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I wasn't sure of the date but here is what I just got off the Internet: It is at: << troff.org/history.html >>
Possibly more than I wanted to know, but there is a relatively short history of the development of 'troff'.
--------------------------
The history of troff
Troff was originally written by the late Joe Ossanna in about 1973, in assembly language for the PDP-11, to drive the Graphic Systems CAT typesetter. It was rewritten in C around 1975, and underwent slow but steady evolution until Ossanna's death late in 1977.
In 1979, Brian Kernighan modified troff so that it would produce output for a variety of typesetters, while retaining its input specifications. Over the decade from 1979 to 1989, the internals have been modestly revised, though much of the code remains as it was when Ossanna wrote it.
-- Taken from the Troff User's Manual.
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BTW, In 1983,I used a CPT8000 word processor, and a COBOL editor on an NCR Century 100 while working for NCR as a tech writer. (Oops, dating myself).
Harry
----- Original Message -----
From: rebecca -dot- fleischer -at- wachovia -dot- com
To: Harry Bacheler
Cc: Jennifer C. Bennett ; Liz_Vela -at- bcbstx -dot- com ; techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com ; techwr-l-bounces+rebecca -dot- fleischer=wachovia -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 8:31 AM
Subject: Re: Wordstar (was: "RE: certification (was: ranting STC)")
Not so early '80s... at my first job in the mid '80s, we started out writing docs in longhand, then sending them to the word processing center, which used CPT word processing systems. We then switched to PCs for everyone, using Lotus Manuscript...converted to CPT for final output. My next job (in '88), was at a UNIX company, and we used nroff, troff, and pic (or was it pict?) for graphics! We later switched to Interleaf, and then to FrameMaker. At my last job, I used FrameMaker for years, but then the developers wanted our documentation converted to word to make it easier for them to do reviews. It's been fun!
Becky
techwr-l-bounces+rebecca -dot- fleischer=wachovia -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com wrote on 03/08/2007 10:15:06 PM:
> To all:
>
> What about 'nroff' and 'troff' in UNIX.
>
> Talk about bringing back memories of the late 70's and early 80's (Before
> the 'personal computer').
>
> I would believe that there was some of the 'roots' for Wordstar, and the
> others that followed.
>
> Harry
>
>
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