View Full Version : Difference between Unix and Linux?
ariastar
10-25-2006, 04:49 AM
I admit to being newer to tech thana lot of you and without experiencein these two. What can you say about them? How are they similar and how different?
bird603568
10-25-2006, 05:09 AM
linux was made to be a "clone" of unix. theres very little difference. unix is more mature and actaully costs money
jdhore
10-25-2006, 06:34 AM
i basically consider Linux a slightly easier to use albeit more dumbed-down version of Unix...for 90% of the people you'll talk to, it's basically the same thing...the differences are very few in reality...
Well, these days Unix is really just a trademark. There's quite a few modern day Unix variants, such as Solaris, the various BSDs, Mac OS X, AIX, SCO UnixWare, HP-UX, etc, that descended from the original AT&T Bell Labs Unix from the early 70's, in one form or another.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v329/balljacker224466/unix.png
Linux on the other hand, is not Unix. It's Unix-like, but it does not contain any of the original Bell Labs code. It was completely written from scratch by Linus Torvalds as a clone of Minix. It should also be pointed out that Linux is just a kernel, where something like FreeBSD, or IRIX is a complete operating system.
You should really check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BSD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minix
simon
10-25-2006, 02:03 PM
Linux on the other hand, is not Unix. It's Unix-like, but it does not contain any of the original Bell Labs code. It was completely written from scratch by Linus Torvalds as a clone of Minix.
Did you mean to say "clone of Unix"? Minix inspired the creation of Linux, but there are key differences, such as Linux using a monolithic kernel as opposed to the microkernel of Minix.
tokenuser
10-25-2006, 02:40 PM
No, he was correct. It was written as a clone of Minix, which was a clone of Unix used for teaching. That was the basis for the Linux design, but the kernel architecture evolved to be far more powerful than Minix ever was. By not taking any code from other sources, Linus was able to architect Linux using modern (for the time - and still highly relevant) programming paradigms, while still maintaining command line compatability with the Minix interface.
People forget that Linux is a command line driven beast, and all the distros out there that people refer to as Linux are actually the Linux kernel layered with the GUI flavour of the week.
masherscf
10-25-2006, 02:57 PM
I wondering if "Unix" has become a more general name for a family of operating systems that include Linux, BSD, OSX and others.
Kind of like Basic is a family of interpretive programming languages that include MBasic, Visual Basic and others. We've become so proprietary in our thinking. I can't but think that the original homebrew computer club would be appalled at the sense of intellectual ownership that's sprung up in the tech industry. But, I guess that's the only way to make money.
tokenuser
10-25-2006, 03:35 PM
Problem is that UNIX is a trademark of Bell Labs that was transferred to ATT&T that was sold to Novell that was sold to the X/Open Company which is now The Open Group.
But the point is, UNIX is a registered trademark.
However, as a trademark the brand has become dilluted in much the same way that people reach for a kleenex to blow their nose, a qtip to clean their ears, and xerox a copy.
Linux is not UNIX ... but it is command line compatible.
BSD is a derivative of UNIX.
OSX is a GUI on top of a derivative of BSD.
masherscf
10-25-2006, 03:44 PM
Linux is not UNIX ... but it is command line compatible.
BSD is a derivative of UNIX.
OSX is a GUI on top of a derivative of BSD.
I can understand why people would be confused.
bird603568
10-25-2006, 04:04 PM
People forget that Linux is a command line driven beast, and all the distros out there that people refer to as Linux are actually the Linux kernel layered with the GUI flavour of the week.
you know not all distros there are some that dont default to a GUI still
tokenuser
10-25-2006, 06:33 PM
you know not all distros there are some that dont default to a GUI stillTrue, but I'd guess that 90% of "1337 linux users" would be lost without the gui.
jdhore
10-25-2006, 06:45 PM
True, but I'd guess that 90% of "1337 linux users" would be lost without the gui.
true, true...i love people saying they're "leet h4x0rs" and yet they don't know how to use most easy CLI commands and all their "leet 'sploits" are them just using shit in the Web-Browser-based version of Metasploit...it's fscking sad...all the people like that (some of the people who watch Hak.5 and The Broken) should be taken to an island somewhere and shot.
tokenuser
10-25-2006, 07:44 PM
true, true...i love people saying they're "leet h4x0rs" and yet they don't know how to use most easy CLI commands and all their "leet 'sploits" are them just using shit in the Web-Browser-based version of Metasploit...it's fscking sad...all the people like that (some of the people who watch Hak.5 and The Broken) should be taken to an island somewhere and shot.Better yet. Take them to an island with a hand cranked power supply for the laptop. Tell them that the instructions for everything they need to survive is on the laptop. The load linux with just the CLI ... watch them tear their hair out, then try to start a fire with the installed SOny battery.
I am in no way a *nix guru, but I have been using computers since the mid 80's, getting my first taste of Unix in 88 when I started university. We only had a CLI then :) ... Word?? We were considered 1337 if we used JOVE rather than vi or emacs :D ... awk, sed, grep all powertools that noone appreciates anymore. But you know something? They still run 10x faster than their GUI conterparts.
Two thumbs up for going old school :cool:
masherscf
10-25-2006, 09:15 PM
I am in no way a *nix guru, but I have been using computers since the mid 80's, getting my first taste of Unix in 88 when I started university. We only had a CLI then :) ...
I started using VAX/VMS when I was about 15, that was about '83. Those Digital mainframes have gone the way of the dodo. I knew UNIX was out there but the school my Dad worked for only used Digital equipment until about '87 when IBM released the PS/2.
bird603568
10-25-2006, 09:46 PM
i dont really use awk at all but sed and grep rock for edition config files. whats next people dont use screen :p
jdhore
10-25-2006, 09:50 PM
Better yet. Take them to an island with a hand cranked power supply for the laptop. Tell them that the instructions for everything they need to survive is on the laptop. The load linux with just the CLI ... watch them tear their hair out, then try to start a fire with the installed SOny battery.
I am in no way a *nix guru, but I have been using computers since the mid 80's, getting my first taste of Unix in 88 when I started university. We only had a CLI then :) ... Word?? We were considered 1337 if we used JOVE rather than vi or emacs :D ... awk, sed, grep all powertools that noone appreciates anymore. But you know something? They still run 10x faster than their GUI conterparts.
Two thumbs up for going old school :cool:
i've only been using *nix for like 3, maybe 4 years, but i still do most stuff via CLI cuz it's faster and better...oh, and i use nano as a text editor...for example, it takes about a minute to open up Synaptic Package Manager (in ubuntu or debian), select a package to DL and install it...no wait...it prolly takes close to 2 minutes...it takes me less than 30 seconds to do it in CLI with apt-get...