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Mac OS X Leopard Certified as 100% UNIX

by , 3:50 PM EDT, August 1st, 2007

The Open Group has certified Apple's Mac OS X version 10.5 as UNIX. Prior to Leopard, Apple had to describe Mac OS X as UNIX-like or UNIX-based.

It was a minor technical caveat by Apple that was easy to overlook.

In the early days of Mac OS X, 100 percent POSIX compliance was not considered a priority for a primarily consumer-based OS. The variations from standard POSIX APIs was very small, and didn't have any real effect on Mac OS X or its functionality. There were many more important tasks to attend to.

However, over time, it became increasingly important for Apple to have full UNIX certification for Mac OS X, and Leopard will have that distinction.

In some cases, that lack of certification could have had an influence on some government contracts. With some UNIX professionals, it occasionally brought some unfounded suspicion about Mac OS X being somehow inferior, somehow not real UNIX.

However, that will all be behind Apple when Leopard ships, and Apple will be able to claim that Leopard is UNIX. It seems like a small issue in general, but it's been a nagging issue in some very technical circles, best put into the history books at last.

  

Observer Comments

Show: Subjects Only | Full Comments
View Name:Guest
Subject: Easier to compile from source?
View Name:Guest
Subject: compile from source
Close Name:Fairly Posts: 25 Joined: 02 Aug 2007
Subject: No Big Deal

I don't think this is a big deal. Microsoft have more POSIX certs than almost anyone for example. FOSS can't afford these expensive certs yet Linus' code made it to Mars with NASA vehicles. Ars wrote that this 03 means programmers can know their code works on other 03 platforms but the major players are not and will not go for these certs. Seriously: SCO are 03 certified and we all know where they stand on "open source". After the brouhaha with Open Darwin it appears as if Apple want to crush FOSS if anything.

View Name:Guest
Subject: good points, yet
View Name:Guest
Subject: Missed point...
View Name:Guest
Subject: re: Tards
View Name:Guest
Subject: Will Leopard destroy my G4's ability to boot OS9? Thanks.
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