Paul E Condon <pecondon@quiknet.com> [2002-08-01 17:37:16 -0700]: > Of course the only *true* UNIX is one invented by Ritchie and Thompson > and reported by them, et al., in The Bell System Technical Journal, > v57 #6 , Jul-Aug 1978. All others are merely 'Unix-type', or, as I said > 'version of UNIX'. > > I my opinion, UNIX is a class object, there are a small, but > un-countable number of instantiations of this class. The number is > un-countable because of manifest difficulties in reaching a consensus > on what UNIX 'really is'. The first sentence of www.linux.org is a > waffle; it supports your view, *and mine*. Waffles are important to the > smooth functioning of society. I love them. But I don't use them as an > authority. Also, IIRC Novel bought USL from AT&T and the rights to UNIX. This made its way to XOPEN which now owns the UNIX trademark. I believe there is a conformance test for UNIX from XOPEN. IIRC GNU/Linux has passed that conformance test some years ago and earned the right to call itself UNIX based upon that test. I agree with your statement that Thompson and others were the original authors and unless the code is the same code base it is not UNIX. (And of course GNU is Not UNIX too.) But the legal footing says that the owner of the intellectual property has moved through the years and now it is owned by a group that is allowing others to call themself UNIX if they meet certain standards which make them equivalent. Bob
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