Fedora

this is my very first post in unix.com.
hello every one,

I am a real Newbie and I wanna know ..
1) from where to download unix os ?
2) are ther any distros like linux in unix?

Please notice that "Unix" is not an operating system - not in the sense of "Windows is an OS" or "Palm OS is an OS". Its an architecture, a design blueprint for building actual OSes. "Unix" specifies that there have to be certain features, certain interfaces, certain ways things work, etc.. In a narrower sense "Unix" describes the way the OS kernel works.

Depending on what you want to learn you will probably not be affected by the difference between "Linux" and "Unix", because (you said you are a beginner) the two work identically viewed from the outside. The differences are rather esoteric points in the kernel design, which will most likely not affect you at all.

Using different Unix flavours is a lot like driving different car models: yes, its different somehow, but basically a steering wheel is a steering wheel, a brake is a brake, the gear shift is similar to the gear shift in the other model, etc..

Many Unix dialects are not free at all and will either only run on very specific hardware (like AIX, which only runs on IBMs p-Series) and/or cost money.

The bottom line is: download a Linux distribution of your liking and as long as you don't have to learn some very very specific details about OS architecture you could use the terms "Unix" and "Linux" interchangeably, because any Unix will more or less work like Linux and vice versa.

You might be interested in reading the Rosetta Stone of Unix for some of the more obvious differences among the popular flavours of Unix.

I hope this helps.

bakunin

thanks but it seems too much strange to me that "UNIX IS NOT AN OS" !!
what found in my favor was ...

Unix - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The UNIX Operating System: White Paper

what you say ?

What bakunin is trying to explain is that OS like DOS are understood as an OS where all know on what/how it runs, same goes for Windows... UNIX, since you talk about flavors cannot be compared in the same way: you have many flavors for many architectures.
You can write books (real big ones too...) on UNIX evolution and history...
And for now you have no more one UNIX but SVR4 family and BSD family and UNIX clones (linux...) Which one are you interested in?
Here is the unix genealogy (well almost...)
The Unix family tree - Computerworld

Modern UNIX(not historical UNIX) is to operating systems what aviation standards are to airplanes; an OS needs a certain minimum set of features and tools to be UNIX-compliant. So this documentation describes how UNIX-compliant systems should be built, not an actual system that is built.

There are lots of OSes that try to be UNIX-compliant, with varying degrees of success. Some of the most traditional are ones like the various BSD's(modern descendants of one of the ancient, original implementations) and Solaris. Linux is not UNIX-compliant in name(for copyright reasons that may no longer be relevant) but it's strongly compatible with it nonetheless.

There are MANY Linux clones and choosing one that fits you best is a process. Try something like Linux Jazz and choose the version/clone that fits your needs. All of today's distros are easy to install, (with exception of Slackware that requires more knowledge). Good luck.

Solaris (x86/x64) Solaris Operating System - Get Solaris 10 (Certified UNIX )