IX system supports both the IBM
Personal Computer XT and the IBM Personal Computer with Fixed Disk
Expansion. All minimum configurations require 256 KB storage, one
dual-sided diskette drive, and one 10 MB fixed disk drive.
The minimum hardware configuration for the IBM Personal
Computer XT consists of:
o One IBM Personal Computer XT System Unit/Keyboard (model
5160087), which includes the following:
- One dual-sided diskette drive
- One 10 MB fixed disk drive
- One Asynchronous Communications Support Adapter
- 128 KB storage
o Two 64 KB memory module kits (option 1501003), totaling 256 KB of
memory
o One IBM Monochrome Display (option 5151001) and Adapter (option
1504900)
or
o One IBM Color Display (option 5153001) and Adapter (option
1504910). The Color Display is supported in text mode only.
The minimum configuration for the IBM Personal Computer with
Fixed Disk Expansion consists of:
o One IBM Personal Computer System Unit/Keyboard (model 5150164),
which includes the following:
- One dual-sided diskette drive
- 64 KB storage
o One IBM Personal Computer Expansion Unit (model 001) with a 10 MB
fixed disk drive and fixed disk adapter (option 5161001)
o Three 64 KB memory module kits (option 1501003), totaling 256 KB
of memory
o One IBM Monochrome Display (option 5151001) and Adapter (option
1504900)
or
o One IBM Color Display (option 5153001) and Adapter (option
1504910). The Color Display is supported in text mode only
The monochrome and color displays may both be used within the same
PC/IX system. Switching between the displays may be accomplished
using the PC/IX STTY command.
The following optional hardware is supported:
o Additional storage up to a total of 640 KB; 64/256 KB memory
expansion (option 1501013); 64 KB memory module kit (option
1501003)
o 8087 Math Co-Processor (option 1501002)
o Up to two Asynchronous Communications Adapters (option 1502074)
o One additional 10 MB fixed disk drive (option 1602500) for use
with the PC Expansion Unit Model 001 (option 5161001)
o One IBM Personal Computer Expansion Unit Model 002 with a 10 MB
fixed disk drive (option 5161002) for attachment to the PC/XT
o Up to three additional single-sided or dual-sided diskette drives
(a total of four diskette drives)
o Up to two IBM Graphics Printers (option 5152002) or IBM 80 CPS
Matrix Printers
SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS: There are no software prerequisites.
PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS: It is recommended that the configuration
include 512 KB of storage in order to take full advantage of the
multi-tasking capabilities of PC/IX. An additional 10 MB fixed disk
is recommended for applications that require large amounts of data.
The additional disk may also be used to improve system performance.
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