The Life and Times of the Multics OS Kelly McNeill When asking most consumers to give their opinions about operating systems, it's rare to find an average person who even knows what an OS is, let alone one who has something insightful to say, other than perhaps what he or she has read about Microsoft in the local paper. What I find somewhat troubling is that many people who do follow technology current events still seem aware only of the standard three OSes that garner publicity from the technology media. Of course, I'm talking about Windows, MacOS and Linux. To bring us all up to speed, I plan to write a biweekly editorial about one of the many lesser-known operating systems on the market. I'll give a little historical background, mentioning the OS's strengths while also talking about what that operating system is doing today. Today's report focuses on a widely unknown yet historically rich OS called Multics. Unknown OSes?Multics -- better known as "Multiplexed Information and Computing Service" by those who used it -- is a mainframe timesharing OS that started as far back as 1965 and was put to rest after a long life in October 2000. You may be asking why we need to know more about an OS that is no longer in use. The answer to that question is the same one that your history teacher gave you in high school when you asked, "Why do we need to know this stuff?" For those who don't remember the answer to that question, here it is: "You'll never know where you're going if you don't know where you've been." Although this saying is a bit corny, it is especially true of the Multics OS because of its influence on today's operating systems. Where It All BeganMultics was started as a joint project by MIT's Project MAC, Bell Telephone Laboratories, and General Electric's Large Computer Products Division. But its influences on other operating systems were elaborate. As a matter of fact, many have said that Multics was the most influential operating system ever built. Traces of Multics can be found in such operating systems as GCOS 6, Primos, VOS, Apollo Domain, VME/B, AOS/VS, NTT DIPS, Amber, GEMSOS, VMS and many others -- but one of the most interesting (if not also amusing) influences of Multics can be found within UNIX itself. The UNIX ConnectionKen Thompson and Dennis Ritchie, the inventors of UNIX, worked on Multics until Bell Labs dropped out of the Multics development effort in 1969. The UNIX system's name is a pun on Multics attributed to Brian Kernighan. By 1970, the basic elements of the UNIX operating system were in place, but because it could support only one user, Kernighan jokingly named it the Uniplexed Information and Computing System (UNICS) as a pun on Multics. When multiprocessing functionality was added a short time later, the name was changed to "Unix," which is now just a name and not an acronym for anything. Later, several ideas in Multics were developed further in UNIX. Strategic GoalsAs described in the 1965 paper "Introduction and Overview of the Multics System" by Corbató and Vyssotsky, there were nine major goals for Multics:
Multics on Modern MicroBecause of its popularity and influence over the years, many have asked whether Multics could be ported to a modern micro. According to the Multics Web site, the answer to this question is a surprising "yes." As a matter of fact, several projects were started to try this in the 1980s, yet none was ever finished. Porting Multics would be a big and risky job, and the final product would need further development to match current state-of-the-art operating system. Despite being out of service for about a year-and-a-half, a considerable number of people are still interested in the operating system and in getting a Multics account. Discussion of resurrecting Multics in alt.os.multics has not yet led to a revival of the system, though. If you want a Multics account, join the revival effort. ------------------------------------------------------------------- For more information on Multics OS visit multicians.org website. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ab LoungerThe webmaster of this website recommends you to use ab lounger abdominal exerciser. Ab lounger helps you to lose weight and eliminate neck pain. Try ab lounger. Virtual GirlIf you are interested in video screensavers you should try the Virtual Girl software featuring several tiny girls dancing at the bottom of your desktop. It is real virtual video, not just animated images. The virtual girls live on your desktop, dance, do exercises and much more. |