Unix Archive

Over at Unix.se they've published an interview with Dennis Ritchie (inventor of C, co-creator of Unix).

James Maguire has written an article for osOpinion.com regarding the continuous industry move from Unix towards Linux based solutions: "As tech buying cycles progress, year by year, Linux will eat away at more of Unix' mission-critical work. That's because, at each new upgrade point, servers running Linux will grow ever more capable." As reported earlier IBM's top software executive recently stated that Linux is the 'Logical Successor' to IBM's Unix solutions.

Well, we all have used Unix, in one form or another (maybe even through embeded products). But which one is your favorite flavor of Unix-based/Unix-alike OSes? Read more and vote! Update: SHAME on you, who ever you are: Messing/hacking with go2poll's code and altering the results in favor of FreeBSD. By doing so, you are doing MORE BAD than good to your favorite platform.

A new study predicts that Linux will take over low-end servers and share the spotlight with .Net in high-end servers. Plus, hardware heavyweights HP, IBM and Sun--will lose out.

Linux and Microsoft's .NET will dislodge Unix as the dominant OS within the next 10 years, according to a study. Senior research analyst and report author Mike Davis, from UK-based Butler Group, said the shift had started with smaller businesses moving to install Linux for file and print services, replacing Windows NT and lower-end Unix.

In this article, SAMag will explore OpenPKG, a software development and packaging project initiated by Cable & Wireless, an international ISP. The OpenPKG project began in November 2000 and has grown into a collaborative software development effort managed and maintained by many. The project aims to create a modular and flexible UNIX subsystem for cross-platform software packaging and installation.

IBM Corp is getting ready to take the wraps off the next release of its AIX 5L operating system for its pSeries servers. Sources familiar with IBM's plans say that the company is expected to make the announcement on October 8, Timothy Prickett Morgan writes. Read the article at TheRegister.

"It's not an easy job, but Hewlett-Packard is determined to support no fewer than five major operating systems: Linux, HP-UX, Tru64, OpenVMS and Windows. Dig a bit deeper and it's even more complicated with three main flavors of Linux -- Debian, Red Hat, and UnitedLinux -- and at least as many versions of Windows -- Windows 2000, XP and the up coming .NET Server." The story is at NewsForge.

"As we reported back in March, IBM Corp is said to be readying the next release of its Unix operating system, AIX 5L V5.2, to get it into the market by October of this year. It is expected to deliver the kicker to this release sometime in the second half of 2003." Read the report at TheRegister.

The August 2002 update for MSDN contains the Windows Services for Unix 3.0, adding the Interix technology into Windows. Heres the blurb: Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX 3.0 provides a full range of cross-platform services geared towards customers wanting to integrate Windows into their existing UNIX environments. With the addition of the Interix subsystem technology, SFU 3.0 now provides platform interoperability and application migration components in one fully integrated and supported product from Microsoft. Key Distinguishing Feature from SFU 2.0 The most significant feature of SFU 3.0 is the integration of the Interix subsystem technology. The Interix technology provides over 1900 UNIX APIs and migration tools such as: make, rcs, yacc, lex, cc, c89, nm, strip, gbd, as well as the gcc, g++, and g77 compilers.

For the first time, Hewlett-Packard has won top ranking in an annual study of the merits of different versions of the Unix operating system, displacing Sun Microsystems. Runner up was Sun's Solaris 8, while IBM's AIX followed.

HP has announced the end of TRU64 (among other things) by saying: "HP and Compaq both offered UNIX operating systems: HP-UX and Compaq Tru64 UNIX. Decision: HP-UX will be the long-term UNIX for the new HP. Tru64 UNIX has some very advanced features -- including clustering and file systems -- and some of those will be integrated into HP-UX over time. Rationale: HP-UX has a much larger market share and installed base of customers. It also has much broader ISV support than Tru64 UNIX. HP also will deliver on the previously announced Compaq OpenVMS roadmap, including the port to Itanium."

If you're a C++ programmer who's interested in cutting down on development and debugging time, you'll want to know how to make the most efficient reuse of the code you write. This tutorial explains what a custom class template is, how to define a template in C++, how to instantiate and use template classes, and how to optimize C++ templates for AIX. More tutorials/articles for IBM's high-end products can be found here.

Unix is steadily evolving into something much easier to use. The trick is to find tools that make things friendlier, but which fit in well with existing tools and are easier for people to take and use for new projects. Read more at Freshmeat.