Plan 9 From User Space

Plan 9 From User Space is a software build environment that has been ported to Unix. While its libraries make an effort to conform to Unix standards, the port prioritizes replicating the Plan 9 build environment as accurately as possible. The environment provides features such as u.h and libc.h, and redefines certain tokens to offer implementations that better emulate Plan 9 semantics. This results in an environment that is less Unix-friendly but allows Plan 9 programs to be compiled with ease.

Plan9port has derived from the Plan 9 team's work over many years, and Rob Pike was an instrumental part of its development. He urged the creation of the original libdraw X11 port, among other things, and suggested the development of the Mac OS X version. William Josephson handled troff(1) and other supporting programs while inspiring the clean-up of the thread library and the port of several programs. Other contributors have played an important role in the program's development over time.

The latest version of Plan 9 From User Space includes several updates, ranging from the venti backup system to the upas/fs mailbox interface. A significant new addition is a native GUI for OS X. Additionally, the screen fonts in the luc, lucm, lucsans, and pelm directories were created by Bigelow & Holmes, Inc. and can be redistributed with plan9port.