Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!watmath!att!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!uunet!mcvax!ukc!strath-cs!nott-cs!ucl-cs!S.Usher From: S.Usher@ucl-cs.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: ST and Multitasking Message-ID: <359@ucl-cs.UUCP> Date: 9 Aug 89 12:17:47 GMT Sender: S.Usher@ucl-cs.UUCP Lines: 41 From: Stephen UsherI can see one or two major problems with TOS if you try to make it multi-task. The biggest problem is the file system. What happens when two tasks want to access the same file at the same time? What error message do you return? TOS cannot handle such things and there are no error returns which mean "in use". Working out which process gets access is difficult, it's fine if both the processes want to read (you give both shared access, again not possible with TOS), but what if one wants to write? Another problem (though it should be under the same heading) is device access. This MUST be exclusive, after all you don't want two programs trying to write to the printer at once. Fixing the above would also allow for true networking possibilities, after all, if you can have two processes accessing resources at the same time, why not two machines? This brings me to my next point. If the ST could multitask, then a true network system could be built VERY simply using a server task on each machine sitting on the network (it could use the MIDI port to start with). In this way there would not have to be ANY fileserver machine and ALL resources could be shared. All of the above can be done on a Sinclair QL, even the networking! I know what I'm talking about, Multitasking is great, I REALLY miss it on the ST, so much so that I prefer the QL for doing assembler program developement for the ST! Stephen Usher Addresses:- (JANET) S.Usher@uk.ac.ucl.cs or UCACMSU@uk.ac.ucl.euclid or ford@uk.ac.ed.cs.tardis --8<-------------- Cut --------------------- Here -------------------------