| UNIX/32V | |
|---|---|
| Developer | AT&T Bell Laboratories |
| Written in | C |
| OS family | Unix (Seventh Edition Unix) |
| Working state | Discontinued |
| Source model | Open source, previously closed source |
| Initial release | June 1979; 46 years ago (1979-06) |
| Available in | English |
| Supported platforms | VAX |
| Default user interface | Command-line interface (Bourne shell) |
| License | BSD 4-Clause License |
| Preceded by | Version 7 Unix |
| Succeeded by | 3BSD,UNIX System III |
UNIX/32V is an early version of theUnixoperating system fromBell Laboratories, released in June 1979. 32V was a directport of theSeventh Edition Unix to theDECVAX architecture.

Before 32V, Unix had primarily run on DECPDP-11 computers. The Bell Labs group that developed the operating system was dissatisfied with DEC, so its members refused DEC's offer to buy a VAX when the machine was announced in 1977. They had already begun a Unix port to theInterdata 8/32 instead. DEC then approached a different Bell Labs group inHolmdel, New Jersey, which accepted the offer and started work on what was to become 32V.[1]
Performed by Tom London and John F. Reiser,[2] porting Unix was made possible due to work donebetween the Sixth and Seventh Editions of the operating system to decouple it from its "native" PDP-11 environment. The 32V team first ported the C compiler (Johnson'spcc), adapting an assembler and loader written for the Interdata 8/32 version of Unix to the VAX. They then ported the April 15, 1978 version of Unix, finding in the process that "[t]he(Bourne) shell [...] required by far the largest conversion effort of any supposedly portable program, for the simple reason that it is not portable."[3]
UNIX/32V was released withoutvirtual memorypaging, retaining only the swapping architecture of Seventh Edition. A virtual memory system was added atBerkeley byBill Joy andÖzalp Babaoğlu in order to supportFranz Lisp; this was released to other Unix licensees as the ThirdBerkeley Software Distribution (3BSD) in 1979.[4] Thanks to the popularity of the two systems' successors, 4BSD andUNIX System V, UNIX/32V is an antecedent of nearly all modern Unix systems.