Isn't this all obsolete now? Linux and Windows are used everywhere and I
doubt anybody cares about POSIX certification.
On 2020-04-15 10:01 PM, Charles Mills wrote:
Well, you've obviously researched it more than I care to.
I guess this is what I am thinking of: "The NT POSIX subsystem was included
with the first versions of Windows NT because of 1980s US federal government
requirements listed in Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)
151-2.[1] Briefly, these documents required that certain types of government
purchases be POSIX-compliant, so that if Windows NT had not included this
subsystem, computing systems based on it would not have been eligible for
some government contracts. Windows NT versions 3.5, 3.51 and 4.0 were
certified as compliant with FIPS 151-2." --
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_POSIX_subsystem (and more or less as
you say)
Some history here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_wars
Charles
-----Original Message-----
From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On
Behalf Of Timothy Sipples
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2020 10:59 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Any shop use UNIX in a production job?
Charles Mills wrote:
A trivia question: Which of these is UNIX? Windows Server or Linux?
I replied:
Neither.
Charles Mills then replied:
Which *used to be* UNIX?
Still neither.
I can find no evidence that Microsoft ever obtained a UNIX(TM)
certification for any Windows operating system or even obtained a license
for UNIX source code from AT&T or another authorized party specifically to
ship any subsystem or product on/for Windows.(*) However, Microsoft
evidently would not have been upset if you thought otherwise. :-)
Here's the thumbnail history as I understand it. Back in 1996 a company
called Softway Systems (later renamed Interix) shipped a product called
OpenNT for Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. OpenNT apparently was
written "cleanroom," meaning that it didn't license or use UNIX source
code from AT&T or another authorized party. OpenNT was a POSIX subsystem,
and at some point -- possibly starting pre-Microsoft -- it was POSIX
certified.
Meanwhile, Microsoft separately developed the "Microsoft POSIX subsystem"
and included it in early releases of Windows NT. Microsoft did this to get
FIPS 151-2 certification so that the U.S. federal government could
consider Windows NT for more of its acquisitions.
Later, Microsoft acquired Interix, updated the technology, positioned it
as a replacement for their own POSIX subsystem, and renamed the technology
in this sequence: "Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX" (sometimes "Unix"
in references) then "Windows Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications."
However, these products/subsystems were never certified as UNIX(TM)
either. The preposition "for" in their names is quite meaningful and doing
a lot of heavy lifting. Initially Microsoft's versions were separately
chargeable, and then at the very end they were no additional charge
downloads.
In a completely separate effort, David Korn created UWIN, which is an
X/Open library and set of utilities for Win32. UWIN isn't UNIX(TM) either.
Ironically, AT&T, UNIX's inventor, now distributes UWIN's source code --
but that doesn't make it UNIX(TM) either:
https://github.com/att/uwin
OK, so that was/is Microsoft Windows. In fact Microsoft has distributed a
bona fide UNIX operating system in the past: XENIX (also sometimes written
Xenix). XENIX was definitely a genuine UNIX(TM) operating system.
Microsoft licensed AT&T's UNIX source code (Version 7 then later System
V), and XENIX also includes bits of BSD. The Santa Cruz Operation (SCO)
eventually acquired exclusive rights to XENIX, and that branch of the
very, very complicated UNIX family tree essentially died out, losing out
to SCO UNIX. But during much of the 1980s Microsoft XENIX from its various
OEMs (including IBM) was the most popular UNIX(TM) distribution.
(*) The UNIX trademark owner made/makes the final call.
- - - - - - - - - -
Timothy Sipples
I.T. Architect Executive
Digital Asset & Other Industry Solutions
IBM Z & LinuxONE
- - - - - - - - - -
E-Mail: [email protected]
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