Re: 6502 Multitasking OS announce

[johnlb@primenet.com (John Bowling)]

In article <4i94fs$stj@narses.hrz.tu-chemnitz.de>,
Andre Fachat <fachat@physik.tu-chemnitz.de> wrote:
>
>                            OS/A65
>                            ------
>
>This is the announcement of "OS/A65", a 6502 CPU operating system
>I wrote some time ago and which I now put on the Web. It is
>copyrighted under the GNU public license.
>
>Some of its features are:
>
> - preemptive multitasking
>
> - (kind of) microkernel design
>
> - filesystems for PC FAT disks and CBM floppy drives on a IEEE488 interface
>
> - runs on 6502 computer with and without MMU

Just what is your MMU for a 6502?  I've never heard of one that's 
completely compatable (designed for 65... series processors).  Possibly 
with a lot of interface chips and major software design a 68000 series 
MMU could be made to work.  As far as I know, Commodore never had an MMU 
in any of their 6502 systems.  If you're thinking of what they did to 
make the C128, that isn't memory management, but just a latch toggle 
system to switch in multiple banks of RAM.

> - developed on a selfdesigned and -built 6502 computer
>
>
>If someone is really interested in, I can also write an article for
>a publication or so about it. But, well, 8 bit times are gone...

8 bit times for personnal computers may be going (lots of Apple ][s still 
doing a great job out there), but there still is a vast (and growing) market
for 8 bit micro controllers, and the 6502 is still used in a lot of them.
8 bitters can easily handle deluxe microwave ovens, VCR's, etc.  Places 
where using 16 bits is just a waste of silicon.  Some of these functions 
can be done by 4 bitters if anyone made them.  And some are being done 
with single bit units (8 internal, but single bit serial interfaces to 
RAM, ROM, etc.).

>I'm coming from the Commordore world, not from atari (8bit) nor apple side.
>The hardware is close to CBM3032 compatible, but the kernel itself is
>completely hardware independent. So just the device drivers have to 
>be rewritten for porting it to another platform. 
>
>It is a good machine/OS to do some small control tasks,
>where you can watch them from another shell...
>My computer controls my audio equipment via infrared signals ;-)

Now that is something I consider a very interesting project, but only if 
the computer can be used for lots of other things at the same time it is 
doing it's control thing.  Otherwise, it's no better than a remote.

>Well, if you are interested in, here is it's homepage:
>
>http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~fachat/csa/
>
>
>so long
>Andre Fachat
>
>
>--
>fachat@physik.tu-chemnitz.de | Andre Fachat,        Phone: ++49-371-531-3551
>-----------------------------| Stadlerstr 17,    09126 Chemnitz,     Germany
>Distribution via the         |---------------------------------------------- 
>Microsoft Network prohibited!| Unix was invented prior to user-friendlyness!



--
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John Bowling             |Apple II GS can whip the pants off its little
johnlb@primenet.com      |brother (Mac) any time!
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