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J0nathan 12-16-2003 01:58 AM

Unix??
 
I was wondering what exactally is Unix?:confused:
Is it all text based?:study:
Is it basically what you see when you start up slackware without the GUI?
What can you do with Unix?
What kind of people use Unix?
Is Unix good for programming in C/C++?
What are the main differences between the various versions of Unix?
What version of Unix is best for programming?
Why do 'hackers' use Unix? :tisk:
If Unix is text based, how do you view graphical web pages like this forum?
What reasons are there of using Unix instead of slackware?:Pengy:

Y0jiMb0 12-16-2003 02:12 AM

Hi!
Some people use to define Linux as "a clone of Unix" (this is not absolutely true; just an approximation); so if you can answer your questions for "Linux" instead of "Unix", you'll get a good idea about unix too.
Regards

J0nathan 12-16-2003 04:26 AM

Well i was actually wondering about the differences between the two.
Can anybody answer any of my questions? :newbie:

slakmagik 12-16-2003 04:27 AM

Re: Unix??
 
Quote:

Originally posted by J0nathan
I was wondering what exactally is Unix?:confused:
An operating system invented in the late 60s that took fundamental form in the early 70s, and that became increasingly proprietary (it always was, technically, but no one cared at first) and became increasingly fragmented in the 80s and continued to lose market share to Microsoft, especially when MS got NT going in the 90s. But many people didn't like this and Stallman became recognized as the spokesperson for this sentiment and, in the 80s, started trying to get people to develop a free clone (looks like a Unix, quacks like a Unix, isn't a proprietary Unix - GNU's Not Unix). They made most of the tools but... no kernel. Meanwhile, Linus Torvalds got fascinated with his new 386 and frustrated with Minix (an academic version of Unix that he couldn't modify or get modified to his liking. So he wrote his own kernel to be compatible with Minix/Unix and, around '91, released it under the GPL and solicited community effort to improve it and, as time passed, we get where we are now.
Quote:

Is it all text based?:study:
No. It runs the proprietary X with Motif and so on, particularly with CDE (the Common Desktop Environment) - or did - and now runs Linux apps as well, either as ports or under compatibility layers or something.
Quote:

Is it basically what you see when you start up slackware without the GUI?
No - that's text mode, whether Unix, Linux, or DOS, or whatever.
Quote:

What can you do with Unix?
Anything you can do with Linux allowing for some limitations either way.
Quote:

What kind of people use Unix?
People who have a lot of money or are associated with large institutions.
Quote:

What are the differences of the different versions of Unix?
Details of implementation - to the point of incompatibility, but they're *generally* the same.
Quote:

Is Unix good for programming in C/C++?
Seeing's how it's written in C, sure.
Quote:

What are the main differences between the various versions of Unix?
See above.
Quote:

What version of Unix is best for programming?
Linux if you care about open source - any *Unix* Unix if you want to be proprietary.
Quote:

Why do 'hackers' use Unix? :tisk:
First, 'hackers' are anybody who programs and they use every OS. I suspect you're asking about 'crackers' - and there, too, they use whatever they've got. Hackers use Linux because they can see all the source code and benefit from that, not to mention the fact that Linux encourages even the non-hacker to develop hackish tendencies just to get stuff to work. :D
Quote:

If Unix is text based, how do you view graphical web pages like this forum?
With a console browser like you can do on Linux with Lynx/Links/w3m/etc.
Quote:

What reasons are there of using Unix instead of slackware?:Pengy:
Curiosity, something to put on your resume, various reasons. But, for instance, if you *can* run Slackware and don't require Solaris because of employment or whatever, there's no reason at all that I can think of that you'd *need* to run Solaris over Slackware. Basically, if you know you must run a Unix for whatever reason, run it. If you can ask 'which' the answer would be Linux.

To ridiculously oversimplify: Unix is an operating system like hundreds of others. Linux is kind of like a translation - it uses different words (a fresh codebase) to achieve a certain functionality - the same 'effect' - as the original. And some things are gained and some things are lost in translation. On the surface, using a proprietary Unix 'ls' gets you a directory listing and using an open source Linux 'ls' gets you a directory listing. But the GNU 'ls' has a hell of a lot more switches. And in DOS or Windows 'ls' will get you an error message, unless you've installed DJGPP or Cygwin. :)

J0nathan 12-16-2003 04:41 AM

Wow! Thanks. :D
So, from what i gather, using Linux will give me the same benifits as using Unix. Also, since i am just 16 years old and all i will mainly be using the computer for is going on the internet and programming, i'm guessing there is no reason for me to use Unix instead of Linux (is there?).

slakmagik 12-16-2003 04:52 AM

Yeah, I would say so. As far as I know, you could spend a *lot* of money on a system that isn't especially designed to run on PCs (if at all) or you could download the 'free' version of Solaris's x86 version which isn't particularly designed for PCs or home desktop use or you could download Linux for free and it would really be free - beer and speech. It would be a nicer home desktop environment and give you a full collection of development tools for your programming. Then, if you liked it, you could choose to support your distro with a contribution or not. But you'll be learning a 'flavor' of Unix and should be able to move to a proprietary Unix without too much trouble if you had to, for future employment, say. Good luck. :)

J0nathan 12-16-2003 05:08 AM

Oh, ok so i think i'll just stick with my version of Slackware for now. :)

hpcpg 12-16-2003 07:21 AM

Linux is clone of Unix. This means, that linux is almost unix. Whatever you find in unix you can find in linux and vice versa. Almost.

qwijibow 12-16-2003 07:40 AM

being only 16.. can u afford Unix... LOL
i use unix at university, and linux at home....

moving between university and home isnt like moving between linux and
windows... provided you are just using the os's and not getting ur hands dirty
linux feels exactly like unix.

mac_phil 12-16-2003 01:09 PM

Unix is a general term that denotes a few specific properties that an OS must have.

1)The unix approach to programs is that a program should do one thing and do it well. A typical Unix email configuration involves fetchmail, procmail, sendmail, and an email client. E.g., fetchmail fetches your mail from your mailserver (ISP, work, etc...) But it is incapable of sending it to your mailbox! You need to combine it with sendmail, even if you still send mail through someone else's mailserver. In other operating systems all that work is usually done by the email client. Another, bigger, example, is the GUI. It is just a program, unlike in Windows where the GUI is an essential part of the OS.

2)Related to (1), Unix programs usually communicate with each other in plain text. This makes it possible to combine programs in ways never expected by their authors. You can pipe the output of one program into the input of another. Again, compare this to Windows, where programs are wedded to a GUI and give binary output.

qwijibow 12-17-2003 03:46 AM

simpe pipe lining in windows works... for example

dir c:\big_folder_with_lots_of_files\ | more


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