A Repository with 44 Years of Unix Evolution
Key topics
Regulars are buzzing about a repository that chronicles 44 years of Unix evolution, sparking a lively discussion on the history of version control. Commenters riff on the surprisingly low number of merges (2K) amidst 670,000 commits, with some attributing this to the limitations of older systems like SCCS and RCS. The conversation takes a nostalgic turn as veterans share war stories about using RCS and SCCS in the pre-Git era, while newcomers get a primer on the evolution of source control from experts like DSpinellis. As the thread unfolds, it sheds light on the often-overlooked history of software development practices.
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Discussion Activity
Moderate engagementFirst comment
1h
Peak period
6
6-8h
Avg / period
3.3
Based on 20 loaded comments
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Nov 28, 2025 at 4:32 AM EST
about 1 month ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Nov 28, 2025 at 5:46 AM EST
1h after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
6 comments in 6-8h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Nov 29, 2025 at 4:25 AM EST
about 1 month ago
Step 04
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I tried to get our org on to something for a while, but got massive push back until 5 or 6 years ago when they setup corporate wide paid githup repo.
Before that, I found a small group of developers around 2005 that used CVS and they allowed me to leverage that for my group. But of course I was the only one who used it.
Back then I guess people loved loosing source code, which happened a lot until git.
And whenever a code file was locked on the server, the Devs went into the server room (aka the break room with a computer) and rebooted the server. The production server that was used by 30+ employees.
But on the minis (non-DEC) I worked on back then, there was nothing. We kept a specific drive that had source current source, but once in production you just copied the change version to that drive, replacing what was already there. As you can guess, changes disappeared often :) And there was no change history, but we would tag each line changed with our 3 character ID.
Whereas today, we have a stack of virtual backup tapes plus a DAG on the labels.
(OK, only 30 years ago we were using SCCS or maybe already RCS.)
However, there commits start 33 years before Git was created. Merge commits were not even a concept back than.
The provided kernel predates the actual edition by a few months. It is based on https://www.tuhs.org/Archive/Distributions/Research/Dennis_v..., which matches V4 more than V3.