[SATLUG] FreeBSD to interoperate with Unix platforms

[Chuck]

Cool, the more we stand together with our brothers -- the better we do
in the public eyes compared to the really crappy operating systems....

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Today's focus:  FreeBSD to interoperate with Unix platforms

By Phil Hochmuth

And now for something slightly different: some FreeBSD news. The 
FreeBSD Project was recently given permission to use the Posix 
standard for Unix-based application portability.

The permission was given by the IEEE and the Open Group, which 
partly controls Unix standards and specifications. This means 
that users could expect to see more applications being available 
to run on commercial Posix-based Unix platforms and the 
open-source FreeBSD operating systems. 

Posix is an IEEE standard that defines how applications talk to 
Unix operating systems. Based on Unix System V and BSD Unix, 
Posix allows applications written for one type of Unix to run on 
other Unix-based platforms.

The deal will allow The FreeBSD Project to use the 1400 
interfaces included in the Posix standard, as well as all 
headers, system interfaces and utilities. Granting the use of 
the IEEE 1003.1 Posix standard will give application developers 
a better understanding of how to write applications that work 
cross-platform between standard Unix and open-source FreeBSD 
platforms, experts say.

Called by some as "the other free Unix," the FreeBSD Project was 
started in 1992 and is based on technology from the Berkeley 
Systems Distribution of Unix, which was developed at the 
University of California at Berkeley - and later went on to 
power operating systems from Sun to Apple Macintosh. FreeBSD 
runs on x86 compatible processors, AMD64, HP Alpha, IBM Power 
and Sun UltraSPARC chip architectures.

RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS

More about FreeBSD
http://www.freebsd.org/

More about Posix
http://www.pasc.org/