unix

Definition

Powerful, multi-user, multitasking, and extremely stable 32-bit computer operating system and the platform on which internet was built and continues to work. Written in C language, Unix comes with built-in TCP/IP protocols and can run on practically all types of computers from mainframes to desktops and handheld computers. Developed in 1969 at the American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T) by engineers Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, and their colleagues, it is now available in several proprietary versions such as AUX (IBM), HP-UX (Hewlett Packard), Solaris (Sun Microsystems). The most popular and fastest growing Unix-based system, however, is Linux developed by Linus Torvalds of Helsinki University in Finland, and available free with its source code on the internet.