Linux was developed keeping unix as preference model. Hence, the basics architechture and most of the features of Linux and Unix are the same. In fact, Linux is also considered another version of Unix. The main difference between Linux and Unix is that Linux is Free. Various distributors pf Linux do not charge a price.
but the price is quite low compared to other operating systems. What you get is a full-blown server operating system-- with NO licensing issues. Linux comes with all the development tools you could possibly require-- C, C++, FORTRAN, Pascal, and lot of scripting languages like awk, Perl, and Python, most of which are free . Also, Web servers like Apache, amd browsers such as Netscape provide their versions for Linux, again free.
The Unix operating system requires atleast 500 mb of hard disk space., whereas Linux can be installed on a computer with a little as 150 mb of hard disk space and can run on 8 MB of RAM.
| Features | Linux | Unix |
| Shells available | bash, pdksh, tcsh, zsh, ash | Bourne, Kom, C |
| Variants | Red hat, Calders, Debian, LinuxPPC, SUSE | AT & T, MULTICS, TICS, BSD, SCO, HP-Ux, IRIX, Ultrix, XENIX Sun Solaris |
Licensing | Freely distributed | Expensive licensing |
