The Atari Compendium/The Atari Compendium (Toad Computers) (1994).iso/files/umich/utils/omen/omenher1.txt

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Date: Thu, 07 Jul 1994 17:11:56 +1200
From: Steve Wells <[e-mail]>
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Subject: OMENHER1.TXT - OMEn Herald, Issue #1, Volume #1.  (Goes with
         OMEN246D.LZH)
Status: OR

  _______________________             _____________________________
 /  ___________________  \           / Esquimalt Digital Logic Inc \
 | /                   \ |           | 820 Dunsmuir Road           |
 | |    OMEn Herald    | |           | Victoria, BC                |
 | | Volume 1 Number 1 | |           | Canada       V9A 5B7        |
 | |     Dec 1993      | |           |    Phone: [phone]    |
 | \___________________/ |           |    Fax:   [phone]    |
 \_______________________/           \_____________________________/

For all who have shown interest in the OMEn operating system, this
newsletter will bring you up to date with OMEn developments. Other
readers should call, write or fax to be placed on the regular mailing
list.
 ___________________________________________________________________
/                           What Is OMEn?                           \
|                                                                   |
| The Open Multitasking Environment (OMEn) is an open architecture, |
| true preemptive multitasking operating system based on the 680x0  |
| processor family. It is also a graphical environment where the    |
| user has free access to all commands and features, even while     |
| running multiple programs simultaneously.                         |
|                                                                   |
| OMEn is a modular system in which I/O function files are created  |
| and configured without reference to the system core. It can thus  |
| be interfaced with ease to any type of hardware and to any type of|
| software protocol, existing or new. This includes printers, disk  |
| drives and file systems, networks, input devices, displays, GPIB  |
| devices, industrial controls, MIDI, multi-media and so on.        |
|                                                                   |
| OMEn is intended to run on most current 680x0 based computers     |
| (Macintosh, Atari, Amiga) including older low end models, as well |
| as PC (via a 680x0 card) and new machines such as Power PC, DEC   |
| Alpha and Pentium by 68000 emulation and other techniques.        |
| Implementation progress for individual machines will be detailed  |
| in the OMEn Herald starting with this issue.                      |
|                                                                   |
| The OMEn interface is nearer to UNIX X-Windows than to any other  |
| interface, but OMEn's size is a fraction of UNIX, and the generic |
| object oriented drag-&-drop interface is unique. In addition,     |
| since a single version of an application program or I/O protocol  |
| interface will run on all computers, OMEn, in critical areas, is a|
| much more open system than UNIX.                                  |
\___________________________________________________________________/

                               Feedback

We invite your comments and suggestions so that we can improve
usability for programmers and users.

                         OMEn General Progress

Conceptually, the basic OMEn system is now completely implemented
except for font dictionary implementation and configurable bootup.

Current targets also include the addition of more display/print
commands, printer protocols, and file manipulation features. Network
file client protocols for Appletalk servers are also under
consideration.

In addition, much of the documentation is just now being prepared for
release.

                           Development Tools

A structured 68000 assembler and FORTH language run in OMEn.
Atari-GEM based compilers may also be used. The next issue will
include more coverage on this subject.

                             OMEn for Atari

Atari is the original OMEn development system, so OMEn for Atari is
currently the most advanced, making use of a number of special Atari
hardware features, such as a scrolling display giving more room for
windows. ST, STe and TT features are fully supported and digitized
audio works on ALL models. Special Atari disk formats such as 800K
and 900K are covered as well as DOS standard 720K. Falcon video modes
will be supported before release. An OMEn release for Atari (with
development tools) is planned for 2nd quarter '94. Please reply to
receive your copy!

                           OMEn for Macintosh

OMEn for Macintosh is now running on 68000 based machines: 512K &
Plus, SE and Classic. The current version works only with monochrome
displays. No 68030 Mac has been tested yet.

OMEn programs that ran on the Atari ran unchanged on the Mac.
Software protocol files also worked unchanged. For example, the DOS
disk file protocol used DOS disks properly on Macs capable of reading
them. Thus one of OMEn's key features, complete software portability
except for the core and I/O ports, is finally demonstrable. (A Mac
disk file protocol has yet to be created... Here we have Macs that
will read DOS disks, but not Mac disks!)

Does anybody know if it would be physically possible to read 720K DOS
disks on a Mac Plus if the appropriate software was written to go
straight to the hardware? These are the ONLY machines for which OMEn
software couldn't be distributed on a 720K DOS disk.

                            OMEn for Power PC

If Apple's 680x0 emulation is flawless, OMEn for Mac should run on
the Power PC without any changes. It is more likely that there will
have to be some amount of adaptation.

                             OMEn for Amiga

Well... we've got Amigas! (500, 2000 & 1200) What would help now is
if some Amiga hacker fanatic in the Victoria BC area would like a bit
of contract work sitting in and spelling out Amiga details to assist
in adapting the OMEn core to run on Amiga. It took four days to get
OMEn running on the Mac, so Amiga should take two, right?

                          Marketing Strategies

On 680x0 based computers such as Mac, Atari and Amiga, OMEn is simply
software on a disk. The shareware marketing method will be employed
with the versions of OMEn for these computers, and also for our
software development tools. Contrary to popular belief, people have
made their million(s) with shareware with a good product and careful
business planning.

For software publishers, the wide availability of OMEn as shareware
will guarantee its accessibility to their customers. A growing list
of OMEn features and computer compatibility will result in steadily
expanding markets for OMEn software.

OMEn for PC requires a circuit card, so it cannot be distributed as
shareware. It will be marketed at first by direct mail for developers
and early users, with distribution through regular marketing channels
to follow as volumes increase. The 68331-ISA card with OMEn-PC will
be about $199 plus the price of two SIMM memories required for the
card. (Volume sales should reduce the price significantly.)

                             System Tidbits

     Topic This Issue: System Calls, I/O Calls and I/O Commands

With OMEn, internal system calls (for you hackers: 680x0 line-A
traps, starting at $AFFF and working downward) are distinct from I/O
calls (trap #4-11 instructions), which are handled externally.

A system call is dispatched inside the OMEn core, while an I/O call
is dispatched through an I/O channel to separate files loaded into
memory at startup: a Protocol Translator (software I/O interface
layer) and an I/O Port (hardware I/O interface layer). In special
cases