Linux - A free available version of the UNIX operating system. Developed by a worldwide cooperative of programmers in the 1990's. Linux is a feature - rich, 32-bit, multiuser, multiprocessor operating system that runs on virtually any hardware platform.

Unix is a 32 bit, fully multitasking, multithreading operating system developed by Bell Labs in the 1970s. a powerful, highly scalable operating system, UNIX(and variants of it) is used to operate supercomputers, mainframes, minicomputers and powerful PCs and workstations. UNIX generally features a command line interface, although some variants of UNIX feature a graphical operating environment as well.

Answered by Nishu's , an ibibo Master, at 3:48 PM on May 23, 2008

well Sharad,
The Difference between Linux and Unix is given below :

1. Most common difference: UNIX is propriety system while Linux is an Open Source system.

2. UNIX kernel is not freely available. Linux kernel is freely available.

3 . UNIX patches available are highly tested. Linux patches are not highly tested as UNIX patches.

4. Every OS, including UNIX and Linux, suffers from vulnerabilities and bugs that have to be patched, fixed and updated.

5. Commercial UNIX is usually custom written for each system, making the
original cost quite high, but having the benefit of being exactly what you need.

6 . Constant peer review, proponents claim, allows one developer to leverage the experience and knowledge of all other developers around the globe; As a result, the software develops faster and becomes more robust over time. This process has made Linux an incredibly stable OS.

7. In UNIX commands, tool and utilities etc are rarely changed over versions. Hence it is easy to for administrator to update their skills. Moreover tools and application can be used on new edition of OS without a large body of testing. In Linux commands, tools and utilities may change over time.

8. In UNIX developers are bounded by standard while in Linux developers are free and have no restriction.
9. UNIX maintains consistency b/w different versions. Have a published standard that they follow for their customer. Linux have inconsistencies b/w versions and no strict standards for tools, environment and functionality.

10. In UNIX ‘Development’ is targeted toward specific audience and platform. Linux development is diverse. Linux standard base was formed to alleviate this problem but it wasn’t of much help.

Answered by jaivir , an ibibo Master, at 6:19 PM on May 22, 2008

The Difference between Linux and Unix is given below :

1. Most common difference: UNIX is propriety system while Linux is an Open Source system.

2. UNIX kernel is not freely available. Linux kernel is freely available.

3 . UNIX patches available are highly tested. Linux patches are not highly tested as UNIX patches.

4. Every OS, including UNIX and Linux, suffers from vulnerabilities and bugs that have to be patched, fixed and updated.

5. Commercial UNIX is usually custom written for each system, making the
original cost quite high, but having the benefit of being exactly what you need.

6 . Constant peer review, proponents claim, allows one developer to leverage the experience and knowledge of all other developers around the globe; As a result, the software develops faster and becomes more robust over time. This process has made Linux an incredibly stable OS.

7. In UNIX commands, tool and utilities etc are rarely changed over versions. Hence it is easy to for administrator to update their skills. Moreover tools and application can be used on new edition of OS without a large body of testing. In Linux commands, tools and utilities may change over time.

8. In UNIX developers are bounded by standard while in Linux developers are free and have no restriction.

9. UNIX maintains consistency b/w different versions. Have a published standard that they follow for their customer. Linux have inconsistencies b/w versions and no strict standards for tools, environment and functionality.

10. In UNIX ‘Development’ is targeted toward specific audience and platform. Linux development is diverse. Linux standard base was formed to alleviate this problem but it wasn’t of much help.

Answered by Ashish Yadav , an ibibo Wizard, at 2:03 PM on May 22, 2008

hi sharad the differences are Linux is UNIX clone
But if you consider Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) standards then Linux can be considered as UNIX. To quote from Official Linux kernel README file:
Linux is a Unix clone written from scratch by Linus Torvalds with assistance from a loosely-knit team of hackers across the Net. It aims towards POSIX compliance.


Linux is just kernel
Linux is just kernel. Linux distribution includes GUI system, installation and management tools, compilers, editors etc. Linux distribution makes it

Most UNIX oses considered as compete operating system.

As I said earlier Linux is just kernel with Linux distribution makes it complete usable os. Most UNIX oses comes with A-Z programs such as editor, compilers etc. For example FreeBSD comes with A-Z programs.

License and cost
Linux is Free (as in beer [freedom]). You will see best community support around. Many UNIX oses are not free (but this is changing fast, for example OpenSolaris/Solaris UNIX).

User-friendly
Linux is considered as most user friendly UNIX like os. It makes easy to install sound card, flash players, and other desktop goodies.

End user perspective
The differences are not that big for the average end user.

System administrator perspective
Again, the differences are not that big for the system administrator. However, you may notice difference while performing following operations:

Installation procedure
Hardware Device names
Admin commands or utilities
this is taken from source http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/what-i s-the-difference-between-linux-and- unix/

Answered by laks , an ibibo Master, at 1:56 PM on May 22, 2008

Hi there

Unix is popular operating system, developed by AT&T in 1969 and it has been very important to the development of the Internet. It is a multi-processing, multi-user, family of operating systems that run on a variety of architechtures. UNIX allows more than one user to access a computer system at the same time.

A widely used Open Source Unix-like operating system. Linux was first released by its inventor Linus Torvalds in 1991. There are versions of Linux for almost every available type of computer hardware from desktop machines to IBM mainframes. The inner workings of Linux are open and available for anyone to examine and change as long as they make their changes available to the public. Because of its robustness and availability, Linux has won popularity in the Open Source community as well as among commercial application developers.

Here is more input:

* Unix requires a more powerful hardware configuration. It will work in large mainframe computers but will not work in an x86 based personal computer. Linux however, (which is built on the concept of Unix) has small hardware requirements and it will work on both a large mainframe computer and an x86 based personal computer.

* Unix is an Operating System developed in olden days in which the kernel, the heart of the OS, interacts directly with the hardware. Because UNIX treats everything as a file, it provides greater security for users. An example of a UNIX distribution is posix. Linux uses a the UNIX architecture as its basis and provides more facilities and applications. Linux could be considered to be a GUI to the UNIX core. Examples of Linux distributions are Redhat, Fedora, Susee, Mandriva, and Ubuntu. Solaris OS also uses the UNIX kernal almost all UNIX commands will work on solaris in addition to 500 Solaris specific commands. Both UNIX and LINUX are Open source.

* Unix is the foundation for a number of operating systems, with Linux being the most popular one. Novell and Free BSD are 2 other commonly used Unix varients.

* UNIX is an operating system created in the early days of computers. More recently, Linux was created as an open-source, freeware operating system. It is "UNIX-LIKE", meaning that it uses many UNIX constructs but also departs from traditional UNIX in many ways. Like UNIX, Linux is faster than many of the other commercially available operating systems. It appears to also be far more robust than any of the Microsoft products. Linux is being used in many time critical applications because of it's speed. It is also used in many applications that need to maintain uptime because Linux, like UNIX, can run for months at a time without rebooting. While the typical method of solving Microsoft problems is to "reboot", that particular requirement does not seem to be appropriate in a Linux/Unix environment. While UNIX has created a windows-like work environment, Linux has improved greatly on that concept. Linux has become a real player in the consumer operating system market... and it's free. While you may want to pay for a Linux distribution, the actual code is free and you are allowed to load it on as many machines as you want. You can get Linux for free if you wish to load it across the internet.

Answered by Reeta K , an ibibo Master, at 12:56 PM on May 22, 2008

hello sharad Linux and Unix
Unix is popular operating system, developed by AT&T in 1969 and it has been very important to the development of the Internet. It is a multi-processing, multi-user, family of operating systems that run on a variety of architechtures. UNIX allows more than one user to access a computer system at the same time.

A widely used Open Source Unix-like operating system. Linux was first released by its inventor Linus Torvalds in 1991. There are versions of Linux for almost every available type of computer hardware from desktop machines to IBM mainframes. The inner workings of Linux are open and available for anyone to examine and change as long as they make their changes available to the public. Because of its robustness and availability, Linux has won popularity in the Open Source community as well as among commercial application developers.

Here is more input:


Unix requires a more powerful hardware configuration. It will work in large mainframe computers but will not work in an x86 based personal computer. Linux however, (which is built on the concept of Unix) has small hardware requirements and it will work on both a large mainframe computer and an x86 based personal computer.

Unix is an Operating System developed in olden days in which the kernel, the heart of the OS, interacts directly with the hardware. Because UNIX treats everything as a file, it provides greater security for users. An example of a UNIX distribution is posix. Linux uses a the UNIX architecture as its basis and provides more facilities and applications. Linux could be considered to be a GUI to the UNIX core. Examples of Linux distributions are Redhat, Fedora, Susee, Mandriva, and Ubuntu. Solaris OS also uses the UNIX kernal almost all UNIX commands will work on solaris in addition to 500 Solaris specific commands. Both UNIX and LINUX are Open source.

Unix is the foundation for a number of operating systems, with Linux being the most popular one. Novell and Free BSD are 2 other commonly used Unix varients.

UNIX is an operating system created in the early days of computers. More recently, Linux was created as an open-source, freeware operating system. It is "UNIX-LIKE", meaning that it uses many UNIX constructs but also departs from traditional UNIX in many ways. Like UNIX, Linux is faster than many of the other commercially available operating systems. It appears to also be far more robust than any of the Microsoft products. Linux is being used in many time critical applications because of it's speed. It is also used in many applications that need to maintain uptime because Linux, like UNIX, can run for months at a time without rebooting. While the typical method of solving Microsoft problems is to "reboot", that particular requirement does not seem to be appropriate in a Linux/Unix environment. While UNIX has created a windows-like work environment, Linux has improved greatly on that concept. Linux has become a real player in the consumer operating system market... and it's free. While you may want to pay for a Linux distribution, the actual code is free and you are allowed to load it on as many machines as you want. You can get Linux for free if you wish to load it across the internet.
for more inf check source http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_t he_difference_between_Linux_and_Uni x

Answered by raj u , an ibibo Master, at 12:41 PM on May 22, 2008

Most of you might have wondered what the difference between UNIX and Linux is.

Here is some of the useful information.



UNIX Vs Linux.



1. Most common difference: UNIX is propriety system while Linux is an

Open Source system.



2. Technical

a) In UNIX ‘Development’ is targeted toward specific audience and platform. Linux development is diverse. Linux standard base was formed to alleviate this problem but it wasn’t of much help.



b) UNIX maintains consistency b/w different versions. Have a published standard that they follow for their customer. Linux have inconsistencies b/w versions and no strict standards for tools, environment and functionality.



c) In UNIX developers are bounded by standard while in Linux developers are free and have no restriction.



d) In UNIX commands, tool and utilities etc are rarely changed over versions. Hence it is easy to for administrator to update their skills. Moreover tools and application can be used on new edition of OS without a large body of testing. In Linux commands, tools and utilities may change over time.



3. Hardware

a) UNIX was coded for small handful h/w platform/architecture. Linux was designed to be as compatible as possible. Runs on dozens of Architecture and support numerous I/O devices & other external devices. Supported devices are limitless.



b) Commercial UNIX is usually custom written for each system, making the
original cost quite high, but having the benefit of being exactly what you need.

e.g.

HP-UX => PA-RISC & Itanium m/c

Solaris=> SPARC and x86

AIX=> Power Processor



Linux has base packages that are required, then you install more to get the system you need. (In this respect, Linux is closer in model to windows than a commercial UNIX OS is.)



4. Kernel

a) UNIX kernel is not freely available.

Linux kernel is freely available.

a) UNIX patches available are highly tested.

Linux patches are not highly tested as UNIX patches.



5. Updates and Bugs

a) Every OS, including UNIX and Linux, suffers from vulnerabilities and bugs that have to be patched, fixed and updated.

But Linux enjoys a clear advantage over its elder sibling in this department.

Linux bugs tend to die an early death, because the OS undergoes an incredible amount of scrutiny in the global open-source community



b) Constant peer review, proponents claim, allows one developer to leverage the experience and knowledge of all other developers around the globe; As a result, the software develops faster and becomes more robust over time. This process has made Linux an incredibly stable OS.

pls go to

http://www.gnulinuxclub.or g/index.php?option=com_content &task=view&id=345&Itemid=1

Answered by shepherd , an ibibo Master, at 9:40 AM on May 22, 2008

Hi;
Most of you might have wondered what the difference between UNIX and Linux is.

Here is some of the useful information.



UNIX Vs Linux.



1. Most common difference: UNIX is propriety system while Linux is an

Open Source system.



2. Technical

a) In UNIX ‘Development’ is targeted toward specific audience and platform. Linux development is diverse. Linux standard base was formed to alleviate this problem but it wasn’t of much help.



b) UNIX maintains consistency b/w different versions. Have a published standard that they follow for their customer. Linux have inconsistencies b/w versions and no strict standards for tools, environment and functionality.



c) In UNIX developers are bounded by standard while in Linux developers are free and have no restriction.



d) In UNIX commands, tool and utilities etc are rarely changed over versions. Hence it is easy to for administrator to update their skills. Moreover tools and application can be used on new edition of OS without a large body of testing. In Linux commands, tools and utilities may change over time.



3. Hardware

a) UNIX was coded for small handful h/w platform/architecture. Linux was designed to be as compatible as possible. Runs on dozens of Architecture and support numerous I/O devices & other external devices. Supported devices are limitless.



b) Commercial UNIX is usually custom written for each system, making the
original cost quite high, but having the benefit of being exactly what you need.

e.g.

HP-UX => PA-RISC & Itanium m/c

Solaris=> SPARC and x86

AIX=> Power Processor



Linux has base packages that are required, then you install more to get the system you need. (In this respect, Linux is closer in model to windows than a commercial UNIX OS is.)



4. Kernel

a) UNIX kernel is not freely available.

Linux kernel is freely available.

a) UNIX patches available are highly tested.

Linux patches are not highly tested as UNIX patches.



5. Updates and Bugs

a) Every OS, including UNIX and Linux, suffers from vulnerabilities and bugs that have to be patched, fixed and updated.

But Linux enjoys a clear advantage over its elder sibling in this department.

Linux bugs tend to die an early death, because the OS undergoes an incredible amount of scrutiny in the global open-source community



b) Constant peer review, proponents claim, allows one developer to leverage the experience and knowledge of all other developers around the globe; As a result, the software develops faster and becomes more robust over time. This process has made Linux an incredibly stable OS.

Answered by kishore , an ibibo Master, at 9:11 PM on May 21, 2008

well Sharad,

1. Most common difference: UNIX is propriety system while Linux is an

Open Source system.



2. Technical

a) In UNIX ‘Development’ is targeted toward specific audience and platform. Linux development is diverse. Linux standard base was formed to alleviate this problem but it wasn’t of much help.



b) UNIX maintains consistency b/w different versions. Have a published standard that they follow for their customer. Linux have inconsistencies b/w versions and no strict standards for tools, environment and functionality.



c) In UNIX developers are bounded by standard while in Linux developers are free and have no restriction.



d) In UNIX commands, tool and utilities etc are rarely changed over versions. Hence it is easy to for administrator to update their skills. Moreover tools and application can be used on new edition of OS without a large body of testing. In Linux commands, tools and utilities may change over time.



3. Hardware

a) UNIX was coded for small handful h/w platform/architecture. Linux was designed to be as compatible as possible. Runs on dozens of Architecture and support numerous I/O devices & other external devices. Supported devices are limitless.



b) Commercial UNIX is usually custom written for each system, making the
original cost quite high, but having the benefit of being exactly what you need.

e.g.

HP-UX => PA-RISC & Itanium m/c

Solaris=> SPARC and x86

AIX=> Power Processor



Linux has base packages that are required, then you install more to get the system you need. (In this respect, Linux is closer in model to windows than a commercial UNIX OS is.)



4. Kernel

a) UNIX kernel is not freely available.

Linux kernel is freely available.

a) UNIX patches available are highly tested.

Linux patches are not highly tested as UNIX patches.



5. Updates and Bugs

a) Every OS, including UNIX and Linux, suffers from vulnerabilities and bugs that have to be patched, fixed and updated.

But Linux enjoys a clear advantage over its elder sibling in this department.

Linux bugs tend to die an early death, because the OS undergoes an incredible amount of scrutiny in the global open-source community



b) Constant peer review, proponents claim, allows one developer to leverage the experience and knowledge of all other developers around the globe; As a result, the software develops faster and becomes more robust over time. This process has made Linux an incredibly stable OS.

For more information , please do visit source site:
http://www.gnulinuxclub .org/index.php?option=com_cont ent&task=view&id=345&Itemid=1
Hope it will help you out.

Answered by Uttam , an ibibo Master, at 9:08 PM on May 21, 2008

Unix is popular operating system, developed by AT&T in 1969 and it has been very important to the development of the Internet. It is a multi-processing, multi-user, family of operating systems that run on a variety of architechtures. UNIX allows more than one user to access a computer system at the same time.

A widely used Open Source Unix-like operating system. Linux was first released by its inventor Linus Torvalds in 1991. There are versions of Linux for almost every available type of computer hardware from desktop machines to IBM mainframes. The inner workings of Linux are open and available for anyone to examine and change as long as they make their changes available to the public. Because of its robustness and availability, Linux has won popularity in the Open Source community as well as among commercial application developers.

Here is more input:

* Unix requires a more powerful hardware configuration. It will work in large mainframe computers but will not work in an x86 based personal computer. Linux however, (which is built on the concept of Unix) has small hardware requirements and it will work on both a large mainframe computer and an x86 based personal computer.

* Unix is an Operating System developed in olden days in which the kernel, the heart of the OS, interacts directly with the hardware. Because UNIX treats everything as a file, it provides greater security for users. An example of a UNIX distribution is posix. Linux uses a the UNIX architecture as its basis and provides more facilities and applications. Linux could be considered to be a GUI to the UNIX core. Examples of Linux distributions are Redhat, Fedora, Susee, Mandriva, and Ubuntu. Solaris OS also uses the UNIX kernal almost all UNIX commands will work on solaris in addition to 500 Solaris specific commands. Both UNIX and LINUX are Open source.

* Unix is the foundation for a number of operating systems, with Linux being the most popular one. Novell and Free BSD are 2 other commonly used Unix varients.

* UNIX is an operating system created in the early days of computers. More recently, Linux was created as an open-source, freeware operating system. It is "UNIX-LIKE", meaning that it uses many UNIX constructs but also departs from traditional UNIX in many ways. Like UNIX, Linux is faster than many of the other commercially available operating systems. It appears to also be far more robust than any of the Microsoft products. Linux is being used in many time critical applications because of it's speed. It is also used in many applications that need to maintain uptime because Linux, like UNIX, can run for months at a time without rebooting. While the typical method of solving Microsoft problems is to "reboot", that particular requirement does not seem to be appropriate in a Linux/Unix environment. While UNIX has created a windows-like work environment, Linux has improved greatly on that concept. Linux has become a real player in the consumer operating system market... and it's free. While you may want to pay for a Linux distribution, the actual code is free and you are allowed to load it on as many machines as you want. You can get Linux for free if you wish to load it across the internet.

Answered by Nagendra , an ibibo Master, at 7:39 PM on May 21, 2008