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Introduction
Unix programs from different vendors have often been a nightmare due to the large number of UNIX variants running on various hardware platforms. However recently many changes have taken place which is providing a bright future for UNIX and many businesses are continuing to develop state of the art applications in Unix.

Standards
In 1992, the UNIX industry adopted the Common Desktop Environment (CDE) and Spec 1170 APIs, called the single UNIX specification. However few products have complied with this standards. However the 64-bit API standard for UNIX should change the poor past regarding standards. The result will be fewer varieties of Unix. Once implemented, the standards promise to raise the level of UNIX interoperability: Applications will be portable across different UNIX systems and have the same look and feel, regardless of development platform.

On the hardware side many businesses have found that it can integrate together different UNIX platforms without to much hassle. That's because all major UNIX vendors now support a handful of standard technologies: TCP/IP protocol, Network File System, X Windows, Motif graphics, and Posix (API).

Future
As the operating system wars heat up, discussions often center on Unix, Microsoft Windows NT and IBM OS/2. Each has its proponents, but UNIX has managed to implement key features such as: multiuser capabilities, more scalable multitasking and memory, and multiprocessor support, more quickly with a higher level of quality than NT and OS/2.

Certainly UNIX has run into some acceptance problems, but these have been primarily due to UNIX vendors adding their own features and reanaming the product. They then proceed to advertise their UNIX as something other than Unix, rather than promoting a unified front. They end up doing a disservice to customers, by increasing confusion, and to themselves, because they may lose sales based on that confusion. In truth, among the 100 or so variants of Unix, there are still only three major versions. These are so alike that from a user perspective the differences are considered rather trival.

If you still question Unix's place in the industry, take a look in the help wanted section of your local newspaper. Employers are requiring familiarity with Unix, AIX, HP-UX, OSF/1, SCO, Solaris, SunOS, DG/UX, Novell UnixWare, C, C++, TCP/IP, NFS and X Windows. The future is not anyone operating system versus Unix, but an open systems approach that will support various applications so users can have the best of all worlds.