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Linux vs Unix

Review the differences between Linux and Unix in a structured comparison table, then continue with related interview questions, quizzes, and similar topic comparisons.

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Linux vs Unix - A key comparison and difference of the topics or subjects that will help you understand which is best for your use case. Check out to compare Unix and Linux as very common job interview questions.

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Difference between Linux and Unix

Linux Topic one in this side-by-side comparison.

16 comparison rows currently available on this page.

Unix Topic two in this side-by-side comparison.

Linux Interview Online Test	Unix Interview
Linux is an example of Open Source software development and Free Operating System (OS).	Unix is an operating system that is very popular in universities, companies, big enterprises etc.
Cost: Linux can be freely distributed, downloaded freely, distributed through magazines, Books etc. There are priced versions for Linux also, but they are normally cheaper than Windows.	Cost: Different flavors of Unix have different cost structures
Price: Free but support is available for a price.	Price: Some free for development use (Solaris) but support is available for a price.
User: Everyone. From home users to developers and computer enthusiasts alike.	User: Unix operating systems were developed mainly for mainframes, servers and workstations. The Unix environment and the client-server program model were essential elements in the development of the Internet
Manufacturer: Linux kernel is developed by the community. Linus Torvalds oversees things.	Manufacturer: Three bigest distributions are Solaris (Oracle), AIX (IBM) & HP-UX Hewlett Packard.
Usage: Linux can be installed on a wide variety of computer hardware, ranging from mobile phones, tablet computers and video game consoles, to mainframes and supercomputers.	Usage: The UNIX operating system is used in internet servers, workstations & PCs. Backbone of the majority of finance infastructure and many 24x365 high availability solutions.
Processors: Dozens of different kinds.	Processors: x86/x64, Sparc, Power, Itanium, PA-RISC and many others.
Architectures: Originally developed for Intel's x86 hardware, ports available for over two dozen CPU types including ARM	Processors: is available on PA-RISC and Itanium machines. Solaris also available for x86/x64 based systems.
Killer Features: Ksplice - kernel update without reboot	Killer Features: ZFS - Next generation filesystem Dtrace - dynamic kernel tracing
GUI: Linux typically provides two GUIs, KDE and Gnome. But Linux GUI is optional.	GUI: Initially Unix was a command based OS, but later a GUI was created called Common Desktop Environment. Most distributions now ship with Gnome.
File System Support: Ext2, Ext3, Ext4, Jfs, ReiserFS, Xfs, Btrfs, FAT, FAT32, NTFS	File System Support: jfs,gpfs,hfs,ufs,xfs,zfs format
Text mode interface: BASH (Bourne Again SHell) is the Linux default shell. It can support multiple command interpreters.	Text mode interface: Originally the Bourne Shell. Now it's compatible with many others including BASH, Korn & C.
Security: Linux has had about 60-100 viruses listed till date. None of them actively spreading nowadays.	Security: A rough estimate of UNIX viruses is between 85 -120 viruses reported till date.
Development and Distribution: Linux is developed by Open Source development i.e. through sharing and collaboration of code and features through forums etc and it is distributed by various vendors such as Debian, Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu, GentuX etc.	Development and Distribution: Unix systems are divided into various other flavors, mostly developed by AT&T as well as various commercial vendors and non-profit organizations.
Threat detection and solution: In case of Linux, threat detection and solution is very fast, as Linux is mainly community driven and whenever any Linux user posts any kind of threat, several developers start working on it from different parts of the world	Thread detection and solution: Because of the proprietary nature of the original Unix, users has to wait for a while, to get the proper bug fixing patch. But these are not as common.
Inception: Inspired by MINIX (a Unix-like system) and eventually after adding many features of GUI, Drivers etc, Linus Torvalds developed the framework of the OS that became LINUX in 1992. The LINUX kernel was released on 17th September, 1991	Inception: In 1969, it was developed by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs and Dennis Ritchie. It was written in �C� language and was designed to be a portable, multi-tasking and multi-user system in a time-sharing configuration.

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