berkeley_software_distribution

Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD)
See also
References

Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD)

Return to Ubuntu-Debian-Linux Mint-Raspberry Pi OS, RHEL-CentOS-Fedora, Tails, Linux Topics, Linux commands or Linux

BSD - “Berkeley Software Distribution. An implementation of POSIX.” (21cC 2014)

The Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) represents a family of UNIX-like operating systems based on the source code from the University of California, Berkeley. Originating in the late 1970s and early 1980s, BSD has significantly influenced the development of numerous other systems, including the creation of FreeBSD, OpenBSD, and NetBSD. Its innovations include the TCP/IP networking protocol stack, the Vi text editor, and the C shell (csh), among others.

These variants prioritize different goals, such as FreeBSD focusing on performance and compatibility, OpenBSD emphasizing security, and NetBSD being designed for portability across different hardware platforms. The BSD license itself, known for its permissiveness, has allowed wide-ranging use and modification of its code, fostering innovation and contributing to the development of many other open-source projects. Over the years, BSD and its derivatives have been known for their reliability, robustness, and adherence to UNIX standards, making them favored choices in server environments, networking applications, and embedded systems.

Snippet from Wikipedia: Berkeley Software Distribution: The Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), also known as Berkeley Unix, is a discontinued Unix operating system developed and distributed by the Computer Systems Research Group (CSRG) at the University of California, Berkeley. First released in 1978, it began as an improved derivative of AT&T's original Unix developed at Bell Labs, based on the source code. Over time, BSD evolved into a distinct operating system and played a significant role in computing and the development and dissemination of Unix-like systems.
BSD development was initially led by Bill Joy, who added virtual memory capability to Unix running on a VAX-11 computer. During the 1980s, BSD gained widespread adoption by workstation vendors in the form of proprietary Unix distributions—such as DEC with Ultrix and Sun Microsystems with SunOS—due to its permissive licensing and familiarity among engineers. BSD also became the most widely used Unix variant in academic institutions, where it was used for the study of operating systems. The BSD project received funding from DARPA until 1988, during which time BSD incorporated ARPANET support and later implemented the TCP/IP protocol suite, released as part of BSD NET/1 in 1988. By that time, the codebase had diverged significantly from the original AT&T Unix, with estimates suggesting that less than 5% of the code remained from AT&T. As a result, NET/1 was distributed without requiring an AT&T source license.
Berkeley ended its Unix research in 1992, following reduced funding and complications arising from the Unix copyright lawsuit. As the original BSD became obsolete, the term "BSD" came to refer primarily to its open-source descendants, including FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, and DragonFly BSD. BSD-derived code also formed the basis for Darwin and TrueOS; these, in turn, have been incorporated into proprietary operating systems, including Apple's macOS and iOS, as well as Microsoft Windows which used portions of BSD's TCP/IP implementation. Code from BSD's open descendants have themselves also been integrated into various modern platforms, including the system software for the PlayStation 5 and other embedded or commercial devices.

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0