Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2.fluke 9/24/84; site vax4.fluke.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!fluke!moriarty From: moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) Newsgroups: net.micro.68k,net.micro.amiga Subject: Summary of OS-9 Message-ID: <2664@vax4.fluke.UUCP> Date: Tue, 17-Sep-85 13:15:45 EDT Article-I.D.: vax4.2664 Posted: Tue Sep 17 13:15:45 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 19-Sep-85 03:50:59 EDT References: <576@sftig.UUCP> <1001@bnl44.UUCP> <11467@rochester.UUCP> <971@sdcsla.UUCP> Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA Lines: 77 Xref: watmath net.micro.68k:1128 net.micro.amiga:159 In article <971@sdcsla.UUCP> clark@sdcsla.UUCP (Clark Quinn) writes: >[...]Could >someone briefly summarize the reason why there seems to be alot of interest in >this operating system? I am sure I am not the only one who has not heard of >it. Thanks in advance, -- Clark I've been programming on OS-9 for about four months, and am very satisfied with it. OS-9 is an operating system developed and sold through Microware Systems Corporation of Des Moines, Iowa. To summarize the entire OS would take more time than I'm willing to spend, but here are some of the major features of the OS-9/68k system (major to me, anyway): 1) Multi-processing, time-sharing operating system for the Motorola 68000 and 6809 family of processors. 2) Runs on re-entrant code (and compilers produce re-entrant code). 3) *Extremely* fast and compact, as the kernel is written in assembly language. 4) Unified I/O system (several devices use the same driver by having a one or two line descriptor defining their specific addresses, etc.). 5) Ability to share data between processes. 6) Extremely easy to include as much (or as little) ROM as you'd like into your system. This is due to the modular nature of the software. 7) Minimizes disk I/O through re-entrancy and memory management. 8) The C compiler is efficient; also has assembler, BASIC compiler, and soon Fortran and Pascal. All produce re-entrant code. Compiler and assembler available for cross-compilers on Unix and VMS. I've only used the C compiler and the assembler. 9) Making user-defined trap libraries is simple. 10) Most of the system subroutine calls are very Unix-like, and the few that aren't are usually vast improvements over their Unix counterparts (fork and signal in particular). 11) Real-time support through semaphores and events (latest revision). 12) Much faster and easier implementation of pipes (the latest revision has named pipes -- makes inter-process communication a breeze!). 13) Apparently they do have a window package available now, though I haven't seen it -- works with a Toshiba or Hitatchi video chip. 14) A shell with many Unix-like commands. Personally, I don't find the shell as nice as Berkeley Unix C-shell; but doing system programming in C for OS-9 is much, much easier than doing it for Unix, and it has all the major features Unix has (multiprocessing, inter-process communication, signals). The ease of using shared data between processes (after a year of munging Unix) is a pleasure. Besides, if you want to add Unix commands to the shell, I've found it *very* easy to get Unix C programs to run on OS-9 (though not visa-versa); I don't know where the rumor of difficulty in transporting Unix programs to OS-9 came from. Try taking a Unix command and getting it to work on CP/M-68K! Yoiks! All in all, a very holistic system to program for. I think it one of the best OS's on the market, ESPECIALLY for small systems not having several megs of disk space and limited memory (though it works even better WITH all that disk space...). DISCLAIMER: I am not affiliated with Microware Systems Corporation in any way. I just covet their operating system. "If you are beginning to doubt what I am saying, you are probably hallucinating." Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty <*> DISCLAIMER: Do what you want with me, but leave my employers alone! <*>