[Coco] Other Operating Systems

[Willard Goosey]

>From: "Jones, Orville CPT" <JonesO at k2.cjtf180.army.mil>
>Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 01:00:25 -0000

>I am sending this email from Southern Uzbekistan. I'm overseas
>serving our country in the Army Reserve. In a small way, you guys
>make me feel like I am back home.
>
I SALUTE you!

>>From my limited experience with the Color Computer I know that there has
>been several operating systems for the CoCo:
>FLEX
>OS-9
>DECB (Disk Extended Color Basic)
>NitrOS-9
> 
>I know I probably missed one. What other operating systems has there been
>for the CoCo? 

Besides various hacks on DECB, like ADOS, MyDOS, MJKDOS...?

STAR-DOS
HUMBUG
CBUG
MICRO WORKS COLOR FORTH
eFORTH
DACFORTH

STAR-DOS is a clone of FLEX that understands both FLEX and DECB format
disks.  HUMBUG is a ROM monitor.  Both are available from
http://www.users.cloud9.net/~stark 

CBUG is another monitor that was sold on cassette and ROM for the
CoCo.

Micro Works FORTH was on CoCo ROMPak.  eFORTH was sold on disk by
Frank Hogg.

DACFORTH was free from the old Princeton mailing list file archive,
which we're working on putting back together.

Also, Color Disk EDTASM came with something called Color TRS-DOS, but
I'm pretty sure that doesn't count.  (And when I do count the FORTH
interperters, that says something!)

>Has anyone ever thought about writing a new one for the CoCo
>recently? What are the challenges or limitations to such an idea?

Actually, I thought about it a little, back when I was playing with
GCC/6809 and realized just how useless the ROM BASIC is to the
assembly programmer.  

I think the biggest challenge would be writing the new floppy driver.
The WD1771 is outdated enough it might be a challenge even to get
programming information on it.  

The rest of the hardware is just about completely described.  About
the only harware mystery left in the CoCo 3 is the possible existance
of a 256 color graphics mode.  

However, an OS is a lot of work, and NitrOS-9 is free, very good, and
getting better.  It would be pretty hard to compete with 20+ years of
already-written software.

I would like to see a version of FLEX for the CoCo 3, though. :-)
> 
>Chaplain (CPT) Orville "Alan" Jones, USAR

Willard
-- 
Willard Goosey  goosey at sdc.org
Socorro, New Mexico, USA
"I've never been to Contempt!  Isn't that somewhere in New Mexico?"
   --- Yacko