Various differences compared between numerous platforms.
What are the major differences between Unix and Linux?
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That's a very broad question and could be answered any number of ways. Probably the simplest answer is that from a technical point of view there are no major differences. Most people aren't satisfied with believing that Linux and UNIX are very similar, though. Here's a list of the most obvious remaining differences.
Origin: UNIX originated in the laboratories of universities and large corporations, as an initiative within the context of those organisations. Linux was begun by a university student (Linus Torvalds) without any initial support from any large organisation. Linux also began as in mimickry of other well-known UNIX-like implementations, whereas the initial UNIX implementations were original research. Most commercial UNIX versions are also derived from that early research.
Service Model: Most UNIX versions operate on the basis that you can buy help (support and service contracts). Although such things are increasingly available to Linux technologists, traditional arrangements consist of providing your own help, with the assistance of a community of like-minded people. Linux is big, and access to communities is more important than, say, it is for IBM mainframes.
Equipment: Although Linux runs on many kinds of equipment, it is best known for its support of commodity IBM-Intel PC-based hardware. Most of the more popular UNIX flavours focus on high-performance hardware, usually of a proprietory nature, or using high-end standard computing architectures, like SPARC. With ever-increasing gains in PC hardware, like Serial-ATA, this distinction is not as large as it used to be, especially for low performance uses, like desktops.
Licensing: Linux follows the Free Software Foundation's radical licensing model, which provides a great deal of liberty to those that interact with Linux technology. UNIX versions provided by other vendors have profit strategies embedded in them. People who offer Linux services might have a profit strategy, but Linux itself doesn't. This means that vendor lock-in is less of an issue with Linux than it is with other UNIX offerings. It also means that organisations big enough to have a center of computing competancy always have the choice of "doing it themselves."
Honesty: Linux and related software is extremely visible. You can find out about flaws before you commit to the technology rather than afterwards. Because of this, a version number in Linux is a more relable indicator of the quality of the software than in UNIX. For example, most Linux software spends a long time being version 0 (zero) before it ever qualifies for the label "version 1."
In terms of quality, performance and feature set, there's little to separate Linux from the other UNIXes. Linux has yet to provide genuine real-time scheduling, which some other UNIX versions do well.
What are the differences between Linux and UNIX?
Command-line-wise, almost none, although this has been changing (for better or worse). Linux has a much larger market appeal and following than any commercial UNIX. GUI-wise there are also no major differences--Linux, as most other UNIXes, uses an X-Windowing system.
The major differences:
• Linux is free, while many UNICES (this is supposed to be the plural of UNIX), are very expensive. The same for applications--many good applications are available on Linux free. Even the same commercial application (if you wanted to buy one) typically costs much more for a commercial UNIX than for Linux.
• Linux runs on many hardware platforms, the commodity Intel-x86/IBM-spec personal computers being the most prominent. In contrast, a typical UNIX is proprietary-hardware-bonded (and this hardware tends to be much more expensive than a typical PC clone).
• With Linux, you are in charge of your computer, whereas on most UNICES you are typically confined to be an "l-user" (some administrators pronounce it "loser").
• Linux feels very much like DOS/Win in the late 80s/90s, but is much sturdier and richer, while a typical UNIX account feels like a mainframe from the 60s/70s.
• Some UNICES may be more mature in certain areas (for example, security, some engineering applications, better support of cutting-edge hardware). Linux is more for the average Joe who wants to run his own server or engineering workstation.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
What is the difference between Linux and Unix?
Unix is popular operating system, developed by AT&T in 1969 and it has been very important to the development of the Internet. It is a multi-processing, multi-user, family of operating systems that run on a variety of architectures. UNIX allows more than one user to access a computer system at the same time.
A widely used Open Source Unix-like operating system kernel. Linux was first released by its inventor Linus Torvalds in 1991. Combining the Linux kernel with the GNU software forms the basis of the operating system family generally known as 'Linux'. There are distributions of GNU/Linux for almost every available type of computer hardware from desktop machines to IBM mainframes. The inner workings of GNU/Linux are open and available for anyone to examine and change as long as they make their changes available to the public, as set out in the terms of the GNU General Public License. Because of its robustness and availability, Linux has won popularity in the Open Source community as well as among commercial application developers.
Here is more input:
• Unix requires a more powerful hardware configuration. It will work in large mainframe computers but will not work in an x86 based personal computer. Linux however, (which is built on the concept of Unix) has small hardware requirements and it will work on both a large mainframe computer and an x86 based personal computer.
• Unix is an Operating System developed in olden days in which the kernel, the heart of the OS, interacts directly with the hardware. (note: this is the definition of what a kernel is). Because UNIX treats everything as a file, it provides greater security for users. An example of a UNIX distribution is posix. (note: actually POSIX is a set of standards for interoperability of applications between UNIX and UNIX-like systems). Linux uses a the UNIX architecture as its basis and provides more facilities and applications. Linux could be considered to be a GUI to the UNIX core. (note: this is plain wrong. GNU/ Linux was rewritten from scratch using UNIX as a guide. GNOME and KDE are GUIs for GNU/Linux). Examples of Linux distributions are Redhat, Fedora, Susee, Mandriva, and Ubuntu. Solaris OS also uses the UNIX kernal almost all UNIX commands will work on solaris in addition to 500 Solaris specific commands. (note: Solaris is also a rewrite of UNIX for x86, and does not use any original UNIX code). Both UNIX and LINUX are Open source. (note: UNIX is proprietary, Linux is open source)
• Unix is the foundation for a number of operating systems, with Linux being the most popular one. Novell and Free BSD are 2 other commonly used Unix varients.(note: Again, the BSD family are based on another rewrite of UNIX for x86, UNIX is not their foundation in the sense implied here)
• UNIX is an operating system created in the early days of computers. More recently, Linux was created as an open-source, freeware operating system. (note: Linux is free software, not freeware. Free software is open source that insists any developer reusing code releases their own work as free software. Freeware is proprietary software distributed at no cost [gratis]) It is "UNIX-LIKE", meaning that it uses many UNIX constructs but also departs from traditional UNIX in many ways. Like UNIX, Linux is faster than many of the other commercially available operating systems. (note: This is a sweeping generalization and depends on the hardware used, and what servers and applications are running) It appears to also be far more robust than any of the Microsoft products. Linux is being used in many time critical applications because of it's speed. It is also used in many applications that need to maintain uptime because Linux, like UNIX, can run for months at a time without rebooting. While the typical method of solving Microsoft problems is to "reboot", that particular requirement does not seem to be appropriate in a Linux/Unix environment. While UNIX has created a windows-like work environment, Linux has improved greatly on that concept. Linux has become a real player in the consumer operating system market... and it's free. While you may want to pay for a Linux distribution, the actual code is free and you are allowed to load it on as many machines as you want. You can get Linux for free if you wish to load it across the internet.
Unix :
An Operating System developed in olden days in which kernel interacts directly with the hardware.kernal is consider to be heart of this os.
In this Operating system everything is considered as a file,provides greater security.
Ex: posix
Linux :
Linux is an Operating system which use unix as its base and gives further more facilities and applications.
Merely speeking GUI is made in linux having unix as its core.
Ex: Redhat, Fedora, Susee, Mandrake . . .
Solaris OS also using the same unix kernal all the unix commands will work on solaris and have 500 more solaris specific commands. Differnent organizations used the UNIX kernal and added their own essence to form their own version of linux.
A widely used Open Source Unix-like operating system kernel. Linux was first released by its inventor Linus Torvalds in 1991. Combining the Linux kernel with the GNU software forms the basis of the operating system family generally known as 'Linux'. There are distributions of GNU/Linux for almost every available type of computer hardware from desktop machines to IBM mainframes. The inner workings of GNU/Linux are open and available for anyone to examine and change as long as they make their changes available to the public, as set out in the terms of the GNU General Public License. Because of its robustness and availability, Linux has won popularity in the Open Source community as well as among commercial application developers.
Here is more input:
• Unix requires a more powerful hardware configuration. It will work in large mainframe computers but will not work in an x86 based personal computer. Linux however, (which is built on the concept of Unix) has small hardware requirements and it will work on both a large mainframe computer and an x86 based personal computer.
• Unix is an Operating System developed in olden days in which the kernel, the heart of the OS, interacts directly with the hardware. (note: this is the definition of what a kernel is). Because UNIX treats everything as a file, it provides greater security for users. An example of a UNIX distribution is posix. (note: actually POSIX is a set of standards for interoperability of applications between UNIX and UNIX-like systems). Linux uses a the UNIX architecture as its basis and provides more facilities and applications. Linux could be considered to be a GUI to the UNIX core. (note: this is plain wrong. GNU/ Linux was rewritten from scratch using UNIX as a guide. GNOME and KDE are GUIs for GNU/Linux). Examples of Linux distributions are Redhat, Fedora, Susee, Mandriva, and Ubuntu. Solaris OS also uses the UNIX kernal almost all UNIX commands will work on solaris in addition to 500 Solaris specific commands. (note: Solaris is also a rewrite of UNIX for x86, and does not use any original UNIX code). Both UNIX and LINUX are Open source. (note: UNIX is proprietary, Linux is open source)
• Unix is the foundation for a number of operating systems, with Linux being the most popular one. Novell and Free BSD are 2 other commonly used Unix varients.(note: Again, the BSD family are based on another rewrite of UNIX for x86, UNIX is not their foundation in the sense implied here)
• UNIX is an operating system created in the early days of computers. More recently, Linux was created as an open-source, freeware operating system. (note: Linux is free software, not freeware. Free software is open source that insists any developer reusing code releases their own work as free software. Freeware is proprietary software distributed at no cost [gratis]) It is "UNIX-LIKE", meaning that it uses many UNIX constructs but also departs from traditional UNIX in many ways. Like UNIX, Linux is faster than many of the other commercially available operating systems. (note: This is a sweeping generalization and depends on the hardware used, and what servers and applications are running) It appears to also be far more robust than any of the Microsoft products. Linux is being used in many time critical applications because of it's speed. It is also used in many applications that need to maintain uptime because Linux, like UNIX, can run for months at a time without rebooting. While the typical method of solving Microsoft problems is to "reboot", that particular requirement does not seem to be appropriate in a Linux/Unix environment. While UNIX has created a windows-like work environment, Linux has improved greatly on that concept. Linux has become a real player in the consumer operating system market... and it's free. While you may want to pay for a Linux distribution, the actual code is free and you are allowed to load it on as many machines as you want. You can get Linux for free if you wish to load it across the internet.
Unix :
An Operating System developed in olden days in which kernel interacts directly with the hardware.kernal is consider to be heart of this os.
In this Operating system everything is considered as a file,provides greater security.
Ex: posix
Linux :
Linux is an Operating system which use unix as its base and gives further more facilities and applications.
Merely speeking GUI is made in linux having unix as its core.
Ex: Redhat, Fedora, Susee, Mandrake . . .
Solaris OS also using the same unix kernal all the unix commands will work on solaris and have 500 more solaris specific commands. Differnent organizations used the UNIX kernal and added their own essence to form their own version of linux.
Difference between Linux and UNIX
Q. What is the difference between Linux and UNIX?
A. UNIX is copyrighted name Only big companies are allowed to use the UNIX copyright and name, so IBM AIX and Sun Solaris and HP-UX all are UNIX. The Open Group holds the UNIX trademark in trust for the industry, and manages the UNIX trademark licensing program.
Linux is UNIX clone
But if you consider Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) standards then Linux can be considered as UNIX. To quote from Official Linux kernel README file:
Linux is a Unix clone written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX compliance.
Linux is just kernel
Linux is just kernel. Linux distribution includes GUI system, installation and management tools, compilers, editors etc. Linux distribution makes it
Most UNIX oses considered as compete operating system.
As I said earlier Linux is just kernel with Linux distribution makes it complete usable os. Most UNIX oses comes with A-Z programs such as editor, compilers etc. For example FreeBSD comes with A-Z programs.
License and cost
Linux is Free (as in beer [freedom]). You will see best community support around. Many UNIX oses are not free (but this is changing fast, for example OpenSolaris/Solaris UNIX).
User-friendly
Linux is considered as most user friendly UNIX like os. It makes easy to install sound card, flash players, and other desktop goodies.
End user perspective
The differences are not that big for the average end user.
System administrator perspective
Again, the differences are not that big for the system administrator. However, you may notice difference while performing following operations:
1. Installation procedure
2. Hardware Device names
3. Admin commands or utilities
Following documents or URL should help anyone to get more idea:
• UNIX System Management and Security: Differences between Linux, Solaris, AIX and HP-UX
A. UNIX is copyrighted name Only big companies are allowed to use the UNIX copyright and name, so IBM AIX and Sun Solaris and HP-UX all are UNIX. The Open Group holds the UNIX trademark in trust for the industry, and manages the UNIX trademark licensing program.
Linux is UNIX clone
But if you consider Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) standards then Linux can be considered as UNIX. To quote from Official Linux kernel README file:
Linux is a Unix clone written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX compliance.
Linux is just kernel
Linux is just kernel. Linux distribution includes GUI system, installation and management tools, compilers, editors etc. Linux distribution makes it
Most UNIX oses considered as compete operating system.
As I said earlier Linux is just kernel with Linux distribution makes it complete usable os. Most UNIX oses comes with A-Z programs such as editor, compilers etc. For example FreeBSD comes with A-Z programs.
License and cost
Linux is Free (as in beer [freedom]). You will see best community support around. Many UNIX oses are not free (but this is changing fast, for example OpenSolaris/Solaris UNIX).
User-friendly
Linux is considered as most user friendly UNIX like os. It makes easy to install sound card, flash players, and other desktop goodies.
End user perspective
The differences are not that big for the average end user.
System administrator perspective
Again, the differences are not that big for the system administrator. However, you may notice difference while performing following operations:
1. Installation procedure
2. Hardware Device names
3. Admin commands or utilities
Following documents or URL should help anyone to get more idea:
• UNIX System Management and Security: Differences between Linux, Solaris, AIX and HP-UX
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