The first UNIX Shell: 1971's Thompson Shell

Over 50 years old and still surprisingly usable!

We all know that the first text-based computer Shell dates back to the early 1960s (RUNCOM written for the Compatible Time Sharing System… followed by a new Shell, designed by the same man, for Multics).

But… what then?

Let’s continue our journey of the history of Shells… with the very first shell on UNIX: the Thompson Shell.