I know Linux is an operating system but I see memes and posts about people arguing whether UNIX is an operating system or a kernel and stuff like that. So what separates the two? And what exactly is a kernel?
In: Technology
Unix was written in Bell labs by Kent Thompson and Dennis Richie in 1969, Linux was written by Linus Torvalds in 1991. They are just two separate pieces of software, written by different people. Although I can understand the confusion, Linus specifically made his os as similar to Unix as he could in terms of how it worked and how the user interface was, because by 91 Unix was the gold standard of operating systems.
Of course, both operating systems have evolved a lot since they were originally written, but still, those very first design decisions made decades ago are still very relevant today.
Latest Answers