Response to What is UNIX

[HearMeWhisper]

Don't forget that the Linux OS that we all know now would not be without the work of Richard Stallman and his work on GNU. Linus just created the kernal that fit into the GNU OS.

[Brutaliation]

Very useful thanks

[mattsamudio]

So exactly why is Solaris "more unix" than Linux ? In general, what exactly is the difference between "unix" and "unix-like" ?

[gr1moire2112]

@mattsamudio Its explained in the video. Solaris is a direct descendent of the original Unix operating systems. Linux was developed by Linus Torvalds originally to work like Unix, but he started from scratch. e.g you are a direct descendent of your ancestors, but if someone tried to copy something like your ancestors but without any orginal DNA it may look similar but it will not be it.

[mattsamudio]

@gr1moire2112 ... I recognize your analysis as a common one, but I do disagree ... see my blog entry on the topic. The URL for my blog is visible in my youtube profile information, and the article title is "The Terms: UNIX, POSIX, unix, *nix, and Linux". One point that I don't call out specifically is that Linus Torvalds did not create an OS to be "like" unix - he created a kernel designed as unix conventions expect a kernel to be designed. The insights in my blog take it from there.

[robkbuffalo]

@gr1moire2112 BSD cut loose the code that started both SunOS/Solaris and Linux. No one built a unix clone from scratch except Andrew Tanenbaum and then only as a micro kernel with minix (and skeptical at that being 100% original). The notion that Linus Torvalds coded hundreds of thousands of lines of code identical to BSD by himself is like saying you've been struck by lightning 100 times and lived to write a book on it.

[KaxiLaxi]

but mr is sun solaris really a Unix based OS? i've heard that is just another Linux distro

[robvelor]

@KaxiLaxi Solaris is Unix, Linux is Unix like

[gr1moire2112]

@KaxiLaxi Yes Solaris is a Unix variant. Linux is not Unix but similar to it. Sun did at one time relaese a desktop LInux but that was something different than Solaris.

[Oxweed]

All respect, thanx.

[gr1moire2112]

@ryancouture No it was off the cuff from my own knowledge. But I can read also...

[ryancouture]

@gr1moire2112 sorry i thought i cancelled that comment when i wrote it

i guess "cancel" doesnt do anything

[gr1moire2112]

@ryancouture no worries :-)

[magentafeelings]

thank you so much for the video...

I am Sree (from India), am planning to learn Unix admin...

could you please recommend any online tutorials

thanx in advance :)

[carolinagrl98765]

This was PERFECT! THANK YOU!



[gr1moire2112]

@carolinagrl98765 thanks for your comment...

[carolinagrl98765]

This was PERFECT! THANK YOU!

[TheRedMarquee]

very helpful, thank you

[RobertMargera]

UNIX is awesome

[kelife23]

Thanks for the simple lecture on unix intro. Keep it up

[quanvu07]

this is really great! I came from Openvms envir - this is really help - thanks buddy. Any more videos relate to unix pls share.

[FlopQuadsAAAA]

As others have mentioned .. THANK YOU for answering cause I've watch 10 videos and not one of them simply told me what Unix was.. they all want to get fancy. Thanks for keeping it simple and straight.

[gr1moire2112]

@FlopQuadsAAAA Thanks, that was the point of the video

[bamdadkhan]

straighforward and informative. imo this one is _the_ best introduction to unix in general on youtube. although you've said nothing that's actually new to me, it's always nice to hear a clear summary like this.

please make more videos on the topic, or anything you feel important.

[gr1moire2112]

Thanks for your feedback, this video was the first one I made on You tube. Wow it is at almost 5000 views. I will be doing some more videos soon.

[tyleradkins14]

@gr1moire2112 I run Mac OS X 10.6.2 i know it meets the SUS 03 definition but is the original UNIX operating system still in circulation and if it is where can i get a copy and who the hell owned the OS after AT&T and who owns it today?

[terun1978]

Yes it is still in circulation slightly but pretty hard to get a hold of. If I get more info on where to get it I will sure let you know.

[simstar888]

Thanks, got an interview with microsoft tomorrow and needed some info on competitors, this helped a lot.

[gr1moire2112]

@simstar888 Hey good luck with the interview.

[herefortheheckofit]

Dude thank you so much, you're really good at explaining!

[gr1moire2112]

@herefortheheckofit Thanks for the feedback, glad it was useful.

[ThatSmoothOperator]

very informative, thanks

[gr1moire2112]

thanks for the feedback

[imoteph9]

cool thank you my next class this fall is

 net240 introduction to network operating systems using Unix

i was like et! is unix so thanks for the info

[gr1moire2112]

Great, glad you found it useful. Good luck with your class.

[Moiranie]

One might guess that you like Rush...

[gr1moire2112]

Yes you are correct, since the seventies.

[mynameisnicholas]

Very informative, thank you kindly!

[gr1moire2112]

Thanks

[brandonmrv]

Thank you I hard the mac was unix based and thank you

[monoRhesus]

this is very good, thanks. i´ve been learning the very very basics of this art for the last month. if i understand correctly unix is an os (which has kernel, shell and utilities). linux is also an os (and has therefore also these three elements). BUT linux is a unix-based os... what is the difference then? any insight on how to understand this would be greatly appreciated.

[gr1moire2112]

Thanks, Unix is as you mentioned with Kernel, Shell and utilities. As explained in the video Linux is a Unix like system but is not based on Unix source code but built from its own code base to resemble Unix. Linux is the kernel, the rest of it is mainly GNU based from Richard Stallman's Free Software Foundation. To be really correct when we talk about a Linux system it is really a Linux/GNU System.

[libed91]

simplified:

Linux is a UNIX copy.

[mrsvirgotiger]

Ok I have few Questions

Does Unix have a GUI? (if not can one be added? if so which ones)

Is Sun Solaris Really Unix? (I have read elsewhere that it is not)

If software is Linux compatible will it be Unix compatible?

[gr1moire2112]

Most modern Unix versions come with a GUI.

Sun Solaris is Unix, but there a number of different flavours. Google history of Unix, there is some quite good stuff on Wikipedia.

[gr1moire2112]

A lot of software is cross compatible, but you may need to look for a version for a particular Unix or Linux, mostly the source code will be available and then you can compile it on your own system.

[ojik]

Excuse me...I thought that at the begining was System V (System I,...) developed to be a specialised text editor and as a "by product" the programers made a operating system. So how is it?

[gr1moire2112]

Thanks for the comment but you thought incorrectly. System V, was from around 1983. Unix development actually started around 1969 and in the early 70s became UNICs and later spelt Unix....Early Unix included a text formatting program called roff and a text editor for text processing, this was added to Unix in exchange for financial support from Bell Labs.

[nchristy08]

No Solaris isn't the most widely known, Mac OS X is. But usually people don't know that underneath OS X lies a Unix kernel.

[gr1moire2112]

Solaris is probably the most widely known of the actual traditional Unix systems, such as IBM AIX, Solaris, etc within the IT community.

[gr1moire2112]

Mac OSX would fall outside of these systems in my opinion as prior to OSX, OS9 and earlier were not Unix based.

True Mac OSX is now a well known operating system, and is a Unix variant that is now fully certified.

Both Solaris and Mac OSX are widely known and I also state Solaris is probably the most widely known. The key word is probably...I also did mention in this video that Mac OSX is a Unix variant.

[nchristy08]

I know Mac OS 9 isn't Unix, but frankly i don't see much in common between OS 9 & OS X(except HFS+). Even a guy that doesn't know what UNIX is/was has heard about Mac OS X.

[gr1moire2112]

Thanks for your comments and taking an interest.

[simozonelayer]

Yes but personally I don't think that a lot of people like 'joe public' who don't really know what Unix is or has a limited understanding of it, wouldn't immediately associate Unix with Apple's Mac.

They'd most likely say "that's a Mac" like they'd probably point to a Dell and and say that's a PC regardless of operating system. It's just guys like us that either work in IT or have a passion for this stuff, great or small, understand.

Don't think I've explained that clearly enough.

[gr1moire2112]

I get the point most end users would not know what Unix is and could not care less, as long as it works.

So nchristy08 who stated because more users have heard of OSX making it the most widely known UNIX is probably not correct, if most of those people do not know that OSX is Unix or what Unix is.

[scythslinger02]

thanx