by Rosemarie Makhmaltchi

Created on: January 13, 2007   Last Updated: April 04, 2012

While searching the Internet for the answer to the question "What are the differences between Unix and Linux," I came across several websites and message boards that claim there are no noteworthy differences between them. It is true that both operating systems share a common ancestor: a monstrosity by the name of MULTICS, and that the two are very similar, but to say that there are no significant variations between them is ridiculous. Indeed, they are quite dissimilar, and in this article, I will explain some of the differences that make Unix and Linux two unique operating systems.

• The History of Unix and Linux:

Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie created Unix at AT&T in 1969. Unix spawned from an earlier operating system called MULTICS, and was meant to be a single-processor version of the much larger os. In fact, that is where it got its name: un means "one" and ix is derived from MULTICS. Thusly, Unix is often spelled in all caps, just like its parent operating system. By 1974, Unix had become very efficient and was frequently used in scientific and academic environments. Widespread distribution among so many different institutions caused Unix to be ported to more system types than any other operating system. The University of California at Berkeley contributed much to Unix, eventually bringing about commercial versions, such as IS/1 and XENIX, in the late 1970s. Unix is a registered trademark of the Open Group.

The Linux kernel had a more humble beginning. It was developed in 1990 by a Finnish computer scientist named Linus Torvalds. The blueprint for Linux was a classroom teaching system called Minix. The Linux kernel closely resembles Unix, which Minix is derived from. Most of the operating system's software applications and tools came from open source development. Linux should be pronounced "lee-nooks," as it would be in Finland, however, most people pronounce it "lynn-icks."

• Comparing Their Features and Uses:

Unix is better suited for mission-critical applications, such as database management or anything else that is vital to the survival of an enterprise. One of its main functions is networking. It handles large numbers of processors very well, and is perfect for huge single-system data centers, although most current organizations use clustered servers instead of supercomputers, so this is rarely seen as an advantage. Unix is often more expensive than Windows or Linux because software developers must create a separate port for

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