8th edition or System-V ??

[Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB)]

Let's get the nomenclature straight.

The version of UNIX that AT&T is actively marketing is called
"UNIX System V" (with "Release 2.0" or some such appended for
different release levels, and "version 4" or some such appended
to that to distinguish between versions for different CPU types
and/or structural changes).  That is NOT "Version 5", it is
"System V".

The various editions of UNIX as they were developed by Bell
Labs computing science Research staff were called after the
edition of the "UNIX Programmer's Manual" that described the
system.  The first UNIX distributed outside Bell Labs was the
"Fifth Edition", the first available for commercial licensing
was the "Sixth Edition", and the first relatively portable
edition was the "Seventh Edition".  The version recently
developed for Bell Labs internal use, with a few copies
apparently being made available to selected universities,
is the "Eighth Edition".  These "Editions" are often referred
to as "Versions", with the Eighth Edition known as "Research
Version 8" or "V8" for short.

Although there is considerable commonality between the Research
UNIX Editions and AT&T's marketed UNIX System V, there is also
considerable difference, especially in network support.  The
Eighth Edition's character I/O system is different from that in
any generally available UNIX and is described in the last article
in the BLTJ.