Today Linux is in great demand. You can see the use of Linux everywhere. It's dominating on our servers, desktop, smartphones and even used in some electrical devices like refrigerators.

Some people think Unix and Linux as synonyms, but that's not true. Many operating systems were developed to be like Unix but none of them got the popularity as Linux. Linux is the clone of Unix. It has several features similar to Unix, still have some key differences. Before Linux and Windows, computer world was dominated by Unix. Unix is a copyrighted name and IBM AIX, HP-UX and Sun Solaris are only Unix operating system remained till date.

Difference between Linux and Unix

Comparison

Linux

Unix

Definition

It is an open-source operating system which is freely available to everyone.

It is an operating system which can be only used by its copyrighters.

Examples

It has different distros like Ubuntu, Redhat, Fedora, etc

IBM AIX, HP-UX and Sun Solaris.

Users

Nowadays, Linux is in great demand. Anyone can use Linux whether a home user, developer or a student.

It was developed mainly for servers, workstations and mainframes.

Usage

Linux is used everywhere from servers, PC, smartphones, tablets to mainframes and supercomputers.

It is used in servers, workstations and PCs.

Cost

Linux is freely distributed,downloaded, and distributed through magazines also. And priced distros of Linux are also cheaper than Windows.

Unix copyright vendors decide different costs for their respective Unix Operating systems.

Development

As it is open source, it is developed by sharing and collaboration of codes by world-wide developers.

Unix was developed by AT&T Labs, various commercial vendors and non-profit organizations.

Manufacturer

Linux kernel is developed by the community of developers from different parts of the world. Although the father of Linux, Linus Torvalds oversees things.

Unix has three distributions IBM AIX, HP-UX and Sun Solaris. Apple also uses Unix to make OSX operating system.

GUI

Linux is command based but some distros provide GUI based Linux. Gnome and KDE are mostly used GUI.

Initially it was command based OS, but later Common Desktop Environment was created. Most Unix distributions use Gnome.

Interface

The default interface is BASH (Bourne Again SHell). But some distros have developed their own interfaces.

It originally used Bourne shell. But is also compatible with other GUIs.

File system support

Linux supports more file system than Unix.

It also supports file system but lesser than Linux.

Coding

Linux is a Unix clone,behaves like Unix but doesn't contain its code.

Unix contain a completely different coding developed by AT&T Labs.

Operating system

Linux is just the kernel.

Unix is a complete package of Operating system.

Security

It provides higher security. Linux has about 60-100 viruses listed till date.

Unix is also highly secured. It has about 85-120 viruses listed till date

Error detection and solution

As Linux is open-source,whenever a user post any kind of threat, developers from all over the world start working on it. And hence, it provides faster solution.

In Unix, users have to wait for some time for the problem to be resolved.