Readme First

Part 1. What is UNIX ?

Unix is an operating system. The job of an operating system is to orchestrate the various parts of the
computer -- the processor, the on-board memory, the disk drives, keyboards, video monitors, etc. --
to perform useful tasks. The operating system is the master controller of the computer, the glue that
holds together all the components of the system, including the administrators, programmers, and
users. When you want the computer to do something for you, like start a program, copy a file, or
display the contents of a directory, it is the operating system that must perform those tasks for you.

More than anything else, the operating system gives the computer its recognizable characteristics. It
would be difficult to distinguish between two completely different computers, if they were running
the same operating system. Conversely, two identical computers, running different operating
systems, would appear completely different to the user.

Unix was created in the late 1960s, in an effort to provide a multiuser, multitasking system for use by
programmers. The philosophy behind the design of Unix was to provide simple, yet powerful
utilities that could be pieced together in a flexible manner to perform a wide variety of tasks.

The kernel

The kernel is the core of the Unix operating system. Basically, the kernel is a large program that is
loaded into memory when the machine is turned on, and it controls the allocation of hardware
resources from that point forward. The kernel knows what hardware resources are available (like the
processor(s), the on-board memory, the disk drives, network interfaces, etc.), and it has the necessary
programs to talk to all the devices connected to it.


The standard utility programs

These programs include simple utilities like cp, which copies files, and complex utilities, like the
shell that allows you to issue commands to the operating system.

The system configuration files

The system configuration files are read by the kernel, and some of the standard utilities. The Unix
kernel and the utilities are flexible programs, and certain aspects of their behavior can be controlled
by changing the standard configuration files. One example of a system configuration file is the
filesystem table "fstab" , which tells the kernel where to find all the files on the disk drives. Another
example is the system log configuration file "syslog.conf", which tells the kernel how to record the
various kinds of events and errors it may encounter.

The Unix operating system comprises three parts: The kernel, the standard utility programs, and the system configuration files.

Thanks to:
IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY
Contact: webmaster@isu.edu
Revised: February 5, 1997
URL: http://www.isu.edu/departments/comcom/workshops/unix/
Author: Jonathan Byrd

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