Editing Unix System Laboratories

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Short description|Former software laboratory}}
{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
{{Infobox company
| name             = UNIX System Laboratories
| logo             = File:Unix System Laboratories logo.svg
| image            = Unix System Laboratories building in Summit.jpg
| image_caption    = USL logo as it appeared atop the headquarters building in Summit, New Jersey
| type             = [[Private company|Private]]
| traded_as        = 
| fate             = Acquired by [[Novell]] {{End date|1993|06}}
| predecessor      = 
| successor        = 
| foundation       = {{Start date|1989|11}}
| founders         = 
| defunct          = 
| location_city    = [[Summit, New Jersey]]
| location_country = United States
| locations        = 3
| area_served      = 
| key_people       = {{unbulleted list|[[Roel Pieper]]|Michael J. DeFazio|Larry Dooling}}
| industry         = {{unbulleted list|[[Software product]]s|[[Information technology consulting]]}}
| products         = {{unbulleted list|Operating systems|transaction monitors|C++ language products}}
| production       = 
| services         = 
| revenue          = $100 million (1991, equivalent to ${{Formatprice| {{Inflation|US|100000000|1991|r=-6}} }} today)
| operating_income = 
| net_income       = 
| aum              = 
| assets           = 
| equity           = 
| owner            = 
| num_employees    = 500 (1991)
| parent           = 
| divisions        = {{unbulleted list|UNIX System V Software|Open Solutions Software}}
| subsid           = 
| homepage         = 
| footnotes        = 
| brands           = 
}}
'''Unix System Laboratories''' ('''USL'''), sometimes written '''UNIX System Laboratories''' to follow relevant trademark guidelines of the time, was an American software laboratory and product development company that existed from 1989 through 1993.  At first wholly, and then majority, owned by [[AT&T Corporation|AT&T]], it was responsible for the development and maintenance of one of the main branches of the [[Unix]] [[operating system]], the [[SVR4|UNIX System V Release 4]] source code product.  Through [[Univel]], a partnership with [[Novell]], it was also responsible for the development and production of the [[UnixWare]] packaged operating system for [[IA-32|Intel architecture]].  In addition it developed [[Tuxedo (software)|Tuxedo]], a [[Transaction processing system|transaction processing monitor]], and was responsible for certain products related to the [[C++ programming language]].  USL was based in [[Summit, New Jersey]], and its CEOs were Larry Dooling followed by [[Roel Pieper]].

Created from earlier AT&T entities, USL was, as industry writer Christopher Negus has observed, the culmination of AT&T's long involvement in Unix, "a jewel that couldn't quite find a home or a way to make a profit."<ref name="negus"/> USL was sold to Novell in 1993.

== {{anchor|UNIX Software Operation|Unix Software Operation}}Origins as subsidiary of AT&T ==
{{see also|History of Unix|Unix Wars}}
AT&T announced the creation of the '''UNIX Software Operation''' (USO) – a separate and distinct AT&T business unit responsible for the development, marketing, and licensing of UNIX System V software – in January 1989.<ref name="signals-91">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UY0-AQAAIAAJ | magazine=Signals | date=1991 | pages=61–66| title=Signals }}</ref>  This was done, as a subsequent press release stated, "in order to separate AT&T's UNIX System source code business from its computer systems business,"<ref name="pr-rosetta"/> the latter a reference to [[AT&T Computer Systems]]. USO included the AT&T Data Systems Group organizations responsible for UNIX product planning and management, licensing, and marketing.<ref name="pr-uso"/> [[Peter J. Weinberger]] was named chief scientist of USO while also retaining his job in the computing science research center at [[Bell Labs]]; no other Bell Labs assets were transferred to USO.<ref name="pr-uso">{{cite press release | url=http://tech-insider.org/unix/research/1989/0104.html | title=AT&T Names President Of Unix Software Operation | publisher=PR Newswire | date=January 4, 1989 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=January 19, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119060705/http://tech-insider.org/unix/research/1989/0104.html | url-status=live }}</ref>  The head of USO was Larry Dooling, who had been a vice-president in sales and marketing in the AT&T Data Systems Group.<ref name="pr-uso"/>

Unlike the original Unix work, which had been done in the Bell Labs facility in [[Murray Hill, New Jersey|Murray Hill]], USO and the commercialization work was done a few miles away in [[Summit, New Jersey]].<ref name="negus"/><ref name="lat-novell"/>   This AT&T Bell Labs location was known as SF for Summit Facility.<ref>{{cite journal | author2-first=Paul S. | author2-last=Putter | author1-first= Neal R. | author1-last=Wagner | title= Error Detecting Decimal Digits | journal=Communications of the ACM | volume=32 | number= 1 | date=January 1989 | pages= 106–110 | doi=10.1145/63238.63246 | s2cid=805863 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

UNIX System Laboratories, Inc., came into being as a separate subsidiary of AT&T in November 1989 and was assigned all U.S.-based AT&T Unix and USO assets.<ref name="pr-rosetta"/>
However USO continued to operate as USO until June 1990, when the reincorporation of AT&T's European and Asian Unix business operations as wholly owned subsidiaries of USL was completed.<ref name="signals-91"/>  At that point the UNIX Software Operation was publicly rebranded as UNIX System Laboratories.<ref name="pr-rosetta">{{cite press release | url=http://tech-insider.org/unix/research/1990/0625.html | title=AT&T Renames Unix Software Unix System Laboratories | publisher=PR Newsire | date=June 25, 1990 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=January 19, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119110714/http://tech-insider.org/unix/research/1990/0625.html | url-status=live }}</ref>
Again, a point of emphasis was to separate the Unix-based business from AT&T's hardware-based business.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0bqdMvDMv74C&pg=PA10 | title=AT&T's Unix unit spun off | first=Johanna | last=Ambrosio | newspaper=Computerworld | date=July 23, 1990 | page=10 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062604/https://books.google.com/books?id=0bqdMvDMv74C&pg=PA10 | url-status=live }}</ref>  The subsidiaries were known as UNIX System Laboratories Europe, Ltd., sited near [[Ealing Broadway]] in [[London]], and UNIX System Laboratories Pacific, Ltd., located in [[Shiba, Tokyo]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xe-8gZ6FoIMC&pg=PA39 | title=AUUG Conference Proceedings 1992 | publisher=Australian Open Systems Users Group | date=Summer 1992 | page=39 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062558/https://books.google.com/books?id=xe-8gZ6FoIMC&pg=PA39 | url-status=live }}</ref>
Dooling was named the initial president of USL, continuing from his position at USO.<ref name="pr-rosetta"/>

These organizational changes were taking place in the context of the [[Open system (computing)|open systems movement]] and the ongoing [[Unix wars]].  In consequence, the pro-AT&T side [[Unix International]] (as opposed to the anti-AT&T side [[Open Software Foundation]]) declared that "In the last 18 months AT&T has made good on its commitment to treat UNIX System as the industry asset it is and to open the UNIX System V development process to the entire industry."<ref name="pr-rosetta"/>

==Unix System V work==
[[Image:USL office in Summit with room number.jpg|thumb|left|Multi-part room numbers were characteristic of the AT&T heritage of the USL office in Summit]]
{{main|UNIX System V}}
One unit within USL, called the UNIX System V Software business unit and headed by Michael J. DeFazio, was responsible for the development of the UNIX System V base technology.<ref name="pr-rosetta"/>  DeFazio had held a similar role within USO.<ref name="pr-uso"/>
The USO/USL staff was heavily involved in the creation of [[SVR4|UNIX System V Release 4]], which shipped in 1989 and was a joint project with [[Sun Microsystems]].<ref name="timeline"/>  This work incorporated technology from a variety of Unix-based efforts, including [[UNIX System V]], [[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD]], and [[Xenix]].<ref name="timeline">{{cite web | url=http://www.unix.org/what_is_unix/history_timeline.html | title=History and Timeline | publisher=The Open Group | access-date=December 1, 2017 | archive-date=April 8, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408171534/http://www.unix.org/what_is_unix/history_timeline.html | url-status=live }}</ref>  There were additions and new innovations as well from both the AT&T and Sun sides.   System V Release 4 debuted at the [[Unix Expo]] trade show in New York in November 1989, in the form of source code availability for it as well as demonstrations from Unix International of SVR4-based applications running on seventeen different vendor platforms.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dTAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA41 | title=Hopes of Reunification Highlight Eventful Year for Unix Community | first=Martin | last=Marshall | newspaper=InfoWorld | date=December 18, 1989 | page=41 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062559/https://books.google.com/books?id=dTAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA41 | url-status=live }}</ref>  End-user versions of Release 4 became available during 1990.<ref name="advanced"/>

Next USL engaged in an especially arduous effort into trying to satisfy the requirements of the [[National Computer Security Center]]'s [[Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria]] ("Orange Book") to the B2 level.<ref name="cw-sec">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a6P8XXI-B8cC&pg=PA32 | title=AT&T Unix to gain enhanced security | first=Johanna | last=Ambrosio | newspaper=Computerworld | date=October 1, 1990 | page=32 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062612/https://books.google.com/books?id=a6P8XXI-B8cC&pg=PA32 | url-status=live }}</ref>  This manifested itself in System V Release 4.1 ES (Enhanced Security), which also included generally useful features such as support for dynamic loading of kernel modules.<ref>{{cite news |title=Unix International reviews the Unix System V.4 story so far |first=William |last=Fellows |date= August 13, 1992 |work=[[Computergram International]] | publisher=Computer Business Review |url=https://techmonitor.ai/technology/unix_international_reviews_the_unix_system_v4_story_so_far <!--blacklisted http://www.cbronline.com/news/unix_international_reviews_the_unix_system_v4_story_so_far --> }}</ref>

Following that, USL worked on [[UNIX System V#SVR4.2 / UnixWare|System V Release 4.2]], which was released in June 1992.<ref name="iw-42">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7D0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 | title=Univel targets UnixWare release for early fall | first1=Vance | last1=McCarthy | first2=Cate | last2=Corcoran | newspaper=InfoWorld | date=May 11, 1992 | pages=1, 103 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062558/https://books.google.com/books?id=7D0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 | url-status=live }}</ref>  ''[[InfoWorld]]'' characterized this effort as "at the core of an assault on the enterprise networking market," with a modular architecture that stressed improved support for enterprise- and network-level administration, drivers for both [[Token Ring]] and [[Ethernet]], and a greater ability to run on low-end machine configurations.<ref name="iw-42"/>

Multiprocessing became the focus of the final USL-based OEM release of System V, which was Release 4.2MP, released in December 1993.<ref name="timeline"/>

USL continued the publication of an early Unix standard, the [[System V Interface Definition]] (SVID).<ref name="advanced"/>  Moreover, the SVID became one of the bases for the more important, vendor-independent [[POSIX]] standard for Unix, which System V Release 4 releases also conformed to, as well as the later [[Single UNIX Specification]].<ref name="advanced">{{cite book <!-- | https://books.google.com/books?id=_kpsAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA33 --> | title=Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment | first1=W. Richard | last1=Stevens | first2=Stephen A. | last2=Rago | publisher=Addison-Wesley | edition=Third | location=Upper Saddle River, New Jersey | date=2013 | pages=32–33}}</ref>

USL produced many books documenting various aspects of Unix System V.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n91048302/ | title=Identities: UNIX System Laboratories | publisher=WorldCat | access-date=May 6, 2018 | archive-date=May 7, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507003515/http://worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n91048302/ | url-status=live }} WorldCat lists "122 works in 297 publications in 1 language and 1,849 library holdings" from USL.</ref>  
USL also provided some training and consulting services for Unix systems.<ref name="pr-finalized"/>

==Chorus and Ouverture==
[[Image:High Street in Ealing.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|USL Europe's offices were in Ealing, London (in the building on the right side after the road bends, as seen here in 2009)]]
In 1991, USL forged an arrangement with the French company [[Chorus Systèmes SA]] to engage in cooperative work on the [[ChorusOS|Chorus]] [[microkernel]] technology, with the idea of supporting SVR4 on a microkernel and thereby making it more scalable and better suited for parallel and distributed applications.<ref name="en-1991"/><ref name="pcw-1993"/>  As part of this, USL took a $1 million stake in Chorus Systèmes.<ref name="en-1991">{{cite news | author-last=Khermouch | author-first=Gerry | title=USL backs French firm's Microkernel | magazine=Electronic News | date=November 25, 1991 | page=13 | via=Gale General OneFile | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A11521898/ITOF?u=wikipedia&sid=ITOF&xid=50f6313d | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062613/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA11521898&v=2.1&it=r&sid=ITOF&asid=50f6313d | url-status=live }}</ref>  Much of the USL Chorus work was done at the USL Europe facility in London.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/6603/es | title=An Industry Project to Progress Microkernel-based Open Operating Systems for the 1990s | publisher=Community Research and Development Information Service | work=Resultados de investigaciones de la UE | date=June 17, 1994 | access-date=May 21, 2020 | archive-date=November 30, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130232809/https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/6603/es | url-status=live }}</ref>  By 1993 the work was still ongoing, with questions of industry standardization of interfaces arising.<ref>{{cite news | url=<!-- https://www.cbronline.com/news/chorus_systemes_takes_the_initiative_in_establishing_a_microkernel_compatibility_effort/ -->| title=Chorus Systemes takes the initiative in establishing a microkernel compatibility effort | work=Computergram International | publisher=Computer Business Review | date=June 16, 1993}}</ref>  [[Unisys]] was also part of the collaboration effort.<ref name="pcw-1993"/>  Announcements made during 1993 promised an OEM release in 1994 and a general availability release in 1995.<ref name="pcw-1993">{{cite news | author-last=Foley | author-first=Mary Jo | title=USL, Chorus outline plans for microkernel release of Unix SVR4 | magazine=PC Week | date=June 14, 1993 | page=60 | via=Gale General OneFile | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A13938479/ITOF?u=wikipedia&sid=ITOF&xid=deeb8d72 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062612/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA13938479&v=2.1&it=r&sid=ITOF&asid=deeb8d72 | url-status=live }}</ref>

This was part of the larger [[Ouverture project]], a $14 million effort that was itself part of the [[European Strategic Program on Research in Information Technology]] (ESPRIT), overseen by the [[European Commission]].<ref>{{cite news | author-last=Van Tyle | author-first=Sherry | title=PC fault-tolerant Unix-based system runs on a modular microkernel architecture | magazine=Electronic Design | date=October 15, 1992 | page=34 | via=Gale General OneFile | url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A14402019/ITOF?u=wikipedia&sid=ITOF&xid=ede270b7 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062611/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA14402019&v=2.1&it=r&sid=ITOF&asid=ede270b7 | url-status=live }}</ref>  
{{clear}}

==Other software work==
{{main|Tuxedo (software)}}
Another unit within USL, called the Open Solutions Software business unit and headed by  Joel A. Appelbaum, was responsible for other system software that in some way worked in conjunction with Unix.<ref name="pr-rosetta"/>

The [[Tuxedo (software)|Tuxedo transaction processing middleware]] had also been transferred from elsewhere in AT&T to USL.  It had originated as the [[Loop maintenance operations system|Loop Maintenance Operations System]] (LMOS) followed by the Unix Transaction System (UNITS) and was used for projects internally within AT&T.  It was then renamed by USL and, as Release 4.0 of what was now called Tuxedo, in 1989 was offered for the first time as a commercial product.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/zdanh_test_031_tuxedosystemsoft00juan| url-access=registration<!-- https://books.google.com/books?id=Of6BdiZu9lUC&pg=PT27--> | first1=Juan M. | last1=Andrade | first2=Mark T. | last2=Carges | first3=Terence J. | last3=Dwyer | first4= Stephen D. | last4=Felts | title=The TUXEDO System: Software for Constructing and Managing Distributed Business Applications | publisher=Addison-Wesley | location=Reading, Massachusetts | year=1996 | pages=xxxiii–xxxvi| isbn=9780201634938 }}</ref>

USL also developed and marketed the OSI Communications Platform, which was an implementation of the [[OSI model|OSI protocols]] for Unix-based networking.<ref name="nw-knowhow">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cBAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA9 | title=Novell buys into AT&T unit to gain Unix net know-how | first=Ellen | last=Messmer | newspaper=Network World | date=April 15, 1991 | page=9 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062602/https://books.google.com/books?id=cBAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA9 | url-status=live }}</ref>

==C++ language work==
{{see also|C++#History}}
There was also a languages department at Unix System Laboratories,<!-- https://books.google.com/books?id=9yMQAQAAMAAJ Dr. Dobb's Journal of Software Tools ... is member of the languages department at Unix System Laboratories and is the editor of the Standard for the C++ Standardization committee. --> which was responsible for the [[C language]] compiler and development tools used to build Unix.<ref name="pr-uso"/>  Moreover, it was responsible for commercial sales related to the C++ language, including development tools such as the [[Cfront]] compiler that had come from AT&T.<ref name="d-and-e"/> 
Indeed, the paper describing one of the first implementations of automatic instantiation of [[Template (C++)|C++ templates]] in a C++ compiler had as lead author an engineer associated with Unix System Laboratories.<ref>{{cite journal | first1=Glen | last1=McCluskey | first2=Robert B. | last2=Murray | title=Template Instantiation For C++ | journal=SIGPLAN Notices | volume=27 | issue=12 | date=December 1992 | pages=47–56| doi=10.1145/142181.142195 | s2cid=27330199 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="m-and-c"/>  And [[Margaret A. Ellis]], co-author with C++ creator [[Bjarne Stroustrup]] of ''The Annotated C++ Reference Manual'', an important publication in the history of the language, was a USL software engineer.<ref name="d-and-e"/>

[[Image:Office within the Unix System Laboratories building in Summit, New Jersey--March 1994.jpg|thumb|left|A software developer working in the Summit building]]

USL also continued the development of, and attempted to market, C++ Standard Components,
an early instance of a C++ software foundation library that supported [[Container (abstract data type)|container classes]] and various other [[computer science]]-based functionality such as [[finite-state machine]]s, [[Graph (abstract data type)|graph]]s, and [[regular expression]]s.<ref name="udk-sc"/><ref name="report"/>  The Standard Components originated in conjunction with early developments in the C++ language in Bell Labs and became widely used internally within AT&T,<ref name="d-and-e"/>  by one estimate being used in hundreds of projects.<ref>{{cite book <!-- | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AhI7BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA146 --> | first1=M. Afshar | last1=Alam | first2=Tendai | last2=Padenga | title=Application Software Reengineering | publisher=Pearson | location=Delhi | date=2010 | page=146}}</ref>
They represented an effort among early library writers there to design reusable code using C++ idioms.<ref name="m-and-c">{{cite book | first1=Martin D. | last1=Carroll | first2=Margaret A. | last2=Ellis | title=Designing and Coding Reusable C++ | publisher=Addison-Wesley | location=Reading, Massachusetts | date=1995 | pages=x, 231}}</ref>   Unlike its other offerings, which were sold to OEM vendors and resellers, here USL sold to end users.<ref name="report">{{cite news | title=Product Review: The USL C++ Standard Components Release 2 (end user package) | first=Bill | last=Leggett | magazine=C++ Report | date=June 1992 | pages=69–73}}</ref>  The initial release of USL C++ Standard Components to the general computing industry was labelled as Release 2.0 and occurred in 1991;<ref name="udk-hist"/> it suffered from an awkward mechanism to get around the lack of templates in the container classes.<ref name="report"/>  That was followed by Release 3.0, which added support for templates, in 1992.<ref name="udk-hist">{{cite web | url=http://osr600doc.sco.com/en/SDK_c++/_Product_History.html | title=Product History | publisher=The SCO Group | date=June 2, 2005 | access-date=April 28, 2018 | archive-date=September 10, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910204656/http://osr600doc.sco.com/en/SDK_c++/_Product_History.html | url-status=live }}</ref>  <!-- USL C++ Standard Components Release 3.0 Programmer's Reference - could include cover of that C++ SC manual as fair use if I still have it somewhere -->

Some within USL believed that C++ Standard Components could become a language standard as well as a significant source of revenue,<ref name="d-and-e"/> but it had trouble gaining traction outside of AT&T.  Stroustrup would later describe these goals as "a misguided belief".<ref name="d-and-e">{{cite book | first=Bjarne | last=Stroustrup | title=The Design and Evolution of C++ | publisher=Addison-Wesley | location=Reading, Massachusetts | date=1994 | pages=124–125, 126–127, 184 | bibcode=1994dec..book.....S }}</ref><!-- see the HOPL II/III? paper if I have it ... looks like nothing in either -->  In any case, all such libraries were soon eclipsed by the radically different [[Standard Template Library]] (STL), which became the standardized foundation library for the C++ language.<ref>{{cite conference | contribution=Evolving a language in and for the real world: C++ 1991-2006 | first=Bjarne | last=Stroustrup |  title=Proceedings of the third ACM SIGPLAN conference on history of programming languages | date=June 2007 | publisher=ACM | pages=4-8–4-11    }}</ref>  As it happens, one of the Standard Components, array_alg, was designed by the creator of STL, [[Alex Stepanov]], and can be considered an early predecessor of STL.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://stepanovpapers.com/ | title=Alexander A. Stepanov | publisher=stepanovpapers.com | date=October 6, 2016 | access-date=December 15, 2017 | archive-date=December 1, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201140114/http://stepanovpapers.com/ | url-status=live }} and {{cite web | url=http://osr600doc.sco.com/en/SDK_c++/_No_More_Array_Errors_Part_II_-_.html | title=No More Array Errors (Part II) - Array_alg(C++) | publisher=The SCO Group | date=June 2, 2005 | access-date=April 28, 2018 | archive-date=September 10, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910204621/http://osr600doc.sco.com/en/SDK_c++/_No_More_Array_Errors_Part_II_-_.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

== Partial spinoff from AT&T ==
[[Image:Unix System Laboratories presentation folder.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.7|USL presentation folder, made starting 1991]]
In April 1991, USL became partly independent of AT&T when about 22&nbsp;percent of it, worth about $65 million, was sold to eleven outside computer vendors: [[Amdahl Corporation|Amdahl]], [[Motorola]], Novell, Sun, [[International Computers Limited|ICL]], [[Olivetti]], [[Fujitsu]], [[NEC]], [[Oki Electric Industry|OKI Electric]], [[Toshiba]], and the [[Institute for Information Industry]].<ref name="cw-selloff">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D8pyWaTBzyoC&pg=PA12 | title=AT&T's Unix sell-off won't sway OSF | first=Johanna | last=Ambrosio | newspaper=Computerworld | date=April 8, 1991 | page=12 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062612/https://books.google.com/books?id=D8pyWaTBzyoC&pg=PA12 | url-status=live }}</ref>  There was a stated goal to lessen the control AT&T had over Unix, which would lead to  USL becoming a publicly owned company within three years.<ref name="cw-selloff"/>
An AT&T executive said, "AT&T is convinced that the best way to nurture the growth of the open systems movement and to share into it ourselves is to establish an independent Unix Systems Laboratory with the technical guidance of Unix International and the business advice of investors who will ensure that USL is run properly and profitably."<ref name="nw-knowhow"/>

By this point USL had some 500&nbsp;employees, 2400&nbsp;customers, and annual revenue around the $100&nbsp;million mark.<ref name="cw-selloff"/>  AT&T said that USL had been profitable since its inception in 1989.<ref name="cw-selloff"/>

USL got a new president and CEO in November 1991 when Dooling was replaced by the Dutchman [[Roel Pieper]], formerly chief technical officer of [[Software AG]].<ref name="cwde-roel">{{cite news | url=https://www.computerwoche.de/a/roel-pieper-ist-neuer-chef-der-usl,1143313 | title=Roel Pieper ist neuer Chef der USL | newspaper=Computerwoche von IDG | date=December 6, 1991 | language=de | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062608/https://www.computerwoche.de/a/roel-pieper-ist-neuer-chef-der-usl,1143313 | url-status=live }}</ref>

USL was aggressive in defending its perceived intellectual property rights, initiating as the plaintiff a lawsuit in 1992 against [[Berkeley Software Design]] makers of  and the [[Regents of the University of California]] over copyrights and trademarks related to Unix.<ref name="ieee-unix">{{cite news | url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-strange-birth-and-long-life-of-unix | title=The Strange Birth and Long Life of Unix | date=November 28, 2011 | first=Warren | last=Toomey | magazine=IEEE Spectrum | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 14, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314190817/https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/cyberspace/the-strange-birth-and-long-life-of-unix | url-status=live }}</ref>  The case was known as ''[[UNIX System Laboratories, Inc. v. Berkeley Software Design, Inc.]]'' and in it USL asked the court for a [[preliminary injunction]] that would bar the Berkeley firm and the university from distributing their [[Net/2]] operating system release, which was implied to be Unix, until the case was concluded.<ref name="conn"/>  In response the university filed a countersuit against AT&T for alleged breaches in the licensing agreement the two parties had.<ref name="ieee-unix"/>  (The case was settled out of court in January 1994.<ref name="conn">{{cite web | url=https://opencommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1009&context=libr_pubs | title=Open Source Software: A History | first=David | last=Bretthauer | publisher=University of Connecticut | date=December 26, 2001 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=December 2, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202033619/https://opencommons.uconn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https%3A%2F%2Fscholar.google.com%2F&httpsredir=1&article=1009&context=libr_pubs | url-status=live }}</ref>)

== Univel and UnixWare ==
{{see also|Univel|UnixWare}}
In December 1991, USL combined with Novell to form the [[Univel]] joint venture.<ref name="cw-univel">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzdIrgXpYXAC&pg=PA115 | title=Unix Labs, Novell tighten ties | first=Jim | last=Nash | newspaper=Computerworld | date=December 16, 1991 | page=115 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062612/https://books.google.com/books?id=FzdIrgXpYXAC&pg=PA115 | url-status=live }}</ref>  The goal was to make the "[[Univel Destiny|Destiny]]" desktop for Intel commodity hardware, which would be USL's first shrink-wrapped binary product, with the necessary resources for sales, marketing, and distribution being moved into the new entity.<ref>{{cite news |work=Computergram International | publisher=Computer Business Review |url=https://techmonitor.ai/technology/unix_labs_and_novell_plan_joint_venture_reveal_bones_of_mass_distribution_alliance <!-- blacklisted http://w w w . c b r o n l i n e . c o m/news/unix_labs_and_novell_plan_joint_venture_reveal_bones_of_mass_distribution_alliance --> |title=Unix Labs and Novell plan join venture, reveal bones of mass distribution alliance |date=October 24, 1991 }}</ref> 
[[Kanwal Rekhi]], a Novell vice president who helped launch Univel, said the 
goal was to create a "Unix for the masses".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aw8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13 | title=Univel developing user-friendly Unix | first=Margie | last=Wylie | magazine=Network World | date=April 13, 1992 | page=13 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=July 26, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726130425/https://books.google.com/books?id=aw8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13 | url-status=live }}</ref>

A May 1992 ''[[InfoWorld]]'' interview with Pieper captured some of the ambitions of USL at the time, as Pieper said: "It is not just a new Unix version; rather it is the creation of an entire model change for Unix that says there are better ways to bring the benefits and features of Unix into a distributed PC environment. The earlier model did not allow Unix to play in the low-end market because of its size, complexity, and cost. The new model calls for business partnerships, such as the one with Novell, to deliver Unix to the commercial marketplace."<ref name="iw-roel"/>  In another interview around the same time, Pieper predicted that if the new Unix became a success, USL revenue could increase ten-fold to $1 billion within five years.<ref name="bb-roel">{{cite news | url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/1992-06-21/a-unix-for-the-masses | title=A Unix For The Masses? | first=Evan I. | last=Schwartz | publisher=Bloomberg News | date=June 22, 1992 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=June 24, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624204319/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/1992-06-21/a-unix-for-the-masses | url-status=live }}</ref>
Pieper acknowledged that similar Unix efforts had failed in the past, but said that the presence of Novell's PC presence and marketing experience as well as the interest of Intel would make the difference this time.<ref name="iw-roel">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7D0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA106 | title=USL's Pieper readies Unix for the PC network market | newspaper=InfoWorld | date=May 11, 1992 | page=106 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062608/https://books.google.com/books?id=7D0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA106 | url-status=live }}</ref>
Indeed, Pieper had aspirations to be another [[Bill Gates]]: "I want to be in the same position."<ref name="bb-roel"/>

UnixWare 1.0, which is what Destiny became a product as, was announced on October 12, 1992.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=klEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 | title=Novell sees the future in Unix; OS/2 rebuffed | first=Cheryl | last=Gerber | newspaper=InfoWorld | date=September 28, 1992 | page=1 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062606/https://books.google.com/books?id=klEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1 | url-status=live }}</ref>  It was based on the [[System V#SVR4.2|Unix System V release 4.2]] kernel. The [[MoOLIT]] toolkit was used for the [[windowing system]], allowing the user to choose between an [[OPEN LOOK]] or [[Motif (software)|MOTIF]]-like look and feel at run time. In order to make the system more robust on commodity desktop hardware the [[Veritas Software|Veritas]] [[Veritas File System|VXFS]] [[journaling file system]] was used in place of the [[Unix File System|UFS]] file system used in SVR4. Networking support in UnixWare included both [[TCP/IP]] and interoperability with Novell's [[NetWare]] protocols of [[IPX/SPX]].<ref name="infoworld"/>  The former were the standard among Unix users at the time of development, while PC networking was much more commonly based on the highly successful NetWare product; indeed, the base level of the Personal Edition of UnixWare did not even have TCP/IP included, while the Application Server version did.<ref name="infoworld">{{cite news |newspaper=InfoWorld |date=June 28, 1993 |first=Alan |last=Radding |title=UnixWare: Bringing shrink-wrapped Unix to the masses |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PzsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA66 |pages=65–66 |access-date=March 28, 2021 |archive-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227084345/https://books.google.com/books?id=PzsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA66 |url-status=live }}</ref>  <!--TODO https://books.google.com/books?id=zzsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA20 Feb 1993 ad in InfoWorld -->

Initial sales of UnixWare were underwhelming, with Unix facing a difficult time in the PC market.<ref name="cw-longshot"/>  This was in part because Windows already had a stronghold there, in part because USL's third-party licensing payment obligations made low-cost sales uneconomical, and in part because of a lack of applications to run on UnixWare.<ref name="negus"/>

== Acquisition by Novell ==
[[Image:Novell building in Summit, New Jersey that housed Unix Systems Group, which had been Unix System Laboratories-March 1994.jpg|thumb|left|The Summit building in the Novell Unix Systems Group era]]

On December 21, 1992, it was announced that Novell would acquire Unix System Laboratories, and all of its Unix assets, including all copyrights, trademarks, and licensing contracts, for some $335 million in stock.<ref name="lat-novell">{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-12-22-fi-2406-story.html | title=Technology | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=December 22, 1992 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=January 16, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116183938/http://articles.latimes.com/1992-12-22/business/fi-2406_1_networking-technology | url-status=live }}</ref>  The news led to large headlines of the "NOVELL BUYS UNIX" variety.<ref name="crn-news">{{cite news | url=https://www.crn.com/columns/channel-programs/18831011/novell-buys-unix-again.htm | title=Novell Buys Unix, Again | first=David | last=Strom | magazine=CRN | date=November 5, 2003 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=November 28, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128195822/https://www.crn.com/columns/channel-programs/18831011/novell-buys-unix-again.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>
The measure was intended to help Novell compete against [[Microsoft]], which was on the verge of including networking as a built-in feature of [[Windows]] in conjunction with the [[Windows NT]] server.<ref name="lat-novell"/><ref name="cw-longshot"/>  It was also an outgrowth of Novell chief [[Ray Noorda]]'s theories about [[coopetition]] in a technology industry.<ref name="cbr-japan"/><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/29/business/preaching-love-thy-competitor.html | title=Preaching Love Thy Competitor | first=Lawrence M. | last=Fisher | newspaper=The New York Times | date=March 29, 1992 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=December 23, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223051337/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/29/business/preaching-love-thy-competitor.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

The move seemed like a long shot to analysts, with a commentary piece in ''[[Computerworld]]'' outlining the obstacles to success and stating, "Saying this deal has the technical potential to counter Windows NT is very different from predicting that it will do so."<ref name="cw-longshot">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=heyWMcI8pQUC&pg=PA34 | first=Charles | last=Babcock | title=Novell's long shot | newspaper=Computerworld | date=January 11, 1993 | page=34 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062602/https://books.google.com/books?id=heyWMcI8pQUC&pg=PA34 | url-status=live }}</ref>

There was negative reaction to the acquisition from USL shareholders, USL employees, and members of Unix International.<ref name="cbr-japan"/>  Noorda had to emphasize that Novell had no plans to move USL operations from New Jersey to Utah, where Novell was based.<ref name="cbr-japan"/>  And Noorda and Pieper had to travel to Japan to reassure USL shareholders and investors there.<ref name="cbr-japan">{{cite news | url=https://techmonitor.ai/technology/novell_unix_labs_try_to_reassure_japanese_on_the_merger <!-- blacklisted https://www. c b r o n l i n e.com/news/novell_unix_labs_try_to_reassure_japanese_on_the_merger/ --> | title=Novell, Unix Labs Try to Reassure Japanese on the Merger |work=Computergram International | publisher=Computer Business Review | date=March 4, 1993}}</ref>

Nonetheless, the deal was finalized in June 1993.<ref name="pr-finalized">{{cite press release |url = http://tech-insider.org/unix/research/1993/0614.html |title = Novell completes acquisition of UNIX System Laboratories from AT&T |publisher = Business Wire |date = June 14, 1993 |access-date = March 28, 2021 |archive-date = July 7, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170707211219/http://tech-insider.org/unix/research/1993/0614.html |url-status = live }}</ref>
Novell created the Unix Systems Group to contain the new business, which also absorbed the Univel venture.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cbronline.com/news/novell_formally_announces_the_unix_systems_group |title=Novell formally announces the Unix Systems Group |work=Computergram International |publisher=Computer Business Review |date=July 7, 1993 |access-date=March 28, 2021 |archive-date=February 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216125531/https://www.cbronline.com/news/novell_formally_announces_the_unix_systems_group |url-status=live }}</ref>
Rekhi was named as the head of the Unix Systems Group.<ref name="nyt-roel-out"/>  Pieper, who had been assigned under Rekhi with little role to play, soon departed, leaving Novell in August 1993.<ref name="cw-roel-out">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PgsZJgu-zDkC&pg=PA16 | title=News Shorts: Pieper bids adieu | newspaper=Computerworld | date=September 6, 1993 | page=16 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062610/https://books.google.com/books?id=PgsZJgu-zDkC&pg=PA16 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="nyt-roel-out">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/31/business/company-news-standard-set-for-unix-interface.html | title=Novell Unix Official Out | newspaper=The New York Times | date=August 31, 1993 | page=57 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=June 24, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624150550/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/31/business/company-news-standard-set-for-unix-interface.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

The USL Europe office in London was moved into Novell's facility in [[Bracknell, Berkshire]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.telecompaper.com/news/novell-continues-restructuring--5894 | title=Novell Continues Restructuring | publisher=Telecompaper | date=September 10, 1993 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=December 3, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203082350/https://www.telecompaper.com/news/novell-continues-restructuring--5894 | url-status=live }}</ref>  The Chorus work it was doing became the basis for the Novell "[[SuperNOS]]", a project to create a microkernel-based, UnixWare–NetWare hybrid, network operating system.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://techmonitor.ai/technology/novell_ready_to_embark_on_the_road_to_object_orientation <!--BD https://www.cbronline.com/news/novell_ready_to_embark_on_the_road_to_object_orientation/ --> | title=Novell ready to embark on the road to object orientation | work=Computergram International | publisher=Computer Business Review | date=April 11, 1995}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
The acquisition of USL never really worked out for Novell,<ref name="crn-news"/> and was followed by Novell's misguided acquisitions of [[WordPerfect]] and [[Quattro Pro]] in another attempt to compete head-to-head with Microsoft.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/01/business/novell-to-sell-wordperfect-for-115-million.html | title=Novell to Sell Wordperfect for $115 Million | first=Lawrence M. | last=Fisher | newspaper=The New York Times | date=February 1, 1996 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=June 22, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190622100621/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/01/business/novell-to-sell-wordperfect-for-115-million.html | url-status=live }}</ref>  In particular, the "SuperNOS" project never achieved fruition.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.deseret.com/2004/3/29/19819824/novell-regaining-prior-glory | title=Novell regaining prior glory | author-first=David L. | author-last=Politis | newspaper=Deseret News | date=March 29, 2004 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062616/https://www.deseret.com/2004/3/29/19819824/novell-regaining-prior-glory | url-status=live }}</ref>

Novell announced the sale of Unix to the [[Santa Cruz Operation]], coincident with a licensing arrangement with [[Hewlett-Packard]], in September 1995.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5w4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134 | title=UnixWare survives through sale, licensing deal | magazine=Network World | date=September 25, 1995 | page=134 | access-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-date=March 28, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328062605/https://books.google.com/books?id=5w4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA134 | url-status=live }}</ref>  Following another change of ownership, the renamed [[The SCO Group]] and the Unix System V source base became elements of the [[SCO–Linux disputes]].<ref name="crn-news"/>  After The SCO Group went bankrupt, the SCO products using the Unix System V source base were purchased by UnXis, later renamed to [[Xinuos]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.osfiles.com/os_unix/ospg_Unix_unixware.htm | title=UnixWare | publisher=The OS Files | access-date=January 8, 2021 | archive-date=January 10, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110235721/http://www.osfiles.com/os_unix/ospg_Unix_unixware.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>

Although it never took off within the industry, C++ Standard Components remained in the development kits for Novell UnixWare, later SCO UnixWare, into the 2000s.<ref name="udk-sc">{{cite web | url=http://osr600doc.sco.com/en/SDK_c++/_C_Standard_Components.html | title=C++ Standard Components | publisher=The SCO Group | date=June 2, 2005 | access-date=December 1, 2017 | archive-date=September 10, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180910205617/http://osr600doc.sco.com/en/SDK_c++/_C_Standard_Components.html | url-status=live }} See also [http://osr600doc.sco.com/en/SDK_c++/_Relationship_to_the_C_Standard_.html "Relationship to the C++ Standard Library"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125141411/http://osr600doc.sco.com/en/SDK_c++/_Relationship_to_the_C_Standard_.html |date=November 25, 2020 }} at the same site.</ref>  Tuxedo was acquired by [[BEA Systems]] in the 1990s, and then upon that firm being acquired became part of [[Oracle Fusion Middleware]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/tuxedo/overview/index.html | title=Oracle Tuxedo | publisher=Oracle | access-date=May 5, 2018 | archive-date=May 5, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505210553/http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/tuxedo/overview/index.html | url-status=live }}</ref>

Novell was acquired by [[The Attachmate Group]] in 2011. The Attachmate Group was acquired by [[Micro Focus]] in 2014. Micro Focus was later acquired by [[OpenText]] in 2023.

In the view of writer Christopher Negus, 
"The UNIX Laboratory was considered a jewel that couldn't quite find a home or a way to make a profit. As it moved between Bell Laboratories and other areas of AT&T, its name changed several times. It is probably best remembered by the name it had as it began its spin-off from AT&T: UNIX System Laboratories (USL)."<ref name="negus">{{cite book <!-- | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1D9WpeD5B_UC&pg=PA12 --> <!-- https://books.google.com/books?id=2BsFCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 --> | title=Linux Bible: The Comprehensive, Tutorial Resource | first=Christopher | last=Negus | publisher=John Wiley & Sons | location=Indianapolis | date= 2015 | edition=Ninth | pages=10–11}}</ref>
However Negus believes that in three crucial respects USL's actions – in continuing to release a source code product to its partners, in working to define industry standards such as POSIX, and in making decisions on the direction of Unix based on technical merit not corporate advantage – paved the way for the rise of a Unix-like entity such as the Linux operating system, and that this beneficial historical role has been obscured by the SCO–Linux controversies.<ref name="negus"/>

==See also==
* [[History of Unix]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.unix.org/what_is_unix/history_timeline.html History and Timeline from The Open Group]

{{AT&T Spinoffs}}
{{Novell}}
{{OpenText}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:OpenText]]
[[Category:1989 establishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:1993 disestablishments in New Jersey]]
[[Category:1993 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:AT&T subsidiaries]]
[[Category:Bell Labs]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in New Jersey]]
[[Category:Defunct software companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Novell]]
[[Category:Software companies established in 1989]]
[[Category:Software companies disestablished in 1993]]
[[Category:Summit, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Unix history]]