The Rainbow Vol. 09 No. 01 - August 1989 - TRS-80 Color ...

was needed for their TRS-80 Color Computer.
OS-9 was already established and
running in 6809 business computers around
the world when it came to CoCo.
In a way, because Microware released
OS-9 for a world of professional programmers
, engineers and developers, it is not
particularly surprising that a dichotomy
resulted - that of the OS-9 users and the
non-OS-9 users.
Over the years, OS-9 and the Color
Computer have both changed substantially.
Many would say that it is about time some
real applications for OS-9 showed up.
(Actually, as we will discover, the applications
have been there all along; it is more a
problem of who knew about them than a
lack of software). Many say at last we have
some programs running under OS-9 that
make sense and are relatively easy to use.
But there are those who disagree, maintaining
that OS-9 is still too rigorous and
complicated, and that it is designed for the
programmer, not the average user.
Are they right? What makes OS-9 the
most talked-about operating system in the
Color Computer Community? What do you
need to run OS-9? In addition to answering
those questions, I'll provide you an extensive
look at applications.
Down to Basics
OS-9 stands for Operating System 9. It
is an operating system, not a language. The
best way to conceptualize this is that an
operating system gives the computer its
personality-and its arms, legs, eyes, ears
and brain, if you will. It literally tells the
computer what it is, and then connects it to
the outside world, which means you, the
user, and any peripheral equipment, like
printers and disk drives. If you could break
open an operating system to see what makes
it tick, you would see hundreds of short
little programs, all designed to make the
computer store and retrieve information,
organize and sort files, even manage the
system memory.
Without some kind of operating system
under which the applications run, the
computer is nothing but bits of electronic
circuits, metal and plastic. This is where
words you might have come across, like
Kernel, l OMAN, RBFMA N. Pi pe man , tees and
daughter processes, come into play. These
are just a few of the different elements that
make up an operating system like OS-9.
Someone out there is undoubtably saying,
"But you can program in OS-9. Doesn't
that mean it's a language?"
The answer to that question is no. OS-9
contains certain commands and utilities
that basically serve to let the user communicate
information within different areas of
the operating system (through a program
called the shell). Programming also refers
to the operating system's command language.
You can program or instruct the
operating system to perform tasks for you
by "talking" to it in its command language.
The Art of Mastering OS-9
Mastering any new language, operating
system, sport or musical instrument all
have something in common. They require
study, research, an investment of time for
learning, practice, patience and, above all,
the drive to succeed. OS-9 is no exception.
One reason why OS-9 is so powerful is
its ability to do several tasks simultaneously.
This is called multitasking. In the
world of computers as a whole, this is not so
fantastiC, but for all the CoCo users, this is
quite amazing. OS-9 picks up where the
computer itself leaves off, and not only
gives him or her an ability to do several
tasks simultaneously or concurrently, it
also gives the user the ability to run several
different computers (or terminals) simultaneously.
To some people this may not seem
so important, but for someone who needs to
do several tasks in rapid succession or at the
same time it is extremely important. The
user who needs to print a document while
editing another or working on a spreadsheet
is a good example. On the CoCo 3,
pressing the SHIFT and BREAK or CTRL-C
keys simultaneously moves a task or procedure
into the background, allowing the user
to continue with another program or job.
Another reason why the operating system
is called powerful is its ability to direct,
redirect and accept files and keyboard input
and output data generated by the computer
to any device the operating system recognizes
(actually, several at once), to derive
August 1989 THE RAINBOW 67