How LINUX different from UNIX ?

[ezhilarasan_1]

Hi,

How LINUX is different from UNIX ?

Linux looks same as Unix,
because there also we have
almost same Unix commands.

Please highlight the difference
between UNIX and LINUX.
BTW what is the latest version
of Linux.
I hope we can install Linux in
standard m/c like Sun,IBM,HP.
Kindly reply me for my questions.

Thanks
Ezhil

[Michael Tully · Accepted solution]

Linux is another flavour of unix. What made the name sigificiant is that some of the flavours were offered free.

You can install linux on intel PC servers, but you can't with SUN, HPUX AIX etc. which have been up until recently chip based.
HPUX=PA_RISC
SUN=SPARC

Linux = Red Hat, SuSe brands.

This link provides some comparision between different unix brands commands.
http://bhami.com/rosetta.html

[Michael Tully]

Whilst I don't normally play points policeman, it is in your best interests and of course the interests in the forum in general to assign points to reponses made to your questions. Your record is dismal, please take the time to fix it, as people give up their time and resources to help you.

I have assigned points to 0 of 53 responses to my questions.

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/publicProfile.do?userId=CA1004577&forumId=1

[Ravi_8]

Hi,

Linux is open source code unix, which you can modify the kernel according to your needs. Many threads available on Linux(search in Google).

Linux will be released whenever they want( keeps changing each week).

Linux is supported on IBM P-series, x-series,Z-series machnies(you need to download seperately for each h/w).
On HP h/w it's supported on rx series machines (IA).
I heard that Sun also supporting Linux but don't know on which h/w

[Stuart Browne]

Ravi, not quite.

On HP machines, Linux is supported on all of the i386 range, as well as a few of the PA RISC based systems.

The PA RISC project is the spawn of the Debian distribution, and basic support for a few PARISC machines is available. That being said, it isn't up to production-level in my opinion.

Linux is also supported on a number of different Apple platforms as well (PPC chipsets, as well as the G5's (yellowdoglinux.com!)).

Linux has support for different Sparc series of machines as well (couldn't say all of the supported myself, but there is kernel level support for sparc and ultra-sparc II from memory).

There's support for old Alpha processors, as well as Mips.

These days there's even Linux support on ARM processors, for mobile devices.

If you want really freak Linux support, you could always just go PS/2 or X-Box (yes, there are Linux ports for *BOTH* console platforms!).

As to which of these you'd want to run a production system on however is a different story.

SPARC is up to scratch, as well as the IBM and i386 support. ia64 support is also professionally supported (RH Enterprise supports Itaniam, and I beleive SuSE does too).

AMD64 is getting there, but not quite production (FedoraCore 2 is the only distribution I know of for AMD64 chipsets currently).

[Anand_20]

Hi,

Another link which can give more information

http://unixguide.net/unixguide.pdf

Anand

[R. Sri Ram Kishore_1]

Hi Ezhil,

Take a look at this link:
http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-questions/2004-June/049236.html

HTH.
Regards,
Sri Ram

[dirk dierickx]

first a small correction, AMD64 runs on already on FC, Suse, Gentoo, debian.

next, the main difference between linux and unix is that linux makes use of the GNU tools in its base install. These are quite different from those provided with 'official' unix versions. sure the commands are named the same, but the parameters differ, some might say the GNU tools are better :) (the reason why so many unix admins install the GNU tools on unix systems, to overcome the limits of tar for example)
keep in mind that linux is clean room implementation. it was build from the ground up. unlike most other unix versions which are build upon the original legacy unix code.

linux is not confirmed posix compliant, but it tries its best to be as compliant as possible where it is meaningfull. at the same time linux is not unix certified by the open group. (not that these 2 things matter that much, as you will probably never have any problems with this)

[James Damour]

The short answer is "Linux is the registered trademark of Linus Torvalds and UNIX is the registered trademark of the Open Group".

Here's the long answer:

There have been a number of people who have posted that "Linux is an Open Source Unix" or "Linux is Unix based on the GNU tools".

Actually, neither is true. You see, UNIX is a registered trademark of the Open Group (http://www.unix-systems.org/trademark.html). Linux does *not* license the trademark from the Open Group, and "UNIX" is *not* a generic term. Therefore, Linux is **NOT** UNIX.

That being said, the Linux kernel is a multi-process, multi-user kernel that attempts to support the POSIX specification. In many, many, many cases, the Linux kernel is distributed with the GNU tools to provide a complete Operating System (such a combination is also often referred to as "the Linux OS" or "the GNU/Linux OS").

The current production Linux kernel is v2.6.7 and is available at www.kernel.org. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

There are many, many, MANY different distributions (or "organizations providing packaged Operating Systems based on the Linux kernel"), each with their own release schedule. Different distributions support different hardware architectures (as previously mentioned, Debian supports Sparc, ARM, HPPA, and S390, among others... please see www.debian.org). I recommend www.distrowatch.com for a fairly comprehensive list of distributions, and their current production versions and a brief list of the applications available on each.

[Steven E. Protter]

Linux and Unix are both based on the original Unix that AT&T invented over 30 years ago.

There is a common base of technology between them. The main shells work alike. The kernels are totally different and a lot of the commands have been customized to the point where it can be a joy to port scripts from one to the other.

Unix has been around longer and has a number of industrial strength distributions, the most reliable of which is HP-UX.

HP-UX on PA-RISC hardware has been extremely reliable for a very long time. I've heard mixed reports about the Integrity servers on Intel hardware. HP-UX is industrial strength and I love it.

Linux has a cost advantage and a much shorter development cycle than major Unix releases. The gap in my opinion was wide three for four years ago when I started with Linux, but its closing and closing fast.

I think for HP-9000 and Integrity Servers you are still probably better off with HP-UX and a paid license. Linux is ported to Integrity servers and I've heard good reports on the OS.

IBM is pushing Linux hard on its Intel servers and Sun is at least backing it on the low end.

Hope this helps.

SEP
Jerusalem