News

Microsoft Readies Interix 2.2 for W2K, Unix Interoperability

• By Scott Bekker
• 02/07/2000

Interix 2.2 is the first version available for Windows 2000 and a key component of Microsoft's interoperability and application migration strategy for providing interoperability between Windows-based and Unix systems. Interix 2.2 allows users to take advantage of key aspects of Windows NT, including manageability and access to Windows-based applications, while leveraging existing Unix applications.

The tool provides more than 300 utilities and tools and is integrated with the Windows desktop, security model and file system. Interix 2.2 is a native subsystem to Windows, enabling the running of Unix applications.

The Interix 2.2 Software Development Kit, which is included with Interix 2.2, supports more than 1,900 Unix APIs and helps ease migration of existing Unix applications to the Interix environment.

Interix 2.2 also provides Unix users with a familiar environment and set of tools to leverage their existing Unix expertise. For example, the tools and utilities behave as they would on other Unix systems, which eliminates the need to retrain users. Interix 2.2 also provides extensive scripting support and enables users to maintain the use of common scripting languages and tools.

"In the future, we plan to combine this functionality with Microsoft Windows Services for Unix into one Unix application migration and interoperability solution," says Keith White, director of Windows marketing at Microsoft (www.microsoft.com).

Beginning March 1, users of previous Interix versions will be able to download a free upgrade at www.microsoft.com/windows/sfu – Thomas Sullivan