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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!ihwpt!knudsen
From: knudsen@ihwpt.UUCP (mike knudsen)
Newsgroups: net.micro.6809
Subject: Re: OS9 Introductory Info wanted
Message-ID: <747@ihwpt.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 3-Mar-86 19:18:29 EST
Article-I.D.: ihwpt.747
Posted: Mon Mar  3 19:18:29 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 5-Mar-86 03:53:06 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 67

References: <469@watdragon.UUCP>

I've had OS9 for over 2 years and do a lot of C graphics
work on it.  About your questions:

No screen editor included, just a weird line editor.
Get TS-Edit (VERY vi-like) from RS for $35 (what a buy--
it comes with a Basic version too) which includes its own
hi-res text screen; or Dynastar from Frank Hogg which is
more like Emacs.  It requires a separate hi-res screen
driver, O-Pak.  If you like vi get the TS-Edit, period.

C is very complete and very solid.  It lacks the latest
features (bitmaps and structure assignment) and supports
floats, doubles, and longs, but provides no library of
trig & exp functions.  The overall libraries are terrific,
even include a quicksort routine.

OS-9 is much like U**x on the surface.  Biggest omissions
are wild-card filenames (* and ?), and no $PATH --
all your executables must be in one directory to be
accessed without full pathnames.  Also no loop constructs
in the shell.  SOmeone has just come out with a "ksh"
to replace the OS9 shell and fix most of the above.
Many everyday U**x utilities (grep, sort) are missing,
but you can buy these elsewhere (see below).
BTW, no OS9 software is copy-protected, not yet anyway.

Running on one disk is possible but gets old fast,
esp'ly a SS 35-track.  Don't bother buying C till you've
saved enuf for a second drive; it may be possible
but you'll hate it.  I use 3 drives -- one for /bin,
one for the C libes and defs (good use for you original RS drive),
and one for my sources and objects.
Don't waste your money on anything less than a double-sided
40-track drive.  They fill up fast.

You should consider BASIC09 for small programs, especially
utilities to do weird things with files (like patch up
blown directories, etc) or anything to do with strings.
BASIC09 lacks pointers, global, and static variables --
other than that it's great if your programs aren't too big.
Hackers use BASIC09 the way U**x users do the Shell -- to
write quick throw-away programs.
Also great to test and refine new algorithms before
going to C, where the test-edit-compile cycle is several
minutes long (Basic09 is seconds).

Nroff can be approached with the Dynastar/Dynaform stuff
mentioned above, but those are more of a what-you-see
is-what-you-get system.  The latest Rainbow has an ad for
something very much like nroff, probably from Computerware.

I suggest you read the Rainbow mag very carefully to help
answer your last question about software availability and
$$-able gaps therein.  There are no semi-secret "developer's
kits" -- you use what anyone else can buy.  Lots of places
now sell packages of U**x-like utilities already, but many
of these could stand improvement as they fall short
of the "real thing."
The OS9 software market is OK and getting better, and is
by no means saturated.

Don't let the low traffic on this group fool you.
There are a lot of us OS9ers out there.
	mike k