What's the difference between UNIX and Linux?

While growing up, I have only really known Windows as a platform. But now that Android is getting larger and Ubuntu is becoming very successful, it appears Linux is a platform that I should be familiar with too.

At work, some machines are running a version of UNIX, so I also need to familiarise myself with that. I have been confused for a while as to what these operating systems are and where they came from, so I would like a simple explanation of that.

What is UNIX? what is Linux? Where is the connection? Is there a good UNIX/Linux experience to be found on a home PC?

Also, I'd like to know if there are any links to Microsoft or Apple between these two?

Thanks in advance!

asked Nov 18 '12 at 05:46

penfold1992
16●2●3●4

edited Nov 20 '12 at 16:53

Fogarty ♦♦
11.7k●12●27●38

5 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

I don't know much about Unix but there's probably a Unix geek in the mix here. Linux is somewhat based on Unix. I don't feel qualified to say to what degree but a man named Linus Torvalds wrote an OS kernel with Unix as a kind of template. Linus + Unix = Linux. There are many good Linux based distributions that fork off in two major flavors Red Hat and Debian. I personally use Debian - Ubuntu.

Apple does have a connection to Unix in that their OSs are also Unix based. Microsoft built their OSs from the ground up.

answered Nov 18 '12 at 06:29

ClosetFuturist
1.7k●6●14●27

Yeah the MAC OS is based on FreeBSD I believe I remember reading that somewhere. FreeBSD is another unix variant that goes under the GNU licensing. It is based on unix but open sources. Apple took Freebsd and worked it to their hardware that they were using. Not to put down Apple at all over here. it's just as proprietary as Unix is but as stable as they get along with the other unix and linuz's out there. You have to match the hardware along with the OS to work well together. I'm running a Toshiba Tecra S3 on Ultimate edition linux for the last little while and it is very stable to work with never had a problem with it. Even though my older thinkpad that I had from lenovo had one driver issue for the wireless. But that was a minor problem since the rivers did not exist for it. Bit for the wired connection no problem at all.

(Nov 18 '12 at 21:36) Compucore

Unix is more of an idea of an OS, linux is one flavor of Unix.

Unix is also referred to in the perpritary form and Linux is referred to as open source of Unix.

that said they are the same.

answered Nov 18 '12 at 11:09

trueb
14.9k●48●99●256

I also cant believe i forgot this... Linux is also really just the kernel of the OS that everything is built on top of... but the Unix kernel and the linux kernel are the same in almost every aspect

(Nov 18 '12 at 11:19) trueb

Unix is an operating system that was developed in the late 60's. If you were to just do a simple goole search there is a wiki pages that is available that can give you more information about it. Which is this link that I was able to get off of the web to give you an easier explanation of what unix is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix

Linus Torvald the father of Linux itself didn't like when he got his first computer way back when he was studying at Helsinki the operating system that it was running at the time. Which was an early version of Windows running on a 296 or 386 computer. He found that he preferred the unix environment instead. So what he did was to develop Linux back then Which was loosely based on the Unix environment. But instead of charging for the Operating system itself. It went under the GNU where you can modify it to the way you want it to work so long as you provided the source code for it. Here is a linux to the wiki for linux as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux

I am not much of an expert as well. Even though I have been using Linux on and off since 2005 on a few pc based machines at home running X86 processors of the last several years as well. A little digging around to find out things like this was always fun to find out.

answered Nov 18 '12 at 11:30

Compucore
2.4k●11●19●25

i just find wiki goes a little too deep into things. its all good information but it makes me feel like i need to be a computer genius to understand linux or unix. all i want is to be able to see the system as a light OS that i can get into just to try it out but im scared to even look into these things!

answered Nov 18 '12 at 16:37

penfold1992
16●2●3●4

Linux is based on Unix but "LINUX"= Linux Is Not Unix. Linux is a graphical Mash up of Unix. It is a server based Operating System that can do everything from being an FTP Server all the way to being a gaming Sydtem (with the Steam Client).

answered Nov 18 '12 at 21:12

Snook
140●1●2●4

"LINUX"= Linux Is Not Unix. I think you are thinking of GNU. GNU's is NOT UNIX. I have never heard what you are claiming. Linux is named after Linus.

(Nov 18 '12 at 22:21) trueb

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