[Coco] OS-9 terminology

[KnudsenMJ at aol.com]

I think it's safe to say that every OS-9 program (app, utility, etc.) is a 
module, or a set of modules (UltiMusE has 11 modules) -- but not every module is 
a program.
Device descriptors, drivers, and parts of the OS are modules -- in fact, this 
modul-ar construction is one of OS-9's greatest features (for us tinkerers), 
and is greatly missed in Unix and Linux.  Windows is sort of modular, being a 
heap of DLLs, which you can replace one at a time (and take the consequences 
:-).

A module is a unit of code or data that can be loaded in memory, and retains 
its identity -- OS9 remembers its name, size, and where it's located in RAM at 
the time.
Each module, regardless of type, has some header bytes that tell what type it 
is, plus 3 trailer bytes that are the (in)famous CRC check code  (Another 
feature missing from *NIX and Wind-Hose), that guards against "bit rot" on the 
disk or in RAM.

Is this helping at all, for a start?  Mike K.