The history of Unix systems and their main components.
71
votes
7answers
11k views
Is Linux a Unix?
So, there are lots of different versions of Unix out there: HP-UX, AIX, BSD, etc. Linux is considered a Unix clone rather than an implementation of Unix. Are all the "real" Unices actual descendants ...
48
votes
3answers
3k views
Why not use “which”? What to use then?
When looking for the path to an executable or checking what would happen would you enter a command name in a Unix shell, there's a plethora of different utilities (which, type, command, whence, where, ...
7
votes
4answers
3k views
Evolution of Operating systems from Unix
Can you explain the evolution hierarchy of operating systems (Linux and Windows) from Unix?
27
votes
5answers
4k views
Why do /usr and /tmp directories for Linux miss vowels in their spellings?
I have often started to think about this but never found a good answer. Why are these two Unix directories not /user and /temp instead?
All the other directories under root seem to be exactly what ...
33
votes
5answers
3k views
Why is there a * When There is Mention of Unix Throughout the Internet?
I've noticed that throughout the Internet, within forums and blog posts, Unix always has a * in the word, whether it is *nix or Un*x, as I noticed at the welcoming banner at the Unix StackExchange ...
426
votes
2answers
112k views
Why was '~' chosen to represent the home directory?
I have often wondered why the ~ represents the home directory of a user. Is there a reason behind this, or is it just some infrequently used character?
19
votes
1answer
2k views
Were all Unix commands re-written in Linux?
I would like to know which commands were re-written for Linux and which were retained from Unix? I'm new to Linux.
11
votes
2answers
949 views
What is Unix now?
As I read in Wikipedia, Unix started as a revolutionary operating system written mostly in C allowing it to be ported and used on different hardware. Descendants of Unix is mentioned next, mostly BSD. ...
60
votes
5answers
17k views
Where did the “wheel” group get its name?
The wheel group on *nix computers typically refers to the group with some sort of root-like access. I've heard that on some *nixes it's the group of users with the right to run su, but on Linux that ...
14
votes
4answers
1k views
Single dashes `-` for single-character options, but double dashes `--` for words?
Where did the convention of using single dashes for letters and doubles dashes for words come from and why is continued to be used?
For example if I type in ls --help, you see:
-a, --all ...
13
votes
2answers
612 views
Why do Unix man pages use double backticks in place of double quotes?
I've noticed that man pages and other documents formatted by Unix utilities often use double backticks `` followed by double single quotes '' to wrap quoted phrases instead of the double quote ...
73
votes
3answers
9k views
33
votes
2answers
6k views
Why is 'umount' not spelled 'unmount'?
I am wondering if there is any historical or practical reason why the umount command is not unmount.
12
votes
2answers
2k views
What are the main differences between BSD- and linux-based operating systems?
I am a long time linux user and have recently become interested in playing about with BSD-based operating systems. What are the differences between linux and BSD-based systems. I am interested in ...
18
votes
3answers
1k views
What is GNU Info for?
I understand what GNU Info is and how to use it, but what is it for? Why does it exist in parallel to the man pages? Why not write detailed man pages rather than provide a separate utility?
19
votes
1answer
951 views
What does Ritchie's 1979 PDP-11 `/usr/games/bcd` do?
I recently tried the simh emulator pdp11.
The disk image I used can be found on the internet, and instructions for booting it are here.
Presumably it belonged to Dennis Ritchie, as the username is ...
11
votes
1answer
537 views
What do all the pictures on the front of the “Unix and Linux System Administration Handbook” represent?
I'm a newcomer to Unix and Linux, and I've been trying to get up to speed on everything. One of the guides I've used is the "Unix and Linux System Administration Handbook"
It's a pretty great book, ...
18
votes
3answers
4k views
Why does Unix time start at 1970-01-01
Why does Unix time start at 1970-01-01? Why not 1971-01-01 or any other date?
4
votes
5answers
693 views
If Mac OS X is UNIX, why is it that it is not open sourced and the license is proprietary?
If Mac OS X is a Unix, as answered in this question, why is it that it is not open sourced and the license is proprietary, as stated in this Wikipedia article?
According the the genealogy from this ...
8
votes
1answer
192 views
/usr/bin/ptx: Can you provide a use case or two?
I was going through the list of files included in coreutils and I was able to come up with an example of how I could personally use all of the commands provided except for ptx. Can you give one or two ...
7
votes
3answers
226 views
When was process substitution first introduced?
I'm curios to know how long process substitution has been around. What shell first had it? When did it get added to other shells?
6
votes
1answer
142 views
Where does this convention for quotation marks (`` …'') come from? [closed]
Frequently I get asked the question:
``K., where does this convention for quotation marks come from? You know, the one with the two grave accents introducing a quoted string and two regular ...
0
votes
2answers
901 views
Who wrote the “Linux kernel” (Linus Torvalds and his team)?
Who are the authors of the pure Linux kernel from scratch, which was integrated with GNU tools and formed the full GNU/Linux Operating system in the 1990s? I have read some wiki articles but I haven't ...
