Introduction

University of Wisconsin Madison

Computer Systems Lab CS1000

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Introduction

Welcome! This document, CS1000, is a primer designed to help you through your first semester on one of the Computer Sciences Department's UNIX machines. Most likely, you will also want to attend one of the UNIX orientations given during the first two weeks of classes.

  UNIX is an operating system, just as MS-DOS is, that runs on a wide range of computers. It is precisely this element of portability that has allowed UNIX to become as widely used as it is today. It has risen above its humble beginnings as a programmers' toy on an old minicomputer to become the operating system of choice not only at universities and other research facilities, but also on machines ranging from huge mainframes to the microcomputers that professionals from many fields use. Additionally, most courses you take from this department will be taught using a computer that runs UNIX of one flavor or another. For these reasons, not only will familiarity with the UNIX operating system aid you in dealing with your assignments, it will also be of benefit to you in later life as a computer professional.



Caitlin Howell
Thu Jan 16 20:24:40 CST 1997