The origin of the name "Posix"
The origin of the name POSIX.

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RMS's Bio |
The GNU Project






2011-05-11


In the 1980s I was in the IEEE committee that wrote the standard that
ultimately became known as POSIX.  The committee set itself the task
of standardizing interface specs for a Unix-like system, but had no
short name for its work.  When the first part of the specification was
ready, someone gave it the name "IEEEIX", with a subtitle that
included "Portable Operating System" — perhaps "Specifications
for a Portable Operating System".


It seemed to me that nobody would ever say "IEEEIX", since the
pronunciation would sound like a shriek of terror; rather, everyone
would call it "Unix".  That would have boosted AT&T, the GNU
Project's rival, an outcome I did not want.  So I looked for another
name, but nothing natural suggested itself to me.

So I put the initials of "Portable Operating System" together with the
same suffix "ix", and came up with "POSIX".  It sounded good and I saw
no reason not to use it, so I suggested it.  Although it was just
barely in time, the committee adopted it.


I think the administrators of the committee were as relieved as I was
to give the standard a pronounceable name.


Copyright (c) 2011 Richard Stallman
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