documentary · intro · evergreen
AT&T Archives: The UNIX Operating System
AT&T Tech Channel · Feb 22, 2012 · 27m 27s
What this video covers
A 1982 Bell Labs film hosted by Victor Vyssotsky on the origins and design philosophy of the UNIX operating system, with appearances by Kernighan, Thompson and Ritchie. It shows pipes, filters and a shell one-liner spell checker being built.
Why it surfaced in Hacker News
HN points people to it as the clearest primary-source explanation of Unix pipes and the small-tools philosophy, straight from the creators.
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Recommendation context
Short excerpts from positive mentions. Open the source to read the full Hacker News discussion.
“I wish someone showed me the UNIX operating system introduction by Kernighan et al before anything else.”
“The pipelines explanation was incredibly clear.”
“the old Bell Labs video from 4:56 to 10:52 is still the best way I have seen pipes explained”