I was checking out an online article on market share a few days ago. Without getting into details, it basically segmented the enterprise server space into Unix, Windows, and Linux.
Now, right off the bat an article like that sets off a warning in my head. Unix is really a term used originally by AT&T, to represent AT&T System V Unix back when they had control of that name. The meaning of the word 'Unix' has really been interpreted and re-interpreted so much that it no longer holds any relevance in and of itself.
What I'm saying here is that Linux is Unix, as much as the big enterprise variations are (HP-UX, AIX, Solaris, etc). Why segment it out that way? Why not just say 'free Unix like operating systems' vs 'Licensed Unix like operating systems'? If the 'tech' authors don't differentiate, then where does BSD unix land? BSD is the Berkley distribution, and it isn't Linux - it also is not Unix if one wants to quibble.
The only true holder of Unix now, as far as I can remember, is SCO. The licenses for AT&T System V eventually went to them. The original licenses are so diluted though, that there is no longer much if any meaning.
Now why is any of this even relevant at all? It isn't for most people. But, I see a lot of forum threads and arguments regarding platforms like 'Android' vs 'iOS'. There is constant talk of how iOS does not allow multitasking, at least true multitasking. Most of the people arguing fail to make a simple realization.
iOS is built on Darwin, the same base as OS X. Android is built on Linux.
Darwin is open source; so is Linux. Darwin originated as a combination of the Mach Kernel and BSD Unix (also open source) elements, along with some of the NextStep OS after Apple bought Next. Linux, and BSD, were attempts to create 'unix-like' operating systems via open source collaboration.
Basically it all comes down to this - all of these operating systems are founded on Unix. Some are free, some are not. All of them tend to use similar file systems, similar user and group permission setups, similar organization of their configuration files (like passwd, the user password file).
None of this matters of course. Neither does that chart showing x% unix and x% linux. Did they count Darwin? Did they count BSD? Did they count OS X? Who knows, and who knows where they chose to put it, hence the numbers are meaningless.
