Unix

FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Unix(allcapsUNIXforthetrademark)isafamilyof
multitasking,multiusercomputeroperatingsystemsthat
derivefromtheoriginalAT&TUnix,developedinthe
1970sattheBellLabsresearchcenterbyKen
Thompson,DennisRitchie,andothers.[3]
InitiallyintendedforuseinsidetheBellSystem,AT&T
licensedUnixtooutsidepartiesfromthelate1970s,
leadingtoavarietyofbothacademicandcommercial
variantsofUnixfromvendorssuchastheUniversityof
California,Berkeley(BSD),Microsoft(Xenix),IBM
(AIX)andSunMicrosystems(Solaris).AT&Tfinally
solditsrightsinUnixtoNovellintheearly1990s,which
thensolditsUnixbusinesstotheSantaCruzOperation
(SCO)in1995,[4]buttheUNIXtrademarkpassedtothe
industrystandardsconsortiumTheOpenGroup,which
allowstheuseofthemarkforcertifiedoperatingsystems
compliantwiththeSingleUNIXSpecification(SUS).
AmongtheseisApple'sOSX,[5]whichistheUnix
versionwiththelargestinstalledbaseasof2014.

Unix

EvolutionofUnixandUnixlikesystems
Developer

KenThompson,Dennis
Ritchie,BrianKernighan,
DouglasMcIlroy,andJoe
OssannaatBellLabs

Writtenin

CandAssemblylanguage

OSfamily

Unix

Workingstate

Current

Fromthepoweruser'sorprogrammer'sperspective,Unix
systemsarecharacterizedbyamodulardesignthatis
sometimescalledthe"Unixphilosophy",meaningthat
theoperatingsystemprovidesasetofsimpletoolsthat
eachperformalimited,welldefinedfunction,[6]witha
unifiedfilesystemasthemainmeansof
communication[3]andashellscriptingandcommand
languagetocombinethetoolstoperformcomplex
workflows.Asidefromthemodulardesign,Unixalso
distinguishesitselffromitspredecessorsasthefirst
portableoperatingsystem:almosttheentireoperating
systemiswrittenintheCprogramminglanguage[7]that
allowedUnixtoreachnumerousplatforms.

Sourcemodel

Historicallyclosedsource,
whilesomeUnixprojects
(includingBSDfamilyand
Illumos)areopensource

Initialrelease

Developmentstartedin
1969
Firstmanualpublished
internallyin

Availablein

English

ManyclonesofUnixhavearisenovertheyears,of
whichLinuxisthemostpopular,havingovertakenthe
popularityofSUScertifiedUnicesonserverplatforms
sinceitsinceptionintheearly1990s.

Kerneltype

Monolithic

November1971[1]
AnnouncedoutsideBell
LabsinOctober1973[2]

Defaultuserinterface Commandlineinterface
andGraphical(XWindow
System)
License

Contents
1Overview

Variessomeversionsare
proprietary,othersare
free/opensourcesoftware

1Overview
2History
3Standards
4Components
5Impact
5.1FreeUnixandUnixlikevariants
5.2ARPANET
6Branding
7Seealso
8References
9Furtherreading
10Externallinks

Officialwebsite

unix.org
(http://www.unix.org)

Overview
Originally,Unixwasmeanttobeaprogrammer'sworkbenchtobe
usedfordevelopingsoftwaretoberunonmultipleplatforms[8][9]
morethantobeusedtorunapplicationsoftware.Thesystemgrew
largerastheoperatingsystemstartedspreadingintheacademic
circle,asusersaddedtheirowntoolstothesystemandsharedthem
withcolleagues.[10]
Unixwasdesignedtobeportable,multitaskingandmultiuserina
Version7Unix,theResearchUnix
timesharingconfiguration.Unixsystemsarecharacterizedby
ancestorofallmodernUnixsystems
variousconcepts:theuseofplaintextforstoringdataahierarchical
filesystemtreatingdevicesandcertaintypesofinterprocess
communication(IPC)asfilesandtheuseofalargenumberof
softwaretools,smallprogramsthatcanbestrungtogetherthroughacommandlineinterpreterusingpipes,
asopposedtousingasinglemonolithicprogramthatincludesallofthesamefunctionality.Theseconcepts
arecollectivelyknownasthe"Unixphilosophy".BrianKernighanandRobPikesummarizethisinThe
UnixProgrammingEnvironmentas"theideathatthepowerofasystemcomesmorefromtherelationships
amongprogramsthanfromtheprogramsthemselves".[11]
Bytheearly1980susersbeganseeingUnixasapotentialuniversaloperatingsystem,suitablefor
computersofallsizes.[12][13]Unixoperatingsystemsarewidelyusedinservers,workstations,andmobile
devices.[14]TheUnixenvironmentandtheclientserverprogrammodelwereessentialelementsinthe
developmentoftheInternetandthereshapingofcomputingascenteredinnetworksratherthanin
individualcomputers.
BothUnixandtheCprogramminglanguageweredevelopedbyAT&Tanddistributedtogovernmentand
academicinstitutions,whichledtobothbeingportedtoawidervarietyofmachinefamiliesthananyother
operatingsystem.
UnderUnix,theoperatingsystemconsistsofmanyutilitiesalongwiththemastercontrolprogram,the
kernel.Thekernelprovidesservicestostartandstopprograms,handlesthefilesystemandothercommon
"lowlevel"tasksthatmostprogramsshare,andschedulesaccesstoavoidconflictswhenprogramstryto

accessthesameresourceordevicesimultaneously.Tomediatesuchaccess,thekernelhasspecialrights,
reflectedinthedivisionbetweenuserspaceandkernelspace.
Themicrokernelconceptwasintroducedinanefforttoreversethetrendtowardslargerkernelsandreturn
toasysteminwhichmosttaskswerecompletedbysmallerutilities.Inanerawhenastandardcomputer
consistedofaharddiskforstorageandadataterminalforinputandoutput(I/O),theUnixfilemodel
workedquitewell,asmostI/Owaslinear.However,modernsystemsincludenetworkingandothernew
devices.Asgraphicaluserinterfacesdeveloped,thefilemodelprovedinadequatetothetaskofhandling
asynchronouseventssuchasthosegeneratedbyamouse.Inthe1980s,nonblockingI/Oandthesetof
interprocesscommunicationmechanismswereaugmentedwithUnixdomainsockets,sharedmemory,
messagequeues,andsemaphores.Inmicrokernelimplementations,functionssuchasnetworkprotocols
couldbemovedoutofthekernel,whileconventional(monolithic)Uniximplementationshavenetwork
protocolstacksaspartofthekernel.

History
Mainarticle:HistoryofUnix
TheprehistoryofUnixdatesbacktothemid1960swhenthe
MassachusettsInstituteofTechnology,AT&TBellLabs,and
GeneralElectricweredevelopinganexperimentaltimesharing
operatingsystemcalledMulticsfortheGE645mainframe.[15]
Multicsintroducedmanyinnovations,buthadmanyproblems.
FrustratedbythesizeandcomplexityofMulticsbutnotbythe
aims,BellLabsslowlypulledoutoftheproject.Theirlast
researcherstoleaveMultics,KenThompson,DennisRitchie,M.D.
McIlroy,andJ.F.Ossanna,[16]decidedtoredotheworkonamuch
smallerscale.

KenThompson(sitting)andDennis
RitchieworkingtogetherataPDP11

TheprojectgainedthenameUNICS(UNiplexedInformationand
ComputingService,pronouncedas"eunuchs")in1970,apunon
Multics(MultiplexedInformationandComputerServices):thenewoperatingsystemwasanemasculated
Multics.PeterH.SaluscreditsPeterNeumannwiththepun.[17]Bytheendof1971,thishadbecomeUNIX
(writteninallcaps,butnotanacronym).
In1972,UnixwasrewrittenintheCprogramminglanguage.[18]Themigrationfromassemblytothe
higherlevellanguageCresultedinmuchmoreportablesoftware,[19]requiringonlyarelativelysmall
amountofmachinedependentcodetobereplacedwhenportingUnixtoothercomputingplatforms.Bell
LabsproducedseveralversionsofUnixthatarecollectivelyreferredtoasResearchUnix.In1975,thefirst
sourcelicenseforUNIXwassoldtofacultyattheUniversityofIllinoisDepartmentofComputerScience.
UIUCgraduatestudentGregChesson(whohadworkedontheUNIXkernelatBellLabs)wasinstrumental
innegotiatingthetermsofthislicense.
Duringthelate1970sandearly1980s,theinfluenceofUnixinacademiccirclesledtolargescaleadoption
ofUnix(BSDandSystemV)bycommercialstartups,includingSequent,HPUX,Solaris,AIX,andXenix.
Inthelate1980s,AT&TUnixSystemLaboratoriesandSunMicrosystemsdevelopedSystemVRelease4
(SVR4),whichwassubsequentlyadoptedbymanycommercialUnixvendors.

Inthe1990s,UnixlikesystemsgrewinpopularityasLinuxandBSDdistributionsweredevelopedthrough
collaborationbyaworldwidenetworkofprogrammers.In2000,ApplereleasedDarwinthatbecamethe
coreoftheOSXoperatingsystem.[20]

Standards
Beginninginthelate1980s,anopenoperatingsystem
standardizationeffortnowknownasPOSIXprovidedacommon
baselineforalloperatingsystemsIEEEbasedPOSIXaroundthe
commonstructureofthemajorcompetingvariantsoftheUnix
system,publishingthefirstPOSIXstandardin1988.Intheearly
1990s,aseparatebutverysimilareffortwasstartedbyanindustry
consortium,theCommonOpenSoftwareEnvironment(COSE)
initiative,whicheventuallybecametheSingleUNIXSpecification
(SUS)administeredbyTheOpenGroup.Startingin1998,theOpen
GroupandIEEEstartedtheAustinGroup,toprovideacommon
definitionofPOSIXandtheSingleUNIXSpecification,which,by
2008,hadbecometheOpenGroupBaseSpecification.

TheCommonDesktopEnvironment
(CDE),partoftheCOSEinitiative

In1999,inanefforttowardscompatibility,severalUnixsystemvendorsagreedonSVR4'sExecutableand
LinkableFormat(ELF)asthestandardforbinaryandobjectcodefiles.Thecommonformatallows
substantialbinarycompatibilityamongUnixsystemsoperatingonthesameCPUarchitecture.
TheFilesystemHierarchyStandardwascreatedtoprovideareferencedirectorylayoutforUnixlike
operatingsystems,andhasmainlybeenusedinLinux.

Components
Seealso:ListofUnixprograms
TheUnixsystemiscomposedofseveralcomponentsthatwereoriginallypackagedtogether.Byincluding
thedevelopmentenvironment,libraries,documentsandtheportable,modifiablesourcecodeforallofthese
components,inadditiontothekernelofanoperatingsystem,Unixwasaselfcontainedsoftwaresystem.
Thiswasoneofthekeyreasonsitemergedasanimportantteachingandlearningtoolandhashadsucha
broadinfluence.
TheinclusionofthesecomponentsdidnotmakethesystemlargetheoriginalV7UNIXdistribution,
consistingofcopiesofallofthecompiledbinariesplusallofthesourcecodeanddocumentationoccupied
lessthan10MBandarrivedonasingleninetrackmagnetictape.Theprinteddocumentation,typesetfrom
theonlinesources,wascontainedintwovolumes.
ThenamesandfilesystemlocationsoftheUnixcomponentshavechangedsubstantiallyacrossthehistory
ofthesystem.Nonetheless,theV7implementationisconsideredbymanytohavethecanonicalearly
structure:
Kernelsourcecodein/usr/sys,composedofseveralsubcomponents:
confconfigurationandmachinedependentparts,includingbootcode
devdevicedriversforcontrolofhardware(andsomepseudohardware)

sysoperatingsystem"kernel",handlingmemorymanagement,processscheduling,system
calls,etc.
hheaderfiles,definingkeystructureswithinthesystemandimportantsystemspecific
invariables
DevelopmentenvironmentearlyversionsofUnixcontainedadevelopmentenvironmentsufficient
torecreatetheentiresystemfromsourcecode:
ccClanguagecompiler(firstappearedinV3Unix)
asmachinelanguageassemblerforthemachine
ldlinker,forcombiningobjectfiles
libobjectcodelibraries(installedin/libor/usr/lib).libc,thesystemlibrarywithCruntime
support,wastheprimarylibrary,buttherehavealwaysbeenadditionallibrariesforsuchthings
asmathematicalfunctions(libm)ordatabaseaccess.V7Unixintroducedthefirstversionofthe
modern"StandardI/O"librarystdioaspartofthesystemlibrary.Laterimplementations
increasedthenumberoflibrariessignificantly.
makebuildmanager(introducedinPWB/UNIX),foreffectivelyautomatingthebuildprocess
includeheaderfilesforsoftwaredevelopment,definingstandardinterfacesandsystem
invariants
OtherlanguagesV7UnixcontainedaFortran77compiler,aprogrammablearbitrary
precisioncalculator(bc,dc),andtheawkscriptinglanguagelaterversionsand
implementationscontainmanyotherlanguagecompilersandtoolsets.EarlyBSDreleases
includedPascaltools,andmanymodernUnixsystemsalsoincludetheGNUCompiler
Collectionaswellasorinsteadofaproprietarycompilersystem.
Othertoolsincludinganobjectcodearchivemanager(ar),symboltablelister(nm),
compilerdevelopmenttools(e.g.lex&yacc),anddebuggingtools.
CommandsUnixmakeslittledistinctionbetweencommands(userlevelprograms)forsystem
operationandmaintenance(e.g.cron),commandsofgeneralutility(e.g.grep),andmoregeneral
purposeapplicationssuchasthetextformattingandtypesettingpackage.Nonetheless,somemajor
categoriesare:
shthe"shell"programmablecommandlineinterpreter,theprimaryuserinterfaceonUnix
beforewindowsystemsappeared,andevenafterward(withina"commandwindow").
UtilitiesthecoretoolkitoftheUnixcommandset,includingcp,ls,grep,findandmany
others.Subcategoriesinclude:
Systemutilitiesadministrativetoolssuchasmkfs,fsck,andmanyothers.
Userutilitiesenvironmentmanagementtoolssuchaspasswd,kill,andothers.
DocumentformattingUnixsystemswereusedfromtheoutsetfordocumentpreparationand
typesettingsystems,andincludedmanyrelatedprogramssuchasnroff,troff,tbl,eqn,refer,
andpic.SomemodernUnixsystemsalsoincludepackagessuchasTeXandGhostscript.
Graphicstheplotsubsystemprovidedfacilitiesforproducingsimplevectorplotsinadevice
independentformat,withdevicespecificinterpreterstodisplaysuchfiles.ModernUnix
systemsalsogenerallyincludeX11asastandardwindowingsystemandGUI,andmany
supportOpenGL.
CommunicationsearlyUnixsystemscontainednointersystemcommunication,butdid
includetheinterusercommunicationprogramsmailandwrite.V7introducedtheearlyinter
systemcommunicationsystemUUCP,andsystemsbeginningwithBSDrelease4.1cincluded
TCP/IPutilities.
DocumentationUnixwasthefirstoperatingsystemtoincludeallofitsdocumentationonlinein
machinereadableform.Thedocumentationincluded:
manmanualpagesforeachcommand,librarycomponent,systemcall,headerfile,etc.
doclongerdocumentsdetailingmajorsubsystems,suchastheClanguageandtroff

Impact
Seealso:Unixlike
TheUnixsystemhadsignificantimpactonotheroperatingsystems.
Itwonitssuccessbythedirectinteraction,byprovidingthe
softwareatanominalfeeforeducationaluse,byrunningon
inexpensivehardware,andbybeingeasytoadaptandmoveto
differentmachines.Unixwaswritteninahighlevelprogramming
languageratherthanassemblylanguage(whichhadbeenthought
necessaryforsystemsimplementationonearlycomputers).
AlthoughthisfollowedtheleadofMulticsandBurroughs,itwas
Unixthatpopularizedtheidea.

PhotofromUSENIX1984,including
DennisRitchie(center)

Unixhadadrasticallysimplifiedfilemodelcomparedtomany
contemporaryoperatingsystems:treatingallkindsoffilesassimple
bytearrays.Thefilesystemhierarchycontainedmachineservicesanddevices(suchasprinters,terminals,
ordiskdrives),providingauniforminterface,butattheexpenseofoccasionallyrequiringadditional
mechanismssuchasioctlandmodeflagstoaccessfeaturesofthehardwarethatdidnotfitthesimple
"streamofbytes"model.ThePlan9operatingsystempushedthismodelevenfurtherandeliminatedthe
needforadditionalmechanisms.

Unixalsopopularizedthehierarchicalfilesystemwitharbitrarilynestedsubdirectories,originally
introducedbyMultics.Othercommonoperatingsystemsoftheerahadwaystodivideastoragedeviceinto
multipledirectoriesorsections,buttheyhadafixednumberoflevels,oftenonlyonelevel.Severalmajor
proprietaryoperatingsystemseventuallyaddedrecursivesubdirectorycapabilitiesalsopatternedafter
Multics.DEC'sRSX11M's"group,user"hierarchyevolvedintoVMSdirectories,CP/M'svolumes
evolvedintoMSDOS2.0+subdirectories,andHP'sMPEgroup.accounthierarchyandIBM'sSSPand
OS/400librarysystemswerefoldedintobroaderPOSIXfilesystems.
Makingthecommandinterpreteranordinaryuserlevelprogram,withadditionalcommandsprovidedas
separateprograms,wasanotherMulticsinnovationpopularizedbyUnix.TheUnixshellusedthesame
languageforinteractivecommandsasforscripting(shellscriptstherewasnoseparatejobcontrol
languagelikeIBM'sJCL).SincetheshellandOScommandswere"justanotherprogram",theusercould
choose(orevenwrite)hisownshell.Newcommandscouldbeaddedwithoutchangingtheshellitself.
Unix'sinnovativecommandlinesyntaxforcreatingmodularchainsofproducerconsumerprocesses
(pipelines)madeapowerfulprogrammingparadigm(coroutines)widelyavailable.Manylatercommand
lineinterpretershavebeeninspiredbytheUnixshell.
AfundamentalsimplifyingassumptionofUnixwasitsfocusonnewlinedelimitedtextfornearlyallfile
formats.Therewereno"binary"editorsintheoriginalversionofUnixtheentiresystemwasconfigured
usingtextualshellcommandscripts.ThecommondenominatorintheI/Osystemwasthebyteunlike
"recordbased"filesystems.ThefocusontextforrepresentingnearlyeverythingmadeUnixpipes
especiallyuseful,andencouragedthedevelopmentofsimple,generaltoolsthatcouldbeeasilycombinedto
performmorecomplicatedadhoctasks.Thefocusontextandbytesmadethesystemfarmorescalableand
portablethanothersystems.Overtime,textbasedapplicationshavealsoprovenpopularinapplication
areas,suchasprintinglanguages(PostScript,ODF),andattheapplicationlayeroftheInternetprotocols,
e.g.,FTP,SMTP,HTTP,SOAP,andSIP.

Unixpopularizedasyntaxforregularexpressionsthatfoundwidespreaduse.TheUnixprogramming
interfacebecamethebasisforawidelyimplementedoperatingsysteminterfacestandard(POSIX,see
above).TheCprogramminglanguagesoonspreadbeyondUnix,andisnowubiquitousinsystemsand
applicationsprogramming.
EarlyUnixdeveloperswereimportantinbringingtheconceptsofmodularityandreusabilityintosoftware
engineeringpractice,spawninga"softwaretools"movement.Overtime,theleadingdevelopersofUnix
(andprogramsthatranonit)establishedasetofculturalnormsfordevelopingsoftware,normswhich
becameasimportantandinfluentialasthetechnologyofUnixitselfthishasbeentermedtheUnix
philosophy.
TheTCP/IPnetworkingprotocolswerequicklyimplementedontheUnixversionswidelyusedon
relativelyinexpensivecomputers,whichcontributedtotheInternetexplosionofworldwiderealtime
connectivity,andwhichformedthebasisforimplementationsonmanyotherplatforms.
TheUnixpolicyofextensiveonlinedocumentationand(formanyyears)readyaccesstoallsystemsource
coderaisedprogrammerexpectations,andcontributedtothe1983launchofthefreesoftwaremovement.

FreeUnixandUnixlikevariants
Seealso:OperatingsystemUNIXandUNIXlikeoperatingsystems
In1983,RichardStallmanannouncedtheGNUproject,anambitious
efforttocreateafreesoftwareUnixlikesystem"free"inthesense
thateveryonewhoreceivedacopywouldbefreetouse,study,modify,
andredistributeit.TheGNUproject'sownkerneldevelopmentproject,
GNUHurd,hadnotproducedaworkingkernel,butin1991Linus
TorvaldsreleasedtheLinuxkernelasfreesoftwareundertheGNU
GeneralPublicLicense.InadditiontotheiruseintheLinuxoperating
system,manyGNUpackagessuchastheGNUCompilerCollection
(andtherestoftheGNUtoolchain),theGNUClibraryandtheGNU
coreutilitieshavegoneontoplaycentralrolesinotherfreeUnix
systemsaswell.
Linuxdistributions,consistingoftheLinuxkernelandlargecollections
ofcompatiblesoftwarehavebecomepopularbothwithindividual
usersandinbusiness.PopulardistributionsincludeRedHatEnterprise
Linux,Fedora,SUSELinuxEnterprise,openSUSE,Debian
GNU/Linux,Ubuntu,LinuxMint,MandrivaLinux,SlackwareLinux,
andGentoo.

ConsolescreenshotsofDebian
(top,apopularLinuxdistribution)
andFreeBSD(bottom,apopular
Unixlikeoperatingsystem)

AfreederivativeofBSDUnix,386BSD,wasreleasedin1992andledtotheNetBSDandFreeBSD
projects.Withthe1994settlementofalawsuitbroughtagainsttheUniversityofCaliforniaandBerkeley
SoftwareDesignInc.(USLv.BSDi)byUNIXSystemsLaboratories,itwasclarifiedthatBerkeleyhadthe
righttodistributeBSDUnixforfree,ifitsodesired.Sincethen,BSDUnixhasbeendevelopedinseveral
differentproductbranches,includingOpenBSDandDragonFlyBSD.

LinuxandBSDareincreasinglyfillingthemarketneedstraditionallyservedbyproprietaryUnixoperating
systems,aswellasexpandingintonewmarketssuchastheconsumerdesktopandmobileandembedded
devices.BecauseofthemodulardesignoftheUnixmodel,sharingcomponentsisrelativelycommon
consequently,mostorallUnixandUnixlikesystemsincludeatleastsomeBSDcode,andsomesystems
alsoincludeGNUutilitiesintheirdistributions.
Ina1999interview,DennisRitchievoicedhisopinionthatLinuxandBSDoperatingsystemsarea
continuationofthebasisoftheUnixdesign,andarederivativesofUnix:[21]
IthinktheLinuxphenomenonisquitedelightful,becauseitdrawssostronglyonthebasisthat
Unixprovided.LinuxseemstobetheamongthehealthiestofthedirectUnixderivatives,
thoughtherearealsothevariousBSDsystemsaswellasthemoreofficialofferingsfromthe
workstationandmainframemanufacturers.
Inthesameinterview,hestatesthatheviewsbothUnixandLinuxas"thecontinuationofideasthatwere
startedbyKenandmeandmanyothers,manyyearsago."[21]
OpenSolariswastheopensourcecounterparttoSolarisdevelopedbySunMicrosystems,whichincludeda
CDDLlicensedkernelandaprimarilyGNUuserland.However,Oraclediscontinuedtheprojectupontheir
acquisitionofSun,whichpromptedagroupofformerSunemployeesandmembersoftheOpenSolaris
communitytoforkOpenSolarisintotheillumoskernel.Asof2014,illumosremainstheonlyactiveopen
sourceSystemVderivative.

ARPANET
InMay1975,RFC681describedthedevelopmentofNetworkUnixbytheCenterforAdvanced
ComputationattheUniversityofIllinois.Thesystemwassaidto"presentseveralinterestingcapabilitiesas
anARPANETminihost".AtthetimeUnixrequiredalicensefromBellLaboratoriesthatat$20,000(US)
wasveryexpensivefornonuniversityusers,whileaneducationallicensecostjust$150.Itwasnotedthat
Bellwas"opentosuggestions"foranARPANETwidelicense.
Specificfeaturesfoundbeneficialwerethelocalprocessingfacilities,compilers,editors,adocument
preparationsystem,efficientfilesystemandaccesscontrol,mountableandunmountablevolumes,unified
treatmentofperipheralsasspecialfiles,integrationofthenetworkcontrolprogram(NCP)withintheUnix
filesystem,treatmentofnetworkconnectionsasspecialfilesthatcanbeaccessedthroughstandardUnix
I/Ocalls,closingofallfilesonprogramexit,andthedecisiontobe"desirabletominimizetheamountof
codeaddedtothebasicUnixkernel".

Branding
Seealso:ListofUnixsystems
InOctober1993,Novell,thecompanythatownedtherightstotheUnixSystemVsourceatthetime,
transferredthetrademarksofUnixtotheX/OpenCompany(nowTheOpenGroup),[22]andin1995sold
therelatedbusinessoperationstoSantaCruzOperation(SCO).[23]WhetherNovellalsosoldthecopyrights

totheactualsoftwarewasthesubjectofa2006federallawsuit,SCOv.Novell,whichNovellwon.The
casewasappealed,buton30Aug2011,theUnitedStatesCourtofAppealsfortheTenthCircuitaffirmed
thetrialdecisions,closingthecase.[24]UnixvendorSCOGroupInc.accusedNovellofslanderoftitle.
ThepresentownerofthetrademarkUNIXisTheOpenGroup,an
industrystandardsconsortium.Onlysystemsfullycompliantwith
andcertifiedtotheSingleUNIXSpecificationqualifyas"UNIX"
(othersarecalled"Unixsystemlike"or"Unixlike").
BydecreeofTheOpenGroup,theterm"UNIX"refersmoretoa
classofoperatingsystemsthantoaspecificimplementationofan
operatingsystemthoseoperatingsystemswhichmeetTheOpen
Group'sSingleUNIXSpecificationshouldbeabletobeartheUNIX
98orUNIX03trademarkstoday,aftertheoperatingsystem's
vendorpaysasubstantialcertificationfeeandannualtrademark
royalties[25]toTheOpenGroup.SystemslicensedtousetheUNIX
trademarkincludeAIX,HPUX,IRIX,Solaris,Tru64(formerly
"DigitalUNIX"),A/UX,OSX,[26][27]andapartofz/OS.
SometimesarepresentationlikeUn*x,*NIX,or*N?Xisusedto
indicatealloperatingsystemssimilartoUnix.Thiscomesfromthe
useoftheasterisk(*)andthequestionmarkcharactersaswildcard
indicatorsinmanyutilities.Thisnotationisalsousedtodescribe
otherUnixlikesystems,e.g.,Linux,BSD,etc.,thathavenotmet
therequirementsforUNIXbrandingfromtheOpenGroup.

PromotionallicenseplatebyDigital
EquipmentCorporation

HP9000workstationrunningHPUX,
acertifiedUnixoperatingsystem

TheOpenGrouprequeststhatUNIXisalwaysusedasanadjective
followedbyagenerictermsuchassystemtohelpavoidthecreationofagenericizedtrademark.
Unixwastheoriginalformatting,buttheusageofUNIXremainswidespreadbecauseitwasoncetypesetin
smallcaps(UNIX).accordingtoDennisRitchie,whenpresentingtheoriginalUnixpapertothethird
OperatingSystemsSymposiumoftheAmericanAssociationforComputingMachinery(ACM),"wehada
newtypesetterandtroffhadjustbeeninventedandwewereintoxicatedbybeingabletoproducesmall
caps."[28]Manyoftheoperatingsystem'spredecessorsandcontemporariesusedalluppercaselettering,so
manypeoplewrotethenameinuppercaseduetoforceofhabit.Itisnotanacronym.[29]
SeveralpluralformsofUnixareusedcasuallytorefertomultiplebrandsofUnixandUnixlikesystems.
MostcommonistheconventionalUnixes,butUnices,treatingUnixasaLatinnounofthethirddeclension,
isalsopopular.ThepseudoAngloSaxonpluralformUnixenisnotcommon,althoughoccasionallyseen.
Trademarknamescanberegisteredbydifferententitiesindifferentcountriesandtrademarklawsinsome
countriesallowthesametrademarknametobecontrolledbytwodifferententitiesifeachentityusesthe
trademarkineasilydistinguishablecategories.TheresultisthatUnixhasbeenusedasabrandnamefor
variousproductsincludingbookshelves,inkpens,bottledglue,diapers,hairdriersandfoodcontainers.[30]

Seealso
Comparisonofoperatingsystems

Comparisonofopensourceandclosedsource
Listofoperatingsystems
ListofUnixsystems
ListofUnixutilities
Marketshareofoperatingsystems
Operatingsystemstimeline
Plan9fromBellLabs
Unixtime
Year2038problem

References
1. McIlroy,M.D.(1987).AResearchUnixreader:annotatedexcerptsfromtheProgrammer'sManual,19711986
(http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~doug/reader.pdf)(PDF)(Technicalreport).CSTR.BellLabs.139.
2. Ritchie,D.M.Thompson,K.(1974)."TheUNIXTimeSharingSystem"(http://cm.bell
labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/cacm.html).CACM17(7):365375.
3. Ritchie,D.M.Thompson,K.(July1978)."TheUNIXTimeSharingSystem"(https://archive.org/details/bstj57
61905).BellSystemTech.J.(USA:AmericanTel.&Tel.)57(6):19051929.doi:10.1002/j.1538
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5. AppleInc.UNIX03(http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/register/brand3602.htm)RegisterofCertified
Products,TheOpenGroup
6. Raymond,Eric(20030919).TheArtofUnixProgramming(http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/taoup/html/).
AddisonWesley.ISBN0131429019.Retrieved20090209.
7. Ritchie,DennisM.(January1993)."TheDevelopmentoftheCLanguage"(http://cm.bell
labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/chist.html).Retrieved1January2008.
8. "TheElementsofOperatingSystemStyle"(http://www.faqs.org/docs/artu/ch03s01.html).
9. "Tandy/RadioShackBook:WholeEarthSoftwareCatalog"
(https://archive.org/stream/Whole_Earth_Software_Catalog_1984_Point/Whole_Earth_Software_Catalog_1984_P
oint_djvu.txt).1984."UNIXwascreatedbysoftwaredevelopersforsoftwaredevelopers,togivethemselvesan
environmenttheycouldcompletelymanipulate."
10. Powers,ShelleyPeek,JerryO'Reilly,TimLoukides,Mike(2002).UnixPowerTools.ISBN0596003307.
11. Kernighan,BrianW.Pike,Rob.TheUNIXProgrammingEnvironment.1984.viii
12. Fiedler,Ryan(October1983)."TheUnixTutorial/Part3:UnixintheMicrocomputerMarketplace"
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oint_djvu.txt).1984."ThebestthingaboutUNIXisitsportability.UNIXportsacrossafullrangeofhardware
fromthesingleuser$5000IBMPCtothe$5millionCray.Forthefirsttime,thepointofstabilitybecomesthe
softwareenvironment,notthehardwarearchitectureUNIXtranscendschangesinhardwaretechnology,so
programswrittenfortheUNIXenvironmentcanmoveintothenextgenerationofhardware."
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20101109.
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17. Salus,PeterH.(1994).AQuarterCenturyofUNIX.AddisonWesley.p.9.ISBN0201547775.
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Furtherreading
General
Ritchie,D.M.Thompson,K.,TheUNIXTimeSharingSystem(TheBellSystemTechnicalJournal,
JulyAugust1978,Vol.57,No.6,Part2
(http://web.archive.org/web/20101103053325/http://bstj.bell
labs.com/oldfiles/year.1978/BSTJ.1978.57062.html)),archivedfromtheoriginalonNovember3,
2010
"UNIXHistory"(http://www.levenez.com/unix/).www.levenez.com.Retrieved17March2005.
"AIX,FreeBSD,HPUX,Linux,Solaris,Tru64"(http://www.unixguide.net/).UNIXguide.net.
Retrieved17March2005.
"LinuxWeeklyNews,February21,2002"(http://lwn.net/2002/0221/bigpage.php3).lwn.net.
Retrieved7April2006.
Lions,John:Lions'"CommentaryontheSixthEditionUNIXOperatingSystem"
(http://www.lemis.com/grog/Documentation/Lions/).withSourceCode,PeertoPeer
Communications,1996ISBN1573980137
Books
Salus,PeterH.:AQuarterCenturyofUNIX,AddisonWesley,1June1994ISBN0201547775
Television

ComputerChronicles(1985)."UNIX(https://archive.org/details/UNIX1985)".
ComputerChronicles(1989)."Unix(https://archive.org/details/unix_2)".

Externallinks
TheUNIXSystem(http://www.unix.org),atTheOpen
Group.
TheEvolutionoftheUnixTimesharingSystem
(https://web.archive.org/web/20150408054606/http://cm.bell
labs.com/cm/cs/who/dmr/hist.html)attheWaybackMachine
(archivedApril8,2015)
TheCreationoftheUNIXOperatingSystem

LookupUnixin
Wiktionary,thefree
dictionary.
WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedtoUnix.
TheWikibookGuideto
Unixhasapageonthe
topicof:Commands

(https://web.archive.org/web/20140402192351/http://www.belllabs.com/history/unix/)atthe
WaybackMachine(archivedApril2,2014)
TheUnixTree:filesfromhistoricreleases(http://minnie.tuhs.org/UnixTree/)
Unix(https://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Operating_Systems/Unix/)atDMOZ
TheUnix1stEditionManuals(http://man.catv.org/unix1st/).
1982filmaboutUnixfeaturingDennisRitchie,KenThompson,BrianKernighan,AlfredAho,and
more(http://techchannel.att.com/playvideo.cfm/2012/2/22/AT&TArchivesTheUNIXSystem)
AHistoryofUNIXbeforeBerkeley:UNIXEvolution:19751984
(http://www.darwinsys.com/history/hist.html)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Unix&oldid=682531456"
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