Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!polyslo!jdudeck From: jdudeck@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (John R. Dudeck) Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d Subject: OS/2 vs. Unix Message-ID: <25e85897.57ec@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU> Date: 25 Feb 90 22:13:43 GMT References: <90052.182144CMH117@psuvm.psu.edu> <6937@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM> <16155@smunews.UUCP> <25e6d6ed.26a3@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU> Reply-To: jdudeck@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (John R. Dudeck) Organization: Cal Poly State University -- San Luis Obispo Lines: 35 >The problem with OS/2 is that it is simply Unix reimplemented. And as Henry >Spencer point out, "those who don't understand Unix are doomed to reinvent >it, poorly". I like that. In fact the discussion of operating systems really boils down to a comparison of OS/2 and Unix. I think it is worthwhile to do so (but maybe not on this newsgroup). >Now, if you were a software developer, and you had the resources to make >your program work under Unix or OS/2, but not both, which would you choose? >An OS that runs only on 286es, or an OS that runs on 286s AND everything else >imaginable (and a few that aren't). The answer to this is not as clear-cut as you might think. It all depends on which platform your customer base is on. It depends on what type of application it is. If it is GUI-based, then you have even more variables to consider. OS/2 is not just for 286's. It isn't 386-specific, if that is what you mean. While Unix is available on practically all hardware platforms, there aren't many Unix boxes sitting on people's desks. But there are a lot of potentially OS/2 boxes on people's desks. If you want to sell a program from Egghead Software for Unix, you've either got to sell source code in c, or else sell binaries for each different flavor of hardware and Unix out there. And then ask Joe User to compile your program on his Unix system. On on OS/2 system he would have just one version to select from at the store, and he would have it installed and running with a lot less trouble. Or to put it another way, if you were Joe User, and had a choice between Unix and OS/2 which would you buy? I'm sorry to keep this discussion going on this group. I shall refrain from further comments. -- John Dudeck "You want to read the code closely..." jdudeck@Polyslo.CalPoly.Edu -- C. Staley, in OS course, teaching ESL: 62013975 Tel: 805-545-9549 Tanenbaum's MINIX operating system.