Microware
Encyclopedia
Microware is a US
corporation that produced the OS-9
real-time
operating system
.
Microware Systems Corporation existed as a separate entity from 1977 until September 2001, when it was bought by RadiSys Corp.
, and became a division of that company. Microware initially produced a version of BASIC
and a real-time kernel for the Motorola
6800
processor
, and was asked by Motorola to develop what turned into BASIC09
for the then-new Motorola 6809
processor. Having written BASIC09, they decided it needed an operating system underlying it, and created the first version of OS-9.
OS-9 went on to versions for the 68000
family of processors and, rewritten mostly in C
, to the Intel
80x86
, PowerPC
, ARM
, MIPS
, and some of the Hitachi
SuperH
(SH) series processors. Initially, in the days of the SS-50 and SS-50C, bus systems such as SWTPC, Gimix, and Smoke Signal Broadcasting, OS-9 was used more as a general purpose microcomputer
operating system, and had a large, active hobbyist user population, and industrial and embedded system users. This was especially true when OS-9 was available for popular 6809-based computers such as the FM-7, FM-77, and the Tandy
TRS-80 Color Computer
and its near-clone, the Dragon
. Over time, Microware concentrated on industrial customers and neglected the hobbyist base that was porting a great many Unix
packages and utilities to OS-9.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
corporation that produced the OS-9
OS-9
OS-9 is a family of real-time, process-based, multitasking, multi-user, Unix-like operating systems, developed in the 1980s, originally by Microware Systems Corporation for the Motorola 6809 microprocessor. It is currently owned by RadiSys Corporation....
real-time
Real-time computing
In computer science, real-time computing , or reactive computing, is the study of hardware and software systems that are subject to a "real-time constraint"— e.g. operational deadlines from event to system response. Real-time programs must guarantee response within strict time constraints...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
.
Microware Systems Corporation existed as a separate entity from 1977 until September 2001, when it was bought by RadiSys Corp.
RadiSys
RadiSys Corporation is publicly traded company that makes embedded systems and related technology, located in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1987 in Oregon by former employees of Intel, the company went public in 1995...
, and became a division of that company. Microware initially produced a version of BASIC
BASIC
BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
and a real-time kernel for the Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
6800
Motorola 6800
The 6800 was an 8-bit microprocessor designed and first manufactured by Motorola in 1974. The MC6800 microprocessor was part of the M6800 Microcomputer System that also included serial and parallel interface ICs, RAM, ROM and other support chips...
processor
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
, and was asked by Motorola to develop what turned into BASIC09
BASIC09
BASIC09 is a structured BASIC programming language dialect developed by Microware for the then-new Motorola 6809 CPU. Somewhat in the fashion of UCSD Pascal it was implemented via 'compilation' into an intermediate representation...
for the then-new Motorola 6809
Motorola 6809
The Motorola 6809 is an 8-bit microprocessor CPU from Motorola, designed by Terry Ritter and Joel Boney and introduced 1978...
processor. Having written BASIC09, they decided it needed an operating system underlying it, and created the first version of OS-9.
OS-9 went on to versions for the 68000
68k
The Motorola 680x0/m68000/68000 is a family of 32-bit CISC microprocessors. During the 1980s and early 1990s, they were popular in personal computers and workstations and were the primary competitors of Intel's x86 microprocessors...
family of processors and, rewritten mostly in C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
, to the Intel
Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most...
80x86
X86 architecture
The term x86 refers to a family of instruction set architectures based on the Intel 8086 CPU. The 8086 was launched in 1978 as a fully 16-bit extension of Intel's 8-bit based 8080 microprocessor and also introduced segmentation to overcome the 16-bit addressing barrier of such designs...
, PowerPC
PowerPC
PowerPC is a RISC architecture created by the 1991 Apple–IBM–Motorola alliance, known as AIM...
, ARM
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
, MIPS
MIPS architecture
MIPS is a reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by MIPS Technologies . The early MIPS architectures were 32-bit, and later versions were 64-bit...
, and some of the Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd.
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
SuperH
SuperH
SuperH is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by Hitachi. It is implemented by microcontrollers and microprocessors for embedded systems....
(SH) series processors. Initially, in the days of the SS-50 and SS-50C, bus systems such as SWTPC, Gimix, and Smoke Signal Broadcasting, OS-9 was used more as a general purpose microcomputer
Microcomputer
A microcomputer is a computer with a microprocessor as its central processing unit. They are physically small compared to mainframe and minicomputers...
operating system, and had a large, active hobbyist user population, and industrial and embedded system users. This was especially true when OS-9 was available for popular 6809-based computers such as the FM-7, FM-77, and the Tandy
Tandy Corporation
Tandy Corporation was a family-owned leather goods company based in Fort Worth, Texas. Tandy was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store, and acquired RadioShack in 1963. The Tandy name was dropped in May 2000, when RadioShack Corporation was made the official name.-History:Tandy began in 1919...
TRS-80 Color Computer
TRS-80 Color Computer
The Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer was a home computer launched in 1980. It was one of the earliest of the first generation of computers marketed for home use in English-speaking markets...
and its near-clone, the Dragon
Dragon 32/64
The Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 are home computers that were built in the 1980s. The Dragons are very similar to the TRS-80 Color Computer , and were produced for the European market by Dragon Data, Ltd., in Port Talbot, Wales, and for the US market by Tano of New Orleans, Louisiana...
. Over time, Microware concentrated on industrial customers and neglected the hobbyist base that was porting a great many Unix
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
packages and utilities to OS-9.
Microware products
- RT68 - the original product for the 6800
- OS-9OS-9OS-9 is a family of real-time, process-based, multitasking, multi-user, Unix-like operating systems, developed in the 1980s, originally by Microware Systems Corporation for the Motorola 6809 microprocessor. It is currently owned by RadiSys Corporation....
and OS-9000 - real-time, embedded operating systems. - CD-RTOS - the operating system used in the Philips CD-iCD-iCD-i, or Compact Disc Interactive, is the name of an interactive multimedia CD player developed and marketed by Royal Philips Electronics N.V. CD-i also refers to the multimedia Compact Disc standard used by the CD-i console, also known as Green Book, which was developed by Philips and Sony...
players, which was a special version of OS-9/68K v2.4. - DAVIDDavidDavid was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
- the Digital Audio Video Interactive Decoder platform for digital TV. - Ariel - a micro OS based on an OS Microware acquired.
External links
- Microware OS-9
- Microware Reunion Site for former employees