Linux vs Unix

balloon · 11-15-2004, 11:32 AM

What's the differences between Linux and Unix?

apolinsky · 11-15-2004, 11:39 AM

Unix is a trademarked product created at Bell laboratories and now owned either by Novell or SCO depending on which literature you read. Linux is functionally equivalent, designed orginally as an enhanced Minix. It was conceived by Linus Torvalds as a student, and is now maintained by people around the world.

perfect_circle · 11-15-2004, 11:43 AM

Very big.
The basic thing in common is that they use the same interface(that's why linux and minix and some other OS's are called Unix - like), and both are written in C.
Linux is free, Unix is very expensive.
Linux is open source, Unix is not.
Unix is for Sparc mostly , Linux is portable to many mashines( PC, sparc,...),

perfect_circle · 11-15-2004, 11:45 AM

apolinsky ...
you type faster than me

balloon · 11-15-2004, 11:51 AM

You can add more if you want. I would really appreciate that.

perfect_circle · 11-15-2004, 11:57 AM

linux is dated since 1991 and unix since 1969
actually in order to further develop Unix, they invented a new programming language in 1972. The C programming language (thank you Dennis M. Ritchie)

perfect_circle · 11-15-2004, 12:08 PM

why don't you try googling unix history, linux history, etc.
Computer history is really interesting.
Did you know that the first programmer ever was Ada, A GIRL!!!!!

Lord Byron's daughter.
Search for ENIAC, the first computer (1945), which probably was bigger than your room is.

balloon · 11-15-2004, 12:11 PM

yeah, I heard of those facts......And I was gonna search Google, but didn't have time for that.....

ahh · 11-15-2004, 12:16 PM

Actually COLLOSUS was the first electrical (as opposed to Babbidges mechanical) computer, used in Bletchley Park to crack the Germans ENIGMA code.

http://www.picotech.com/applications/colossus.html

perfect_circle · 11-15-2004, 12:34 PM

I've got a book called
Alan Turing: The Enigma
Those english hypocrit b@st@rds, destroyed one of the most brilliant minds of 20th century
because he was GAY.
OOps... you are from UK

ahh · 11-15-2004, 12:40 PM

Doesn't alter the fact that COLLOSUS was the first computer, not ENIAC as you erroneously stated even though you have apparantly read a book about Alan Turing.

Slip your mind, did it?

goofyheadedpunk · 11-15-2004, 12:43 PM

The Wikipedia has very good entries for both Unix and Linux.

If you're interested in the insider history of Unix then there's always Dennis Ritchie's homepage. A discussion of the desing of Unix in relation to its history, by ESR, can be found here.

The coagulation of Linux is discussed, again by ESR, in the The Cathedral and the Bazaar.

And, of course, we must not leave out RMS's GNU Manifesto, which has made this whole crazy trip possible.

Happy reading!

perfect_circle · 11-15-2004, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Doesn't alter the fact that COLLOSUS was the first computer, not ENIAC as you erroneously stated even though you have apparantly read a book about Alan Turing.

Slip your mind, did it?

You may be right. To be honest i don't recall reading anything about Collosus.
Most books reffer to ENIAC as the "grandfather of the computers"

Anyway wikipedia states this:

Quote:

The Colossus was the first programmable (to a limited extent) digital electronic computer, used for breaking German ciphers in World-War II. It was designed by Max Newman and associates of Bletchley Park, and was built by the British Post Office Research Station at Dollis Hill, by Tommy Flowers and crew.

Quote:

ENIAC, short for Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer, was the first all-electronic computer designed to be Turing-complete, capable of being reprogrammed by rewiring to solve a full range of computing problems. It was preceded in 1941 by the fully tape-programmable but still mechanical Z3 designed by Konrad Zuse and by the all-electronic rewire-to-reprogram but not fully general purpose British Colossus computer. Both ENIAC and Colossus used thermionic valves, that is, vacuum tubes, while Z3 used mechanical relays. The requirement to rewire to reprogram ENIAC was removed in 1948.

Anyway ENIAC was the first general purpose computer.

P.S. It's a really sad thing that everything started for military reasons. You cannot imagine how many algorithms were developed because of the cold war. Even internet started for military reasons...

ahh · 11-15-2004, 01:34 PM

Well at least you, me and the wikipedia agree that COLOSSUS was the first programmable digital electronic computer, not ENIAC.

And you and I agree that it's a shame it's all done for military reasons.

perfect_circle · 11-15-2004, 02:03 PM

It is just how u define computer.
Nowdays when we say computer we mean general purpose computer, which is every machine that has an equivalent Turing machine (a machine that can do everything a Turing machine can do).