While Linux and Unix do have a lot in common, especially when it comes to file system hierarchies and terminal commands, we cannot ignore the differences that exist between the two systems. In this article, we will take a closer look at Unix and Linux and detail the differences between the two.
First of all, Linux is a clone of Unix. It is a Unix variant that has evolved rapidly, spawning hundreds of flavors or distributions. They are maintained by a vibrant community of developers. To better understand how we got to where we are today, let's look back at the history of Unix. Later, we will examine the series of events that triggered the creation of Linux.
History of Unix
Unix can be traced back to the late 1960s, at AT&T's Bell Labs, when a group of ambitious people led by Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson The developers were looking to create a multi-user multitasking system for a small computer called the PDP-7. At that time, Unix was a derivative of the Multics operating system (Multiplexed Information and Computing Service). This is the system that powers mainframes.
By the 1970s, however, the two leading developers began to feel uneasy about the direction UNIX was taking. Disappointed with the scope and direction of Multics, they decided to chart a different course and spin off a new operating system from Multics. With the joint efforts of Dennis Ritchie, who is considered the father of the C language, and Ken Thompson, the inventor of the Go language, a better system was born, which later became UNIX. UNIX is proven to be portable and can be installed and supported by many hardware architectures.
Unix developed rapidly in the 1970s and 1980s and became popular in academia. Among the institutions that adopted and changed the trajectory of Unix was engineers at the University of California in Berkley who further modified and developed Unix, resulting in a new system called BSD, or BSD Software Abbreviation for Berkeley Software Development. BSD came with a number of enhancements and new software applications, heralding a new era of operating systems. Meanwhile, AT&T charted its own course and launched its own version of UNIX, System V. Later, BSD appeared and quickly replaced System V. Variants such as NetBSD, OpenBSD and FreeBSD were derived from BSD.
The birth of Linux
In 1990, Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, further studied UNIX and finally proposed a viable Linux kernel, which he called Linux. The kernel opened the door to implementing operating systems with utilities and other applications, away from proprietary UNIX systems. Over time, Linux became open source and free to use under the GNU/GPL licensing model. This frees up space for other distributions, such as Slackware with the Linux kernel, GNU tools like the GCC compiler, X windows system (graphical user interface), and other BSD components.
There are now hundreds of Linux distributions. Among the most popular and widely used distributions are Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Fedora, Debian, CentOS, Arch Linux and Manjaro.
So far, we have learned about the brief history of UNIX and how, through the joint efforts of many developers, it gave rise to Linux, a free and open source system. The question is, what is the difference between UNIX and Linux? What is there in UNIX that is not in Linux?
Now let us change the angle and focus on the difference between the two:
Linux vs UNIX
Now let’s see the differences between these two operating systems.
First of all, Unix is an operating system originally developed by AT&T Bell Labs. Linux and its derivatives are derived from Unix. The Linux code was developed from scratch in 1991 by Linux Torvalds.
Linux is free to download and use. While some enterprise distributions, such as RHEL, require paid subscriptions, most distributions remain largely free and open source. This is a feature that makes it so popular and widely used among developers and software engineers. It mainly explains why we have countless Linux distributions, each unique in its own way. UNIX, on the other hand, is largely proprietary and usually comes pre-installed on most hardware, macOS being a good example.
Also, although Linux is open source, UNIX is not. You need permission from its manufacturer, and even then you can't view, modify, or even redistribute the code. In Linux, the situation is completely different. Linux is free and open source, which allows users to freely modify and redistribute code without any restrictions.
Due to its cost-effectiveness, Linux is more popular than UNIX for use in data centers, cloud hosting platforms, and even on desktops at home or in the office. UNIX is proprietary and has been reserved exclusively for application servers and internet servers. As time went by, the usage of UNIX gradually decreased and Linux took the leading position among cloud hosting platforms.
In terms of portability, Linux is very portable and can be installed on almost any hardware platform. You can install it on Intel, AMD processor hardware, or even ARM devices such as Raspberry Pi. In sharp contrast, UNIX can only be installed on a few platforms.
What about support?
Linux forms a broad community of active open source enthusiasts. In addition, there are a large number of forums that provide support and guidance to Linux users. However, unlike Linux, support in UNIX is commercial.
Summary
In this article, we will shed light on the history of UNIX and how developers developed Linux into a free and open source system through various efforts. Finally, we discussed the differences between UNIX and Linux and detailed the nuances.
Linux dominates the open source world, with a large number of distributions that are free to download and use. Although still used in specialized platforms, the use and demand for UNIX is declining. This is primarily due to vendor lock-in and proprietary licensing.
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