1.2 Bundling

Another issue affecting UNIX systems is the idea of bundling . UNIX has many features-sometimes more than you need to use. Nowadays, UNIX systems are usually split, or bundled, into various component packages. Some components are included automatically in the system you buy; others are optional-you get them only if you pay extra. Bundling lets you to select only the components you need. Typical bundling includes the following:

Basic System

Basic commands and utilities.

Programming

Compilers, debuggers, and libraries.

Text Processing

Troff, macros, and related tools.

Networking

Utilities for connecting to remote machines, including commands like rlogin , rcp , etc.

Windowing

Graphical user interfaces such as OPEN LOOK and Motif.

Bundling depends on the vendor. For example, Solaris 2.0 is shipped with OpenWindows, a windowing environment based on OPEN LOOK; you don't have to buy it as a separate package. For other vendors, the windowing package may be an extra-cost option. Similarly, some vendors ship text processing tools or compilers, and others don't.