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Where UNIX stands today

The successes of UNIX are intertwined with C, the first general-purpose programming language to combine the efficiency of assembly language with high-level abstract expressiveness. Like UNIX, C programs can move essentially without change from machine to machine, eliminating the need for expensive, error-prone software rewrites.

UNIX-based systems are sold today by a number of companies. The systems include Solaris* from Sun Microsystems, HP-UX* from Hewlett-Packard, AIX* from IBM, and Tru64 UNIX* from Compaq. In addition there are many freely available UNIX and UNIX-compatible implementations, such as Linux, FreeBSD and NetBSD.

UNIX is the operating system of most large Internet servers, businesses and universities, and a major part of academic and industrial research in operating systems is based on UNIX. Most commercial software is written in C or C++, a direct descendant of C that was also developed at Bell Labs, or more recently Java, a C++ descendant developed at Sun Microsystems.

Next: It still remains a phenomenon

* Product names are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

• The Creation of the UNIX* Operating System
• An Overview of the UNIX* Operating System
• Dennis Ritchie -- Biography
• Ken Thompson -- Biography
• Bell Labs' Early Contributions to Computer Science
• Lucent's Contributions to Computer Science, Software and Data Transmission
• For more information