Date: Wed, 2 Feb 2000 05:55:07 -0700 From: "Duke Normandin" <01031149@3web.net> To: "Greg Lehey" <grog@lemis.com> Cc: "Alejandro Ramirez" <ales@megared.net.mx>, <questions@FreeBSD.ORG> Subject: Re: BSD = Unix ??? Message-ID: <000a01bf6d7d$05897fa0$a99bc5d1@webserver>
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On Tuesday, February 01, 2000 6:07 PM Greg Lehey wrote: >On Tuesday, 1 February 2000 at 17:41:00 -0700, Duke Normandin wrote: >> On Tuesday, February 01, 2000 12:50 PM Alejandro Ramirez wrote: >>> On Tuesday, February 01, 2000 1:36 PM, J McKitrick wrote: >>>> I just read Greg's article on BSD advocacy. Just a question: Linux is >>>> actually a Unix clone. Can BSD be called Unix? Or are we just Unix >>>> compatible, or Unix-based? >>> >>> Unix its a trademark, and the owner righ now I think its Santa Cruz >>> Operation, and all the systems that wants to be called unix, have to pay for >>> the use of the name. >> >> Putting aside politics, copyrights etc., can BSD rightly be called >> Unix? So my question then begs another: What are the ``core'' >> characteristics identifying an OS as Unix? How does BSD deviate from >> these? > >This is very much a matter of definition. Recall that BSD one *was* >called BSD UNIX, which I think is a very good reason to believe that >the only reasons are because of copyright. Those were the reasons >given in the "cease and desist" notices from USL, anyway. On the >other hand, things like the Single UNIX Specification and UNIX 95% >contain requirements which (IIRC) BSD doesn't fulfil. > >Greg Given your last sentence, would it be more accurate to define BSD as a Unix-based OS? By definition, it certainly can't be called a clone, if certain components are missing. Be-that-as-it-may, IMHO BSD appears to have evolved to the point of offering the majority of the "key" functionality that Unix offers, which are so appealing and necessary in this day-and-age. It's a bit like the early '80s with PC-DOS w/ Basic A and MSDOS w/o -- not quite compatible, but almost ;) -duke To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-questions" in the body of the message
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