If a tree falls, does it make a sound
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Is UNIX An OS?
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· Score: 1
If you access a server from a website and get information, can it not have an operating system and still perform this task?
To make this more clear, remove any GUI executables from the server and access it again. Now if it is a Windows box, it'll be sitting with a blue screen and nothing will return. The same done to a Linux machine, to anyone who know Linux, would likely entail extra work removing something you've added extra... and you'll get a response back because the other interface is not needed.
If you consider a computer from all perspectives and not just as a user, the definition of an Operating System becomes much clearer. And makes this argument less clear.
It's simple: If the system is executing itself and its resident applications as desired then it is an OS.
A system which is only accessed via a serial port directly to another machine doesn't need to have a GUI in its OS. No GUI and the system is operating fine, thank you.
On the other hand if the GUI is written into the kernel, or the system is completely useless for lack of functionality, it's not an OS. This excludes errors in code or install.
Mac and M$ boxes seem to believe it's necessary, and so the GUI IS part of their OS, whether hard tied into the code or not.
I leave my rant as to why putting UI stuff into the kernel is a BAD thing. It's like letting regular users tweak the kernel config files all the time. Yikes!
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If you access a server from a website and get information, can it not have an operating system and still perform this task?
To make this more clear, remove any GUI executables from the server and access it again. Now if it is a Windows box, it'll be sitting with a blue screen and nothing will return. The same done to a Linux machine, to anyone who know Linux, would likely entail extra work removing something you've added extra... and you'll get a response back because the other interface is not needed.
If you consider a computer from all perspectives and not just as a user, the definition of an Operating System becomes much clearer. And makes this argument less clear.
It's simple:
If the system is executing itself and its resident applications as desired then it is an OS. A system which is only accessed via a serial port directly to another machine doesn't need to have a GUI in its OS. No GUI and the system is operating fine, thank you.
On the other hand if the GUI is written into the kernel, or the system is completely useless for lack of functionality, it's not an OS. This excludes errors in code or install.
Mac and M$ boxes seem to believe it's necessary, and so the GUI IS part of their OS, whether hard tied into the code or not.
I leave my rant as to why putting UI stuff into the kernel is a BAD thing. It's like letting regular users tweak the kernel config files all the time. Yikes!