I heard that OSF is dropping OSF/1. What does that mean for Digital UNIX?

I heard that OSF is dropping OSF/1. What does that mean for Digital UNIX?


[The following is a "position statement" on this subject from Digital]

As part of its reorganization in March of 1994, the Open Software
Foundation announced transition plans for its existing technologies. It has
been well understood since then that the June 1994 release of OSF/1, the
OSF's operating system source code, would be the last. The possibility
remains open that OSF sponsors may choose to fund additional work in the
operating system area, but no projects are underway.

It is important to understand what OSF/1 is and has always been. It is not a
finished operating system but a set of operating system technology
components, from which vendors can pick and choose pieces of technology
that complement their product development strategies. Many UNIX system
vendors use elements of OSF/1 code -- Hewlett-Packard in HP-UX, IBM in
AIX, and many others, including Digital in Digital UNIX.

Digital uses components of OSF/1 technology, just as it integrates
technology from other suppliers with its own internal development. By
following this strategy of integrating needed components, Digital has been
able to produce the best implementation of the UNIX operating system in
the industry and to bring it to market quickly.

Since the initial releases, development of Digital's product has not been
dependent on OSF code. Digital's plans for the future development of
Digital UNIX are fully under Digital's control, and our plans for a fully
SPEC 1170 compliant version, UNIX clusters, and other leading
commercial enhancements are on course.


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