The Probert Encyclopaedia of Science & Technology

UNIX

UNIX (In the authors' words, 'A weak pun on Multics') is an interactive time-sharing computer operating system originally invented in 1969 by Ken Thompson after Bell Labs left the Multics project, originally so he could play games on his scavenged PDP-7. Dennis Ritchie, the inventor of the programming language C, is considered a co-author of the system. The turning point in UNIX's history came when it was re-implemented almost entirely in C during 1972-1974, making it the first source-portable operating system. UNIX subsequently underwent mutations and expansions at the hands of many different people, resulting in a uniquely flexible and developer-friendly - though not user friendly - environment.
Research Unix