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.