17dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<html> 27dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<title> 37dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierpreface3 47dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier</title> 57dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<body BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#330088" ALINK="#FF0044"> 67dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<H1>Preface to the Third (2000) Edition 77dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier</H1> 87dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<br> <br> 97dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierA great deal has happened to Plan 9 in the five years since its last release. 107dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierAlthough much of the system will seem familiar, hardly any aspect 117dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierof it is unchanged. 127dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierThe kernel has been heavily reworked; 137dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierthe graphical environment completely rewritten; 147dd7cddfSDavid du Colombiermany commands added, deleted, or replaced; 157dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierand the libraries greatly expanded. 167dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierUnderneath, though, the same approach to computing remains: 177dd7cddfSDavid du Colombiera distributed system that uses file-like naming to access and 187dd7cddfSDavid du Colombiercontrol resources both local and remote. 197dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<br> <br> 207dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierSome of the changes are sweeping: 217dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DL> 227dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DT><DT> <DD> 237dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierAlef is gone, a casualty of the cost of maintaining multiple languages, compilers, 247dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierand libraries in a diverse world, 257dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierbut its model for processes, tasks, and communication lives on 267dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierin a new thread library for C. 277dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DT><DT> <DD> 287dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierSupport for color displays is much more general, building on a new 297dd7cddfSDavid du Colombieralpha-blending graphical operator called 307dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<TT>draw</TT> 317dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierthat replaces the old 327dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<TT>bitblt</TT>. 337dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierPlan 9 screens are now, discreetly, colorful. 347dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DT><DT> <DD> 357dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierA new mechanism called plumbing connects applications together 367dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierin a variety of ways, most obviously in the support of multimedia. 377dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DT><DT> <DD> 387dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierThe interfaces to the panoply of rotating storage devices have been 397dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierunified and extended, 407dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierwhile providing better support for having Plan 9 coexist with other 417dd7cddfSDavid du Colombieroperating systems on a single disk. 427dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DT><DT> <DD> 437dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierPerhaps most important, this release of the system is being done under 447dd7cddfSDavid du Colombieran open source agreement, providing cost-free source-level access to the 457dd7cddfSDavid du Colombiersoftware. 467dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier</dl> 477dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<br> <br> 487dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierPlan 9 continues to be the work of many people. 497dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierBesides those mentioned in the old preface, 507dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierthese people deserve particular note: 517dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierRuss Cox did much of the work updating the graphics 527dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierand creating the new disk and bootstrap model 537dd7cddfSDavid du Colombieras well as providing a number of new commands; 547dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierDavid Hogan ported Plan 9 to the Dec Alpha; 557dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierand 567dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierSape Mullender wrote the new thread library. 577dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<br> <br> 587dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierOther new contributors include 597dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierBruce Ellis, 607dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierCharles Forsyth, 617dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierEric Van Hensbergen, 627dd7cddfSDavid du Colombierand 637dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierTad Hunt. 647dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<br> <br> 657dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DL><DT><DD> 667dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DL><DT><DD> 677dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DL><DT><DD> 687dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DL><DT><DD> 697dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DL><DT><DD> 707dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DL><DT><DD> 717dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DL><DT><DD> 727dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<DL><DT><DD> 73*9a747e4fSDavid du ColombierBell Labs 747dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<br> 75*9a747e4fSDavid du ColombierComputing Science Research Center 76*9a747e4fSDavid du Colombier<br> 77*9a747e4fSDavid du ColombierMurray Hill NJ 78*9a747e4fSDavid du Colombier<br> 79*9a747e4fSDavid du ColombierJune, 2000 807dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier 817dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<br> <br> 827dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier<A href=http://www.lucent.com/copyright.html> 837dd7cddfSDavid du ColombierCopyright</A> © 2000 Lucent Technologies Inc. All rights reserved. 847dd7cddfSDavid du Colombier</body></html> 85