[Catalyst] OT: Windows bashing (was: Catalyst for (really) bigapplications)

Gary Ashton-Jones Gary_ASHTON-JONES at rta.nsw.gov.au
Tue May 23 04:23:17 CEST 2006


I know this thread is supposed to be dead but I can't resist one  
comment...

On 23/05/2006, at 11:14 AM, Kieren Diment wrote:

> ...
>
> on. I've always wondered if, when he wrote DOS and borrowed the  
> Unix file
> path, he changed / to \, that was to make it proprietary? LOL.

I hate to look like I'm defending Mr Gates but I believe QDOS used  
backslash because Bell Labs had patented forwardslash. (Remember, the  
original justification for the Unix project was to assist Bell Labs'  
patent applications. (The ironies are too delicious.)) I also believe  
Bell's patent of newline for line endings was the same reason for  
QDOS using CR/LF (and why Apple chose CR). But I'm happy to be  
disabused of either of these beliefs.

>
>
> Except he didn't write dos, he bought a product called  Quick and  
> Dirty Operating  System which  was what he subsequently sold to IBM  
> for the PC :)
>
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