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Re: Origin Of Filename Extension Dot Separator

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  Re: Origin Of Filename Extension Dot Separator anthk@not.dev.null - 2026-08-17 23:57 +0200
    Re: Origin Of Filename Extension Dot Separator John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> - 2026-08-18 00:07 +0000
      Re: Origin Of Filename Extension Dot Separator Bob Eager <throwaway0008@eager.cx> - 2026-08-18 11:51 +0000
        Re: Origin Of Filename Extension Dot Separator Rich Alderson <news@alderson.users.panix.com> - 2026-08-18 22:15 -0400
      Re: Origin Of Filename Extension Dot Separator Rich Alderson <news@alderson.users.panix.com> - 2026-08-18 22:13 -0400

#235321 — Re: Origin Of Filename Extension Dot Separator

Under ITS I think they were just separated by a space 

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#235322

According to  <anthk@not.dev.null>:
>
>Under ITS I think they were just separated by a space 

It was a dot on the DEC PDP-6 monitor that evolved into TOPS-10. I
believe TOPS-10 is where both CP/M and MS-DOS got their filename
syntax.


-- 
Regards,
John Levine, johnl@taugh.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

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#235324

On Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:07:16 +0000, John Levine wrote:

> According to  <anthk@not.dev.null>:
>>
>>Under ITS I think they were just separated by a space
> 
> It was a dot on the DEC PDP-6 monitor that evolved into TOPS-10. I
> believe TOPS-10 is where both CP/M and MS-DOS got their filename syntax.

Also (around the same time) on the PDP-8 operating system, OS/8 (modelled 
on the PDP-6 I think)

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#235328

Bob Eager <throwaway0008@eager.cx> writes:

> On Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:07:16 +0000, John Levine wrote:

>> According to  <anthk@not.dev.null>:

>>> Under ITS I think they were just separated by a space

>> It was a dot on the DEC PDP-6 monitor that evolved into TOPS-10. I
>> believe TOPS-10 is where both CP/M and MS-DOS got their filename syntax.

> Also (around the same time) on the PDP-8 operating system, OS/8 (modelled 
> on the PDP-6 I think)

PS/8 (the predecessor of OS/8) was influenced by work on the PDP-10, which had
come along before the PDP-8/e (for which PS/8 was created).

-- 
Rich Alderson					  news@alderson.users.panix.com
      Audendum est, et veritas investiganda; quam etiamsi non assequamur,
	  omnino tamen proprius, quam nunc sumus, ad eam perveniemus.
									--Galen

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#235327

John Levine <johnl@taugh.com> writes:

> According to  <anthk@not.dev.null>:

>> Under ITS I think they were just separated by a space 

> It was a dot on the DEC PDP-6 monitor that evolved into TOPS-10. I believe
> TOPS-10 is where both CP/M and MS-DOS got their filename syntax.

I have been told by people who were there that Kildall worked on PDP-11
systems, which also used a dot separator, so it was natural in CP/M.

MS-DOS got it from QDOS which got it from CP/M.

-- 
Rich Alderson					  news@alderson.users.panix.com
      Audendum est, et veritas investiganda; quam etiamsi non assequamur,
	  omnino tamen proprius, quam nunc sumus, ad eam perveniemus.
									--Galen

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