What is an Operating SYstem?
OS-9 is a disk Operating System (that's what OS stands for). An
operating system is a group of programs acting as a message
center and an interpreter. Using your instructions, an operating
system manages the computer's working circuits.
In fact, thinking of OS-9 as your computer manager is helpful.
The boss (that's you) gives orders. OS-9 (the manager) sees they
get done.
To operate OS-9 you need at least one floppy disk drive attached
to your computer. OS-9 is originally configured to recognize two
floppy disk drives. Later, this handbook describes how to let OS-9
know if you have more than two floppy disk drives, or if you have
other hardware (printers, modems, hard disks, and so on) you
want it to recognize.
Instructing Your Operating System
°'''~` You give your commands to OS-9 by typing them. Because OS-9
does exactly (and only) what you tell it, your entries must be pre
cise and have perfect syntax (spelling and form). You must also be
sure to give OS-9 every detail it needs to perform a task.
For instance, if you told your office manager to, "Make a phone
call," what can the manager do? Obviously, not much that is
helpful to you. The manager must know who to call, the phone
number, and what to say. OS-9 is the same. It must have all the
details before it can carry out your commands properly.
To show you how to instruct your operating system, the handbook asks you to type characters, words, and lines on your keyboard. When you do, you are issuing
commands
to OS-9.
Technically, a command is only one word that describes the action
you want OS-9 to perform. A
command line is
a command with all
of its qualifiers.
In this manual, command lines usually contain words in boxes,
,~ such as
ENTER
. These indicate keys that you press.
The manual also asks you to press key sequences. For instance,
when asked to press
CTRL
©, hold down the key marked CTRL,
and while holding down
CTRL , press
©.
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Getting Started With OS-9
Characters that are not in boxes are typed individually. For
instance, if you are asked to type the command line
f o r mat / d 0
ENTER],
press each key individually
QD CO CM
MO
CE
TD
[D E) CD
0~ ENTER
).
If you make a mistake while typing, use
0
to move back to the
error. Then retype that portion of the line.
Using Application Programs and
Computer Languages
A computer
application is
a program designed to accomplish specific tasks. There are application programs to help you write letters or documents (word processors), keep a mailing list (data
managers), and keep financial records (accounting packages).
There are also programs to help you study for a test, play a game,
play music, draw a picture, and much more.
Such application programs usually require that you use OS-9 to
start your computer. A few application programs let you start
directly from the application diskette. Different programs can
require different procedures, and you should check your application program's documentation for specific instructions.
Application programs have special screen displays and
menus
to
instruct you, or that require you to perform a particular action,
such as press a key. When you are operating from an application
program, that program passes your instructions to OS-9. OS-9
manages the computer's operations in the background, and its
functions are invisible to you.
You can also use computer languages to write your own application programs. BASIC is a language. If you read the Color
Computer
Disk
System manual, you already know a bit about it.
There are languages you can purchase to use with OS-9 to create programs, such as assembly language, Pascal, C, and
BASIC-09.
Like application programs, each language has its own startup
method. The manuals that come with the languages tell you how
to get them running on your Color Computer 3.
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What is an Operating System? / 1
Using Peripherals
OS-9 lets you control much more than your computer's operations. It also gives you control over other hardware devices such as
disk drives, a printer, modems, windows, other terminals, and so
on.
Each device has a "System Name," an abbreviation preceded by a
slash (/). OS-9 can only recognize a device if you type its name
exactly as shown below. See Chapter 7, "Customizing Your
System" for information on how to tell OS-9 what devices you
want it to handle.
System
Name Description
/P A printer connected through your computer's RS
232 port. The RS-232 port is a serial port, and
you must have a printer with a serial connection,
such as the Radio Shack® DMP 430.
/T1 A data terminal or another computer acting as a
' terminal, connected through the RS-232 port of
your computer. If you are using another computer
as a terminal, it must run a terminal program
that makes it perform as a terminal.
/T2 Another data terminal or another computer act
ing as a terminal, connected to an optional RS
232 communications pak in a Multi-Pak Inter
face. If you are using another computer as a ter
minal, it must run a terminal program that
makes it perform as a terminal.
/T3 Another data terminal or another computer act
ing as a terminal, connected to the optional RS
232 communications pak in a Multi-Pak
Interface. If you are using another computer as a
terminal, it must run a terminal program that
makes it perform as a terminal.
,~ /M 1 A modem using an optional 300-baud modem pak
in the optional Multi-Pak Interface. A modem
allows you to communicate with other computers
either directly or over phone lines.
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Getting Started With OS-9
System
Name Description
/M2 Another modem using an optional 300-baud
modem pak in the optional Multi-Pak Interface.
/DO A floppy disk drive.
/D1 Another floppy disk drive
/W, /W 1, Windows that you can establish on your OS-9
/W2, /W3 system. You use
CLEAR
to page among windows
/W4, /W5 you create. See "Using Windows" in Chapter 7
/W6, /W7 and OS-9
Windowing System Owner's Manual
for
information on creating windows.
Why Use OS-9?
You now know that OS-9 is an operating system for your Color
Computer. You might also have heard that, in the world of computer operating systems, OS-9 is a leader. Perhaps that is why you
bought it. OS-9 stands out for several reasons. Some of its strong
points are:
File
managing capabilities.
· Multi-user
features. With OS-9, more than one person can
use the same computer at the same time.
· Multi-tasking.
OS-9 can handle several jobs at the same
time.
· Window
functions that let you divide your display screens
into sections in which you can have one or more operations running, all at the same time.
· Input/Output
capabilities. OS-9 can communicate with
TVs and monitors, disk drives, printers, and other
computers.
· A sophisticated repertoire of commands.
Sophisticated programming languages.
If you are not familiar with such terms as files, multi-user, multitasking, and commands, don't worry. The handbook explains these
terms and more.
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What is an Operating System? l 1
Programmers like OS-9 because of its powerful features. It lets
them show off all of their skills. As a result, another OS-9 fea-
r'`
ture is the wide range of excellent programs that you can use
with the system.
How Much Do You Need to Know
About OS-9?
You might wonder how much you really need to know to use OS-9.
The answer varies with your needs, and with the application
programs you intend to use.
However, regardless of how you intend to use your computer, there
are some OS-9 procedures you must know. Fbr instance, you must
know how to load OS-9, how to prepare diskettes to store data,
and how to make copies of data or entire diskettes. This part of
your handbook makes these jobs easy.
Regardless of how careful you are, there are times when things go
wrong. When this happens, OS-9 displays an error message on the
screen. This part of the manual also helps you to understand
error messages and what to do about them.
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