Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!cs.utexas.edu!texbell!ficc!peter From: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Newsgroups: comp.os.misc Subject: Re: Macintosh OS (was: 68000 and Workstations.) Message-ID: Date: 30 May 90 14:54:57 GMT References: <30273@ut-emx.UUCP> <76700207@p.cs.uiuc.edu> <1990May24.114553.10301@phri.nyu.edu> <37@voa3.UUCP> <402@newave.UUCP> <26200.265dd7be@vaxb.acs.unt.edu> <6392@scolex.sco.COM> <36860@think.Think.COM> Reply-To: peter@ficc.ferranti.com (Peter da Silva) Organization: Xenix Support, FICC Lines: 14 In article <36860@think.Think.COM> barmar@nugodot.think.com (Barry Margolin) writes: > There sure is alot of misconception about what an OS is. An OS is a set of > procedures that make it easier for application programs to use the > hardware. This is a definition of an operating system that is so watered down as to be meaningless. To me, an operating system is a resource manager: it allocates resources such as memory, CPU time, disk space, devices, and so on to various user agents (i.e. programs). An adequate operating system should manage at least the major resources: disk space, memory, CPU time, and I/O devices. The Macintosh system software does not, at this point in time, manage CPU time in anything like an adequate manner. It has a weird memory manager, an excellent I/O manager, and a competant if hairy disk space manager. But without a scheduler it's just another DOS. -- `-_-' Peter da Silva. +1 713 274 5180. 'U` Have you hugged your wolf today? @FIN Dirty words: Zhghnyyl erphefvir vayvar shapgvbaf.