The gs was for canned software, commercial hardware and software. For users---not for tinkerers, designers, programmers, hackers.
You could have hacked the 2GS if you had deep pockets (lots of $$$): after all, it has the same expansion bus as the ][+ but only Applesoft interpreter. To get most of the Toolbox ROM and GS 16-bit features, you need:
- Apple/Addison-Wesley programming and reference books, - hard disk (highly recommended) - a compiler (usually Pascal or C) - an assembler for those time-critical routines - more books on your favorite subject: ProDos file system, GS hardware, etc.Back in the '80s, GUI programming concepts were new to a lot of hackers. It was a steep learning curve. Today, after fighting a lot with Windoze API or MFC, GS' GUI programming seems easier and more elegant.
Cheers, Yves