A/UX

(operating system)

(Apple's UniX) Apple's first version of Unix for Macintosh computers. A/UX merges the Macintosh Finder (GUI) with a Unix core, offering functions from both systems. It will run on some late-model Motorola 68000 Macs, but not on the Power Macintosh.

A/UX is based on AT&T Unix System V.2.2 with numerous extensions from V.3, V.4 and BSD 4.2/4.3. It also provides full POSIX compliance.

A/UX 3.x.x incorporates System 7 for the Macintosh, thus supporting the vast majority of Macintosh applications. System 7 and Unix are fully integrated under A/UX 3.x.x with the Unix file system being seen as a disk drive by the Finder.

jagubox's A/UX Home Page.

This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)

AUX

(1) (AUXiliary) See audio jack.

(2) (AUXiliary) The DOS name for the first connected serial port. See DOS device names.

(3) (A/UX) (Apple/UniX) A version of Unix for earlier Mac 68000-based computers from Apple. Introduced in 1988 and based on AT&T's Unix System V, A/UX included the Mac's Finder graphical interface; however, one of its main advantages was the Unix command line, which offered a host of functions for manipulating text and data. Not widely used, when Apple switched from Motorola 68000 to PowerPC chips in 1994, A/UX was not ported to the new hardware, and its last version was released a year later.

Unix After All
Starting in 1999, Apple switched to Mac OS X, a Unix-based operating system, and the Mac became a Unix machine after all. See Mac OS X and Unix.

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