Introduction
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;
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 the IT environment. Computer
aided design, manufacturing control systems, laboratory simulations,
even the Internet itself, all began life with and because of UNIX
systems.
Soon all the large vendors, and many
smaller ones, were marketing their own, versions of
the UNIX system optimised for their own computer architectures
and boasting many different strengths and features. See the
UNIX System Chronology
graphic below.
