Is UNIX an open source OS ? Post: 302910459

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Operating Systems Linux Fedora Is UNIX an open source OS ? Post 302910459 by wisecracker on Thursday 24th of July 2014 03:24:45 PM

07-24-2014

Registered User

It does not really matter these days whether UNIX per-se is completely open sourced or not.
As some versions are, some are not, however the simplicity coupled with power at your fingertips is legendary these days...

As a novice at the *NIX family of OSes the single beauty to me is that everything is a __file__.
These __files__ can technically be read from and written to without much of a fuss.

Take the following, (this assumes /dev/dsp exists and an internal mic on your system)......

Code:

cat < /dev/dsp > /dev/dsp

......records a few seconds of voice then replays that recording from from the same device, continuously.
This could be the basis of a simple baby alarm all with the simplicity of "everything is a file".

So from one line of 25 characters of an open sourced command, cat , you have tremendous power at your fingertips.

This alone is both elegant and beautiful, and 'cat' along with other *NIX commands IS/ARE open source...

wisecracker

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LEARN ABOUT DEBIAN

sndstat

7(16 December 2012)													       7(16 December 2012)

NAME

       sndstat - Open Sound System status device

DESCRIPTION

       /dev/sndstat  is  a  text  formatted  device special file that returns information about available (OSS) sound devices. This device file is
       obsolete and the ossinfo(1) utility should be used instead.

       Notice that the device numbering used in this file is different that the official numbering used by ossinfo(1) and  some  other	utilities.
       /dev/sndstat uses device numbers that match the "legacy" /dev/dspN, /dev/midiN and /dev/mixerN device files.

       Application  programs  should not use /dev/sndstat to obtain information about the sound devices. The format of this file may change in the
       future and /dev/sndstat may even be removed from OSS in distant future. OSS 4.0 and later has an ioctl interface for getting  detailed  and
       reliable information about the devices.

AUDIO USAGE HISTORY

       /dev/sndstat  reports  some  history  information  about previously run audio applications. This section is a debugging aid for application
       developers and it will be moved to the ossinfo program in the future.

       For example:

	       History:
	       /dev/oss/hdaudio0/pcm0.10: pid 6326 cmd 'error_test' OUT Play events:01009:2 Rec events:01002:0
	       /dev/oss/hdaudio0/pcm0.10: pid 6329 cmd 'mpg123' OUT
	       /dev/oss/hdaudio0/pcm0.10: pid 6329 cmd 'mpg123' OUT
	       /dev/oss/hdaudio0/pcm0.10: pid 6329 cmd 'mpg123' OUT

       Each line will show the the device name, PID and name of the application (if known) and access mode (IN and/or  OUT).  There  may  also	be
       additional info about buffer underruns/overruns and other recording and playback related events.

       Each  Play  and	rec  events  consist of 5-6 digit event code and a parameter separated by a colon. A list of defined event codes and their
       explanations can be found from http://manuals.opensound.com/developer/oss_error_codes.html.  Purpose of these events is to inform  applica-
       tion developers by potential problems in their code.

COMPATIBILITY

       /dev/sndstat  has  been	available  in  all OSS versions. However in OSS 4.0 and later this device file should only be used by applications
       written for earlier OSS versions.

OPTIONS

       None

PROGRAMMING INFORMATION

       Some applications use /dev/sndstat to find the audio devices available in the system. This method is no	longer	recommended.  Applications
       should use the SNDCTL_AUDIOINFO(2) ioctl call to find the devices.

SEE ALSO

       o  dsp(7) - Audio device files

       o  mixer(7) - Mixer (control panel) device files

       o  midi(7) - MIDI device files

FILES

       /dev/sndstat

AUTHOR

       4Front Technologies

OSS Devices														       7(16 December 2012)