Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!nrl-cmf!ames!killer!vector!rpp386!pigs!haugj
From: haugj@pigs.UUCP (Joe Bob Willie)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Is UNIX(TM) Multi-User?
Summary: stupid question of the month club ...
Message-ID: <365@pigs.UUCP>
Date: 19 Aug 88 22:24:36 GMT
References: <880@taux01.UUCP> <213@bhjat.UUCP> <1640@uop.edu>  <404@cpro.UUCP> <15287@shemp.CS
Reply-To: haugj@pigs.UUCP (Joe Bob Willie)
Organization: Big "D" Oil and Gas
Lines: 20

In article  kaldis@topaz.rutgers.edu (Theodore A. Kaldis) writes:
>You are confusing *Dennis* Ritchie, the developer of the C programming
>language (and co-author, along with Brian Kernighan, of the book of
>the same title) with Ken *Thompson*, the developer of UNIX (which
>ironically started out as a *single*-user operating system).

this really belongs in comp.os.silly-questions, but here goes anyway ...

is unix REALLY a multi-user operating system?  or does it just act that
way because it is a multi-tasking o/s?  i know most of the actual history
behind unix, and i recall reading once that dennis didn't consider unix
to even be an operating system.

so, what features does unix have which prevents it from being a single
user operating system with a very clever single user program (init)
running?
-- 
 jfh@rpp386.uucp	(The Beach Bum at The Big "D" Home for Wayward Hackers)
     "Never attribute to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity"
                -- Hanlon's Razor