Originally posted by: drag
quick snippit from freebsd's site:
"It is true that AT&T UNIX is not open source, and in a copyright sense BSD is very definitely not UNIX,"
So that's why I suppose thats why they don't refer FreeBSD as FreeUNIX? heh. I know that FreeBSD is about as Unix as one can get without going and paying for a System V-based OS.
I actually think Solaris is. And so does the Open Group.
If you want to get down to it it just doesn't realy make any diffence to me whether you considure Linux a unix OS.
Good, because its not.
Unix-like is good enough for me.
It should be. Unix is a commercial name. Nothing more, nothing less. The Unix philosophy is what counts.
I definately ain't no puriest,
Nor are Linux developers.
but you will have a hard time convincing me that FreeBSD is Unix because some people decided that in the mid-nineties that Linux is not a Unix when FreeBSD cannot even legally call themselves UNIX! Some standard that is. :/
The people decided that are the people that own the word Unix. Its not a standard really. Its a loose guideline and a big check.
You cannot call a apple a orange and visa versa, but hey they are both fruit! And I tend to considure unix (with a lowercase "u" if that make you happy) the "fruit" classification and Unix, FreeBSD, BSD4.2, System V, and Linux as the subcatagory as apples, oranges, cherries, and tomatoes. Maybe Linux is a unix tomato? Heh, a sort of fruity, but not quite as fruity as the BSD's or SunOS.![]()
SunOS was a BSD I believe.
But I do suppose that from the OS developer's point of view that Linux is defienitly not a Unix, but the point of view of the common User or Admin, the differences are minor. When you compare Linux and FreeBSD to say Windows, Novell, Plan9, Be0S or some such thing they are both definately Unix OS's. And even though I have no personal experiance with it I would suppose that their are bigger diffences between HPunix, SunOS, and FreeBSD then there are between FreeBSD and some Linux distros.
HP-UX is a wierd animal. SunOS is dead. Solaris has some quirks. Ill keep my mouth shut about FreeBSD.
Its not like I would like to get in a fight over it or anything, but all I know is once you learn one of the afformentioned OS's then you will feel comfortable operating in any of the other ones.
And that, in my (again) not so humble (and still grumpy) opinion is the beauty of the philosophy of Unix, which is not Unix (if that makes any sense).
