1. Introduction

1.3. Unix and C

At the time the first Unix was written, most operating systems developers believed that an operating system must be written in an assembly language so that it could function effectively and gain access to the hardware. Not only was Unix innovative as an operating system, it was ground-breaking in that it was written in a language (C) that was not an assembly language.

The C language itself operates at a level that is just high enough to be portable to variety of computer hardware. Most publicly distributed Unix software is written in C and must be complied before use. In practical terms this means that an understanding of C can make the life of a Unix system administrator significantly easier.