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UNIX Introduction
UNIX is the multi-user multitasking Operating system. UNIX is an operating system which was first developed in the 1960s, and has been under constant development ever since. By operating system, we mean the suite of programs which make the computer work. It is a stable, multi-user, multi-tasking system for servers, desktops and laptops. UNIX systems also have a graphical user interface (GUI) similar to Microsoft Windows, which provides an easy to use environment. However, knowledge of UNIX is required for operations, which aren't covered by a graphical program, or for when there are no windows interface available, for example, in a telnet session.

History of UNIX
The Unix operating system found its beginnings in MULTICS, which stands for Multiplexed Operating and Computing System. The MULTICS project began in the mid-1960s as a joint effort by General Electric, Massachusetts Institute for Technology and Bell Laboratories. In 1969 Bell Laboratories pulled out of the project. One of Bell Laboratories people involved in the project was Ken Thompson. He liked the potential MULTICS had, but felt it was too complex and that the same thing could be done in simpler way. In 1969 he wrote the first version of UNIX, called UNICS. UNICS stood for Uniplexed Operating and Computing System. Although the operating system has changed, the name stuck and was eventually shortened to Unix. Ken Thompson teamed up with Dennis Ritchie, who wrote the first C compiler. In 1973 they rewrote the UNIX kernel in C.

Components of UNIX operating system

The UNIX operating system is made up of three parts; the kernel, the shell and the programs. The kernel The kernel of UNIX is the hub of the operating system: it allocates time and memory to programs and handles the file store and communications in response to system calls. The shell The shell acts as an interface between the user andthe kernel. The shell is a command line interpreter (CLI). It interprets the commands the user types in and arranges for them to be carried out. The commands are themselves programs: when they terminate, the shell gives the user another prompt (% on our systems). Files and processes Everything in UNIX is either a file or a process. A process is an executing program identified by a unique PID (process identifier). A file is a collection of data. They are created by users using text editors, running Compilers etc. 1

2 The Directory Structure All the files are grouped together in the directory structure. The file-system is arranged in a hierarchical structure, like an inverted tree. The top of the hierarchy is traditionally called root (written as a slash /).

Basic Characteristics of UNIX

Unix is, at its base level, a multi-user, multitasking, virtual memory operating system that runs on a wide variety of hardware platforms. This means that Unix is able to do many things at the same time, for many different users, and using more memory than it really has physically installed. a) Unix is a multi-user system. This means that inherent to Unix is the idea that there are different users of the system, and that different users may have different sorts of privileges and types of access to different parts of the system. b) Unix is a multitasking system. This means that Unix has the ability to handle more than one task at a time. c) Unix is a virtual memory operating system. The concept of virtual memory and memory management is a bit beyond the scope of thisseminar, but a few key concepts are important to note.

Standard Filesystem Layout

Within the UNIX file system, there are some standard places to put different types of files. This makes it easy to find things, regardless of which UNIX system you are using. Some standard conventions are used: bin is used for binaries or executable files. lib is used as the library. src is used for source code. etc is used for miscellaneous system files. The following table lists some commonly found directories and their usual contents. / - Root of the filesystem. /bin - Basic Unix commands. /dev - Special device files. /etc - System configuration files. /home - Use home directories. /tmp - Temporary files. /usr - The bulk of the operating system files. /usr/local - Local additions and modifications to Unix /var - Log files and frequently changed files

Basic Commands of UNIX Operating System

ls : lists all the files in the current directory except the hidden files. ls a : lists all the files in the current directory including the hidden files. ls l : lists all the files in the current directory except the hidden files, with additional details like their access permissions, date and time modified. ls al : lists all the files in the current directory including the hidden files, with additional details like their access permissions, date and time modified. mkdir : Create a new directory. cat <filename> : This command is used to create and pen files in unix. If the file exists in the current directory then it is opened else a new file is created.