Multics

Multics (Multiplexed Information and Computing Service) was an extraordinarily influential early time-sharing operating system.

Project history

Multics was developed initially for the GE-645 mainframe, a 36-bit system; later, it was supported on the Honeywell 6180 series machines.

Related Topics:
GE-645 - Honeywell 6180

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Bell Labs pulled out of the project in 1969; some of the people who had worked on it there went on to create the Unix system. Though superficially, UNIX shows the influence of Multics in many areas, down to the naming of commands. The design philosophy was quite different, however, focusing on keeping the system as small and as simplistic as possible, and thus correcting what was seen as the deficiencies of Multics. The name "Unix" (originally "Unics") is itself a hack on "Multics". The U in UNIX is rumoured to stand for "Uniplexed" as opposed to the "Multiplexed" of Multics, further underscoring the designers' rejections of Multics' complexity in favour of a more straightforward and workable approach.

Related Topics:
1969 - Hack

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Honeywell bought G.E.'s computer division, released a better hardware base, and continued system development until 1985. About 80 multi-million-dollar sites were installed, at universities, industry, and government sites. The French university system had quite a few in the early 1980s. After Honeywell stopped supporting Multics, users migrated to other systems including the Unix system.

Related Topics:
Honeywell - 1985 - French - 1980s

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The last Multics machine was shut down on October 31, 2000 at the Canadian Department of National Defence.

Related Topics:
October 31 - 2000

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