Plan 9 was born in the same lab where Unix began. Underneath, though, lies a new kind of system, organized around communication and naming rather than files and processes. In Plan 9, distributed compu... More

Plan 9 was born in the same lab where Unix began. Underneath, though, lies a new kind of system, organized around communication and naming rather than files and processes. In Plan 9, distributed computing is a central premise, not an evolutionary add-on. The system relies on a uniform protocol to refer to and communicate with objects, whether they be data or processes, and whether or not they live on the same machine or even similar machines. A single paradigm (writing to named places) unifies all kinds of control and interprocess signaling.  [edit]  Less