A Guided Tour to UNIX Shells (WHY2025)

Any even remotely advanced tasks on unixoid systems will inevitably lead to an encounter with one of the systems oldest components: The shell. An ancient artefact that is in equal parts being feared, mystified, or possibly even glorified. In an effort to demystify origins, development, and current role of shells, this talk tells a tale deeply rooted in the earliest days of UNIX development. In the process, several (historic as well as current) shells will be introduced among their notable features and impact on contemporary systems. To finish of, the talk discusses the legacy of historic shells and their influence on modern operating systems with or without UNIX heritage. While technical in parts, this is first and foremost a historical presentation with a bit of an outlook. Less tech-savvy audience members should thus still be able to enjoy this. In fact, newcomers to the shell may find some useful hints. **Keywords:** *computing history; unix; multics; posix; linux* Licensed to the public under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ about this event: https://program.why2025.org/why2025/talk/CB7A9V/