from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
BSD
/B.S.D/, n.
[abbreviation for `Berkeley Software Distribution'] a family of {Unix}
versions for the {DEC} {VAX} and {PDP-11} developed by Bill Joy and
others at {Berzerkeley} starting around 1977, incorporating paged
virtual memory, TCP/IP networking enhancements, and many other
features. The BSD versions (4.1, 4.2, and 4.3) and the commercial
versions derived from them (SunOS, ULTRIX, and Mt. Xinu) held the
technical lead in the Unix world until AT&T's successful
standardization efforts after about 1986; descendants including
Free/Open/NetBSD, BSD/OS and MacOS X are still widely popular. Note
that BSD versions going back to 2.9 are often referred to by their
version numbers alone, without the BSD prefix. See also {Unix}.
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
Berkeley Software Distribution
4.2BSD
Berkeley 4.2
Berkeley Unix
BSD
BSD Unix
<operating system> (BSD) A family of {Unix} versions developed
by {Bill Joy} and others at the {University of California at
Berkeley}, originally for the {DEC} {VAX} and {PDP-11}
computers, and subsequently ported to almost all modern
general-purpose computers. BSD Unix incorporates {paged}
{virtual memory}, {TCP/IP} networking enhancements and many
other features.
BSD UNIX 4.0 was released on 1980-10-19. The BSD versions
(4.1, 4.2, and 4.3) and the commercial versions derived from
them ({SunOS}, {ULTRIX}, {Mt. Xinu}, {Dynix}) held the
technical lead in the Unix world until {AT&T}'s successful
standardisation efforts after about 1986, and are still widely
popular.
See also {Berzerkeley}, {USG Unix}.
(2005-01-20)