[Coco] Microware OS-9 for x86

[Gene Heskett]

On Wednesday 16 June 2010, Aaron Wolfe wrote:
>On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 12:23 PM, Michael Kerpan <mjkerpan at kerpan.com> 
wrote:
>> Given that OS-9 and Nitros-9 are written almost entirely in 6809/6309
>> assembler, I think the chances any code reuse are pretty minimal. Any
>> free x86 version would have to be a rewrite/clone from the ground up.
>> Thus, "Nitros-9 x86" would be in the same boat as Linux or something:
>> perfectly legal.
>
>Potential issues go beyond the 6809 asm.  Consider the contents of the
>help files, the text seen in included programs, even the basic09
>language itself.  Then you have the syscalls that form the foundation
>of the OS, the module format, etc ,etc  Didn't Gary Kildall sue IBM or
>MS over the way DOS used the same system calls as CP/M?
>
>I don't think it's impossible to legally implement "something" that
>works a lot like OS9, but you must also consider that modern companies
>sue first and ask questions later.  If Radisys was to take issue with
>something, even incorrectly, who is going to pay to defend the work?
>SCO's case against Linux had no merit, but it surely cost IBM, Novell,
>etc a few bucks to prove that.
>
>I would proceed with caution.

About the only way would be to make each function in os9 into a high level 
description with no code, and then turn that into x86 assembly in a separate 
room, done by someone who has never seen the disassembly of Nitros9.

AKA the clean room approach.  And then as you said, its sue first.  And 
since IBM et all were going against the likes of Boise-Schiller, you can bet 
the farm the collective cost to I've Been Moved, Novell etc, was probably 
even higher than the public figures we've seen quoted in the SCO case.

One could probably liquidate the lot of us & not be able to make a payment.  
So this would be a project for the DE1, but looking over the fence to x86 
code just doesn't sound like a good idea to me.   Arm or PPC makes far more 
sense, and is no doubt a lot safer.  But the arm boards start at about $229.

OTOH, IANAL either.

>> Mike
>>
>> On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 12:02 PM, Aaron Wolfe <aawolfe at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > On Wed, Jun 16, 2010 at 11:43 AM, Frank Swygert <farna at att.net> wrote:
>> >> I wonder if the Radisys lawyers would have a field day if Nitros-9
>> >> was ported to a PC, with a few enhancements to take advantage of the
>> >> more powerful hardware? Would be really nice if it could be made in
>> >> such a way as to run CoCo OS-9 code too...
>> >
>> > I think Radisys has little interest in what happens on the 6809
>> > platform, but they might not like an implementation that runs on x86
>> > very much.  Any x86 implementation would have to be very careful not
>> > to use any source from the original OS-9, and even then there might be
>> > patent issues.
>>
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-- 
Cheers, Gene
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