[Unix] The gray eminence of Unix text processing; a formatting and
phototypesetting program, written originally in {PDP-11} assembler
and then in barely-structured early C by the late Joseph Ossanna,
modeled after the earlier ROFF which was in turn modeled after the
{Multics} and {CTSS} program RUNOFF by Jerome Saltzer (that name came
from the expression "to run off a copy"). A companion program, nroff,
formats output for terminals and line printers.
In 1979, Brian Kernighan modified troff so that it could drive
phototypesetters other than the Graphic Systems CAT. His paper
describing that work ("A Typesetter-independent troff," AT&T CSTR
#97) explains troff's durability. After discussing the program's
"obvious deficiencies -- a rebarbative input syntax, mysterious and
undocumented properties in some areas, and a voracious appetite for
computer resources" and noting the ugliness and extreme hairiness of
the code and internals, Kernighan concludes:
None of these remarks should be taken as denigrating Ossanna's
accomplishment with TROFF. It has proven a remarkably robust tool,
taking unbelievable abuse from a variety of preprocessors and
being forced into uses that were never conceived of in the
original design, all with considerable grace under fire.
The success of {TeX} and desktop publishing systems have reduced
troff's relative importance, but this tribute perfectly captures the
strengths that secured troff a place in hacker folklore; indeed, it
could be taken more generally as an indication of those qualities of
good programs that, in the long run, hackers most admire.
[glossary]
[Reference(s) to this entry by made by: {CrApTeX}{grind}{TeX}{Unix}{WYSIAYG}]