Is Linux Unix??

[Ben Ricker]

I would add one thing to this issue: Linux, on one level of comparison, 
is most definitely LIKE Unix, if not IS Unix.

As Clint, I believe, mentioned, Linus Torvalds needed an operating 
system. He started by creating, basically a shell with memory 
management, CPU scheduling, etc. (and ran it on cheap PC hardware, 
another important distinction). But as Linux grew, Linus et al. wanted 
an OS that did the things that Unix could do: preemptive multi-tasking, 
use protected memory allocation (bye-bye memory stomps), etc. So even 
if it is not Unix, it is sort of a reverse engineered clone that can 
run on PC hardware. OS X is more a direct descendent of UNIX then 
Linux, but at the level of executing, UNIX, LINUX, and OS X are very 
similar indeed.

Ben Ricker


On May 30, 2004, at 8:11 AM, Clinton MacDonald wrote:

> Friends:
>
> In light of our interesting discussion of the history of Unix and 
> Unix-like operating systems, I took the liberty of adding our comments 
> to the growing FAQ:
>
> <http://www.sharplabs.com:8668/space/Learning+More/Is+Linux+Unix%3F>
>
> If you have any additional comments you would like to include, please 
> let me know and I will be happy to include them.
>
> Many thanks to everyone!
>
> Best wishes,
> Clint
>
> -- 
> Dr. Clinton C. MacDonald | <mailto:clint DOT macdonald AT sbcglobal 
> DOT net>
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