A friend of mine asked me a question...

[arcenite]

What are the major differences between Unix and Linux?

 

[kamper]

Linux is a completely new code base that works in a unixy way. You'll have most of the same commands and compatible libraries. Software that runs on one usually is not too hard to port to the other. Beyond that, you're going to have to be a little more specific about which unix you mean, because they're not exactly all the same.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Unix is a trademark, a standard, a philosophy, and a way of life.
Linux is a kernel.

 

[Smilin]

Eunuchs have no balls.
Linus can't get laid either.

 

[drag]

Originally posted by: Smilin
Eunuchs have no balls.
Linus can't get laid either.

I donno about that. Not unless his kids are adopted.


Linux is a operating system kernel. A kernel is what sits between the userspace software and the hardware of the computer. It is also responsable for most types of file systems and much of the networking.

In it's most basic form what people refer to as 'Linux' would be more correctly called GNU/Linux or maybe just Linux-based operating systems. GNU is a effort to make a completely Free operating system from scratch.. they have their own system kernel, but it is mostly a failure.. however other tools are very successfull. Items like gnu tar, GCC compiler, and other such things.

When you combine the GNU userland with the Linux kernel you have the most basic items you need to build up a real operating system. Linux-based systems incorporate numerious peices of software from many projects around the world. Things such as the Apache web browser, Gnome and KDE desktop enviroments, X.org x server and libraries, etc etc etc. All of these things are their own distinct and unique development groups.

GNU/Linux operating systems are designed to be compatable with Unix operating systems to a high degree. However itself is not a true Unix operating system, although it often uses source code from true unix systems like FreeBSD and OpenBSD.

Originally Unix was developed by AT&T. However AT&T could not legally sell software or hardware based on agreements with the government due to it's monopolistic control over the communication infrastructure at the time. So they licensed Unix away under a some sort of research and developement clause/loophole. Commercial entities prefered to use the more 'official' "System" versions of Unix, the last major being "System V" Unix. Academic circles took the source code and created the BSD unix operating system. Commercial varients frequently used BSD code for it's innovations to make their systems more marketable and these improvements gradually worked their way back into the official AT&T unix systems.

one of the most notable distinctions BSD unix has is that it was used to develop it's TCP/IP protocol stack to meet the Darpa project's guidelines, which was then used, along with BSD itself to form the basis of the internet as we have it today. This TCP/IP stack was then integrated back into commercial Unix systems and is one of the major reasons why we still have Unix operating systems around today. It has even been used by non-Unix systems like Windows NT as the basis for it's TCP/IP protocol stack.

Linux on the surface looks similar to commercial and bsd unix variants. This is thru design, to make it compatable. It certainly follows the many tenents of the 'unix philosophy', however under the hood it's quite different.