Darwin (operating system)

The Darwin operating system is the open source Unix-like base of the Mac OS X operating system.

Darwin can be run on its own as a fully functional operating system, controlled via the command line (albeit with no Graphical user interface), much the same as FreeBSD or Linux.

The "look" commonly associated with Mac OS X is provided by the Aqua user interface, which is proprietary, closed source software owned and developed independently by Apple.

Many of the features of the architecture of Darwin are based on FreeBSD.

Darwin's Mascot

Image Because Darwin has roots in the FreeBSD operating system, it was decided that its logo would be based on the BSD Daemon.

Darwin's Bulldog

Darwin's mascot is named Hexley. (the spelling of this name was an accident; it was originally to be named after Thomas Huxley, who is known colloquially as Charles Darwin's bulldog)

Related Topics

• Mac OS X
• Aqua (user interface)