From Software Informer
(Redirected from Programs:Commando) A/UX
A/UX 3.0.1 with Finder, CommandShell and Netscape | | Company / developer | Apple Computer |
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| OS family | UNIX System V |
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| Working state | Historic |
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| Source model | Closed source |
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| Latest stable release | 3.1.1 / 1995 |
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| Kernel type | Monolithic kernel |
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| License | Proprietary |
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A/UX (from Apple Unix) was Apple Computer's implementation of the Unix operating system for some of their Macintosh computers. The later versions of A/UX ran on the Macintosh II, Quadra and Centris series of machines as well as the SE/30. A/UX was first released in 1988, with the final version (3.1.1) released in 1995. A/UX required a 68k-based Macintosh with an FPU and a paged memory management unit (PMMU).
The operating system was based on UNIX System V Release 2.2, with some additional features from System V Releases 3 and 4, and 4.2 and 4.3 BSD. It was POSIX and System V Interface Definition (SVID) compliant and included TCP/IP networking from version 2 onward. There were rumors of a later version using OSF/1 as its primary code base, but this system was never released to the public, if it even existed.
[edit] Features
A/UX 3.x provided a graphical user interface with the familiar Finder windows, menus, and controls. The A/UX Finder was not the same program as the System 7 Finder, but a customized version adapted to run as a Unix process and designed to interact with the Unix kernel and file systems. A/UX 3.x also included a CommandShell terminal program, which offered a command line interface to the underlying Unix system, a feature which had never been available on Macintosh computers running the classic Mac OS Finder. An X Window System server application (called MacX) with a terminal program could also be used to interface with the system and run X Window applications directly in the Finder. Alternatively, the user could choose to run a full X11R4 session without the Finder.
By including a compatibility layer, A/UX could run Macintosh System 7.0.1, Unix, and "hybrid" applications. A hybrid application used both Macintosh and Unix system functions: for example, a Macintosh application which called Unix system functions, or a Unix application which called Macintosh Toolbox (e.g. QuickDraw) functions. The compatibility layer used some existing Toolbox functions in the computer's ROM, while other function calls were translated into native Unix system calls.
A/UX included a utility called Commando (similar to a tool of the same name included with MPW) to assist users with entering Unix commands. Opening a Unix executable file from the Finder would open a dialog box that allowed the user to choose command-line options for the program using standard controls such as radio buttons and check boxes, and display the resulting command line argument for the user before executing the command or program. This feature was intended to ease the learning curve for users new to Unix, and decrease the user's reliance on the Unix manual.
[edit] Decline
Unfortunately for Apple and for A/UX users, the Unix niche was a costly business in the early 1990s. The last version of A/UX, 3.1.1, was released in 1995. A/UX ran only on 68k Apple machines with a floating point unit (FPU) and a paged memory management unit (PMMU).[1] Apple never ported A/UX to PowerPC Macintoshes (though A/UX 4.0 was rumored to have been an OSF/1 adaptation), and the company all but abandoned it by 1996, preferring to use a slightly modified version of IBM's AIX system on their mid-90s Apple Network Servers. After Steve Jobs returned to Apple, another Unix-like operating system was introduced in the form of Mac OS X, but it had very little in common with A/UX, instead being based on NeXTSTEP.
A/UX users had one central source for most A/UX applications, a server at NASA called "Jagubox" administered by Jim Jagielski, who was also the editor of the A/UX FAQ. Although Jagubox is down, some mirrors are still maintained. Aside from a few isolated servers still running it, A/UX is essentially extinct, and is considered to be abandonware.
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DateFormat=mm/dd/yyyy
Period = from:01/01/1984 till:11/01/2008
Define $now = 11/01/2007
Define $skip = at:end # Force a blank line
Define $dayunknown = 15 # what day to use if it's actually not known
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TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
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Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4
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id:bg value:white
id:macfinder2 value:rgb(1,0.8,0.8)
id:macfinder value:rgb(1,0.7,0.8) legend:Finder
id:macos2 value:rgb(0.8,0.9,1)
id:macos value:rgb(0.7,0.8,1) legend:Classic_Mac_OS
id:macworks value:rgb(0.8,0.8,1)
id:macworks2 value:rgb(0.8,0.7,1) legend:Lisa/MacWorks
id:aux2 value:rgb(1,0.9,0.8)
id:aux value:rgb(1,0.8,0.7) legend:A/UX
id:osx2 value:rgb(0.9,1,0.8)
id:osx value:rgb(0.8,1,0.7) legend:Mac_OS_X
id:lightline value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9)
id:lighttext value:rgb(0.5,0.5,0.5)
id:server value:rgb(0.8,0.8,0.9)
id:current value:rgb(0.95,0.95,0.95)
id:current2 value:rgb(0.97,0.97,0.97) legend:Representative_Macintosh_models
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ScaleMajor = gridcolor:lighttext unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1985
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barset:osx
barset:classic
barset:nix
barset:reference
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shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s
color:macfinder from:01/$dayunknown/1984 till:04/$dayunknown/1985text:"1.x"
barset:break
color:macfinder2 from:04/$dayunknown/1985 till:09/$dayunknown/1985 text:"4.x"
barset:break
color:macfinder from:09/$dayunknown/1985 till:10/$dayunknown/1987 text:"5.x"
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color:macfinder2 from:10/$dayunknown/1987 till:05/$dayunknown/1991 text:"6.x"
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color:macfinder from:05/$dayunknown/1991 till:01/$dayunknown/1997 text:"7.x"
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color:macfinder from:10/$dayunknown/1999 till:03/$dayunknown/2001 text:"9.x"
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color:macfinder2 from:03/$dayunknown/2001 till:end text:"10.x"
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color:macworks from:01/$dayunknown/1984 till:04/$dayunknown/1985 text:"Lisa/MacWorks"
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color:current from:04/$dayunknown/1985 till:01/$dayunknown/1986
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color:current from:01/$dayunknown/1986 till:08/$dayunknown/1988 text:"(Sun Remarketing)"
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color:lightline from:08/$dayunknown/1988 till:06/$dayunknown/1990 text:"Macworks Plus"
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color:current from:06/$dayunknown/1990 till:01/$dayunknown/1996 text:"Macworks Plus II"
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color:macos from:07/26/1997 till:01/19/1998 text:"8"
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color:aux from:02/$dayunknown/1988 till:06/$dayunknown/1990 text:"1"
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color:aux from:04/16/1992 till:01/01/1995 text:"3"
barset:reference
color:current from:start till:01/$dayunknown/1986 text:"Macintosh"
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color:current2 from:01/$dayunknown/1986 till:04/$dayunknown/1987 text:"Plus"
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color:current from:04/$dayunknown/1987 till:09/$dayunknown/1989 text:"Mac II"
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color:current2 from:01/$dayunknown/1989 till:09/$dayunknown/1989 text:"SE/30"
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color:current from:09/$dayunknown/1989 till:10/$dayunknown/1991 text:"Portable"
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color:current2 from:10/$dayunknown/1991 till:03/$dayunknown/1994 text:"Quadra"
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color:current from:03/$dayunknown/1994 till:08/$dayunknown/1998 text:"Power Macintosh"
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color:current2 from:08/$dayunknown/1998 till:09/$dayunknown/1999 text:"iMac"
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color:current2 from:06/$dayunknown/2003 till:01/$dayunknown/2006 text:"G5"
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color:current2 from:01/$dayunknown/2006 till:end text:"Intel"
</timeline>
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