Unix in East Germany (GDR) (1990)
5 hours ago
- #UNIX History
- #GDR Computing
- #C Compiler Development
- In 1982, the Technical University Karl-Marx-Stadt's Computer Science Department had no students and relied on ESER I machines (IBM 360 clones), transitioning from DOS to OS and TSO.
- The discovery of a mysterious magtape led to UNIX and the C programming language, sparking enthusiasm for an OS written in a high-level language, portable across machines.
- A C compiler was hand-translated into another language, producing PDP/11 assembler, then adapted for IBM 360-Assembler, enabling the compilation of the C compiler itself within about 4 months.
- Collaboration with LfA Berlin led to porting PSU (a UNIX-like subsystem) to TSO, allowing interactive use and porting UNIX tools, despite challenges like EBCDIC encoding.
- UNIX V7 was run on PDP 11/20 machines for real UNIX experience, later integrated into education and research after upgrading to 370 machines with standalone UNIX ports.
- Developments included a job scheduler, compilers for Pascal, Modula 2, Lisp, C, C++, and technical tools, supported by terminals and institutions like TH Leipzig and FSU Jena.
- P8000 systems running WEGA (UNIX) improved computing, highlighting differences between UNIX versions (e.g., VMX as V7, WEGA as System III), with efforts to standardize documentation through GDR-UUG/EAG.
- A failed project involved MUTOS 1835 for an AT-compatible, while current work includes X and ET++ on AT/286, porting VMX to System V Release 3, and using a K1840 (VAX/11-780-alias) with MUTOS 1800.
- Future directions focus on research security, freedom to purchase hardware/software, network connections, and participation in international projects, moving beyond past isolation from the West.