DOS ain't dead - MSDOS close to Unix

MSDOS close to Unix (Developers)

posted by jhall , 27.12.2021, 20:02

> > to the new system calls as XENIX CALLS.
>
> Thanks for that interesting link.
>
> I did some more reading on Xenix and it looks like
> Gates wanted to use Unix eventually, but couldn't
> do it immediately due to limitations of PC hardware.

I'll add that Unix compatibility was a huge, HUGE thing in the 1980s. Even Apple tried to go there with MacOS at the time. Having Unix compatibility could open doors for lucrative government contracts.

Of course, DOS took over anyway and ruled the PC market for the duration of the 1980s and into the 1990s. So in the end, Microsoft didn't need Unix anyway, and came up with Windows NT as a commercial alternative, which won the day for them.

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Complete thread:

MSDOS close to Unix - kerravon, 26.12.2021, 08:17
- MSDOS close to Unix - kerravon, 26.12.2021, 08:18
- MSDOS close to Unix - tkchia, 26.12.2021, 09:05
  - MSDOS close to Unix - kerravon, 27.12.2021, 04:31
    - MSDOS close to Unix - jhall, 27.12.2021, 20:02
- MSDOS close to Unix - DosWorld, 10.01.2022, 20:35
  - MSDOS close to Unix - kerravon, 11.01.2022, 02:19