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Thalia Archibald

@thalia@discuss.systems
  • Open on discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr@mastodon.social.
UNIX historian and archivist.
Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

611 Followers
205 Following
50 Posts
Joined January 18, 2026
Site:
https://thalia.dev
GitHub:
https://github.com/thaliaarchi

Posts

Open post
thalia
Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Aug 05, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @infosecdj@infosec.exchange
@infosecdj@infosec.exchange I believe Teletype made their own ICs, though I haven't disassembled them far enough to get to the ICs yet. Always busy with other projects. But I know someone who's got a 43 with, he expects, bad ICs. I was thinking I might send a set of my ICs to replace his, then he'd send the other set to be imaged. Do most IC faults not interfere with imaging? Yes, I'd open-source the emulator.
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Aug 05, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @infosecdj@infosec.exchange
@infosecdj@infosec.exchange I'm interested in imaging the ICs from one of my Teletype Model 43s to be able to emulate it. I have three, two of which have issues, so am thinking about sacrificing one to be imaged. But I'm not ready to relegate it to being a parts machine yet; I just want to check if this could be possible.
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Aug 03, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @me_@sueden.social
@me_@sueden.social From the last time I saw this: https://discuss.systems/@thalia/116909073842012007
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thalia
Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Aug 02, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
SIGGRAPH also featured my Q&A on Instagram! Bringing UNIX and teapots to the masses.
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 30, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
I had intended to do a full thread of teapots around LA, but the Hollywood stars weren't picturesque, the La Brea Tarpits Museum was closed, and I didn't make it to Griffith Observatory, so it was just this one. Oh well. https://discuss.systems/@thalia/116943048006385061
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 30, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
Thanks for the great week at SIGGRAPH! As an outsider to computer graphics, I had no idea what to expect, but it was so much fun. Lots of interest in teapots, history, and archival.
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 30, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
New friends at SIGGRAPH!
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 30, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
Utahns and Utah teapots!
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 30, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
A fun moment during my talk. I showed Martin's name in a list of UNIX users and everyone was amused that the 50-year-old CS department phone number still works.
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 28, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems

@ricci@discuss.systems We need this in SLC!
https://www.404media.co/luddite-events-nyc-off-tech-summer-of-ludd/

discuss.systems

Rob Ricci (@ricci@discuss.systems) - discuss.systems

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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 28, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems

Codeberg's recent statement and updated policy on LLM usage on their platform is admirable. They make several well-reasoned points that are often overlooked in the hype and distraction.
https://blog.codeberg.org/protecting-our-floss-commons-from-llms.html

blog.codeberg.org

Protecting our FLOSS commons from LLMs — Codeberg News

.codeberg-design ul { padding-left: revert !important; } In Brief: Two...

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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 28, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
Showing Martin Newell and Jim Blinn documents they hadn't seen in 50 years. Pictured is my copy of Martin's original Utah teapot drawing. The first page is well known, but he had forgotten about the rest. https://archive.org/details/newell_teapot_drawing I also showed a list of UNIX users with his name, as well as several UNIX licenses and his Shaded Picture System proposal. https://archive.org/details/unix_news_july-30-1975_waterloo/page/n9/mode/2up #graphics
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 27, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
The Utah teapot panel with Cem Yuksel, Martin Newell, and Jim Blinn was recorded! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhvOm8RrtC8 #graphics
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 23, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
A golden teapot for the SIGGRAPH History Archive:
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 23, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
My talk went fantastically! A picture with several Utah folks afterwards.
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thalia
Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 23, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to on discuss.systems
My teapots, now signed by the original teapot co-conspirators! The large teapot is a Melitta teapot of the same kind as the original. The 3D-printed one is Blinn aspect ratio, the one everyone’s familiar with, printed by @Archibald_M@mastodon.social. The small pink set is a children’s coffee set in the same lineup by Melitta (no graphics connection, but it’s cute). #graphics
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 22, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
Pixar’s walking teapots! Their poster claims Newell modeled the teapot in 1973, which I'd never heard before. The SIGGRAPH trivia slides claim he modeled it in 1975 (when his dissertation was published). Some people claim it was 1976 (actually when Blinn’s paper popularizing it was published). Newell told me it was most likely early to mid 1974. If their 1973 claim isn’t bogus, I want to know what they know! #graphics
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 21, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
Another teapot question! This one’s actually slightly wrong (everyone’s slightly wrong). The teapot was modeled by Martin Newell in early to mid 1974, but his dissertation was completed in 1975.
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 20, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @ricci@discuss.systems
@ricci@discuss.systems Talks are unfortunately not recorded, due to reduced budget! Very disappointing.
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 20, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
I was interviewed by SIGGRAPH to promo my talk! I cover some angles of the story here that haven't fit elsewhere. https://blog.siggraph.org/2026/07/unix-v4-and-the-utah-teapot-recovering-a-computing-time-capsule.html/ #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #graphics
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 20, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
My SIGGRAPH paper is now published! https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3799885.3816010 #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing #graphics
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 20, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
Utah teapot trivia questions from the SIGGRAPH Papers Fast-Forward:
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thalia
Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 20, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
2026 is the year of the Utah teapot:
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thalia
Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 20, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
My talk was teased in SIGGRAPH for Beginners!
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 17, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
Welcome @kishl@discuss.systems, creator of this punch card generator, to the Fediverse! #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 15, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @me_@sueden.social
@me_@sueden.social Diese Domains sind verfügbare Alternativen zu unix.next: unix.bayern unix.jetzt unix.meet unix.new unix.now unix.today unix.world unixnext.dev unixnext.meet unixnext.org
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 15, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @me_@sueden.social
@me_@sueden.social Super! Ich habe kürzlich von unix.next gehört und wünschte dass ich gehen kann. Es gibt viele UNIX Sachen, über die ich sprechen kann, aber meistens 1969–1976; nicht die Zukunft! Zum Gluck ist es kürz vor unseren Herbstferien (10–18 Okt) und ich könnte zwei Woche lang bleiben! Ich habe Deutschland seit 2021 nicht besucht und es würde viel Spaß. Bamberg ist sehr schön und es gibt viele Computer-Museums die ich besuchen will. Ich soll jetzt sparen… Internationale Flüge sind immer sehr teuer.
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 15, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @me_@sueden.social
@me_@sueden.social Ich würde sehr gerne!
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thalia
Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 15, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @me_@sueden.social
@me_@sueden.social I visited Würzburg for a day on my way back from Rothenburg o.d.T. Beautiful town.
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 15, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @me_@sueden.social
@me_@sueden.social Wow, it’s incredible they have this!
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 14, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
In reviewing my research notes for a SIGGRAPH interview, I'm surprised at how accurately I determined the who and when of the UNIX V4 tape. Before we had any supporting documents with the tape, I had to look elsewhere. My best source was a list of the first UNIX users outside of Bell Labs, which lists Martin Newell of the University of Utah as #19, but does not have any dates. To estimate when the tape would have been made, I tracked down the other institutions' histories and UNIX license agreements from their archives. This was tedious, but it was the only way I could narrow the timeframe. I determined that UNIX was likely licensed for the U in June 1974. After determining that, a letter was found among the same papers as the tape, from Ken Thompson to Martin Newell, apologizing for their delay in sending the tape. It was dated 31 May 1974. Then, once we recovered the tape's data, the file system showed the tape was copied on 12 June 1974. Wow. #unix #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 13, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @hannorein@mastodon.social
@hannorein@mastodon.social Apparently ASCII space is encoded as EBCDIC 0x40: https://wiki.osdev.org/EBCDIC I don't know what spacebar on a keypunch would have done, though. ASCII NUL from paper tape did nothing, so is similar.
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 13, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
The author used flood fill to detect the punched holes in the original image and they manually edited it to produce an unpunched card. Unfortunately, it doesn't type the human-readable text above the column like keypunches did, but I've suggested that improvement. The interactivity is well done! https://github.com/Kishlay-notabot/web-punchcard
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 13, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Go punch a card! https://kishlay-notabot.github.io/reviving-ibm-punch-card.html #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 12, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @dahukanna@mastodon.social
@dahukanna@mastodon.social I'm less familiar with these business case studies, so I did some reading. Kodak's downfall was from not embracing digital photography, despite producing the first digital camera. Boeing's ruination is from lax quality control due to outsourcing and cutting costs. So the connection you're making to LLM companies is that, despite bringing the technology to the masses, they're falling behind cheaper competitors. And that companies that don't manage quality control in their LLM use, the default state of affairs, are suffering due to mid-level engineer burnout. It's like the Boeing case, but with the effects directed outwards to customers. Is that it?
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jul 09, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Tonight at Utah Rust, we're going to be building mini async runtimes, led by David Brungardt. Come and learn async with us! :rustacean: https://www.meetup.com/utah-rust/events/314696647/ https://github.com/carllerche/tokioconf-2026-workshop-exercises #rust #async #tokio
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jun 29, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
I sent a photo to the reporter to replace the thumbnail and the Google slop engine produced these. Ruined the colors and terrible taglines. "Peak 2026 tech", as the video says. Everything needs A/B testing for maximum clicks.
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jun 29, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
This is surreal. Apparently, an AI-generated version of me holding a magtape (but not the V4 tape) is now the thumbnail on at least the channel listing.
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jun 29, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
The black monitor in the historical clips (0:12, 0:44) looks like a Teletype Model 40. The video editing is great, distilling hours of interviews into a story. (But disregard the AI-generated cover image; the tape does not look like that.)
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jun 29, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
The CBS story for our recovery of UNIX V4 has now been published! It's a fun, short clip. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HatXp2dqxb4 #unix #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · Jun 25, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @shadow53@floss.social
@gooseliketyping@corteximplant.com FYI
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · May 23, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems

Typing on @icm@mastodon.sdf.org's Teletype Model 35 ASR last year.

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY MAKES JACK A DULL BOY.

#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · May 22, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems

It's teletype day!

#retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

discuss.systems

discuss.systems

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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · May 20, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems

How were { } curly braces typed with a Teletype Model 33 on UNIX? These characters are especially important for C, but absent on this terminal. This is a tour of the coevolution of UNIX and C, from this perspective, featuring “hello, world” through the ages.

https://thalia.dev/blog/unix-braces/

#unix #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing

Thalia Archibald’s blog

Curly braces: An evolution of UNIX and C

Research, writing, and software history

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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · May 10, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Boosted by AssertionError("Joe Groff") @joe@f.duriansoftware.com
A cursed feature of C in 1972: Labels and functions were reassignable (i.e., lvalues)! For example, this is a clever way to initialize once: goto init; init: ouptr = oubuf; init = init1; init1: which is compiled to: jmp *4120 mov 4136,4144 mov 4122,4120 Note the indirect jump and assignment to that address. This would have also worked with functions. #c #unix #retrocomputing #vintagecomputing
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · May 10, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @gloriouscow@oldbytes.space
@gloriouscow@oldbytes.space Cute!
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Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · May 07, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @bzotto@sfba.social
@bzotto@sfba.social I've been thinking about that. I'd love to spend a month there digging up UNIX documents. I'm even only working for part of the summer. Unfortunately, the timing isn't great, as I'd want to travel during the summer, but decisions are made 1 July and fall semester starts in late August, so an apartment rental would be during two months.
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thalia
Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · May 06, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @dougmerritt@mathstodon.xyz
@lindsey @dougmerritt @dan @regehr FILE and the associated buffered I/O methods were introduced in V7. Before then, you’d restate the buffer struct definition instead of including a header, often naming only the fields you use. Here’s an example from diff in V5: struct buf { int fdes; char data[516]; } *buf1, *buf2; The buffer is actually only 512 bytes; the other 4 bytes that are lumped in are fields they don’t use here. https://github.com/dspinellis/unix-history-repo/blob/Research-V5/usr/source/s1/diff1.c#L66
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Open post
thalia
Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · May 06, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @thalia@discuss.systems
@lindsey @regehr @dan I ought to backport sl to UNIX V4 (this would be annoying, as stdio did not exist yet) and write a version that would work decently well on my teleprinters (perhaps it could print the train vertically so it would move up the page without erasing).
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Open post
thalia
Thalia Archibald @thalia@discuss.systems · May 06, 2026
Thalia Archibald
@thalia@discuss.systems

Computer science PhD student at the University of Utah, researching compiler verification with @regehr. UNIX historian and archivist. Occasional Rust standard library contributor.

discuss.systems
Replying to @lindsey@recurse.social
@lindsey @regehr @dan sl was the first command I taught my sibling. It's a favorite!
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