Chapter 1.

Introduction

1.1 Purpose of This Document

This document describes changes made between the AIX Version 3.2 release
and the AIX Version 4.1 release.

The document:
• Provides, for planning purposes, an overview of the release content
• Mentions new features and function that both developers and technical
support personnel may want to know about
• Identifies where AIX changes may cause compatibility problems to existing
applications and kernel extensions (including device drivers)
• Provides information on implementation and problem determination for
technical support personnel.

Detailed knowledge of AIX Version 3.2 is assumed. The intent of this document
is to summarize, in one place, the differences between AIX Version 4.1 and AIX
Version 3.2. It is not the intention of this document to duplicate information that
will be available in the AIX publications.

It is also not the intent of this document to teach new skills. You won′t learn
how to write a threaded program or how to make your device driver MP efficient,
although we do include information on these topics.

Binary Compatibility and Porting: People who are primarily interested only in
binary compatibility/porting issues should request the AIX Version 4.1 Porting
Guide, which is a subset of the information contained in this document, and can
also look in the index under compatibility and impacts for pointers into this
document.

1.2 Directions
This release has several major themes:
• Packaging
How the operating system and products are grouped together for purchase
and installation is very different in this release. One of the major goals for
AIX Version 4.1 has been to allow users to install only as much of the
product as they need to reduce the amount of disk space and memory
required. To accomplish this, AIX Version 4.1 has been broken up into
several smaller parts.
To ease installation, standard configurations are provided, permitting users
to select whichever configuration most closely matches their work
environment. Packages can be removed from the system if they are not
needed. Package names have changed to make their identity easier to
understand. A graphic user interface has been provided to make installation
easier.

 Copyright IBM Corp. 1994 1

 • iFOR/LS
Some of the packages included in this release have been modified to use the
iFOR/LS license manager software.
• Hardware Platforms
Like AIX Version 3.2.5, this release contains support for three IBM RISC
System/6000 platforms:
− POWER, the original RISC System/6000 CPU
− POWER2, an extension of the POWER with additional instructions to
improve floating point operations
− PowerPC 601, the CPU developed jointly with Apple and Motorola.
In addition, the MP version will also contain support for multi-processor
machines.
• Standards Compliance
This release conforms to the following standards:
− POSIX 1003.2, Shell and Utilities
− POSIX 1003.2a, Portability Extensions
− FIPS 151-2
− XPG4

2 All About AIX Version 4.1