Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!rutgers!mit-eddie!bu-cs!bzs From: bzs@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Barry Shein) Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Subject: why learn UNIX Message-ID: <3353@bu-cs.BU.EDU> Date: Sun, 11-Jan-87 01:49:24 EST Article-I.D.: bu-cs.3353 Posted: Sun Jan 11 01:49:24 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 11-Jan-87 04:36:18 EST Organization: Boston U. Comp. Sci. Lines: 83 From: alan@herman.UUCP (Alan Kiecker) >One of our directors is on an advisory board to one of our state colleges. >Currently the college is using a VAX VMS system, but is considering moving >over to UNIX. He has been asked why it would be beneficial for the students >to learn UNIX; i.e. why should the college bother to convert. If anyone has >any comments, I would appreciate it, and will forward them on to our >director. First off, the question is not phrased all that well. Do the students actually plan on "using" UNIX to actually study other things like programming, compiler design, numerical analysis etc or is the plan to "learn UNIX"? Well, there's a subtlety there somewhere. Here's my list anyhow: 1. Business perspective - Unix offers the college "vendor independence", particularly after the first change. Whereas VMS is sold only by DEC (and at a hefty cost for both hardware and software) there are literally dozens of vendors selling UNIX systems ranging from PCs the students can buy for their homes to the largest systems on earth. This trend is expected to accelerate in the near future. This means that this and future acquisitions can be considered competitively and better matched with the price and performance needs of both the institution and the students. 2. Industry/University Relations - you can re-read #1 and consider what this may mean in terms of involvement between the college and interests of those dozens of vendors (and their customers) in regards research, internships etc. 3. Job Perspectives - I invite you to pick up the Sunday employment section of a major newspaper (try the Boston Globe) and make a hash mark every time you see a UNIX position and others. It should be revealing. Honeywell noted this week they were introducing a new UNIX system because 67% of all new US Govt RFPs are requiring UNIX. 4. Academic considerations - Unix has been highly praised for its consistent goals based upon innovative principles of software engineering and design. VMS is expensive. 5. Commonality - Over 90% of all CS departments in the US use UNIX. This is most reflected in the number of texts available, check out any large college bookstore and compare the number of titles available in various computing subjects that are available either on UNIX "the O/S", UNIX as an application base, a compiler development environment, a systems environment or related (eg. Franz Lisp, UCB Pascal, C, ICON, modern networking.) Try to find VMS books... 6. Manuals - The full set of UNIX manuals is readily available and inexpensive (a very complete set should cost around $100, a more than adequate set probably less half that.) In addition to this are many tutorials, self-help etc books available in most bookstores. VMS manual sets are several times more expensive and not readily available. I've never seen a tutorial or self-help type book on VMS in the popular press tho it's possible there is one available, anything is possible. 7. Personal Development - UNIX is available for the home and promises to be more so in the very near future, this will almost certainly never be true for VMS. Although one can argue that this would tend one towards MS/DOS it hardly fulfills all the other goals (you didn't ask about MS/DOS anyhow.) 8. Faculty hiring - If 90% of all CS depts use UNIX there must be a few people out there available to teach it. 9. Future - I'll make the brash prediction here that VMS has around 2-5 years (max) left. I don't consider it very responsible to teach students a system who's days are numbered. The VAX line itself (which VMS is hopelessly tied to) seems to be nearing the end of its useful life span. 10. UNIX has better games :-) Cheers. -Barry Shein, Boston University