Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!microsoft!uw-beaver!tektronix!ogcvax!omsvax!hplabs!sri-unix!gwyn@brl-vld From: gwyn%brl-vld@sri-unix.UUCP Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards Subject: Re: whither UNIX Message-ID: <12641@sri-arpa.UUCP> Date: Thu, 13-Oct-83 18:31:41 EDT Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.12641 Posted: Thu Oct 13 18:31:41 1983 Date-Received: Sat, 22-Oct-83 01:21:18 EDT Lines: 15 From: Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) The UNIX standardization problem does not go away by just "defining" a standard, if sufficiently many people have reason not to follow it. The fundamental problem is that there is NO single version of UNIX (that I am aware of) that doesn't have some deficiencies that other versions have fixed. Often the deficiencies were fixed differently in different flavors of UNIX. If there were one common version that provided reasonable support for everything an application programmer needed to be doing, we would not have such a proliferation of UNIXes. Unfortunately, UNIX developers have not always been responsive to real user requirements (look how long IPC was neglected), and different development groups have different interests and concerns. That is why I think there is a real need for dialogue among these persons, if UNIX is going to get out of this fragmentation rut.