Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!torsqnt!hybrid!spocom!gng From: gng@spocom.UUCP Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Atari ST Multitasking/Multiuser OSs Summary: Summary of multi-OSs that ST users use Keywords: multitasking, multiuser, os-9, mt c-shell, minix Message-ID: <13@spocom.UUCP> Date: 11 Nov 89 21:13:32 GMT Organization: George's Computer System, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Lines: 129 (I'll admit, this may be long for a summary, yet there's just so much basic information for each system...that...well...you know...arrgh :-) This summary of Atari ST multitasking multiuser operating systems includes quotes and other informative aspects from the users themselves. (I may have edited some quotes and such for space purposes.) Thanks to: attctc.Dallas.TX.US!jdoss@wuarchive.uucp (Joe Doss) (for Minix/ST information) jclark@ucsd.edu (John Clark) avy@gkcl.ists.ca (Avygdor Moise) (both for OS-9/68000 information) and to myself for MT C-Shell information :-) Note: Hmm...only three people responded to my posting - did I post it at a bad time, or is it because that there really aren't many ST users out there that use multi-OSs? C'mon people, enough of this 'bashing' on the ST and whatnot - wake up and smell the coffee! The multi-OSs are available out there for the ST - It used to take a bit of searching before you could find one, but look now - they're here, and they work - and if you still feel like bashing the ST without any regard as to the 'now' availability of these fine ST-based multi-OSs, then you don't know the great things that you're missing out on... (Email to me if you happen to use a multi-OS.) MINIX/ST version 1.1 (herein referred to as 'Minix') -------------------- (Joe Doss has been using Minix for eleven months.) Minix is both multiuser and multitasking. A minimal setup for Minix would be a 520ST with a SSDD drive. A more usual one would be a 1040ST/20meg hd. And for those power-hungry users, a Mega 4 with a 100meg should suffice quite nicely. Almost anything written for Version 7 Unix runs without changes. Programs that take advantage of newer features in System V or BSD are sometimes difficult to port. It is also slow, compared to other OS's and it doesn't come with all the standard Unix utilities. Minix has good Unix compatibility (Joe gave it a 9/10 rating for that), and the source code to the entire OS comes with it, so changes and improvements are easy. Minix is well supported on Usenet in the comp.os.minix group, and improvements and new utilities are constantly posted there. Minix is written by Andrew Tanenbaum (ast@cs.vu.nl) Info is available from: Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Suggested price is $79.95 US MT C-Shell version 1.20 (herein referred to as 'MTcsh') ----------------------- (George Ng has used MT C-Shell for three years.) MTcsh is a multitasking/multiuser add-on to TOS. It requires a minimal configuration of a 1040ST with a DSDD drive. With TOS/GEM programs taking up memory space while multitasking, it would be more wise to get a Mega 4 with 60megs+, and probably other addons like speedup programs and hardware accelerators (could apply to other OSs also). MTcsh strives for compatibility with both TOS and with Unix. With the appropriate support software, most Unix applications can be ported over to MTcsh (my personal Unix compatibility rating - 7.5-8/10). By keeping compatibility with TOS/GEM programs, much of the software already written is still useful under this multi-OS environment. There is some disadvantage to this because some software isn't written in mind for MTcsh, so it might sooner or later crash under MTcsh. Also, since MTcsh is more TOS than Unix, the deficiencies of TOS are also kept - twelve character filenames and "\" filename separator for changing directories is still used, rather than the longer Unix filenames and "/". (Things to keep in mind when porting Unix stuff over to the MTcsh.) Yet MTcsh is still quite reliable, has a lot of software designed especially for it (UUCP, Visual Shell interface, etc) so it is able to approach the functionality of Unix on a much smaller scale. Support from the company is excellent. MTcsh is $129.95 US and is available from: Beckemeyer Development Tools, 478 Santa Clara Ave., Oakland, CA 94610 415-452-1129 (voice), 415-452-4792 (bbs), david@bdt.UUCP (David Beckemeyer) OS-9/68000 version 2.3 (herein referred to as 'OS-9') ---------------------- (John Clark has used OS-9 for two years, while Avygdor Moise has used it for seven years, and with three years on the Atari ST version.) OS-9 is both multitasking and multiuser. It can run on a 520ST with a SSDD drive, but works best with a 20meg to 30meg hd, and with maybe 2 megs of RAM. For Unix compatibility, vanilla flavored C code is usually ok to port to OS-9. There is a PD/Shareware "unix" support library which has more of the typical 'Unix SYSV/BSD" functions. But any Unix code which has 'fork' or 'vfork' is dead. But as John explains, it "can be revived by major shock treatment". :-) Avygdor mentions that on the C level, it's "99.9 compatible" with Unix, while on the OS level, it's "1:1 correspondence, but not directly comparable". There is no, virtual memory management (for 68020/PMMU, 68030). As mentioned before, you would probably need to supplement the Microware Lib's with PD stuff in order to port Unix code more "easily". The command shell stinks, but there's hope, and at the moment, there's not enough user utilities. OS-9 is cheaper than Unix, and its drivers/low level OS interface are simpler. Drivers can be dynamically loaded and unloaded (need to be loaded before and during use). OS-9 is also used for CD-I, Computer Disk Interactive. This is a CD-ROM with programs to access the data. The idea is a box with all the data, programs, and processor available cheap enough to be purchased by the large consumer electronic buying public. Overall, OS-9 has the Unix feeling, it has rommable code, it's different, it operates in real time, and of course its small, fast, and simple. OS-9 is a good solid OS, and it never crashes the system. A very worthwhile, solid development tool. OS-9 is available from: Microware, 1900 N.W. 114th St. Des Moines Iowa, 50332, (515)-224-1929 (West Cost Sales Office (408)-980-0201) Prices: $150 US for "OS-9 Personal" (only has BASIC) $400-$600 US for "OS-9 Professional" (has C and assemblers, linkers, etc). -- George Ng (Computer Science, Univ. of Toronto) | "Sure, I would like Canadian UUCP: uunet!mnetor!{becker,hybrid}!spocom!gng | winters too...if it weren't or utgpu!ncrcan!ziebmef!spocom!gng | for the weather."