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Path: utzoo!utcs!mnetor!lsuc!jimomura
From: jimomura@lsuc.UUCP (Jim Omura)
Newsgroups: net.micro.amiga,net.micro.6809,net.micro.68k
Subject: Re: Info on OS9 Operating System
Message-ID: <812@lsuc.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 28-Sep-85 18:07:47 EDT
Article-I.D.: lsuc.812
Posted: Sat Sep 28 18:07:47 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 28-Sep-85 21:22:33 EDT
References: <347@wlbr.UUCP> <2193@ukma.UUCP> <2198@ukma.UUCP>
Reply-To: jimomura@lsuc.UUCP (Jim Omura)
Organization: Barrister & Solicitor, Toronto
Lines: 72
Xref: utcs net.micro.amiga:244 net.micro.6809:500 net.micro.68k:1154
Summary: Hopefully, my last word on OS-9 'here'

In article <2198@ukma.UUCP> david@ukma.UUCP (David Herron, NPR Lover) writes:
>In article <2193@ukma.UUCP> sean@ukma.UUCP (Sean Casey) writes:
>>Flame on!
>>...
>>I realize that OS9 and SysV are different products. Their target markets are
>>considerably different at the ends, but have a large overlap in the middle.
>>If Microware wants a good share of that middle, they are going to have to give
>>the developers a means to practically support the product.  Otherwise, well,
>>I told you so!
>
>Sean, Sean, Sean, please be careful, the last time you flamed you totally
>melted a keyboard.  And on your salary .... :-)
>
>Seriously...  My experience with OS-9 (COCO) was that it was small enough
>that one could disassemble it and stare at it for a few days and understand
>it.  In fact, the RS OS-9 manual set is almost good enough for that
>understanding as is.  (It documents the internal data structures and such
>well enough that it's just a little thinking before you understand the
>system).
>
>Maybe once you actually started using the code it acts different.  (I've
>not had much chance to play with it because I've only got one disk drive).
>
>I'm curious about one thing ... Does Microsoft distribute MSDOS source
>code to developers?  Or just some fancy documentation?
>
>What exactly does Microware distribute for OS-9 developers?
>-- 
>--- David Herron
>--- ARPA-> ukma!david@ANL-MCS.ARPA
>--- UUCP-> {ucbvax,unmvax,boulder,oddjob}!anlams!ukma!david
>---        {ihnp4,decvax,ucbvax}!cbosgd!ukma!david
>
>Hackin's in me blood.  My mother was known as Miss Hacker before she married!

     Ummm.  Guys, it'd be nice to have more Amiga stuff than OS-9 stuff
'here'.  I *would* like to see OS-9 on Amiga and ST-520, but unless someone
is going to say "I'm going to port OS-9 to the Amiga", I'd think most
people would rather hear what the Amiga does.  OS-9 has it's own net.

     Anyway, you don't need source to develop for OS-9.  The only time
you need source is when the system doesn't work as specified (a known
flaw of *Unix* not OS-9 -- OS-9 works).

     The documentation available for OS-9 (full manuals cost $40.00 from
Microware, so you can buy them and find out pretty much everything) is
quite adequate.  To quote the OS-9 Tech manual:

"All system calls are executed via an SWI2 instruction.

      1.  Load the 6809 register with any appropriate
          parameters.

      2.  Execute a SWI2 instruction, followed immediately
          by a constant byte, which is the request code.

      3.  After OS-9 processes the call, it returns any param-
          eters in the 6809 register.  If an error occurred, the C
          bit of the Condition Code Register is set, and Acc-
          umulator B contains the appropriate error code.  This
          permits a BCS or BCC instruction immediately
          following the system call to branch on error/no
          error."

     Each call is documented with all the necessary information.  And,
no, Microsoft won't give you MS-DOS source-code either and yes, you
can disassemble OS-9 modules and system calls *iff* you get a disassembler
which is extra cost, but fairly cheaply had, especially from 2nd sources.

-- 
James Omura, Barrister & Solicitor, Toronto
ihnp4!utzoo!lsuc!jimomura