UNIX TUTORIAL PART-1: INTRODUCTION TO UNIX OPERATING SYSTEM

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UNIX INTRODUCTION

UNIX is an operating system. The job of an operating system is to orchestrate the various parts of the computer -- the processor, the on-board memory, the disk drives, keyboards, video monitors, etc. -- to perform useful tasks. The operating system is the master controller of the computer, the glue that holds together all the components of the system, including the administrators, programmers, and users. When you want the computer to do something for you, like start a program, copy a file, or display the contents of a directory, it is the operating system that must perform those tasks for you.
More than anything else, the operating system gives the computer its recognizable characteristics. It would be difficult to distinguish between two completely different computers, if they were running the same operating system. Conversely, two identical computers, running different operating systems, would appear completely different to the user.


UNIX was created in the late 1960s, in an effort to provide a multiuser, multitasking system for use by programmers. The philosophy behind the design of UNIX was to provide simple, yet powerful utilities that could be pieced together in a flexible manner to perform a wide variety of tasks.

1969: Developed at AT&T Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, one of the largest research facilities in the world. Created in an environment when most computer jobs were fed into a batch system.
Developed by researchers who needed a set of computing tools to help them with their projects and their collaborators. Allowed a group of people working together on a project to share selected data and programs.
1975: AT&T makes UNIX widely available - offered to educational institutions at minimal cost. Becomes popular with university computer science programs. AT&T distributes standard versions in source form: Version 6 (1975), Version 7 (1978), System III (1981).
1984 to date: University of California, Berkeley adds major enhancements, creates Berkeley Standard Distribution (BSD)

1984 to date: Many Berkeley features incorporated into new AT&T version: System V
UNIX has become the operating system of choice for engineering and scientific workstations.



-Mahesh..