GoKawiil2BSD released with vi editor and C shell additions
Bill Joy expanded the original 1977 Berkeley Software Distribution after user feedback on the Pascal system, adding the vi editor (a visual mode of ex), the C shell, and other tools to create the Second Berkeley Software Distribution, or 2BSD. Early BSD releases were add-on software packages for existing Unix installations rather than standalone operating systems, and required recipients to already hold an AT&T Unix source license.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The low-cost distribution model, shaped partly by Berkeley's research-sharing culture and AT&T's antitrust-driven restrictions on selling Unix commercially, helped BSD spread widely through universities. This set a precedent for openly shared, modifiable Unix variants that would later influence the broader free and open-source software movement.
- 2BSD added the vi editor, C shell, and other tools to the original Pascal/ex bundle.
- Early BSD distributions required users to already hold an AT&T Unix source license.
- Berkeley's academic sharing culture and AT&T's antitrust limits both contributed to BSD's low-cost, wide distribution.
Source: fosscomics.com, 2026-11-02
Published there as: “F/OSS Comics #13: BSD Unix, Part 3 – The Beginning of BSD Unix”
Read the original report → The summary and analysis above are GoKawiil's own, written from reporting by the source above. Facts and quotes belong to the original publisher.