UNIX is a proprietary OS, meaning it is licensed and owned by a specific corporation that holds its code; ownership of a user involved purchasing the OS from the corporation. UNIX was initially developed by AT&T as an essential element for the development of the internet as well as networks, specifically for minicomputers (8). It was designed to become portable and provide multitasking for multi-users. Distinguishing characteristics of UNIX include its unformatted storage of data, its hierarchical file system, and its mean of treating certain devices as files. In Unix OS, the kernel is given special rights so as to separate the user-space from the kernel-space. This feature inhibits conflict in scenarios where two softwares require access to a single hardware simultaneously. Since the 1970s, UNIX has been expanding and modifying on their OS to meet the requirements of companies and microcomputer owners. In 1980, UNIX released Xenin, its first UNIX for 16-bit microcomputer (8).

UNIX spread at an immense rate amongst users. However, it was a leading force in the spreading of various other aspects of today’s life. C programming language, vastly used by programmers, was originally a subcategory of UNIX, and it spread faster than UNIX. Also the provision of TCP/IP network protocol, during the initial stage of UNIX at which it was dedicated to network systems, on inexpensive computers lead to the outburst of the internet.

         LINUX is a non-proprietary OS version of UNIX, it is a flexible program due to its provision of multiple user interfaces. Two of the most widely used interfaces are KDE and GNOME. The term non-proprietary can be used alternatively with ‘open-source’, both terms allude that this OS is free to use, study, modify and be redistributed by the public, hence its source code is available for all users. This process is facilitated by the fact that the kernel is not the original; instead it is a compatible one. Therefore it is inexpensive and affordable by the company to distribute free of charge. In 2005, Sun Microsystems produced Solaris, the first official and commercially produced open-source LINUX.

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