GS/OS is an
operating system developed by
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...
for its
Apple IIGS personal computer. It provides facilities for accessing the
file system
In computing, file system or filesystem (often abbreviated to fs) is a method and data structure that the operating system uses to control how data is stored and retrieved. Without a file system, data placed in a storage medium would be one larg ...
, controlling input/output devices, loading and running program files, and a system allowing programs to handle
interrupts and signals. It uses
ProDOS as its primarily filing system. GS/OS is a component of Apple II
GS System Software versions 4.0 through 6.0.1, and was the first true 16-bit operating system for the II
GS.
Features
Speed optimization
The advantage of GS/OS over its predecessor, the ProDOS 16 operating system, is that it was written entirely in 16-bit code for the
65816 processor used in the II
GS, rather than primarily in 8-bit
6502 machine code that does not take advantage of the II
GS's unique features. This in turn allows GS/OS to offers vast speed optimizations (loading time, disk access, screen updates) compared with the previous OS, and provided room to incorporates many features of other Apple operating systems, including
Apple III Apple SOS, the Macintosh
System 5
Unix System V (pronounced: "System Five") is one of the first commercial versions of the Unix operating system. It was originally developed by AT&T and first released in 1983. Four major versions of System V were released, numbered 1, 2, 3, an ...
, as well as concepts and features that would later appear in future Macintosh System Software releases (e.g. proportional scrollbars, thermometer progress bars)
New features and enhancements
In addition to continued enhancements to the IIGS Finder and loadable fonts, GS/OS offered plug-in device drivers (modem, printer, etc.), a thermometer progress display, AppleShare support, File System Translators for accessing foreign file formats, disk caching and support for storage devices up to 4 Gigabytes. It also extends the ProDOS file system to provide for
resource forks on files similar to those used on the
Apple Macintosh, which allows for programs to be written in a more flexible way. The newly included Apple ''Advanced Disk Utilities'' and ''Apple IIGS Installer'' helped facilitate partitioning, formatting and installing software and drivers with visual ease. A command-line development environment called APW (Apple Programmer's Workshop) is available; much like the
Macintosh Programmer's Workshop.
File System Translators
GS/OS includes a unique facility known as file system translators (FSTs) which allows it to support multiple on-disk file systems in a manner transparent to application programs, a feature not found in ProDOS or most other microcomputer operating systems at the time. It was usually used with the ProDOS file system (which was the only one from which it could be booted), but GS/OS also supports a variety of other file systems, including the
Hierarchical File System used by the
Mac OS. Other file system translators, in addition to ProDOS and HFS, include those for
MS-DOS, High Sierra/ISO-9660, Apple DOS 3.3, and Pascal, albeit read-only (full read/write support had been planned but never completed).
Releases
Source:
ProDOS 16 (GS/OS predecessor)
*1986 – System 1.0 (ProDOS 16 v1.0), System 1.1 (ProDOS 16 v1.1)
*1987 – System 2.0 (ProDOS 16 v1.2), System 3.1 (ProDOS 16 v1.3)
*1988 – System 3.2 (ProDOS 16 v1.6)
GS/OS
*1988 – System 4.0 (GS/OS v2.0)
*1989 – System 5.0 (GS/OS v3.0), System 5.0.1 (GS/OS v3.0), System 5.0.2 (GS/OS v3.0)
*1990 – System 5.0.3 (GS/OS v3.03)
*1991 – System 5.0.4 (GS/OS v3.03)
*1992 – System 6.0 (GS/OS v4.01)
*1993 – System 6.0.1 (GS/OS v4.02)
Unofficial versions
*2015 – System 6.0.2 (GS/OS v4.02), System 6.0.3 (GS/OS v4.02)
*2017 – System 6.0.4 (GS/OS v4.02)
See also
*
Apple DOS
Apple DOS is the family of disk operating systems for the Apple II series of microcomputers from late 1978 through early 1983. It was superseded by ProDOS in 1983. Apple DOS has three major releases: DOS 3.1, DOS 3.2, and DOS 3.3; each one of t ...
*
Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
*
Apple IIGS
*
Juiced.GS
''Juiced.GS'' is a print magazine/newsletter for Apple II computer users. Although the name implies a focus on the Apple , its coverage encompasses all Apple II systems. It is the longest-running Apple II publication and, since 1999, the only Appl ...
– The last remaining Apple II publication
*
KansasFest
KansasFest (also known as KFest) is an annual event for Apple II computer enthusiasts. Held every July at Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri, KansasFest typically lasts five days and features presentations from Apple II experts and pion ...
– An annual convention for Apple II users
*
Macintosh Finder
The Finder is the default file manager and graphical user interface shell used on all Macintosh operating systems. Described in its "About" window as "The Macintosh Desktop Experience", it is responsible for the launching of other applications, ...
*
ProDOS
References
External links
Apple IIgs GS/OS 6.0.1 Screenshots and detailsA2Central.com – Apple II news and downloads
{{DEFAULTSORT:GS OS
Apple II software
Apple Inc. operating systems
Disk operating systems
Discontinued operating systems
Window-based operating systems