17dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.TL 27dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierPreface to the Third (2000) Edition 37dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.LP 47dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierA great deal has happened to Plan 9 in the five years since its last release. 57dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierAlthough much of the system will seem familiar, hardly any aspect 67dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierof it is unchanged. 77dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierThe kernel has been heavily reworked; 87dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierthe graphical environment completely rewritten; 97dd7cddfSDavid du Colombiermany commands added, deleted, or replaced; 107dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierand the libraries greatly expanded. 117dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierUnderneath, though, the same approach to computing remains: 127dd7cddfSDavid du Colombiera distributed system that uses file-like naming to access and 137dd7cddfSDavid du Colombiercontrol resources both local and remote. 147dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.LP 157dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierSome of the changes are sweeping: 167dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.IP 177dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierAlef is gone, a casualty of the cost of maintaining multiple languages, compilers, 187dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierand libraries in a diverse world, 197dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierbut its model for processes, tasks, and communication lives on 207dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierin a new thread library for C. 217dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.IP 227dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierSupport for color displays is much more general, building on a new 237dd7cddfSDavid du Colombieralpha-blending graphical operator called 247dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.CW draw 257dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierthat replaces the old 267dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.CW bitblt . 277dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierPlan 9 screens are now, discreetly, colorful. 287dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.IP 297dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierA new mechanism called plumbing connects applications together 307dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierin a variety of ways, most obviously in the support of multimedia. 317dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.IP 327dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierThe interfaces to the panoply of rotating storage devices have been 337dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierunified and extended, 347dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierwhile providing better support for having Plan 9 coexist with other 357dd7cddfSDavid du Colombieroperating systems on a single disk. 367dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.IP 377dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierPerhaps most important, this release of the system is being done under 387dd7cddfSDavid du Colombieran open source agreement, providing cost-free source-level access to the 397dd7cddfSDavid du Colombiersoftware. 407dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.LP 417dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierPlan 9 continues to be the work of many people. 427dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierBesides those mentioned in the old preface, 437dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierthese people deserve particular note: 447dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierRuss Cox did much of the work updating the graphics 457dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierand creating the new disk and bootstrap model 467dd7cddfSDavid du Colombieras well as providing a number of new commands; 477dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierDavid Hogan ported Plan 9 to the Dec Alpha; 487dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierand 497dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierSape Mullender wrote the new thread library. 507dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.LP 517dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierOther new contributors include 527dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierBruce Ellis, 537dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierCharles Forsyth, 547dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierEric Van Hensbergen, 557dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierand 567dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierTad Hunt. 577dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.sp 58*9a747e4fSDavid du Colombier.in 3i 597dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierBell Labs 607dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.br 617dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierComputing Science Research Center 627dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.br 637dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierMurray Hill NJ 647dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier.br 657dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierJune, 2000 66