Unix Mac OS X

Unix & Mac OS X

In 1996, Apple affirmed the power of the Unix operating system and decided on a radical strategy for its new operating system: Apple would built Mac OS on top of Unix. The result of the decision, Mac OS X, was a complete overhaul of the old Macintosh system software, from the ground up.

What does that mean to you? It means that lurking beneath Mac OS X's attractive graphic user interface is a classic, popular command line interface. And, if you like typing commands and seeing text results in a little window onscreen, you can roll up your sleeves and give Unix a try, right on your Macintosh.

If you don't know any Unix commands, don't panic! Fortunately, you don't have to know a single keystroke of Unix to get the most out of your Macintosh. In a way, using Mac OS X is like driving your car: you don't need to know how to adjust your valves or rebuild your transmission to drive, do you? Likewise, you don't need to know any Unix commands to use your Mac, even though Unix is purring happily "under the hood."

This chapter gives you a glimpse of the world of Unix. It's not by any means a complete discussion, but it should get you familiar enough with Unix so you can enter Unix commands, when instructed, without fear.

It may also open a whole new world for you: a world of geeky command line instructions.

Tip

• Looking for more information about Unix than what you can find here? Check out Unix: Visual QuickStart Guide, 2nd Edition by Deborah Ray and Eric Ray, Unix Advanced: Visual QuickPro Guide by Chris Herborth, and Unix for Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger: Visual QuickPro Guide by Matisse Enzer.