Optimized Systems Software: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox company

| name = Optimized Systems Software

| logo = =

| caption = =

| type = Software Company

| genre = =

| fate = Merged

| predecessor = [[Shepardson Microsystems]]

| successor = ICD

| foundation = {{Start date and age|1981}}

| founders = Bill Wilkinson<br />Mike Peters<br />Paul Laughton<br />Kathleen O'Brien

| defunct = {{End date and age|1988|01}}

| location_city = [[Cupertino, California]]<ref name="atari">{{cite web |url=http://www.atariarchives.org/iad/introduction.php |title=Inside Atari DOS - Introduction}}</ref>

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}}

'''Optimized Systems Software''' ('''OSS''') was a company that produced [[disk operating system]]s, [[programming languageslanguage]]s with integrated development environments, and applications primarily for the [[Atari 8-bit familycomputers]]. ofThe homefounders computers,of butOSS somepreviously productsdeveloped were[[Atari alsoDOS]], sold[[Atari forBASIC]], and the [[AppleAtari IIAssembler Editor]] for [[Atari, Inc.<ref]], name=finest/>and many OSS wasproducts bestare knownsubstantially forimproved theirversions. enhanced{{nowrap|OS versionsA+}} ofand [[AtariDOS BASICXL]] andare based on Atari DOS. the [[MAC/65BASIC A+]], assemblerBASIC (bothXL, ofand BASIC whichXE are muchbased faster thanon Atari's products)BASIC. EASMD and [[MAC/65]] are modeled on the [[Atari Assembler Editor]]. [[Action! (programming language)|Action!]] is an [[ALGOL]]-inspired compiled programming language with an integrated full-screen editor. OSS also sold some software for the [[Apple II]].<ref name=finest/>

OSS transitioned to other platforms with Personal Pascal for the [[Atari ST]] with Personal Pascal<ref name=ppmanual>{{cite web|title=Personal Pascal for the Atari ST Manual|url=https://archive.org/details/OSSPersonalPascal|website=archive.org}}</ref> and Personal Prolog forthe [[MacintoshMac (computer)|Mac]] with Personal Prolog (which was also advertised for the Atari ST, but may not have been released). OSS was not as significant in those markets. The company merged with ICD in 1988.

== History ==

Optimized Systems Software was formed in early 1981 by Bill Wilkinson and, Mike Peters, whoPaul hadLaughton, purchasedand [[AtariKathleen BASIC]],O'Brien.<ref [[Atariname="savetz">{{cite DOS]]web and|last1=Savetz |first1=Kevin |title=Paul Laughton Interview |url=http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-the-atari-8-bit-podcast-paul-laughton-interview [[Atari|website=ANTIC: AssemblerThe Editor]]Atari product8-Bit fromPodcast [[Shepardson|date=October Microsystems]]21, Inc.2014}}</ref> (SMI)Laughton, whothe hadprimary concludedauthor thatof their[[Atari BASIC]], andwas DOSstill productsemployed wereby notAtari, viableInc. The new company enhancedat the productstime, renamingand themhad OS/A+permission (theto Diskbe Operatinginvolved System),with BASICOSS A+from (ahis disk-basedmanager. language),O'Brien andwrote EASMDthe (a[[Atari powerfulAssembler assemblerEditor]] /for editor)Atari. OSSLaughton continuedand toO'Brien work(married) withwere [[Atari]]not (who had previouslyas contractedinvolved with SMI)the oncompany enhancedand products,were mostbought ofout whichby neverPeters reached theand marketWilkinson.

OSS purchased Atari BASIC, [[Atari DOS]], and Atari Assembler Editor from [[Shepardson Microsystems]] who had concluded that their versions of BASIC and DOS were not viable.{{Citation needed |date=April 2024}} The new company enhanced the programs, renaming them OS/A+ (the Disk Operating System), BASIC A+ (a disk-based language), and EASMD (an update to the Assembler Editor). OSS continued to work with [[Atari, Inc.]] (who had previously contracted with SMI) on enhanced products, most of which never reached the market.

OSS debuted at the [[West Coast Computer Faire]], March 1981. Their products released over the next several years became respected among Atari programmers, particularly the [[MAC/65]] assembler, the [[Action! (programming language)|Action!]] programming language, and BASIC XL. In an interview with Bill Wilkinson published in 1984, he said the company consisted of 15 people.<ref name="ellison">{{cite journal |last1=Ellison |first1=Peter |title=Bill Wilkinson Interview |journal=ROM |date=August 1984 |volume=1 |issue=7 |page=13 |url=https://archive.org/details/ROM_Magazine_v1i7/page/n12}}</ref>

OSS debuted at the [[West Coast Computer Faire]], in March 1981. TheirThe products they released over the next several years became respected among Atari programmers, particularly the [[MAC/65]] assembler, the [[Action! (programming language)|Action!]] programming language, and BASIC XL. In ana 1984 interview with, Bill Wilkinson published in 1984, he said the company consisted of 15 people.<ref name="ellison">{{cite journal |last1=Ellison |first1=Peter |title=Bill Wilkinson Interview |journal=ROM |date=August 1984 |volume=1 |issue=7 |page=13 |url=https://archive.org/details/ROM_Magazine_v1i7/page/n12}}</ref>

In January 1988, ICD and OSS merged. In 1994, [[Fine Tooned Engineering]] obtained limited rights to ICD's 8-bit products.

In January 1988, OSS merged with ICD (the makers of [[SpartaDOS]] and OSSvarious mergedAtari computer hardware add-ons). In 1994, [[Fine Tooned Engineering]] obtained limited rights to ICD's 8-bit products before disappearing.

==Disk Operating Systems==

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Atari ''DOS 2.0S'' consisted of two portions, a memory-resident portion that facilitated access to disk files by programs, and a disk-resident portion providing menu-driven utilities to format, copy, delete, rename, and otherwise manipulate files on Atari's 810 disk drive. The menu system was too large to keep memory-resident, but the necessity to reload the menu system after every program was frustrating to many users.

* ''OS/A+ 2.0, 2.1'' was a disk-based replacement for the Atari DOS and the Apple II DOS. It replaced the menu-driven utilities with a compact command line approach similar to [[CP/M]] (and later, [[MS-DOS]]). The command line was small enough to remain in memory with most applications, removing the need for the dreaded post-program reload. When first introduced at the West Coast Computer Faire, the program was named CP/A, but a lawyer from [[Digital Research]] (owners of CP/M) visited the booth and the name was changed. OSS couldn't have afforded even a court filing fee.

* ''OS/A+ 4.1'' OSS extended the successful OS/A+ product with additional capabilities for version 4, many of which were arguably ahead of their time. For example, the strict "8.3" naming scheme (eight alphanumeric characters with a three character extension) was replaced by "long" filenames, similar to the Microsoft DOS transition to [[File Allocation Table|VFAT]] in 1995.

However, unlike VFAT, ''OS/A+ 4.1'' disks were not [[backward compatible]] with earlier systems; Atari DOS or ''OS/A+ 2.1'' could not read disks formatted by ''OS/A+ 4.1'', breaking backward compatibility. The [[memory footprint]] was larger as well, resulting in insufficient memory to run some popular applications. As a result of these drawbacks, ''OS/A+ 4.1'' did not achieve the market penetration as the earlier product. OSS did reissue ''OS/A+ 4.1'' for a brief period when they decided not to modify ''DOS XL'' for double-sided disk support.

=== DOS XL ===

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==BASIC==

The team that developed Atari BASIC while at Shepherdson Microsystems developed a series of three increasingly sophisticated [[BASIC interpreter]]s at OSS.

=== BASIC A+ ===

{{Main|BASIC A+}}

[[Atari BASIC]] had beenwas designed to fit in a singlean 8K cartridge, with an optional second cartridge addingfor additionalthe capabilitysecond slot of (the [[Atari 800]] [[homeadding computer]]additional featured two cartridge slots)capability. However, theThe second cartridge was never produced. Instead, OSS produced athe disk-based product called [[BASIC A Plus]] (or BASIC A+), which wasis compatible with Atari BASIC, but correctedcorrects several bugs, and addedadds quitemany a fewnew features. AmongIt the notable features wereincludes PRINT USING (for formatted output), trace and debug enhancements, direct DOS commands, and explicit support for the Atarigraphics computers'hardware exceptionalincluding [[Sprite (computer graphics)|player/missile hardwaregraphics]]. Because BASIC A+ had to be purchased, programs developed using its extended features could not be shared with people who did not own the interpreter.

Because BASIC A+ had to be purchased, programs developed using its extended features could not be shared with people who did not own the interpreter.

=== BASIC XL ===

ABASIC XL is a bank-selected cartridge version of the language that replaced BASIC A+. It fixedfixes bugs and addedhas even more commands and features. The '''BASIC XL Toolkit''' contains additional code and examples for use with the BASIC XL language. Includedand a runtime package for redistribution. No compiler was available.

A significant change in BASIC XL is the handling of line number lookups in [[GOTO]]/[[GOSUB]] and FOR...NEXT loops. In Atari BASIC, any GOTO searches the entire program for the provided line number, and FOR...NEXT loops use the same code. [[Microsoft BASIC]] simply jumps to a FOR statement via its address. The BASIC XL FAST command replaces constant targets of GOTO/GOSUB/NEXT with addresses. This gives a huge performance boost, making loops run as fast as Microsoft BASIC, and the program as a whole even faster. The downside is that an address becomes invalid if the program is edited during runtime, preventing it from being CONTinued, unlike Atari BASIC which generally allows this after any edit.

''[[Antic (magazine)|Antic]]'' in 1984 stated that "BASIC XL is the fastest and most powerful version of BASIC available for Atari computers", with "exceptional" documentation. The magazine concluded that "This is the language that should be built into Atari computers. Is anyone at Atari listening?"<ref name="antic198403">{{Cite magazine |last=White |first=Jerry |date=March 1984 |title=Product Reviews |url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/v2n12/productreviews.html |magazine=Antic}}</ref>

=== BASIC XE ===

AnBASIC XE is an enhanced version of the BASIC XL bank-selected cartridge,with with additional functions and high-speed math routines. Because it requiredrequires 64KB, it would only runruns on an XL/XE systemsystems. NoA compilerruntime or runtimepackage was madenot availablereleased. The ''BASIC XL'' runtime couldcan be used, but restricted to only XL functions.

==Assemblers==

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{{Main|MAC/65}}

MAC/65 is a [[MOS Technology 6502|6502]] editor/ and [[assembly language#Assembler|assembler]] originally released on disk in 1982, then on a bank-switched "supercartridge" in 1983 which includedincludes an integrated debugger (DDT). Like [[Atari BASIC]], MAC/65 useduses line-numbered [[source code]] and tokenizedtokenizes each line as it wasis entered. It wasis significantly faster than Atari's assemblers. The '''MAC/65 Toolkit''' disk contains additional code and examples.

=== BUG/65 ===

ABUG/65 is a machine language [[debugger]]. It was initially included with MAC/65, but the cartridge-based version of the assembler added its own debugger, DDT. BUG/65 was later added to DOS XL.

==Other languages==

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{{Main|Action! (programming language)}}

A cartridge-based development system for a readable [[ALGOL]]-like language that compiles to efficient [[MOS Technology 6502|6502]] code. [[Action! (programming language)|Action!]] combines a full-screen editor with a compiler that generates code directly to memory without involving disk access. The language found a niche for being over a hundred times faster than [[Atari BASIC]],<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Moriarty|first1=Brian|title=A New Langue for the Atari!|journal=ANALOG Computing|date=1984|url=http://www.cyberroach.com/analog/an16/action.htm|access-date=2015-08-01|archive-date=2017-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627190315/http://www.cyberroach.com/analog/an16/action.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> but much easier to program in than [[assembly language]]. Compiled Action! programs require the cartridge to be present, because standard [[Library (computing)|library]] functions are on the cartridge. The separately available '''Action! Run-Time Package''' overcomes this limitation and allows distribution of Action!-compiled projects.

The '''Action! Toolkit''' (originally called the Programmer's Aid Disk, or PAD) contains additional code and examples for use with the Action! language.

=== C/65 ===

AC/65 is a [[compiler]] developed by LightSpeed Software for a subset of the [[C (programming language)|C programming language]].<ref>{{cite web |title=C/65 |url=http://www.atarimania.com/utility-atari-400-800-xl-xe-c-65_19204.html |website=Atari Mania}}</ref> C/65 outputs assembly source code. An assembler like [[MAC/65]] is needed to create an executable file.

===Tiny C===

Tiny C, stylized as '''tiny-c''', is an [[interpreter (computing)|interpreter]] for a subset of the [[C (programming language)|C programming language]]; it was developed by Tiny C Associates.<ref name=finest/>

=== Personal Pascal ===

A one-pass, [[machine code]] generating compiler for the [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]] language developed by J. Lohse for the Atari ST and released by OSS in 1987.<ref name=ppmanual/> It came with a 500+ page manual.

==Applications==

=== The Writer's Tool ===

A word processing application available in a bank-selected cartridge and a double-sided disk (master disk on one side, dictionary disk on the other side).<ref name="wt-antic">{{cite journal|last1=Rainbow|first1=Tom|title=8-bit Product Reviews: Writer's Tool|journal=Antic|date=March 1985|volume=3|issue=11|url=http://www.atarimagazines.com/v3n11/reviews.html}}</ref> It was developed by Madison Micro and published by OSS in 1984.<ref name="wt_manual">{{cite book|title=The Writer's Tool Manual|date=1984|publisher=Optimized Systems Software, Inc.|url=http://www.atarimania.com/8bit/manuals/The_Writers_Tool_manual.pdf|archive-date=2016-02-09|access-date=2016-04-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160209103325/http://www.atarimania.com/8bit/manuals/The_Writers_Tool_manual.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to Bill Wilkinson, OSS was already building a word processor, but stopped when ''The Writer's Tool'' was submitted.<ref>{{cite web|title=Interview 7: Bill Wilkinson|url=http://ataripodcast.libsyn.com/antic-interview-7-the-atari-8-bit-podcast-bill-wilkinson-oss|website=ANTIC The Atari 8-bit Podcast}}</ref>

=== SpeedRead+ ===

ASpeedRead+ is a [[speed reading]] tutor developed for the Atari 8-bit and Apple II computers.<ref name="finest">{{cite web |title=The First and Finest (OSS magazine ad) |url=http://www.atarimania.com/pubs/hi_res/First_and_Finest_In_Systems_Software_1982_ad.jpg |website=Atari Mania}}</ref>

== Sales ==

According to Bill Wilkinson, OSS sold about 12,000 copies of ''Basic XL'' before the ICD merger. ''Basic XL'' outsold ''Action!'' by about 2.5 or 3 to 1. ''MAC/65'' outsold ''Action!'' by about 1.5 to 1. ''Basic XE'' sold poorly, aand lost money-loser. Personal Pascal sold over 10,000 copies. {{Citation needed|date=February 2011}}

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

;Notes

{{refbeginRefbegin}}

* Wilkinson, Bill (1983). ''The Atari BASIC Source Book''. Compute! Books. {{ISBN|0-942386-15-9}}.

* ''A User's Guide and Reference Manual for DOS XL 2.30'', 1983

* ''OSS Newsletter - Spring 1984''

* ''OSS Newsletter - October 1984''

{{refendRefend}}

== External links ==

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*[http://www.atarimagazines.com/v4n9/basicxe.html Antic Vol. 4, No. 9 - Jan 1986] Basic XE from O.S.S. (Product Review)

{{BASIC}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Optimized Systems Software| ]]

[[Category:Defunct software companies of the United States]]

[[Category:Atari 8-bit familycomputers]]

[[Category:Software companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area]]

[[Category:Companies based in Cupertino, California]]