Unix definition
<operating system> /yoo'niks/ (Or "UNIX", in the authors'
words, "A weak pun on Multics") Plural "Unices". An
interactive time-sharing operating system invented in 1969
by Ken Thompson after Bell Labs left the Multics
project, originally so he could play games on his scavenged
PDP-7. Dennis Ritchie, the inventor of C, is considered
a co-author of the system.
The turning point in Unix's history came when it was
reimplemented almost entirely in C during 1972 - 1974, making
it the first source-portable OS. Unix subsequently
underwent mutations and expansions at the hands of many
different people, resulting in a uniquely flexible and
developer-friendly environment.
By 1991, Unix had become the most widely used multi-user
general-purpose operating system in the world. Many people
consider this the most important victory yet of hackerdom over
industry opposition (but see Unix weenie and Unix
conspiracy for an opposing point of view).
Unix is now offered by many manufacturers and is the subject
of an international standardisation effort [called?].
Unix-like operating systems include AIX, A/UX, BSD,
Debian, FreeBSD, GNU, HP-UX, Linux, NetBSD,
NEXTSTEP, OpenBSD, OPENSTEP, OSF, POSIX, RISCiX,
Solaris, SunOS, System V, Ultrix, USG Unix, Version
7, Xenix.
"Unix" or "UNIX"? Both seem roughly equally popular, perhaps
with a historical bias toward the latter. "UNIX" is a
registered trademark of The Open Group, however, since it is
a name and not an acronym, "Unix" has been adopted in this
dictionary except where a larger name includes it in upper
case. Since the OS is case-sensitive and exists in many
different versions, it is fitting that its name should reflect
this.
The UNIX Reference Desk.
Spanish fire extinguisher.
[Jargon File]
(2001-05-14)
Nearby terms:
University of Pennsylvania « University of Tasmania « University of Twente « Unix » Unix box » Unix brain damage » Unix conspiracy
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