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 1980

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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 1980, 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 are still widely popular.
Note that BSD versions going back to 2.9 are often referred to by
their version numbers, without the BSD prefix. See 4.2,
Unix, USG Unix.

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