computer science

TYPSET and RUNOFF

TYPSET and RUNOFF is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand TYPSET and RUNOFF rather than just read about it. In short: TYPSET is an early document editor that was used with the 1964-released RUNOFF program, one of the earliest text formatting programs to see significant use. Of two earlier print/formatting programs DITTO and TJ-2, only the latter had, and introduced, text justification; RUNOFF also added pagination.

Key takeaways

TYPSET and RUNOFF belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect TYPSET and RUNOFF to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of TYPSET and RUNOFF from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

TYPSET is an early document editor that was used with the 1964-released RUNOFF program, one of the earliest text formatting programs to see significant use. Of two earlier print/formatting programs DITTO and TJ-2, only the latter had, and introduced, text justification; RUNOFF also added pagination. The name RUNOFF, and similar names led to other formatting program implementations. By 1982, Runoff (a name not possible before lowercase letters were introduced to filenames) largely became associated with Digital Equipment Corporation and Unix computers. DEC used the terms VAX DSR and DSR to refer to VAX DIGITAL Standard Runoff.

History

CTSS The original RUNOFF type-setting program for CTSS was written by Jerome H. Saltzer circa 1964. Bob Morris and Doug McIlroy translated that from MAD to BCPL. Morris and McIlroy then moved the BCPL version to Multics when the IBM 7094 on which CTSS ran was being shut down.

Multics Documentation for the Multics version of RUNOFF described it as "types out text segments in manuscript form."

Other versions and implementations A later version of runoff for Multics was written in PL/I by Dennis Capps, in 1974. This runoff code was the ancestor of roff that was written for the fledgling Unix in assembly language by Ken Thompson. Other versions of Runoff were developed for various computer systems including Digital Equipment Corporation's PDP-11 minicomputer systems running RT-11, RSTS/E, RSX, PDP-10 mainframe systems running TOPS-10 and TOPS-20, and for OpenVMS on VAX minicomputers, as well as UNIVAC Series 90 mainframes using the EDT text editor under the VS/9 operating system. These different releases of Runoff typically had little in common except the convention of indicating a command to Runoff by beginning the line with a period. The origin of IBM's SCRIPT software began in 1968 when IBM contracted Stuart Madnick of MIT to write a simple document preparation tool for CP/67, which he modelled on MIT's CTSS RUNOFF.

Background RUNOFF was written in 1964 for the CTSS operating system by Jerome H. Saltzer in MAD and FAP. It actually consisted of a pair of programs, TYPSET (which was basically a document editor), and RUNOFF (the output processor). RUNOFF had support for pagination and headers, as well as text justification (TJ-2 appears to have been the earliest text justification system, but it did not have the other capabilities). RUNOFF is a direct predecessor of the runoff document formatting program of Multics, which in turn was the ancestor of the roff and nroff document formatting programs of Unix, and their descendants. It was also the ancestor of FORMAT for the IBM System/360, and of course indirectly of every computerized word processing system. Likewise, RUNOFF for CTSS was the predecessor of the various RUNOFFs for DEC's operating systems, via the RUNOFF developed by the University of California, Berkeley's Project Genie for the SDS 940 system. The name is alleged to have come from the phrase at the time, I'll run off a copy. TYPESET contains features inspired by a variety of other programs including Colossal Typewriter and Expensive Typewriter.

Example Input:

Output:

When you're ready to order, call us at our toll free number:

1-800-555-xxxx

Your order will be processed within two working days and shipped

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with TYPSET and RUNOFF

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what TYPSET and RUNOFF claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to TYPSET and RUNOFF before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about TYPSET and RUNOFF ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of TYPSET and RUNOFF

In research: TYPSET and RUNOFF appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses TYPSET and RUNOFF in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: TYPSET and RUNOFF is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Digital typography, History of software, Troff, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for TYPSET and RUNOFF outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study TYPSET and RUNOFF in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what TYPSET and RUNOFF means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain TYPSET and RUNOFF out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is TYPSET and RUNOFF in simple terms?

Why does TYPSET and RUNOFF matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study TYPSET and RUNOFF?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on TYPSET and RUNOFF.