linux programs in OSX

[blasonde]

1. Is it possible to use linux or unix programs in OSX. For ex. can you download .tar.gz files and install them on osx?

2. Is OSX really "based" on BSD or is there just access to a BSD/UNIX terminal?

Thanks

 

[scruffy]

1. Definitely maybe. A .tar.gz file is most likely source code, which might well be able to compile on OSX - you'd have to check whether the program works on various unix platforms. If it works on FreeBSD, your chances are likely pretty good.

Advice - try fink first. It will handle programs that depend on a zillion libraries that you don't have, and download and install all of them first.

2. I'm not quite sure what you mean - a unix terminal is no use without a unix OS to run on. You would have a nice rectangle on the screen, but no commands you could run.

OS X consists of a bunch of (closed source) graphical apps, running on the (open source) Darwin operating system. Darwin, in turn, consists of a FreeBSD user environment, with some considerable modifications by Apple, running on the Carnegie Mellon University's Mach microkernel.

So, yes, the operating system itself is heavily based on FreeBSD.

 

[nixgeek]

The terminal only gives you access to a shell, be it bash, tcsh, zsh, etc. You'll find the same thing on all UNIX and UNIX-like operating systems, even those that are ONLY command line. You are using a command SHELL to access the kernel and hardware.