sun microsystems, inc.'s version of the unix operating system. As well as the core operating system, Solaris inludes networking software, the java virtual machine, the cde/Desktop that includes an x11-based windowing environment and graphical user interface.

Sun claim that Solaris is not just an operating system but an "operating environment".

Solaris 1.x was a retroactive (marketing?) name for sunos 4.1.x (where x>=1).

Solaris 2.x (which is the first version most people call "Solaris") includes SunOS5.x, which is an SVR4-derived Unix, openwindows 3.x, and tooltalk.

Version 2.7 ("Solaris 7") was around in 1999-03-02. Version 2.8 was released in June 2000. Current version: 9, as of 2002-07-15.

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