[HN Gopher] The IRIX 6.5.7M (sgi) source code
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The IRIX 6.5.7M (sgi) source code
Author : reconnecting
Score : 59 points
Date : 2026-03-05 15:07 UTC (7 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (github.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
| andsoitis wrote:
| isn't this violating copyright?
| sedawkgrep wrote:
| Dunno but the repo is 4+ years old.
| majorchord wrote:
| The mods do not seem to care about pirated software (or links
| to tons of it) being posted here, I have seen people doing it
| for years now.
| oldnetguy wrote:
| Is this real?
| mrweasel wrote:
| Unless it's true that they lost it, I really see no reason why
| HPE doesn't just release the official IRIX source code. It cannot
| be worth much at this point.
|
| Maybe there's 3rd party code which SGI/HPE licensed? That's
| apparently why we can't have Operas Presto.
| throw0101a wrote:
| > _Maybe there 's 3rd party code which SGI/HPE licensed?_
|
| IIRC, this was one of the complication of open sourcing Solaris
| back in the day.
| linolevan wrote:
| Yep, I recall one of the big components being libc i18n
| fredoralive wrote:
| An obvious source for 3rd party code is that it's a real UNIX
| System V derivative, so the AT&T code would need to be cleared.
| pm215 wrote:
| Even if there isn't any 3rd party code, the whole process of
| going through the codebase to confirm there really isn't any
| 3rd party code, and generally getting the legal department to
| sign off on it, is a lot of work in itself. My impression is
| that this kind of "historic source" release typically only
| happens if somebody sufficiently senior in the company cares
| enough to actively push it through. The default is that nobody
| does care that much, and it doesn't happen.
|
| "Do nothing" has essentially zero downside for a big company
| that happens to have something of niche interest like this in
| its vaults.
| miki123211 wrote:
| third-party code is one thing, political correctness is
| another. What was acceptable in 90s brogrammer culture may
| not be considered acceptable by PR obsessed corporate types
| now.
|
| To put this more charitably, the only reason to release
| something like this is to get some good PR, but if not
| carefully controlled, such a release could create more bad PR
| than good PR.
| actionfromafar wrote:
| How?
| sedawkgrep wrote:
| As a long-time AIX admin I'd LOOOOOVE to see some of the AIX
| source.
|
| I used to be connected to the community where stuff like this was
| passed around. But that was a long, long time ago.
| kev009 wrote:
| A partial but significant dump of 4.1 is easy to find. Probably
| leaked for/by Apple Network Server people.
| ranger_danger wrote:
| https://github.com/Arquivotheca/AIX-4.1.3
| reconnecting wrote:
| For me personally, IRIX 6.x had one of the most beautiful (and
| colourful) GUIs ever.
|
| For the curious, there is a guide (1) on how to run IRIX 6.5.22
| in MAME.
|
| 1. https://sgi.neocities.org
| mixmastamyk wrote:
| Wow, look at those luxurious titlebars, windows edges,
| scrollbars, and tabs! So easy to use.
|
| One other thing lost, their scrollbars kept an indentation of
| where the bar _was_ until you let go, which was sometimes
| useful.
|
| Not a fan of the busy backgrounds, but can't win 'em all.
|
| Does anyone have a screenshot of the window menu (right click
| on titlebar)? Been looking for the CUA hotkeys related to those
| window functions. Most still work but are not shown on Linux
| desktops for some reason.
| sgt wrote:
| They also loved italic!
| hedgehog wrote:
| Someone did a screen capture of a SGI "System Tour" app that
| explains how a lot of the UI worked:
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sg8fiA9TrRk
| rainingmonkey wrote:
| What is the scrollwheel thing on the left side of some windows?
| blipvert wrote:
| As I recall that changed the size of the (vector graphic)
| icons in the window.
|
| Though it has been twenty-odd years since I last used an SGI
| box so open to correction!
| zvr wrote:
| Yes, it was essentially a "zoom" wheel.
| jnpnj wrote:
| A blend of nextstep and macos classic somehow.
| actionfromafar wrote:
| I thought of BeOS for some reason.
| dvno42 wrote:
| For those interested, there is a lovely IRIX clone WM called
| MaXX. I've been using it for a couple months and have been
| quite happy with it on a remote dev machine. I believe it only
| runs on xorg currently.
|
| 1. https://docs.maxxinteractive.com/
| dboreham wrote:
| Interesting that GitHub recognizes "Roff" as a language.
| mrpippy wrote:
| This leak has been floating around for years, and it's not even
| close to everything (i.e. no GUI pieces)
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(page generated 2026-03-05 23:02 UTC)