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`Published on The Open Group (http://www.opengroup.org)
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`Home > History and Timeline
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`History and Timeline
`UNIX Past
`
`"...the number of UNIX installations has grown to 10, with more expected..."
`
`- Dennis Ritchie and Ken Thompson, June 1972
`
`"... When BTL withdrew from the project, they needed to rewrite an operating system (OS)
`in order to play space war on another smaller machine (a DEC PDP-7 [Programmed Data
`Processor] with 4K memory for user programs). The result was a system which a punning
`colleague called UNICS (UNiplexed Information and Computing Service)--an 'emasculated
`Multics'; no one recalls whose idea the change to UNIX was"
`
`Source:A brief look at the early history [1]
`
`Resources:Dennis Ritchie's home page [2] | Ken Thompson's home page [3]
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`Since it began to escape from AT&T's Bell Laboratories in the early 1970's, the success of
`the UNIX operating system has led to many different versions: recipients of the (at that
`time free) UNIX system code all began developing their own different versions in their
`own, different, ways for use and sale. Universities, research institutes, government bodies
`and computer companies all began using the powerful UNIX system to develop many of
`the technologies which today are part of a UNIX system.
`
`Computer aided design, manufacturing control systems, laboratory simulations, even the
`Internet itself, all began life with and because of UNIX systems. Today, without UNIX
`systems, the Internet would come to a screeching halt. Most telephone calls could not be
`made, electronic commerce would grind to a halt and there would have never been
`"Jurassic Park"!
`
`By the late 1970's, a ripple effect had come into play. By now the under- and post-
`graduate students whose lab work had pioneered these new applications of technology
`were attaining management and decision-making positions inside the computer system
`suppliers and among its customers. And they wanted to continue using UNIX systems.
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`Soon all the large vendors, and many smaller ones, were marketing their own, diverging,
`versions of the UNIX system optimized for their own computer architectures and boasting
`many different strengths and features. Customers found that, although UNIX systems
`were available everywhere, they seldom were able to interwork or co-exist without
`significant investment of time and effort to make them work effectively. The trade mark
`UNIX was ubiquitous, but it was applied to a multitude of different, incompatible products.
`
`In the early 1980's, the market for UNIX systems had grown enough to be noticed by
`industry analysts and researchers. Now the question was no longer "What is a UNIX
`system?" but "Is a UNIX system suitable for business and commerce?"
`
`Throughout the early and mid-1980's, the debate about the strengths and weaknesses of
`UNIX systems raged, often fuelled by the utterances of the vendors themselves who
`sought to protect their profitable proprietary system sales by talking UNIX systems down.
`And, in an effort to further differentiate their competing UNIX system products, they kept
`developing and adding features of their own.
`
`In 1984, another factor brought added attention to UNIX systems. A group of vendors
`concerned about the continuing encroachment into their markets and control of system
`interfaces by the larger companies, developed the concept of "open systems."
`
`Open systems were those that would meet agreed specifications or standards. This
`resulted in the formation of X/Open Company Ltd whose remit was, and today in the guise
`of The Open Group remains, to define a comprehensive open systems environment. Open
`systems, they declared, would save on costs, attract a wider portfolio of applications and
`competition on equal terms. X/Open chose the UNIX system as the platform for the basis
`of open systems.
`
`Although UNIX was still owned by AT&T, the company did little commercially with it until
`the mid-1980's. Then the spotlight of X/Open showed clearly that a single, standard
`version of the UNIX system would be in the wider interests of the industry and its
`customers. The question now was, "which version?".
`
`In a move intended to unify the market in 1987, AT&T announced a pact with Sun
`Microsystems, the leading proponent of the Berkeley derived strain of UNIX. However, the
`rest of the industry viewed the development with considerable concern. Believing that their
`own markets were under threat they clubbed together to develop their own "new" open
`systems operating system. Their new organization was called the Open Software
`Foundation (OSF). In response to this, the AT&T/Sun faction formed UNIX International.
`
`The ensuing "UNIX wars" divided the system vendors between these two camps clustered
`around the two dominant UNIX system technologies: AT&T's System V and the OSF
`system called OSF/1. In the meantime, X/Open Company held the center ground. It
`continued the process of standardizing the APIs necessary for an open operating system
`specification.
`
`In addition, it looked at areas of the system beyond the operating system level where a
`standard approach would add value for supplier and customer alike, developing or
`adopting specifications for languages, database connectivity, networking and mainframe
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`interworking. The results of this work were published in successive X/Open Portability
`Guides.
`
`XPG 4 was released in October 1992. During this time, X/Open had put in place a brand
`program based on vendor guarantees and supported by testing. Since the publication of
`XPG4, X/Open has continued to broaden the scope of open systems specifications in line
`with market requirements. As the benefits of the X/Open brand became known and
`understood, many large organizations began using X/Open as the basis for system design
`and procurement. By 1993, over $7 billion had been spent on X/Open branded systems.
`By the start of 1997 that figure has risen to over $23 billion. To date, procurements
`referencing the Single UNIX Specification amount to over $5.2 billion.
`
`In early 1993, AT&T sold it UNIX System Laboratories to Novell which was looking for a
`heavyweight operating system to link to its NetWare product range. At the same time, the
`company recognized that vesting control of the definition (specification) and trademark
`with a vendor-neutral organization would further facilitate the value of UNIX as a
`foundation of open systems. So the constituent parts of the UNIX System, previously
`owned by a single entity are now quite separate
`
`In 1995 SCO bought the UNIX Systems business from Novell, and UNIX system source
`code and technology continues to be developed by SCO.
`
`In 1995 X/Open introduced the UNIX 95 brand for computer systems guaranteed to meet
`the Single UNIX Specification. The Single UNIX Specification brand program has now
`achieved critical mass: vendors whose products have met the demanding criteria now
`account for the majority of UNIX systems by value.
`
`For over ten years, since the inception of X/Open, UNIX had been closely linked with open
`systems. X/Open, now part of The Open Group, continues to develop and evolve the
`Single UNIX Specification and associated brand program on behalf of the IT community.
`The freeing of the specification of the interfaces from the technology is allowing many
`systems to support the UNIX philosophy of small, often simple tools , that can be
`combined in many ways to perform often complex tasks. The stability of the core
`interfaces preserves existing investment, and is allowing development of a rich set of
`software tools. The Open Source [4] movement is building on this stable foundation and is
`creating a resurgence of enthusiasm for the UNIX philosophy. In many ways Open Source
`can be seen as the true delivery of Open Systems that will ensure it continues to go from
`strength to strength.
`
`Time line table to go below....
`
`Links
`[1] http://www.english.uga.edu/hc/unixhistoryrev.html
`[2] http://www.cs.bell-labs.com/who/dmr/
`[3] http://www.cs.bell-labs.com/who/ken/
`[4] http://www.opensource.org/
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