pdvscm@prcpto.PRC.SID (Steve Monroe) (05/11/88)
A friend of mine recently bought a turn-key PC based system that runs a multi-user "Super DOS". Can anyone provide information on where to get some documentation (he didn't get any) and also any experiences with it. ...is it truly DOS .. will it run any dos application.. Thanks Steve Monroe !uunet!pyrdc!prcpto!pdvscm
michael@cit-vlsi.Caltech.Edu (Michael Lichter) (05/17/88)
In article <253@prcpto.PRC.SID> pdvscm@prcpto.PRC.SID (Steve Monroe) asks: > A friend of mine recently bought a turn-key PC based system that > runs a multi-user "Super DOS". Can anyone provide information > on where to get some documentation (he didn't get any) and also > any experiences with it. ...is it truly DOS .. will it run any dos > application.. Well, I used to work for Bluebird Systems (Carlsbad, CA, 619/438-2220) which produces an operating system called SuperDOS. SuperDOS is a disk operating system, but it is in no way related to or compatable with MS-DOS. SuperDOS is a business-oriented multi-user operating system. SuperDOS is designed to be a low-overhead, fast system with a high priority on interactive response time. It is a true multi-user system; I've seen AT's operating with at least 16 terminals attached (on proprietary terminal boards). SuperDOS memory management is very simple. Each terminal is logically attached to a "task", which is a block of contiguous memory and a set of data structures. Configuration is done at boot time. There is no virtual memory, but overlays are possible. File allocation is also static (or was, last time I looked), meaning that you say how much disk you want, you get a continguous block of storage, and you cannot expand or contract the block dynamically. Job scheduling is purely round-robin, with no priorities. SuperDOS currently supports three different flavors of BASIC, compatable with DG's Business BASIC, Datapoint's DataBus, and Wang's BASIC dialect. I hear that C and Pascal will be available soon. Support for MS-DOS applications is limited to the PC console, and then only with a special version of SuperDOS. Only moderately-well-behaved MS-DOS applications will run (e.g. one's that chain to the clock interrupt rather than just grabbing it). If you want to buy a copy of SuperDOS or get documentation, contact Bluebird at the number above. I have no idea what they charge. Normally, SuperDOS is only sold to OEM's or with business packages, and I think it is only sold bundled with hardware. Check it out. Michael