Why did Unix become open source/free?
Why did the original Unix versions suddenly become open source/free? It seems odd that AT&T and Bell Labs would let something like an operating system become moldable and resellable with all of the funtionality that operating systems hold, especially with the small amount of them back then. I know that they allowed it to become open source, but I can’t find out why they did.
Unix V7 is open source, there’s even a version for x86, mostly for use withing virtualization software like Virtualbox. V7/x86 home
Technically, it isn’t. It’s just that it’s totally dead after being eaten alive by Linux and BSD (which started as patches for Unix). It’s just that open source & free software can better compete against Microsoft than way too expensive arcane software like Unix was!
«eaten alive» is imo overly adversial terminology. It’s true that proprietary Unices were outcompeted by their free cousins, but they never were the most robust creatures in the first place.
2 Answers 2
After the [1974] paper, research labs and universities all over the world clamored for the chance to try out Unix themselves. Under a 1958 consent decree in settlement of an antitrust case, AT&T (the parent organization of Bell Labs) had been forbidden from entering the computer business. Unix could not, therefore, be turned into a product; indeed, under the terms of the consent decree, Bell Labs was required to license its nontelephone technology to anyone who asked. Ken Thompson quietly began answering requests by shipping out tapes and disk packs — each, according to legend, with a note signed “love, ken”.
There is much more relevant information in that chapter; its title is «Origins and History of Unix, 1969-1995». Highly recommended reading (along with the rest of the book!) 🙂
AT&T had been forced to open source UNIX, as initially AT&T, SUN, IBM, HP, Tandem, Berkeley Univ, Digital were contributors in developing the UNIX kernel actually developed by Ken Thomson and team.
After UNIX became more mature, the source code had to be shared between the above said companies as they wanted to file their own patents and so you see UNIX tweaked to each of their own patented RISC hardware and so came out the UNIX patented OS’s like IBM-AIX, SUN-Solaris, HP HP-UX, Digital Tru64 etc. and that is the reason you see the core commands similar. However Berkeley Univ had developed UNIX close to x86 hardware and called its a BSD (FreeBSD, OpenBSD, TrueBSD) etc.
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Linux Kernel: How Does it Work and What Version to Use
Normally, when we talk about Linux, we usually do it in relation to distributions such as Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, etc. However, these distributions are not operating systems as such, but rather are “adaptations” of an open source operating system: Linux. And, therefore, despite the peculiarities of each one, they all share the same base, what we know as Linux Kernel .
Linux, as its own documentation indicates, was born as a clone of another operating system called Unix. Specifically as an alternative system inspired by Minix (which, in turn, cloned the concepts of Unix). Due to its properties, Linux is a real operating system, although nobody uses it as such, but rather uses distributions since, with them, it becomes much more useful and easy to use.
For this reason, it is not usually said ” I am going to install Linux ” referring to a specific operating system, but rather that what we install are versions, or distributions, of this kernel, created by companies or by the community, that share the same base: the Kernel.
What is the kernel and what is it for
The Linux kernel is the core of the operating system . This is the most important piece of software in any operating system. Windows has its own private kernel, Apple has its own (based on Unix, by the way), and Linux is the kernel used by all distributions. And its main function is to be in charge of controlling the computer hardware.
Specifically, this kernel is responsible for managing system memory and process time , managing all processes , controlling system calls and connections between processes and allowing all software to have access to the hardware , especially the connected peripherals. to the computer.
The kernel is so important when controlling hardware that, of its more than 28 million lines of code, most of it is drivers. And this, while good for compatibility, is starting to be a problem for performance.
Under normal conditions, users never interact with it . While users have limited access to hardware, the kernel has full access and control over it. He is responsible for ensuring that everything works well, that it is done safely, and that there are no errors. If a process crashes in user space, Linux continues to function . And you can even try to recover the system by having control over the PC. However, if an error occurs in kernel space, then the whole system stops working. It is what we know as the ” Kernel Panic “, the equivalent of the blue screen in Linux.
Versions
It is true that the current versions of the kernel have nothing to do with the first ones from 1991. However, this kernel is in constant development. And every few weeks we usually see new releases. But not all are equally important, since it depends to a great extent on their numbering.
- a indicates the version. This number is the one that changes the least, since the jump is usually only made when there are extremely large changes in the system. In all its history, it has only changed 5 times, in 2004, for version 1.0, in 2006, for version 2.0, in 2011, for version 3.0, in 2015, for version 4.0, and in 2019 to give rise to the current version, 5.0.
- b indicates subversion. When new versions are released, but they are really minor updates (new drivers, optimizations, fixes, etc), then instead of changing the version, the subversion number is changed.
- c indicates the revision level . This number is often changed, for example when minor changes are made, such as security patches, bug fixes, etc.
- d is the last sublevel of the version. It is hardly used, but it is reserved so that, if a version with a very serious bug is released, the new version is released with this sublevel including exclusively the correction of said serious bug.
All versions of the Linux kernel are public and open source. We can find them in this link . But they are not compiled, rather it is the users themselves who have to compile them to be able to use them in their distribution. And this is not exactly a simple task. Luckily, the communities responsible for the development of the different distributions usually bring us compiled and optimized versions of the Kernel, which we can install as any patch.
Which version of Linux to choose
When we talk about software, we always recommend having the latest version of everything. This is the best way to ensure that, due to a security breach, our PC is endangered. With the Linux kernel it is the same, it is always recommended to have the latest version. However, you always have to do it carefully.
One of the reasons the kernel is so big is because it doesn’t remove anything. As old as it is. Thanks to this, it is possible to continue using the latest versions of Linux on the first computers where it was launched for the first time in 1991. Each update what it usually does is add drivers and change functions to optimize the general operation of the PC.
But it may happen that a version brings a bug that makes our PC not work properly, and even that the performance is not as expected. In that case, simply reinstalling a previous version should bring the operating system back to normal. Although we will lose support for the newer hardware components.
The best, and easiest for most, is to update the Kernel as we update the distribution from its repositories. Thus we will avoid these problems by “always being up to date”.
Is the kernel the operating system?
- Demon controller . Whether Init.d, Systemd, or any other similar software, it is necessary to have a subsystem above the kernel that is responsible for starting all the processes (daemons) necessary for the Kernel to start working. Without it we only have many lines of code that will not be executed.
- The processes . Daemons, daemons, or better known as processes, are all the components that remain loaded in the system memory (controlled by the kernel) and that allow Linux to function. The graphical server, for example, is the daemon that will control the desktop.
- Graphic server . Known as X, it is in charge of being able to see the graphics on the screen. If we are going to use Linux in text mode, from the terminal, it is not necessary. But if we are going to use it with a desktop, it is necessary to have a working x-server.
- Desk. As its name suggests, the computer desktop, where we will have all our programs and where the windows will open. There are many desktops for Linux, such as GNOME, KDE, or LXDE. Each one with its own characteristics, advantages and disadvantages.
- Programs. Everything we run from the desktop. It is already the highest layer, and the point through which we interact with the computer.
When the kernel, and everything else, works in accordance, that is when we can talk about the operating system. Or what is the same, Linux distribution .