instability in Berkeley versus AT&T releases (really index)

[J.WOOD]

> Guy Harris writes (onto long sequence of articles):
> > > > * Don't flame me if the index/strchr difference isn't an example of NIH --
> > > >   I haven't used V5 much...
> > 
> > Furthermore, the index/strchr difference is probably not an example of NIH
> > in the way the original poster thought.  *Both* routines are products of
> > AT&T - the routine was called "index" in V7 and "strchr" in System III.  At
> > what point it was renamed, I dunno.  The S3 documentation comes with a
> > description of changes between S3 and some unspecified earlier version of
> > UNIX.  One of the changes was that "strcpyn" was renamed "strncpy".  This
> > predates V7, since it was called "strncpy" there as well.
> 
> 0) As usual, Guy has pretty good model of the history, minor details:
> 
> 1) index->strchr happened in UNIX/TS 1.0 (in some sense, System I of the System
> V sequence). My 1.0 manual reads November 78; as  I recall, this particular
> change happened fairly early in the packaging effort that was trying to
> get Edition 7 (late, but not released), PWB/UNIX 1.2, and some USG G3
> UNIX all back together.
> 
> 2) strcpyn ->strncpy happened at the same time, early 78. The rename
> was because some non-UNIX systems (GCOS, I think) took only the first
> 6 characters, so that strcpy and strcpyn conflicted, a clearly bad thing.
> 
> 3) In general, it is unwise to EVER label something as NIH unless you know
> for a fact that it is NIH.  There are more weird reasons for things being
> different in different UNIX versions than you would ever believe; only a few
> of them are NIH; it is always best to ask why things are different.
> -- 
> -john mashey
> UUCP: 	{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!mips!mash
> DDD:  	415-960-1200
> USPS: 	MIPS Computer Systems, 1330 Charleston Rd, Mtn View, CA 94043

Mash:

While we're arguing about who's the biggest pack rat,
my PWB UNIX Usser's Manual Edition 1.
It has neither strcatn nor strncat nor index in strings(III),
but it does have an original "Programmer's Workbench
Documentation Roadmap," Author J. R. Mashey, 01/18/77  :-)



					Joseph L. Wood, III
					AT&T Information Systems
					Laboratories, Holmdel
					(201) 834-3759
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