Let there be unix! (1 Viewer)

Martin

Martin

Senior Member
#1
Dec 31, 2000
56,913
#1
Okay, so there's all this focus on linux, but what about unix? The most commonly used unix on the desktop today is the somewhat molested Mac OS X (which not all realize actually is unix). Sun released Solaris as open source a couple of years ago, which gave way to a project called OpenSolaris. As it turns out, someone thought it would be fun to mix the unix of Solaris with the linux of Ubuntu, creating an OS that runs on a unix kernel, incorporates gnu userland (your ls, ps, tar, bash etc) and the Ubuntu desktop. This they call Nexenta, which has now hit alpha.

Nexenta is available in different packaging. There is your ISO (beware Windows Vista Home Edition users) and they also have a vmware image for those who don't want to install anything and just poke around the OS in vmware (again, beware Windows Vista Home Edition users).

Download the alpha5:
ftp://gnusol.tdcsong.se/nexenta/
 

Buy on AliExpress.com
OP
Martin

Martin

Senior Member
Thread Starter #3
Dec 31, 2000
56,913
  • Thread Starter
    • Thread Starter #3
    Of course not, but I think it's great that there are lots of option for people to use what fits them best. I like linux for all the software it has, unix is far more limited on that point. On the other hand, it has corporate proprietary values, so people consider it more solid and stable.
     
    JCK

    JCK

    Biased
    JCK
    #4
    May 11, 2004
    125,382
    #4
    I don't think anything would make me change from Gentoo at the time being, and I guess you know that. But I don't know why I always thought that Linux apps would work on Unix.

    So what's the difference between Unix and Linux in a nutshell?
     
    OP
    Martin

    Martin

    Senior Member
    Thread Starter #5
    Dec 31, 2000
    56,913
  • Thread Starter
    • Thread Starter #5
    Jeeks said:
    I don't think anything would make me change from Gentoo at the time being, and I guess you know that. But I don't know why I always thought that Linux apps would work on Unix.

    So what's the difference between Unix and Linux in a nutshell?
    Click to expand...
    It's more a cultural difference than a technical one. As you know, linux is the kernel, which was written by Linus Torvalds in 1991 and now has thousands of contributors. It's developed in the open, anyone can look at the source. Unix is the opposite, it's the proprietary operating system backed by big bags of money, like IBM, SUN, HP etc.

    Back when Torvalds wrote linux, there was no way to have a unix system for your own personal use without paying thousands of dollars in software licenses. linux changed this, coupled with Richard Stallman's GNU userland it gave the world a kernel and a userland (a set of applications that make a computer functional) that was free.

    Now, the crucial bit here is that both operating system's adhere to the POSIX operating system standard, which makes them far and away compatible. This is why KDE, a linux project, can support FreeBSD (a free unix) with little added effort.

    Linux and Unix binaries are not the same, but Unix *can* run linux binaries in a 'compabitibilty mode', which is as close to native as it gets. So in essence, you can run linux applications on Unix. This is not the same as I mentioned with KDE, which is not provided as linux binaries for unix, it's compiled for unix.

    The greatest obstacle in porting from linux to unix is libraries. linux libraries are all gnu, unix are not. This causes you to have slightly different versions of stuff in both binaries, which may make applications break.

    Culturally, unix is backed by big money, so companies will be happy to choose unix over linux, because it's generally better supported. (Nowadays most companies offer both with support deals however.) Being the proprietary product, unix is seen to be more 'safe'. It is the commercial product, so the impression is that it's more stable and 'better'. This is also makes it far less dynamic, linux is developing at a speed 5x that of unix. Unix is more like Windows - limited (but a lot more stable and not as anal of course). Interestingly, Microsoft doesn't seem to acknowledge linux at all. They had a campaign last year that compared Windows Server to Unix, nothing about linux, which of course was insanely biased towards Windows. :D
     
    JCK

    JCK

    Biased
    JCK
    #6
    May 11, 2004
    125,382
    #6
    Cheers, thanks for that :)

    Well, as for Microsoft, one gets surprised every day with their silly policies; but their time will come.
     
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