Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!TCGOULD.TN.CORNELL.EDU!braner From: braner@TCGOULD.TN.CORNELL.EDU (Moshe Braner) Newsgroups: comp.sys.transputer Subject: multitasking MS-DOS and transputers Message-ID: <8905182052.AA16682@tcgould.TN.CORNELL.EDU> Date: 18 May 89 20:52:55 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 31 If you want to let the transputer access the resources of the host (e.g., disk) while you are running a regular MS-DOS program (e.g., an editor) then you need some form of pre-emptive multitasking. >From what I've heard, Desqview would be a good choice. Alternatively, get a multitasking OS. QNX seems a lot better than either OS/2 or XENIX in terms of size and speed. Check it out. Quantum Software usually have a full-page ad in BYTE. Meanwhile, we are working on the MS-DOS version of the Trollius OS. To keep the multiprocess structure of Trollius intact, the Trollius kernel on the PC does NON-preemptive multitasking. That means that the transputer can access the host BETWEEN invocations of MS-DOS programs. From the Trollius user interface (shell) one can invoke both MS-DOS and Trollius commands. The latter make sure to yield once in a while, but the former of course do not. If you just type in occasional commands it's OK. (Otherwise you can still use Desqview, running the Trollius shell and another MS-DOS application simultaneously. That's the theory, anyway, we havn't tried that.) Progress on PC-Trollius: The Trollius kernel and shell work, the link driver is almost done, thus we are through the hard parts and generally about half-done. - Moshe Braner Cornell Theory Center, 265 Olin Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (607) 255-9401 (Work) (INTERNET) (BITNET)