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comparison docs/nitros9guide/intro.preface @ 159:828d64d27e63
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| author | roug |
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| date | Mon, 08 Jul 2002 07:58:17 +0000 |
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| children | f9c66ad345d1 |
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| 1 <preface> | |
| 2 <title>Welcome to OS-9!</title> | |
| 3 <titleabbrev>Introduction</titleabbrev> | |
| 4 <para> | |
| 5 The heart of your &make; Computer is an amazing device: the | |
| 6 6809 microprocessor chip. This advanced microcomputer can run the | |
| 7 kind of sophisticated software normally found only on much larger | |
| 8 and costly computers. Because the OS-9 operating system was designed | |
| 9 by the same people who designed the 6809 microcomputer, together | |
| 10 they provide an extremely efficient and powerful combination. | |
| 11 </para> | |
| 12 <para> | |
| 13 The foundation of a computer's software system is its | |
| 14 <emphasis>Operating System</emphasis> or "OS". It is the master control | |
| 15 program that interfaces all other software to the system's hardware. Some | |
| 16 of the things it must do are performing input and output operations, | |
| 17 coordinating memory use, and many other "housekeeping" functions. All | |
| 18 other software - programming languages, applications programs, etc. - | |
| 19 live in your computer's memory along with the OS and depend on it to | |
| 20 communicate with you using the keyboard and display and to store and | |
| 21 retrieve data on disks, etc. Because virtually all other software relies | |
| 22 on the OS, your computer's performance depends on the capabilities and | |
| 23 efficiency of its OS. | |
| 24 </para> | |
| 25 | |
| 26 <para> | |
| 27 OS-9's overall structure was based on the famous UNIX<footnote id="unixdesc"> | |
| 28 <para> | |
| 29 Unix is an operating system designed by Bell Telephone | |
| 30 Laboratories, which is becoming widely recognized as a standard for | |
| 31 mini and micro operating systems because of its versatility and | |
| 32 elegant structure. | |
| 33 </para> | |
| 34 </footnote> | |
| 35 operating system, which has been widely acclaimed as the operating | |
| 36 system of the future because of its versatility, logical structure, | |
| 37 and friendly user commands. The OS-9 family of advanced software is | |
| 38 not only more powerful than most other microcomputer scftware - it | |
| 39 is also much easier to learn and use. | |
| 40 </para> | |
| 41 <para> | |
| 42 Some of the advanced OS-9 features you'll learn about in this | |
| 43 book are: | |
| 44 </para> | |
| 45 <orderedlist numeration="arabic"> | |
| 46 | |
| 47 <listitem><para>Friendly Unix<footnoteref linkend="unixdesc">-type | |
| 48 user interface and environment</para></listitem> | |
| 49 | |
| 50 <listitem><para>Multiuser/Multitasking Real-Time Operating System</para></listitem> | |
| 51 | |
| 52 <listitem><para>Extensive support for structured, modular programming</para></listitem> | |
| 53 | |
| 54 <listitem><para>Device-independent interrupt-driven input/output system</para></listitem> | |
| 55 | |
| 56 <listitem><para>Multi-level directory file system</para></listitem> | |
| 57 | |
| 58 <listitem><para>Fast Random-Access File System</para></listitem> | |
| 59 | |
| 60 <listitem><para>Readily Expandable and Adaptable Design</para></listitem> | |
| 61 | |
| 62 </orderedlist> | |
| 63 <para> | |
| 64 If you don't know what some of these thing mean yet - don't | |
| 65 worry. As you explore OS-9 you'll soon learn how they enhance the | |
| 66 capability of your &make; Computer and make it so much easier to use | |
| 67 in almost any application. | |
| 68 </para> | |
| 69 <para> | |
| 70 OS-9 has many commands and functions - definitely more than | |
| 71 you can learn in an evening! The best way to become an OS-9 expert | |
| 72 is to study this manual carefully, section-by-section, taking tire | |
| 73 to try out each command or function. Because many functions affect | |
| 74 others, you'll find this manual extensively cross-referenced so you | |
| 75 can skip ahead to help you understand a new topic. Taking the time | |
| 76 to study this book will certainly increase your knowledge and | |
| 77 enjoyment of OS-9. | |
| 78 </para> | |
| 79 <para> | |
| 80 But if you can't wait, at least read the rest of this chapter, | |
| 81 scan the command descriptions in Chapter 7, and have fun | |
| 82 experimenting! | |
| 83 </para> | |
| 84 </preface> |