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1 <preface>
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2 <title>Welcome to OS-9!</title>
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3 <titleabbrev>Introduction</titleabbrev>
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4 <para>
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5 The heart of your &make; Computer is an amazing device: the
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6 6809 microprocessor chip. This advanced microcomputer can run the
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7 kind of sophisticated software normally found only on much larger
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8 and costly computers. Because the OS-9 operating system was designed
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9 by the same people who designed the 6809 microcomputer, together
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10 they provide an extremely efficient and powerful combination.
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11 </para>
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12 <para>
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13 The foundation of a computer's software system is its
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14 <emphasis>Operating System</emphasis> or "OS". It is the master control
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15 program that interfaces all other software to the system's hardware. Some
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16 of the things it must do are performing input and output operations,
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17 coordinating memory use, and many other "housekeeping" functions. All
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18 other software - programming languages, applications programs, etc. -
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19 live in your computer's memory along with the OS and depend on it to
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20 communicate with you using the keyboard and display and to store and
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21 retrieve data on disks, etc. Because virtually all other software relies
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22 on the OS, your computer's performance depends on the capabilities and
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23 efficiency of its OS.
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24 </para>
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25
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26 <para>
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27 OS-9's overall structure was based on the famous UNIX<footnote id="unixdesc">
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28 <para>
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29 Unix is an operating system designed by Bell Telephone
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30 Laboratories, which is becoming widely recognized as a standard for
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31 mini and micro operating systems because of its versatility and
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32 elegant structure.
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33 </para>
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34 </footnote>
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35 operating system, which has been widely acclaimed as the operating
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36 system of the future because of its versatility, logical structure,
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37 and friendly user commands. The OS-9 family of advanced software is
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38 not only more powerful than most other microcomputer scftware - it
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39 is also much easier to learn and use.
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40 </para>
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41 <para>
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42 Some of the advanced OS-9 features you'll learn about in this
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43 book are:
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44 </para>
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45 <orderedlist numeration="arabic">
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46
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47 <listitem><para>Friendly Unix<footnoteref linkend="unixdesc">-type
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48 user interface and environment</para></listitem>
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49
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50 <listitem><para>Multiuser/Multitasking Real-Time Operating System</para></listitem>
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51
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52 <listitem><para>Extensive support for structured, modular programming</para></listitem>
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53
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54 <listitem><para>Device-independent interrupt-driven input/output system</para></listitem>
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55
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56 <listitem><para>Multi-level directory file system</para></listitem>
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57
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58 <listitem><para>Fast Random-Access File System</para></listitem>
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59
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60 <listitem><para>Readily Expandable and Adaptable Design</para></listitem>
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61
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62 </orderedlist>
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63 <para>
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64 If you don't know what some of these thing mean yet - don't
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65 worry. As you explore OS-9 you'll soon learn how they enhance the
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66 capability of your &make; Computer and make it so much easier to use
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67 in almost any application.
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68 </para>
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69 <para>
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70 OS-9 has many commands and functions - definitely more than
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71 you can learn in an evening! The best way to become an OS-9 expert
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72 is to study this manual carefully, section-by-section, taking tire
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73 to try out each command or function. Because many functions affect
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74 others, you'll find this manual extensively cross-referenced so you
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75 can skip ahead to help you understand a new topic. Taking the time
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76 to study this book will certainly increase your knowledge and
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77 enjoyment of OS-9.
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78 </para>
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79 <para>
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80 But if you can't wait, at least read the rest of this chapter,
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81 scan the command descriptions in Chapter 7, and have fun
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82 experimenting!
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83 </para>
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84 </preface>
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