> But the success of *nix has clearly been largely influenced by the success of GNU. GNU probably kept unix-like systems alive.
If you define "UNIX-like" as "involves processes and stdout and stdin and has a filesystem", which is the basics of what's needed for different coreutils programs to be developed independently without communication overhead, then note that DOS also is close enough. I perceive an implication that "UNIX-like" systems were on the way out pre-GNU, but I would instead say DOS-esque systems count as UNIX-like enough for my purposes. Therefore, UNIX-like systems weren't really on the way out, the way I see it, and it wasn't GNU that kept them alive; it was DOS.
I know there's more to UNIX than "stdout & stdin & files" but for the purpose of creating a volunteer community that doesn't need to absorb high communication overhead, it's the most salient property IMHO.
If you define "UNIX-like" as "involves processes and stdout and stdin and has a filesystem", which is the basics of what's needed for different coreutils programs to be developed independently without communication overhead, then note that DOS also is close enough. I perceive an implication that "UNIX-like" systems were on the way out pre-GNU, but I would instead say DOS-esque systems count as UNIX-like enough for my purposes. Therefore, UNIX-like systems weren't really on the way out, the way I see it, and it wasn't GNU that kept them alive; it was DOS.
I know there's more to UNIX than "stdout & stdin & files" but for the purpose of creating a volunteer community that doesn't need to absorb high communication overhead, it's the most salient property IMHO.
Claes Wallin (韋嘉誠), Christopher Allan Webber likes this.