From d780a23a9947039c997e785105160c78db1d134c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Warner Losh Date: Thu, 9 Sep 2021 17:11:18 -0600 Subject: [PATCH] tabs: a hacky version of tabs appeared in 1st edition Unix First edition Unix had an /etc/tabs file. It contained the escape sequences to set tabs to every 8 stops on an old Teletype Model 37 and compatible terminals. One would 'cat /etc/tabs' to reset them. Unix at the time effectively mandated this because the delays in the tty driver assumed this and tabs didn't work when they were too different from '8'. Document this historical niggle in HISTORY after it was brought to my attention on a Hacker News thread. Sponsored by: Netflix --- usr.bin/tabs/tabs.1 | 9 +++++++-- 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) diff --git a/usr.bin/tabs/tabs.1 b/usr.bin/tabs/tabs.1 index 9075de5fa7ff..614c8c96cb13 100644 --- a/usr.bin/tabs/tabs.1 +++ b/usr.bin/tabs/tabs.1 @@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ .\" .\" $FreeBSD$ .\" -.Dd May 20, 2002 +.Dd September 9, 2021 .Dt TABS 1 .Os .Sh NAME @@ -147,9 +147,14 @@ The utility conforms to .St -p1003.1-2001 . .Sh HISTORY +.Pa /etc/tabs +appeared in +.At v1 +which set tabs every 8 on Teletype model 37 and compatible printing terminals +when printed. A .Nm -utility appeared in PWB UNIX. +utility that worked on many terminals appeared in PWB UNIX. This implementation was introduced in .Fx 5.0 . .Sh BUGS