Apple GS/OS

Last updated
GS/OS
AppleIIGSOS.png
The IIGS Finder running within GS/OS
Developer Apple Computer
OS familyGS/OS
Working stateHistoric
Source model Closed source
Initial release1988;35 years ago (1988)
Latest release GS/OS v4.02 (System Software 6.0.1) / May 6, 1993;30 years ago (1993-05-06)
Kernel type Monolithic kernel
License Apple Software License Agreement

GS/OS is an operating system developed by Apple Computer for its Apple IIGS personal computer. It provides facilities for accessing the file system, controlling input/output devices, loading and running program files, and a system allowing programs to handle interrupts and signals. It uses ProDOS as its primary filing system. GS/OS is a component of Apple IIGS System Software versions 4.0 through 6.0.1, and was the first true 16-bit operating system for the IIGS.

Contents

Features

Speed optimization

The advantage of GS/OS over its predecessor, the ProDOS 16 operating system, is that it was written entirely in 16-bit code for the 65816 processor used in the IIGS, rather than primarily in 8-bit 6502 machine code that does not take advantage of the IIGS's unique features. This in turn allows GS/OS to offer vast speed optimizations (loading time, disk access, screen updates) compared with the previous OS, and provided room to incorporate many features of other Apple operating systems, including Apple III Apple SOS, the Macintosh System 5, as well as concepts and features that would later appear in future Macintosh System Software releases (e.g. proportional scrollbars, thermometer progress bars).

New features and enhancements

In addition to continued enhancements to the IIGS Finder and loadable fonts, GS/OS offered plug-in device drivers (modem, printer, etc.), a thermometer progress display, AppleShare support, File System Translators for accessing foreign file formats, disk caching and support for storage devices up to 4 Gigabytes. [1] It also extends the ProDOS file system to provide for resource forks on files similar to those used on the Apple Macintosh, which allows for programs to be written in a more flexible way. The newly included Apple Advanced Disk Utilities and Apple IIGS Installer helped facilitate partitioning, formatting and installing software and drivers with visual ease. A command-line development environment called APW (Apple Programmer's Workshop) is available; much like the Macintosh Programmer's Workshop. [2] [3] [4]

File System Translators

GS/OS includes a facility known as file system translators (FSTs) which allows it to support multiple on-disk file systems in a manner transparent to application programs and to the user, a feature not found in ProDOS or most other microcomputer operating systems at the time. While GS/OS natively uses the ProDOS file system (from which it must be booted), it also fully supports HFS used by Mac OS. Other file system translators include those for MS-DOS, High Sierra/ISO-9660, Apple DOS 3.3, and Pascal, albeit read-only (full read/write support had been planned but was never completed).

Releases

Source: [5]

ProDOS 16 (GS/OS predecessor)

GS/OS

Unofficial versions

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple II series</span> Computer series by Apple Computer, 1977–1993

The Apple II series is a family of home computers, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer, and launched in 1977 with the original Apple II.

File Allocation Table (FAT) is a file system developed for personal computers and was the default filesystem for MS-DOS and Windows 9x operating systems. Originally developed in 1977 for use on floppy disks, it was adapted for use on hard disks and other devices. The increase in disk drives capacity required three major variants: FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32. FAT was replaced with NTFS as the default file system on Microsoft operating systems starting with Windows XP. Nevertheless, FAT continues to be used on flash and other solid-state memory cards and modules, many portable and embedded devices because of its compatibility and ease of implementation.

Hierarchical File System (HFS) is a proprietary file system developed by Apple Inc. for use in computer systems running Mac OS. Originally designed for use on floppy and hard disks, it can also be found on read-only media such as CD-ROMs. HFS is also referred to as Mac OS Standard, while its successor, HFS Plus, is also called Mac OS Extended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple IIGS</span> Apple II series 16-bit computer

The Apple IIGS is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Computer. It is the fifth and most powerful of the Apple II family. It is compatible with earlier Apple II models but has a Macintosh look and feel, and resolution and color similar to the Amiga and Atari ST. The "GS" in the name stands for "Graphics and Sound", referring to its enhanced multimedia hardware, especially its state-of-the-art audio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple ProDOS</span> Operating system on Apple II series computers

ProDOS is the name of two similar operating systems for the Apple II series of personal computers. The original ProDOS, renamed ProDOS 8 in version 1.2, is the last official operating system usable by all 8-bit Apple II series computers, and was distributed from 1983 to 1993. The other, ProDOS 16, was a stop-gap solution for the 16-bit Apple IIGS that was replaced by GS/OS within two years.

Apple DOS is the family of disk operating systems for the Apple II series of microcomputers from late 1978 through early 1983. It was superseded by ProDOS in 1983. Apple DOS has three major releases: DOS 3.1, DOS 3.2, and DOS 3.3; each one of these three releases was followed by a second, minor "bug-fix" release, but only in the case of Apple DOS 3.2 did that minor release receive its own version number, Apple DOS 3.2.1. The best-known and most-used version is Apple DOS 3.3 in the 1980 and 1983 releases. Prior to the release of Apple DOS 3.1, Apple users had to rely on audio cassette tapes for data storage and retrieval.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AppleWorks</span> Office software suite from Apple

AppleWorks was an integrated office suite containing a word processor, database, and spreadsheet. It was developed by Rupert Lissner for Apple Computer, originally for the Apple II platform and launched in 1984. Many enhancements for AppleWorks were created, the most popular being the TimeOut series from Beagle Bros which extended the life of the Apple II version of AppleWorks. Appleworks was later reworked for the Macintosh platform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">System 7</span> Apple Macintosh operating system released from 1991–1997

System 7, codenamed "Big Bang", and later also known as Mac OS 7, is a graphical user interface-based operating system for Macintosh computers and is part of the classic Mac OS series of operating systems. It was introduced on May 13, 1991, by Apple Computer It succeeded System 6, and was the main Macintosh operating system until it was succeeded by Mac OS 8 in 1997. Current for more than six years, System 7 was the longest-lived major version series of the classic Macintosh operating system. Features added with the System 7 release included virtual memory, personal file sharing, QuickTime, QuickDraw 3D, and an improved user interface.

Star Trek is the code name that was given to a secret prototype project, running a port of Macintosh System 7 and its applications on Intel-compatible x86 personal computers. The project, starting in February 1992, was conceived in collaboration between Apple Computer, who provided the majority of engineers, and Novell, who at the time was one of the leaders of cross-platform file-servers. The plan was that Novell would market the resulting OS as a challenge to Microsoft Windows, but the project was discontinued in 1993 and never released, although components were reused in other projects. The project was named after the Star Trek science fiction franchise with the slogan "To boldly go where no Mac has gone before".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norton Utilities</span> Computer utility software

Norton Utilities is a utility software suite designed to help analyze, configure, optimize and maintain a computer. The latest version of the original series of Norton Utilities is Norton Utilities 16 for Windows XP/Vista/7/8 was released 26 October 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beagle Bros</span>

Beagle Bros was an American software company that specialized in creating personal computing products. Their primary focus was on the Apple II family of computers. Although they ceased business in 1991, owner Mark Simonsen permitted the Beagle Bros name and logo to be included on the 30th anniversary reboot of I. O. Silver, released on December 12, 2014 by former Beagle programmer Randy Brandt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Applied Engineering</span>

Applied Engineering, headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, was a leading third-party hardware vendor for the Apple II series of computers from the early 1980s until the mid-1990s.

MacWorks XL was an Apple Lisa computer program which shipped with the Macintosh XL. It allowed 64K Apple Macintosh ROM emulation so the Macintosh XL could run classic Mac OS programs.

The Byte Works, founded and run by Mike Westerfield, was a key player in the history of developer tools for Apple II computers. Its first product, the ORCA/M assembler, developed jointly by Westerfield and Phil Montoya, was a powerful assembly language development environment, complete with a Unix-style shell, which ran on 8-bit Apple II computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disk II</span> Floppy disk drive for the Apple II computer

The Disk II Floppy Disk Subsystem, often rendered as Disk ][, is a 5 +14-inch floppy disk drive designed by Steve Wozniak at the recommendation of Mike Markkula, and manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. It went on sale in June 1978 at a retail price of US$495 for pre-order; it was later sold for $595 including the controller card and cable. The Disk II was designed specifically for use with the Apple II personal computer family to replace the slower cassette tape storage. These floppy drives cannot be used with any Macintosh without an Apple IIe Card as doing so will damage the drive or the controller.

VistaPro is 3D scenery generator for the Amiga, Macintosh, MS-DOS, and Microsoft Windows. It was written by John Hinkley as the follow-up to the initial version, Vista. The about box describes it as "a 3-D landscape generator and projector capable of accurately displaying real-world and fractal landscapes." It was published by Virtual Reality Labs and developed by Hypercube Engineering. The latest versions were published and developed by Monkey Byte Development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macintosh External Disk Drive</span> External floppy disk drive by Apple

The Macintosh External Disk Drive is the original model in a series of external 3+12-inch floppy disk drives manufactured and sold by Apple Computer exclusively for the Macintosh series of computers introduced in January 1984. Later, Apple would unify their external drives to work cross-platform between the Macintosh and Apple II product lines, dropping the name "Macintosh" from the drives. Though Apple had been producing external floppy disk drives prior to 1984, they were exclusively developed for the Apple II, III and Lisa computers using the industry standard 5+14-inch flexible disk format. The Macintosh external drives were the first to widely introduce Sony's new 3+12-inch rigid disk standard commercially and throughout their product line. Apple produced only one external 3+12-inch drive exclusively for use with the Apple II series called the Apple UniDisk 3.5.

<i>GATE</i> (video game) 1991 video game

GATE is an action-adventure video game designed by Swiss programmers Henrik Gudat, Jörg Kienzle, and Yann Le Tensorer. The gameplay is comparable to Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda with a top-down view and a mixture of action, adventure, and puzzle solving.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Classic Mac OS</span> Original operating system of Apple Mac (1984–2001)

Mac OS is the series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and ending with Mac OS 9. The Macintosh operating system is credited with having popularized the graphical user interface concept. It was included with every Macintosh that was sold during the era in which it was developed, and many updates to the system software were done in conjunction with the introduction of new Macintosh systems.

References

  1. Arnett, Nick (1988-09-19). "Apple Unveils IIGS OS, Speedier Apple IIc Model". InfoWorld. Vol. 10, no. 38. IDG. p. 39. ISSN   0199-6649 . Retrieved 2016-08-03. ...Apple Computer last week introduced a new operating system for the Apple IIGS,.....The new GS/OS operating system for the Apple IIGS has an enhanced, more Mac-like Finder and speeds up booting......includes support for large storage devices, up to 4 gigabytes...GS/OS runs programs written for the earlier operating systems, Pro-Dos 16 and Pro-Dos 8...
  2. "Apple IIGS Programmer's Workshop - Version 1.0 (K2S002)" (PDF). goldstarsoftware.com. Retrieved 2016-08-03. ...APW C is intended for use with the Apple Programmer's Workshop...
  3. "Morgue, Cortland Programmer's Workshop". byteworks.us. Archived from the original on 2016-08-19. Retrieved 2016-08-03. ...Apple decided to use a 16 bit version of ORCA/M as the standard development environment for the new machine, code named Cortland. On July 21, 1986, the last version of this environment that was still called Cortland Programmer's Workshop was delivered to Apple for shipment to the developer community. Later versions were called Apple Programmer's Workshop, or just APW...
  4. Westerfield, Mike (2013). "About the Author". Building IPhone and IPad Electronic Projects: Real-World Arduino, Sensor, and Bluetooth Low Energy Apps in TechBASIC. Beijing: O'Reilly Media. p. 317. ISBN   978-1449363482 . Retrieved 2016-08-03. ...Mike Westerfield...Two years later he finished ORCA/M, which went on to become Apple Programmer's Workshop, the Apple development environment for the Apple IIGS...
  5. "GUIdebook > ... > Apple II > GS/OS". guidebookgallery.org. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  6. "Announcing Apple IIgs System 6.0.2". callapple.org. 2015-07-12. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  7. "The Source Awakens .. System 6.0.3, a New Release". a2central.com. 2015-08-03. Retrieved 2016-08-03.
  8. "The Source Is Strong With This One – System 6.0.4". a2central.com. Retrieved 2017-01-04.