What is UNIX?

UNIX is an operating system that was developed during the 1970s by AT&T . This operating system was designed to meet certain requirements that it did not share with other systems of the time, such as portability, multi-user capability, and multitasking, which is why it was written in the C programming language. Given the growing computer market of the time, the creation of UNIX on these foundations was a resounding success, as it had a promising future and was backed by major companies. This meant that UNIX unified different technologies and created standards, which would later be used for the release and development of UNIX-based operating systems.

UNIX is the starting point for numerous operating systems. It’s the common element shared by the original system and the various Linux-based distributions that have been released. Thus, Linux is a UNIX-based operating system, and many distributions you’re likely familiar with (Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint, Debian, etc.) are derived from Linux. Therefore, UNIX is the original operating system from which Linux (among others) was created, and from Linux, different operating systems are customized to create distributions, which are specific versions that delve into certain aspects.

Therefore, UNIX is a proprietary codebase, meaning it is not free, from which some code is extracted and used to create free code. The various Linux-based (and therefore UNIX-based) distributions cater to users without programming knowledge by offering graphical user interfaces (GUIs) so that the average user can execute all or almost all instructions through the interface rather than using command lines.

UNIX is essential for bringing a computer to life . It’s an operating system; without it, interaction between user and machine is impossible. Today, UNIX is used in a vast number of devices, both directly and indirectly (those based on it), making it an essential component of modern technology. Operating systems like Linux and Android are based on UNIX. Linux is widely used in professional server, programming, and computing environments, while Android is used in the vast majority of smartphones worldwide.

In addition to what has already been mentioned, UNIX served in the past as an example of how things should be done. The operating system incorporated a hierarchical file system, the ability to create accounts with different permissions, a file system to store and manage all the information, a set of applications that perform specific tasks and, together, make up the OS… It was a key tool in establishing what a good operating system should be, and that is why it was so successful.

UNIX serves as a foundation upon which to create other operating systems with similar but customized features. If we compare it to the world of smartphones, UNIX would be like the original Android, and the manufacturers’ customization layers (Xiaomi’s MIUI, ASUS’s ZenUI, Huawei’s EMUI, etc.) would be the distributions created from Linux and, therefore, obviously from UNIX.

Using UNIX as an operating system means not having a graphical user interface; all instructions must be entered via the command line, making it difficult to attract new users en masse. Just as MS-DOS runs commands from the command prompt (CMD), UNIX is essentially the same in that respect.