Atari TOS

Atari ST GEM desktop

The Operating System (TOS) was the operating system of the Atari ST range of computers. This range included the 520ST, 1040ST and the F, FM and E variations (e.g.1040STE). Later, 32-bit machines (TT, Falcon030) were developed using a new version of TOS, called MultiTOS, which was based on MiNT.

Contents

1 Details

1.1 Desktop

2 Misc
3 Versions

3.1 TOS 1
3.2 TOS 2
3.3 TOS 3
3.4 TOS 4

4 See also
5 External links

Details

TOS combined Digital Research's GEM GUI running on top of the DOS-like GEMDOS. Features included a flat memory model, MS-DOS-compatible disk format, support for MIDI, and a variant of SCSI called ACSI (in later versions).

TOS consisted of the following:

Desktop - The main interface loaded after bootup.
GEM - Graphical Environment Manager
*AES - Application Environment Service
*VDI - Virtual Device Interface (screen drivers only, other drivers loaded using GDOS)
GEMDOS - GEM Disk Operating System
BIOS - Basic Input/Output System
XBIOS - Xtended BIOS
Line-A - Low-level high speed graphics calls. Obsolete

The following were extensions to TOS (loaded separately):

GDOS - Graphics Device Operation System
AHDI - Atari Hard Disk Interface (driver for Hard Drive)

Multitasking was not directly supported, TOS allowed desk accessories to be loaded into the system which were similar to TSR's (Terminate and Stay Resident) on PC's (up to a maximum of six). MultiTOS was developed to allow TOS to multitask.

Desktop

Atari TOS/GEM - Monochrome screen

The TOS desktop used icons to represent files and devices, windows and dialog boxes to display info. The desktop file "DESKTOP.INF" was read to determine window settings, icon placements and drive icons, otherwise the standard default desktop of two floppy icons and the trash icon was used.

Later versions used "NEWDESK.INF" for saving and reading the desktop configuration.

Executable files were identified by their extensions:

*.ACC - Desktop accessory. Automatically loaded.
*.APP - Application (not common).
*.PRG - Executable program. Can be GEM programs.
*.TTP - "TOS takes parameters". This opened a dialog box where arguments could be added for the program. However, it converted characters to uppercase.
*.TOS - "TOS" program that didn't use GEM. The desktop cleared the screen, turn on the text cursor and hid the mouse cursor.

Programs could autoboot by placing them in a folder named "AUTO" but not GEM programs. TOS 1.4 allowed GEM programs to be placed in the "AUTO" folder as well. Programs with *.TTP extensions cannot be used for autoboot. Desktop accessories were place in the root directory of the default drive and load automatically.

Misc

TOS stands for "The Operating System". However, people jokingly have called it "Tramiel Operating System" (named after Jack Tramiel, Atari's head at the time).

Versions

TOS 1

1.0 (ROM TOS) Earliest version released on disk. First ROM release of TOS.
* Formats: floppy, 2 chip and 6 chip ROMS (192KB)
* Rom date: 20 Nov 1985
* Machines: 520ST, 1040ST
1.02 (MEGA TOS) fixed bugs, supported Blitter co-processor and real-time clock.
* Formats: 2 chip and 6 chip ROMS (192KB)
* Rom date: 22 Apr 1987
* Machines: 520ST, 1040ST, Mega 2, Mega 4
1.04 (RAINBOW TOS) Many bug fixes, file selector changed, DOS-compatible disk formatting, much improved performance. However, compatibility problems with older software.
* Formats: 2 chip and 6 chip ROMS (192KB)
* Rom date: 6 Apr 1989
* Machines: 520ST, 1040ST, Mega 2, Mega 4, Stacy
1.06 (STE TOS, Revision 1) Support for STe machines only. Needed STE_FIX.PRG to patch bugs.
* Format: 2 chip ROMS (256KB)
* Rom date: n/a
* Machines: 520STE, 1040 STE
1.62 (STE TOS, Revision 2) bug fixes for the previous 1.06 STE TOS.
* Format: 2 chip ROMS (256KB)
* Rom date: 1 Jan 1990
* Machines: 520STE, 1040 STE

TOS 2

2.02 Early TOS release for Mega STE.
2.05 (Mega STE TOS) Only found in the Mega STE with 720K floppy drive.
* Format: 2 chip ROMS (256KB)
* Rom date: n/a
* Machines: Mega STE
2.06 (ST/STE TOS) Bug fixes, 1.44MB disk support, memory test. Greatly enhanced GEM GUI. Last TOS version for ST/STE computers.
* Format: 2 chip ROMS (256KB)
* Rom date: 14 Nov 1991
* Machines: 520ST, 1040ST, 520STE, 1040STE
2.08 used in notebook ST.

TOS 3

3.01, 3.05, 3.06 (TT TOS) Primarily for 68030 TT support only.
* Format: 4 chip ROMS (512KB)

TOS 4

4.00, 4.01, 4.02, 4.04 (512KB) Update for Falcon 030 machines only.

External links

[Town's Guide to TOS Revisions]
[TOS/MiNT emulator]
[Atari ST System Disks]
[TOS 2.06 Guide] - User's guide
[Atari Compendium] - Reference guide for Atari ST programming. Recommended

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