TYPSET and RUNOFF

Editors like Leafpad, shown here, are often included with operating systems as a default helper application for opening text files.

Early document editor that was used with the 1964-released RUNOFF program, one of the earliest text formatting programs to see significant use.

- TYPSET and RUNOFF
Editors like Leafpad, shown here, are often included with operating systems as a default helper application for opening text files.

12 related topics

Alpha
login screen

Multics

Influential early time-sharing operating system based on the concept of a single-level memory.

Influential early time-sharing operating system based on the concept of a single-level memory.

login screen
login screen
Multics Commands reference manual

runoff (rf)

Unix System III running on a PDP-11 simulator

Roff (software)

First Unix text-formatting computer program, and a predecessor of the nroff and troff document processing systems.

First Unix text-formatting computer program, and a predecessor of the nroff and troff document processing systems.

Unix System III running on a PDP-11 simulator

It was a Unix version of the runoff text-formatting program from Multics, which was a descendant of RUNOFF for CTSS (the first computerized text-formatting application).

Preamble of two version of the CTSS scheduler, one in MAD and one in FAP

Compatible Time-Sharing System

The first general purpose time-sharing operating system.

The first general purpose time-sharing operating system.

Preamble of two version of the CTSS scheduler, one in MAD and one in FAP
Diagram of the Intrex running on CTSS

CTSS had one of the first computerized text editing and formatting utilities, called TYPSET and RUNOFF (the successors of MEMO, MODIFY and DITTO).

Charles Babbage, sometimes referred to as the "father of computing".

Jerry Saltzer

American computer scientist.

American computer scientist.

Charles Babbage, sometimes referred to as the "father of computing".

RUNOFF, a very early text-formatting program which was the basis for roff and nroff

Line printer output following a MAD compiler error on an IBM 704 computer at the University of Michigan, c. 1960

MAD (programming language)

Programming language and compiler for the IBM 704 and later the IBM 709, IBM 7090, IBM 7040, UNIVAC 1107, UNIVAC 1108, Philco 210-211, and eventually the IBM S/370 mainframe computers.

Programming language and compiler for the IBM 704 and later the IBM 709, IBM 7090, IBM 7040, UNIVAC 1107, UNIVAC 1108, Philco 210-211, and eventually the IBM S/370 mainframe computers.

Line printer output following a MAD compiler error on an IBM 704 computer at the University of Michigan, c. 1960

Programs written in MAD included MAIL, RUNOFF, one of the first text processing systems, and several other utilities all under Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS).

Movable type on a composing stick on a type case

Nroff

Text-formatting program on Unix and Unix-like operating systems.

Text-formatting program on Unix and Unix-like operating systems.

Movable type on a composing stick on a type case

It was a descendant of the RUNOFF program from CTSS, the first computerized text-formatting program, and is a predecessor of the Unix troff document processing system.

McIlroy at the Japan Prize Foundation in 2011

Douglas McIlroy

Mathematician, engineer, and programmer.

Mathematician, engineer, and programmer.

McIlroy at the Japan Prize Foundation in 2011

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s McIlroy contributed programs for Multics (such as RUNOFF ) and Unix operating systems (such as diff, echo, tr, join and look ), versions of which are widespread to this day through adoption of the POSIX standard and Unix-like operating systems.

Lorenz cipher machine, used in World War II to encrypt communications of the German High Command

Robert Morris (cryptographer)

American cryptographer and computer scientist.

American cryptographer and computer scientist.

Lorenz cipher machine, used in World War II to encrypt communications of the German High Command

The pair also contributed a version of runoff text-formatting program for Multics.

The end of the HELP command output from RT-11SJ displayed on a VT100.

RT-11

Discontinued small, low-end, single-user real-time operating system for the full line of Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11 16-bit computers.

Discontinued small, low-end, single-user real-time operating system for the full line of Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11 16-bit computers.

The end of the HELP command output from RT-11SJ displayed on a VT100.

DEC's version of Runoff was for producing documents.

Example of RecipeBook, a simple markup language based on XML for creating recipes. The markup can be converted programmatically for display into, for example, HTML, PDF or Rich Text Format.

SCRIPT (markup)

Part of IBM's Document Composition Facility (DCF) for IBM z/VM and z/OS systems.

Part of IBM's Document Composition Facility (DCF) for IBM z/VM and z/OS systems.

Example of RecipeBook, a simple markup language based on XML for creating recipes. The markup can be converted programmatically for display into, for example, HTML, PDF or Rich Text Format.

SCRIPT was developed for CP-67/CMS by Stuart Madnick at MIT, succeeding CTSS RUNOFF.