[Coco] OS-9 History

[Wayne Campbell]

I would also like to know the real story. Back in the 80s, I heard it like this (actually read it, but cannot recall if it was in a magazine or a manual.)

Microware contracted with Motorola to develop a BASIC language that would show off the capabilities of the new 6809 processor. Microware developed Basic09, and created OS-9 as a foundation for Basic09. The real-time aspect of the os was to prove it could be done.

That is the way I have known the story since then.

John Donaldson <johnab8yz at verizon.net> wrote:

>I worked at NASA/JSC from 1971 - 1988. We used SWPC (sp)6809 computers 
>that ran OS9 OS. Also JSC at one time had the largest COCO club (100+ 
>people) that consisted of mostly Engineers and Technicians. The SWPC 
>6809 computers ran Fortran 77 under the OS9 OS. The three main 
>programming packages that were developed for OS9 and would also run on 
>the COCO OS9 port was Fortran 77, PASCAL09, and K&R C. One of the 
>Astronaut Engineers took a COCO2 and made it into a talking word 
>processor for a blind person that worked at JSC. He had gotten 
>permission from Tandy to do some redesign. A few years later an 
>aerospace company came out with a device for small aircraft that 
>displayed NEXRAD weather graphics. I got a chance to look at the 
>electronics and discovered it was basically a re-packaged COCO2. It was 
>built by Motorola.
>
>John Donaldson
>
>
>On 4/26/2013 10:20 PM, George Ramsower wrote:
>>   I really want to know, and I'm waiting to hear/read about the history of
>> OS9.
>>
>>   If memory serves me correctly....
>>
>>   I've read, many years ago, that Microware wanted to make a RTOS for a
>> microcomputer to be similar to Unix and that the 6809 was perfect(at the
>> time) for this application. I've even read that OS9 was developed for NASA
>> on the eary missions and BASIC09 was developed for the Radio Shack release.
>>
>>   Don't know if any of this is true but, that's what I remember.
>>
>>   I'm really intersted to see some input on this.
>>
>> George
>>
>>    ----- Original Message -----
>>    From: Wayne Campbell
>>
>>    I believe that OS-9 was designed to provide a base from which Basic09
>> could show the capabilities of the 6809 processor. In addition the RTS
>> capability of the os was to show that a real-time os was possible with the
>> 6809 as well.
>>
>>    Thierry Mella <thierry.mella at skynet.be> wrote:
>>
>>
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