/usr/group. An organization of UNIX users.
/usr/tmp. The /usr subdirectory that serves as storage for temporary files
that many utilities produce.
AIX. Advanced Interactive Executive; IBM's UNIX operating system.
Archer Group. The former name of UNIX International (AT&T-aligned
companies).
autoconfiguration. A/UX capability to automatically configure the smallest
possible kernel by checking for installed NuBus cards.
autorecovery. A/UX capability to reinstall critical system files from
duplicate copies on disk. in the event of a system corruption. This is
unique to Apple.
B-Net. UNISOFT's port of Berkeley Networking Services; BSD software to
provide TCP/IP communication.
background processing. The ability to run programs in the background
(behind the scenes) while freeing the display screen for other tasks.
Berkeley Networking Services. B-Net; a utility to provide TCP/IP
communication.
binary file. Any executable file.
Bourne shell. The command shell that Steven Bourne developed at AT&T.
BSD. Berkeley Software Distribution, the University of California
(Berkeley) version of UNIX. The most common versions are 4.2 and 4.3.
C. A high-level language with few hardware dependencies; ?he UNIX
operating system is written in C.
C Shell. The command interpreter developed by U.C. Berkeley programmers
CASE. Computer-aided software engineering.
commands. See Utilities or command name
DECWindows. DEC's proprietary windowing system; the programming interface
for DECwindows is incorporated in OSF's standard windowing system. It is based
on X Window System from MIT.
directory. A collection of subdirectories and files; a Macintosh folder.
Federal Information Processing. The U.S. federal government's standard for
computer purchases; FIPS 151 is based on IEEE's POSIX 1003.1 standard
(currently based on Draft 12, Standard (FIPS) of POSIX 1003.1).
FIPS. See Federal Information Processing Standard.
GOSIP. The U.S. federal government's version of the OSI standard.
HFX. Hierarchical File Exchange; a file-translation utility to transport
files between A/UX and Macintosh file systems, so users can work in either
environment and transfer information
IEEE. See Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
IEEE POSIX 1003. IEEE's standard for development of vendor-independent
applications.
Inside Macintosh. A series of Apple documents that define standards for
Macintosh application programming.
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. The organization that
(among other things) creates POSIX standards.
kernel. That portion of the operating system that communicates directly
with the hardware to allocate software and hardware resources.
korn shell. A revised command interface that contains features of its two
predecessors, the Bourne and C shells for AT&T and Berkeley, respectively
man page. A reference manual page, available on-line with most UNIX
systems.
MOTIF. OSF's windowing system. A hybrid of Microsoft's Presentation
Manager, HP's New Wave, and DECwindows; It is built on the X Window System
from MIT.
multitasking. The ability of a CPU to perform multiple tasks
simultaneously by rapidly switching among them.
multiuser. The capability that lets more than one user at a time use
the computer.
netnews. The global UNIX user bulletin board with over 500 interest groups
and over 8000 recipient systems. It also includes an electronic forum for
stating opinions, sharing ideas, requesting, receiving, and providing
information, and posting public-domain software
Network File System (NFS). The defacto standard from Sun Microsystems for
transparent file sharing. This facility enables a user on one vendor's
computer to access files on another vendor's computer.
New Wave. The HP windowing system. Portions of New Wave are incorporated
in OSF's standard windowing system
NFS. See Network File System
Open Software Foundation (OSF). A standard-development consortium of
companies including DEC, Hewlett-Packard (Apollo), and IBM. It grew out of
the so-called "Hamilton Group."
OSF1. OSF's UNIX operating system, based on IBM's AIX operating system
operating system. Software that manages a system's resources -- such as
CPU, memory, I/O, disk storage, and networks.
OSF. See Open Software Foundation
OSI. A networking standard. OSI is an emerging set of communications
protocols (an alternative to TCP/IP) primarily of interest to Europe and
the U.S. Federal Government.
pipe. A feature of UNIX command shells that lets tools (known as filters)
to be chained together to create new utilities. Piping causes the output
of the first command to become the input of the second.
portability. The ability of software to move from one environment with a
particular computer and operating system to another environment;
transferability from one computer to another. There are two kinds:
Source-level portability requires recompilation. Object-level portability
requires only moving the file to the new machine.
POSIX. A set of standards formulated by IEEE as guidelines to allow for
development of vendor-independent applications. POSIX 1003.1 defines the
UNIX-based operating system interface standard.
Presentation Manager. Microsoft's windowing system. Its human interface
constructs have been incorporated in OSF's MOTIF standard windowing system.
SASH. Stand Alone Shell of A/UX; A Macintosh application that shuts
down the Macintosh OS to start A/UX. It also allows limited access to A/UX
files without starting A/UX.
SCCS. See Source Code Control System.
Serial Line/Internet Protocol (SL/IP). A communications protocol that
provides features of TCP/IP over slower, longer distance serial lines.
Capabilities like NFS and Telnet Virtual Terminal are available over SL/IP.
shell. A specialized UNIX utility that serves as a character
oriented, command-line user interface. C, Bourne, and Korn are three shells
available with A/UX.
shellscript. A file containing a list of commands to be executed
sequentially; a batch file.
Single-tasking. Allowing only one operation at a time. Contrast with
multitasking.
single-user. Allowing only one person at a time to use the computer.
Contrast with multiuser.
SL/IP. See Serial Line/Internet Protocol
Source Code Control System (SCCS). A utility developed to control versions
of software source code, so they can be safely accessed by multiple
programmers and writers on a large project.
superuser. System administrator on a UNIX system who has special privileges
like changing file permissions, reassigning its ownership, or deleting.
SVID. See System V Interface Definition
SVVS. See System V Verification Suites
System V Interface Definition (SVID). The AT&T standard that defines core
elements of the System V operating system. SVID-1 describes AT&T V.2, and
SVID-2 describes AT&T V.3.
System V Verification Suites (SVVS). AT&T software that runs on a UNIX
system to test whether that system meets the SVID. SVVS 1 and 2 correspond
to and test for compliance with SVID 1 and 2 and V.2 and V.3, respectively.
TCP/IP. See Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.
Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). A communications
protocol and defacto standard protocol for Ethernet networks used by most
UNIX environments. TCP/IP is typically the underlying protocol with NFS,
Telnet, and X Window System.
Trusted systems. The U.S. federal government's graded approach to
security standards. Also known as "Orange Book." It defines a series of
levels of Trust. C1 to A1 where C2 will be the basic requirement for
government security in the near future, B1 is a greater level of security
and is expected to be the level typically requested for secure government
bids.
UI. See UNIX International.
UNIX International (UI). A consortium of companies that follow the AT&T
standard for UNIX systems. Originally created to counteract OSF's efforts
(previously called Archer group)
usenet. Global Unix mail service sponsored by various universities and
large corporations. It tends to be the primary method for UNIX users to
share information.
utility. A program that does most operating services, like listing,
copying, renaming, and removing files.
uucp. The UNIX to UNIX Copy command is a utility that enables file transfers
between UNIX systems and allows automatic transmission of mail messages.
X Window System Consortium. A group originated by MIT that defines X
Window System standards for future versions. Apple is a member.
X Window System. A device-independent multitasking environment, originally
designed by MIT, for windowing and graphics. It operates across
heterogeneous networks.
X/OPEN Standards Committee. A group begun in Europe that sets standards for
UNIX and related tools. It focuses primarily on user needs and includes UI
and OSF in its membership.
Yellow Pages. A distributed network database service that makes available
to workstations copies of files maintained on the server. Usually used in
conjunction with NFS. Licensed and developed by Sun Microsystems
Article Change History:
30 Aug 1994 - Reviewed
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